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seeds Starting From Seed - Where, When, & How?

TheJollyRancher

TheJollyRancher

Hey all,
I have started chiles a few times before from seed and will do so this year...probably going to start mine the 1st/2nd week of 2009...

What about you? Where, When, and How?

what seed starting mixes have you had success with?

custom mixed? plugs? miracle grow? just throw them in the ground?

I think I am going to try some of those Burpee Super grow cubes and try them in a few 6 packs I have as well as some plastic cups and see how those work (apparently quite well)...

Lets hear it...
 
Believe it or not I have already started a few of mine LOL

So far I have started.. Aji Escabeche (Peru), Aji Rocoto (Peru) and Bolivian Rainbows.

I'll start my others after the first of the year.

I use cups and place 2 -3 seeds in each cup. If all the seeds grow I just separate them into their own cups. Naturally I will need to move them into bigger containers as they grow.
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Oh and I just use common run of the mill potting soil. It does the trick or at least it has for me
 
Brian,
I did mine this year like that (same cups) and they did ok...i started them a little later than I would have liked which may have contributed to my frustrations...

Going to get a good jump this year though....
 
The kinds that take longer to bear fruit probably should be planted early especially for those that live in cooler climates with short growing seasons unless it is planned to grow inside. Actually the 1st week in January is perfect. I just got the gardening bug is all lol
 
Last year, I started a mixture of Annuums, Frutescens, Pubescens, and Chinense the last week of January...this year, the only ones I will start at the end of January will be the Chinense and then I will start the other species the end of February...all will be started in my germinator...here is a pic of my grow area this past February 27th...seeds will be started in the germinator on the right hand side of the pic...temperature is kept constant @ 86F with a remote bulb thermostat (bulb is in the soil) and humidity stays about 70%....remember, air temperature can always be different than soil temperature and soil temperaturet is what you want to control......get above or below 86F and the germination percentages drop....too cool is much better than too hot...it seems like germination drops off drastically at temps above 90F and is almost nonexistant above 98F....there is a more gradual germination degradation noticed as the temperature drops below 86F into the high 70s...

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I use standard 72 cell seed starter trays with Hoffmans Seed Starting Mix. I have tried several different seed starting mixes and like this one the best...very light and holds water pretty good....

for those that use jiffy pellets or other peat based "plugs"...when you transplant them, remove the outer "stocking" and that will allow better root growth...lesson learned
 
Thats is a very impressive set up you have there AJ. If I had more room I would do what you are doing so for now I guess the kitchen will have to due
 
thanks guys...

I am running thirty-eight - 40 watt t-12 fluorescents (1520 watts) in combinations 4100K and 6500K

Five 43 watt CFL (215 Watts) that are 3000K (I think)

heat in the grow box, four 100 watt halogen

heat in the germination chamber, four 100 watt halogen

power to all four bulbs increases the temperature in the grow box by about 10 degrees every 10 minutes and I can easily keep it at 86F in the day and drop it to 60F at night...I have a standard 5 dollar house thermostat mounted on the inside of the grow box that runs the lights

got the same heat setup in the germination chamber but I use the remote bulb thermostat for that because I want to know soil temperature and the probe sticks in the soil...

sorry all..just got to ramblin' there..
 
I've learned most of what I know from right here...word searches turn up all kind of interesting information...or information you need to know about growing peppers...again, I data mined this site and about 40 other ones before I came to see this was the right site to learn how to grow hot peppers....period...and on top of all that, the members are pretty awesome too....

just thinking...if you are interested in the planning of the grow box and see how I did it...read this thread....

http://www.thehotpepper.com/showthread.php?t=4191&highlight=germinator
 
AlabamaJack said:
I use standard 72 cell seed starter trays with Hoffmans Seed Starting Mix. I have tried several different seed starting mixes and like this one the best...very light and holds water pretty good....

for those that use jiffy pellets or other peat based "plugs"...when you transplant them, remove the outer "stocking" and that will allow better root growth...lesson learned
Click to expand...

Damn those frigging jiffy plugs. They CAN produce, but if you let the roots poke through the outer felt/net stocking you either have to let it be, constricting root growth, or you can risk ripping a root apart. I learned this the hard way when I left a 72 count tray when I went off to work for a couple weeks. I came back to find the whole thing completely useless, as all the roots had intertwined with each other, poked into neighboring plugs, and generally just made an unusable freaking mess out of the whole thing. I now alternate the 72 count tray in a checkerboard pattern and I don't leave the thing for long periods of time.

Lesson learned.
 
you are right hinky...if you leave them in the cells too long, the roots will definitely intertwine...I transplant to 3'" square containers once I see roots coming out the bottom of the cells..
 
I used the jiffy pellets and as soon as I saw the first leaves I would plant them in a 4 inch pot. That way they grow in the pot. I did however left the fabric around the pellet. Did I make a mistake?
 
Stinky said:
I used the jiffy pellets and as soon as I saw the first leaves I would plant them in a 4 inch pot. That way they grow in the pot. I did however left the fabric around the pellet. Did I make a mistake?
Click to expand...

i did that one year, it does work but i just found that at the end of the year when i was pulling up my plants for the compost heap the roots just hadn't made it very far... if the roots were already poking thru the netting i would just leave it, it'd cause you more trouble to try and fix, but if not you can still pour them out, tear off the netting and repot. just, y'know, gently...

AJ - a pleasure to see your set up as always :)
 
I used mostly jiffy pellets last year but always took the netting off and moved them to bigger glasses as soon as roots poked out the bottom or the tops had 2 sets of leaves. Better to move them early then let them strangle in the netting.
 
I don't see the point in using jiffies if you have to remove the netting, its so much easier to just use cells or rockwool. I find the jiffies work better for plants with more aggresive roots like tomatoes.
I start most of my chinenses and pubescens in mid January and my annuums and others in February or March, and I use pro-mix or other similar soilless mixes often with additional perlite. I also gave up on using cups years ago since small square pots work much better, they last forever, and they are only pennies each.
 
Wow. I have only grown some Californian Wonder capsicums from seed, and I just put them straight into the ground. They grew. I thought that was the end of the story. I now feel inadequate.:oops:

Im sure when I try my hand at chinense in a few months they will give me a hard time, but so far the weather has been kind to me!
 
Egg cartons work great. I transplant as soon as they sprout.

I poke a hole in the bottom of each cell and set them in 1/4 inch of water.

I have 20 or so sprouts already.

The Earlier the better as far as when, space is the only concern. Plants get bigger while inside the earlier you start them. I always run out of lighted space, but flourescents are cheap to add a couple.
 
Is there a post around for someone who would like to try growing from seed? Where do I get the seed, best time to plant. I grow a lot of veggies but no chilis. Any advice? I am here in Florida and would like to plant in Jan.
 
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