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seeds Seed to producing in 2 months.... Any hope in hell?

Wulf

Wulf

So I just got some replacement seeds for my 0% germinating chocolate habs, and six of them hit the dirt yesterday. Probably save the rest of the seeds for next year's season.

I probably know the answer, but is there any hope in hell of seeing a single pepper from these before winter hits, even assuming a delayed frost? I know ever so slightly more about plant care this time than I did for my first batch, so they'll have a better start, but I don't see them producing in time.

Just thought I'd stretch out for a little false hope =]
 
Ask one of your Canadian herbatoligist neighbors, they probably have some nice secrets for you...or you can always ask them to grow it for you in their nice little greenhouses. ; )
 
Like everyone else said, doubtful, especially for a chinense. Your best bet to get pods this season would be to find a quick growing variety that produces pods indoors. My golden cayenne and white bullet habanero had no problem setting full sized pods underneath 105W CFL's earlier this year before I transplanted them; they might be a couple varieties to look into if you go that route.
 
Your best bet is to purchase an indoor grow tent and a good grow light nd grow indoors when fall sets in! Otherwise you will have to scratch that idea and wait till Dec to germinate and start all over again. Best of luck in whatever you decide!
 
is there any hope in hell of seeing a single pepper from these before winter hits, even assuming a delayed frost?

if you can get a blossom you may be able to get a "single pepper"

if you get all the growth energy focused on 'only' that it may oblige you ( think prune to only one pod and a few leaves for first try?).

the supplemental lighting will very likely be your best (and most useful strategy) chance

please try it and report your success later

good growing

:party:
 
when is your first frost?
 
From my experience with Habs (in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). It was 21 weeks, sprout to first fruit. That would be Dec. 6, 2012 for you. If you provide 40 degree F or above through that date (with adequate light) you can do it. But it might be easier and better to grow a healthy potted plant, overwinter it and have a head start for 2013
 
I'm in Cleveland, OH, so not as far north as you are, but we still have a much shorter growing season than those in the southern U.S. The rate of growth for each of us varies so much - things like soil condition, nutrients, water, sun.... That said, if you start a plant from seed today and it makes it, yes, you could possibly get some pods before winter hits - not many, but some.

Whether you get more after that is largely up to you. When the cold weather hit here, I carted my plants (in pots) indoors, and brought them back out when it warmed up. (Note peppers don't like their feet to get below 50F.) When it was too much of a hassle to do that, and/or it got too consistently cold, I brought them indoors for the rest of the winter.

I used to say two, but now I say you have three options if you're going to bring them inside:
1) Severely prune, cut back on light, water and nutrients, letting the plant go dormant until the spring;
2) Do nothing to them (other than maybe a light pruning), keeping them like any other house plant until the spring; or
3) Do nothing to them, keep feeding and watering as seems needed, and FLOOD them with light, warmth and good air circulation.

Clearly you'll get no pods with #1, may get a handful of pods with #2, but have a pretty good chance of keeping pods going with #3. But it's not an inexpensive thing to do, if you go for #3. You have to decide for yourself what you're willing to do, in terms of cost, time, and effort.
 
I planted my chocolate Habs around this time last year, overwintered them, and just started getting fruit 3 weeks ago. Basically you are SOL for this season. But, if you veg them for the rest of your season, and overwinter as I did, you will have a wicked head start next year and you should get a nice harvest.
 
To be frank, it is not worth the bother at this point... you'll be doing all the work with hardly any reward even if you bring it in and manage to get the first round of peppers finished.

Then again, with a grow light inside your plant will have the head start it needs to produce better next year with your short growing season.
 
So, I'm trying a different soil than my last batch, and this stuff seems to have... solidified after getting wet. Anybody else experience anything like that?

Will the seeds push their way through? The soil's not 'too' solid, but definitely more of a single piece than a powder. Do they have any force when they rise, or are they entombed for all eternity in this crappy soil?
 
^ Seems like it is compacting too much, I would get the seeds out and mix in some peat and whatever else you have handy that has a more open structure than the soil, then resew them. It is quite possible the seeds can poke through if they aren't very deep and it is kept damp but the plant may not do well in it and you could even end up with root rot if it compacts too much.
 
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