This is the first year I've ever grown peppers from seed and after reading the germination tips thread it seems I've been quite lucky. Too lucky, perhaps? I usually just buy the plants from a nursery and drop 'em in the ground. This year I'm using the seeds from several Caribbean Red pods I grew last season. I'm hoping to maybe get some funky hybrids since they were next to other pepper varieties in the garden, but even just some good ole Caribbean Reds will do just fine.
Starting the last week of March, all I did was buy one of those $7 Jiffy "greenhouses", soaked the seeds overnight in hydrogen peroxide and water, then carelessly clumped too many seeds into some of the pellets. I figured, what the hell.... I probably won't be lucky enough to get any viable germination so I might as well put several seeds in each pellet to increase my chances. Then I placed the thing on the heating register for a week. To my surprise, I've been blessed with many little baby plants!
Now I've got some questions for you experts out there, and I'd very much appreciate your advice.
1) The instructions on the Jiffy greenhouse says to cut back or remove the smaller sprouts in each pellet to let the most healthy one grow. I'd rather loosen up the pellets a little and try to extract the extra sprouts and repot them rather than just kill them. When should I be doing this? Are they big enough yet to handle a transplant, or should I just forget it and do what the instructions say? If I can transplant them, how big of a pot/container should I put them in? I've heard you should avoid putting smaller plants in big pots.
3) How are they doing in terms of growth for my region? Are they behind schedule? Last year I put my store bought plants in the ground at the end of May. They were maybe about a foot tall. These look a bit small right now. Am I going to have a late growing season?
4) What are the chances of cross pollination of certain types? In my garden last year, there were also Cayennes, Hungarian Wax, Orange Habs, Poblanos, Chocolate Bells, and Green Bells. I have no doubt they could've crossed pollinated with the Orange Habs, but what is likeliness of the other types working together? Is it even possible to get a Hab/Bell pepper hybrid?
Any insight would be helpful here. Thanks!
These pictures were taken this morning:
Starting the last week of March, all I did was buy one of those $7 Jiffy "greenhouses", soaked the seeds overnight in hydrogen peroxide and water, then carelessly clumped too many seeds into some of the pellets. I figured, what the hell.... I probably won't be lucky enough to get any viable germination so I might as well put several seeds in each pellet to increase my chances. Then I placed the thing on the heating register for a week. To my surprise, I've been blessed with many little baby plants!
Now I've got some questions for you experts out there, and I'd very much appreciate your advice.
1) The instructions on the Jiffy greenhouse says to cut back or remove the smaller sprouts in each pellet to let the most healthy one grow. I'd rather loosen up the pellets a little and try to extract the extra sprouts and repot them rather than just kill them. When should I be doing this? Are they big enough yet to handle a transplant, or should I just forget it and do what the instructions say? If I can transplant them, how big of a pot/container should I put them in? I've heard you should avoid putting smaller plants in big pots.
3) How are they doing in terms of growth for my region? Are they behind schedule? Last year I put my store bought plants in the ground at the end of May. They were maybe about a foot tall. These look a bit small right now. Am I going to have a late growing season?
4) What are the chances of cross pollination of certain types? In my garden last year, there were also Cayennes, Hungarian Wax, Orange Habs, Poblanos, Chocolate Bells, and Green Bells. I have no doubt they could've crossed pollinated with the Orange Habs, but what is likeliness of the other types working together? Is it even possible to get a Hab/Bell pepper hybrid?
Any insight would be helpful here. Thanks!
These pictures were taken this morning: