Some help for a lost newby?

[SeanW]

Thanks all. Yeah, won't have any problems with upsetting the GF with the peppers. She called it off! So that problem solved itself.

At this point in time over 90% have sprouted, and are looking pretty healthy altogether (my Jalapenos sprouted so quick and grew so fast I didn't have time to get enough light to them so they're a little more leggy than I'd like but so far they're not falling over). Need to pay attention to when it'll be time to transplant. I was planning on putting them into disposable cups for this one, then go to 6" pots. What's everyone's opinion on that? I checked some of the larger plants yesterday and it still doesn't seem to have a real strong root ball, but I'm scared of this "Rootbound" thing I've read about. Don't know what it is, but it sounds scary!

Starting to get really excited!

Thanks again everyone,
Joe

"Rootbound" is when the rootball has grown to large for the container they are in, and start to circle around and choke themselves off. 6" pots might be too small for your final pot, but definitely a good place to start. A good rule of thumb is that the larger the container, the more peppers and stronger the plant will be. You can get away with a smaller pot, but the plant will do better in the biggest thing you have room from. When you pull a plant and it's almost solid roots, you're rootbound. I think you can cut up the roots some, or just leave it.

Don't worry too much about the leggyness, that'll correct itself once they start to grow bigger.

Bhuts and other superhots are a bear to germinate, and can take forever to grow, so if you missed out on germing them, don't fret. What else are you growing?

Good luck!

 

[Al-from-Chile]

use a coffee filter rather than a paper towel, as the weave of paper towels is typically too loose - the root will become embedded in the paper towel if you let it go too long.

Ad agree - it's not too late to start seeds now.

if the root gets entangled, just cut around the roots ... and then plant the seedling/towel "thingy" in soil. the moist paper towel will be absorbed by the moist soil, and the roots will outgrow the little bit of towel in 3 days - so relax ...

brings up a good point: dont sweat it ... just pop the seeds in the folded and wet paper towel and put it into a ziplock bag ... add a dash of h2o2 (to avoid nasties), get all the air out and put it somewhere warm. DO NOT LOOK for at least 1 week, then check whats going on - you might see life .

nature has its own way, dont stand in this way, dont overdo things ...these are pepper seeds they often germinate without any humans being around, not your firstborn

(thats something i learned the last 2 months here on the forum :')


best of luck,
Al