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seeds Seedlings producing peppers! What will happen when transplanted in the spring?

H

Hells Bells

Hey guys and gals,

My seedlings I started a couple months ago are flowering and producing peppers under my T8's. Most of my Ajis, my Rocotos, and a few of my superhots have half a dozen flowers and a few peppers popping up. I've been topping all my plants constantly do they are only approx 8" tall and 6-8" wide. Their growth has slowed down considerably since budding. They are all in Solo cups at the moment.

My question is... What will happen when I put these things in the ground in a couple months?? Will they take off again and grow out or stay stunted as they are?? Should I plan to seed out a second round of seedlings because these ones will be "done"?? I've invested some considerable time in these 250 plants with great hopes for the spring. I just don't want to plant them outside in the spring and be disappointed whe they stay "stuck" at the size they are now... :)
 
     Once you plant them out, their roots will tell the rest of the plant to resume vegetative growth. They're only producing because they think they've grown as big as they're gonna get. Just start picking off the buds and flowers a few weeks before you plant out so they have more energy and nutrients available to start growing a good root system.
 
You are sitting pretty... just continue to pinch the flowers and early peppers until the are in the ground... and then you can let them go.    And no you do not need to sow a second crop fro later in the season.... they are not determinate plants... they are indeterminate perennials, meaning that they will continue to grow and produce peppers for years and years if you provide them the proper conditions.
 
     OP, you got me thinking. Maybe allowing plants to flower and fruit is an easy way to keep plants from getting too big before they get planted out. It sure sounds easier than picking off all those buds and constantly pruning them to maintain a small size. I feel an experiment coming on...
 
Well... this is an old debate... but I like the analogy of how you wouldnt let your children have their own kids at a young age just because they can* physically.  They need to mature to a point where they could support a child... and indeed not endanger the mother during the process of childbirth.
 
Hells Bells said:
Hey guys and gals,

My seedlings I started a couple months ago are flowering and producing peppers under my T8's. Most of my Ajis, my Rocotos, and a few of my superhots have half a dozen flowers and a few peppers popping up. I've been topping all my plants constantly do they are only approx 8" tall and 6-8" wide. Their growth has slowed down considerably since budding. They are all in Solo cups at the moment.

My question is... What will happen when I put these things in the ground in a couple months?? Will they take off again and grow out or stay stunted as they are?? Should I plan to seed out a second round of seedlings because these ones will be "done"?? I've invested some considerable time in these 250 plants with great hopes for the spring. I just don't want to plant them outside in the spring and be disappointed whe they stay "stuck" at the size they are now... :)
Click to expand...
 
 
dash 2 said:
     OP, you got me thinking. Maybe allowing plants to flower and fruit is an easy way to keep plants from getting too big before they get planted out. It sure sounds easier than picking off all those buds and constantly pruning them to maintain a small size. I feel an experiment coming on...
Click to expand...
 
I think pruning branches is a better way to keep plants smaller which will end up bigger and more productive by redistributing the auxins early in life instead of relying on a stressed and root bound plant to keep itself small. A lot of the time they recover when planted out, but sometimes they dont.
 
Picking flowers off is like trying to stop someone from bleeding to death by removing their heart and then having them grow 2 or 3 new hearts to take its place.
 
Once you get tired or unable to keep up with the flower picking, which you will, youll end up with a plant trying to put all its energy into producing a zillion tiny little pods instead of growing more roots and vegetation for a while. At that point you just wasted space in your garden.
 
 
I would go read up on how to prune and then do that because taking branches off is in some ways like putting the plant into a bigger pot.
 
But maybe that just my experience with it and other people can pick flowers off without them exponentially multiplying or getting tired of picking them?
 
You can slow down the growth by lowering the temperature, providing a bit less light, and only using ferts very sparingly.
 
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