Starting my own this year!! (Help PLEASE!!!)

stevedigs04

stevedigs04

Hello Everyone,
 
This year I decided to give a crack at starting my won plants form scratch!!
 
I have no idea how! lol, I purhcased a 72 slot green house heated pad contraption from Amazon seems pretty nice, have a good south facing window and an empty room so they are not in anyones way.
 
My question is say i plant oh i dunno 20-30 plants, right now ( February in London Ontario) will they overgrow their little cells too soon for planting outside?? When should i xplant them into bigger pots or red cups??
 
I also started a bhut at the end of the season last year in a red cup it grew awesome until about 4.5 inches then just stopped all together (then i got lazy and it died lol).
 
Just curious about the basics ( planting watering sun xplanting ect, my main goal is to grow a small variety of "exotic" (peppers you cant buy pre-started from canadian tire) and also grow bigger plants then the ones I can buy at the local store to give myself a head start on a semi-short growing season here in Canada.
 
Thanks for any info and help guys!!  below is a link to the greenhouse thing I got (sorry if linking is not allowed)
 
http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-CK64060-Hot-House-Heat/dp/B0006VK68E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393103609&sr=8-1&keywords=hot+house
 
Steve
 
They grow quite slowly for the first month and a half, so you should be fine for outside. They stop when they get rootbound, so no much issues there. Sprinkle with water daily until 3 or so inches, then go to normal watering.
 
I don't have any answers for you but take your time and read every thread on here that you can. This is my first season also. I got my seedlings in the same hot hot as you. My wife's plants are already sprouting by not my pepper plants yet.
 
In Ontario:  keep the plants in the tiny cells until they have 2 pairs of true leaves (besides their first cotyl leaves)
 
                   Then plant into larger (a good size is 20 oz.) cups that contain good soil so you most likely will not have to re-pot until you plant them in the ground.  Put the replanted plants into a tray and then under grow lights.
 
Best is to water from the bottom.  I usually soak the tray for 1/2 hour and then remove the excess water from the cups.
 
Do not overwater or you may have a variety of problems.
 
Agree with OK!  You may have to pot up in 3rd or 4th week.  Bottom watering is great as Cath says and every two to three days maybe.
 
Good luck!
 
- Get a thermostat for the heating pad.
- Use the heating pad only for germination - once they sprout, remove the heating pad.
- Get a fan on them (gently, oscillating preferred) as soon as possible once they sprout.
- If they get direct sun through a window from day 1, no problem. Otherwise, get some lights on them asap once they sprout.
- Ditto to above - bottom-water, and don't let the water reach the surface of the soil. The fan plus bottom-watering will help reduce chances they'll get the damping-off fungus.
- Again ditto - do not overwater! Peppers like to be moist but not soaking. Once they get maybe 4-5 inches tall, let the leaves wilt just slightly between waterings.
- You do not need to use fertilizer at all while the cotyledons are attached. Once they fall off, only use fertilizer very sparingly to avoid them getting fertilizer burn. To start, use at 1/10 strength given on the label.
- They do require care, but the thing that kills plants more often than not is over-fussing with them.
 
That's a good start.... Have fun with them!
 
One more thing - other than over/under watering, the next biggest thing that kills young plants is failure to harden off properly when moving them outside. There are many posts on this site about hardening off, but the basic gist is to gradually expose them to the great outdoors if they've been growing inside. Depending on their light exposure while inside, you may only want to leave them in full sun for a mere half hour a day to start with - just depends on how sunny it is, really. The big things to shelter them from are wind and sun, but if you have a heavy rain you'll want to shelter them from that for a while, too. "Shelter" can simply be keeping them on a covered porch when they're not fully out - just depends on your environment.
 
I agree with everything everyone said here.   
 
Then you are gonna want to provide the best soil possible for your plants.  you can either buy it, or mix your own.  I kinda do a little of both.  Just be sure whatever you provide, u provide at an appropriate time.  This is so you don't burn them.  I like to start with some basic potting soil and mix with some coco coir or peat moss...  I also add worm castings, rock dust etc.  I like whatever affordable organic materials the plants need.  When they get bigger I'll provide them with extra food (compost tea).  
 
oh but before that, make sure your seedlings don't dampen off.  I had a problem with this my first grow around.  the first thing i did when i see a sprout now is to quickly transfer them into their new home, i used solo cups.  two cup method, so i water from the bottom.  
 
This is also my first year growing from seeds.  I have been following this forum for a few months now.  don't be afraid to ask questions or problems when they arise.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top