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seeds Starting from seed
- Thread starter DevilDuck
- Start date
DevilDuck said:
Are you going to start them outside? Pepper seeds need to be warm to germinate, so I don't think I would try it outside until the nights are staying consistently above 50 degrees. (Well, actually I wouldn't try and start them outside at all. I'm too protective of my leeeetle pepper babies.)
If you're going to keep them inside, pick the starting container of your choice (peat pots, trays, plastic pots, whatever)and grab a bag of commercial seed starting mix and have at it.
Honestly, I'm not sure how much detail you're looking for, but just remember heat, light, and moisture make for happy peppers. If you'd like me to expound at great length on how I grow peppers, I'd be delighted to inundate you with details
I use a real good quality seed raising mix and flat seed raising trays. Sit them out where they get first light in the mornings - and constant sun through the day (you have to balance those two). Keep the tray moist - doesn't matter if it dries out for an hour now and then. Leave it there...what sprouts will survive in your environment.
In about 3 weeks you will have sprouts - leave them another 2 - 3 weeks - then into small pots (100 mm).
In the small pots I use a good quality Potting Mix with Dynamic Lifter - I mix it with some water soaker but that may not be necessary where you are. From there you wait till the roots grow out the bottom of pot & either plant out or bonsai or move to larger pot.
I have a 90%+ success rate this way.
Good luck
In about 3 weeks you will have sprouts - leave them another 2 - 3 weeks - then into small pots (100 mm).
In the small pots I use a good quality Potting Mix with Dynamic Lifter - I mix it with some water soaker but that may not be necessary where you are. From there you wait till the roots grow out the bottom of pot & either plant out or bonsai or move to larger pot.
I have a 90%+ success rate this way.
Good luck
Hi Devil Duck,
I hope this is of some use:
http://www.thechileman.org/guide_starting.php
Good luck and remember to let us know how things are coming along.
I hope this is of some use:
http://www.thechileman.org/guide_starting.php
Good luck and remember to let us know how things are coming along.
I'm sort of inexperienced with this myself.
I bought one of those peat pellet trays and put the seeds in there to germinate. I have a heating pad on "low" underneath the seedling tray. I have a cheap grow bulb and a CF bulb in clamp lights on a timer ... on 14 hours a day...about 12 inches from sprouts.
So far so good! Now I just need to harden 'em off a little at a time expouse to sunlight then stick 'em in the garden.
Nagaland here I come! ::crosses fingers::
I bought one of those peat pellet trays and put the seeds in there to germinate. I have a heating pad on "low" underneath the seedling tray. I have a cheap grow bulb and a CF bulb in clamp lights on a timer ... on 14 hours a day...about 12 inches from sprouts.
So far so good! Now I just need to harden 'em off a little at a time expouse to sunlight then stick 'em in the garden.
Nagaland here I come! ::crosses fingers::
chuk hell said:
I hope you mean 1-2 inches instead of 12
Also, what do you mean by "grow bulb"?
I have a wee bit of experience gardening under lights, CFLs & T5 fluoros in particular. Keeping the bulbs no more than 3 inches away from the plants is key to getting good growth with minimal stretching. The plants will stretch enough once they're transplanted, no need to start them off leggy.
See how short and fat the seedlings below are? The largest leaves are as big as my palm. It has been 1 month and 1 week since I planted the seeds in the peat plugs. They are growing under 2 2 foot T5 fluorescents that are never more than 2" above the tops. (Red Savina = left, Caribbean Red = right)
Light obeys the inverse square law, meaning that if you double the distance you quarter the light intensity. Therefore a bulb that produces 2000 usable lumens @ 6" will only have 500 usable lumens at 12". Keep in mind that a fluorescent light will not burn a plant unless it physically touches it.
Since they run cool and you can keep them within inches of the plants, fluorescents are ideal for starting and growing seedlings. Remember, cool blue-white(6700k) light is best for seedlings & vegetative state. The warm-white(2700K) bulbs will work, but the plants might be a bit leggier.
Also, an oscillating fan is a MUST HAVE item for any indoor growing, even if it is just seedlings. Set it so it goes back and forth across the plants and blows just hard enough to lightly shake them. This causes the main stem to thicken up, if you do not do this, the stems will be considerably thinner and weaker.
Click here for a good primer on a lot of things one needs to know about grow lighting, fluorescent & hid
DevilDuck said:
You can do that too, lol.
I tend to overcomplicate things a bit because I'm somewhat of a nerd. I'm always trying to tweak every little thing to get optimal results, when you can do just fine with almost no effort.
I'm interested in hydroponics and indoor cultivation because I like how you get to control every aspect of the plant's nutrition and environment. I've wasted WAY too much time researching both those topics on the net, so I got plenty more links to confuse you with lol.
DevilDuck said:
I would suggest seed tray & seedraising mix first - it'll give the roots a better start. Throw a little potting mix in the hole when you plant them out too.
bentalphanerd said:
bentalpha - are you using Dynamic Lifter pellets or the D/L compost mixture? what is your mixing ratio?
Yates - 30 litre bag of dynamic lifter Potting Mix...about $8 at Bunnings.
I mix it in a bucket with about 2 cups of Richgro EZI-WET.
When planting out - dig a hole twice the size of the pot the plant was in & fill it with the same mix. Water in well. Im currently growing basil, snow peas, green beans , corn, and tomatos under level 5 water restrictions using the same method.
I mix it in a bucket with about 2 cups of Richgro EZI-WET.
When planting out - dig a hole twice the size of the pot the plant was in & fill it with the same mix. Water in well. Im currently growing basil, snow peas, green beans , corn, and tomatos under level 5 water restrictions using the same method.
DevilDuck said:
I get volunteer peppers that pop up around the garden sometimes, but always later in the season, and they never produce as heavily.
And that is, of course, if they can out compete the lemon basil, but I doubt you have that problem. (Lemon basil has naturalized in my yard, and pops up every where. Stuff's like a weed, and I get clumps 4 and 5 feet tall by September if I don't go at it with the weed eater.}
I don't know how early the soil out your way warms up, but you might want to at least consider starting them in pots outside so you can protect them from weather extremes.
I have a really short growing season this year. It hasn't been over 45F all night yet this year. The good thing is I can have plants outside, with fruit, up until mid October.
I think I'm going to wait until May 1st to get things started really good. That's what most of the local Indians (Native Americans, if you're PC) tell me to do.
I think I'm going to wait until May 1st to get things started really good. That's what most of the local Indians (Native Americans, if you're PC) tell me to do.