• If you need help identifying a pepper, disease, or plant issue, please post in Identification.

seeds Starting seedlings in cold weather areas

Hey everyone!  My grow list is finalized and seeds are all here, now just need help to decide on a few things.  According to our county horticulturist(a friend knows this person) our frost free date is May 20th.
 
Question 1).  The slip of paper that came with the seeds(refining fire) stated 8-10 weeks, that puts us in mid March.  Does this sound about right, or is earlier better?
 
Question2).  My indoor grow area is limited, and I want to maximize the amount of seedlings I can get out of it.  What is the best size pot that can handle the 8-10 week old seedlings?
 
I will be putting up a glog once I get things settled, but for now here is my list:
 
Already started(house plants, first attempt at indoor gardening under lights, failed, outgrew my space and pots and dropped all the flowers ):
Chocolate ghost
Butch T Scorpions
Red savina
Caribean red
Fatalii Jigsaw
 
Seeds in hand:
Carolina reaper
Fatalii Red
Fatalii Yellow
Aji Fantasy
Murupi amarela
Yellow 7 pot primo
SJB7
Yellow 7 pot lava
Apocalypse scorpion
Bhut Jolokia
 
Thanks for the help!
 
 
 
Start them now. the earlier the better if you have light to support them. I just use fluorescent shoplights set real close to them.
16 Solo Cups should do just fine.
Welcome and Good Luck!
 
I am in Ohio. I started mine last weekend, but there are many who don't start nearly so soon. I think plants may be a little larger with an early start but often for me, once in the dirt they just sit there until the weather is good enough anyway.
I start my plants in rootcubes and then transplant to Solo cups(with holes in the bottom). This is where most will stay until planting time. Some plants, if too large will be moved to four to six inch pots.

You should contact Freeportbum for some same-state advice.

Good luck with your grow and welcome to your new addiction!
 
I started my pepper seeds in peat pellets last weekend (Chicago).  They will be transplanted into solo cups under flouros until plant out in mid May.  By that time most will (hopefully) be  16-18" tall and will take off once planted in the ground.  Note:  Read up on 'hardening off' as I have lost plants when I failed to do so in the past.  
 
Good luck, and may 17 be a bountiful year.  :)
 
This is my first indoor grow year, and space can be crucial, I've learned. I'm in zone 3, northwest Minnesota, so my frost free date is closer to June 1, but I planted my first peppers in November, mostly out of the knowledge that it takes a very long time for some varieties to ripen pods.
 
My main planting will all other peppers, hot and otherwise, is set for March 1, with a few small exceptions, mostly baccatums.
 
My November starts are doing okay, but not without slight complications. My aji amarillos are already trying to flower. Part of me wants to let them. I'm glad I'm waiting for other varieties.
 
If you have a short season like I do, some of these plants WILL want more time than you'll have, adding more complications come September. A greenhouse is a huge consideration.
 
Good luck!
 
Keep in mind that there's no such thing as a 'standard' 8-week-old plant.  The light and temperature they get has a huge impact on their growth rate.  Start now.  If they get too big, just cut the light or reduce the lighting duty cycle.
 
stettoman said:
This is my first indoor grow year, and space can be crucial, I've learned. I'm in zone 3, northwest Minnesota, so my frost free date is closer to June 1, but I planted my first peppers in November, mostly out of the knowledge that it takes a very long time for some varieties to ripen pods.
 
My main planting will all other peppers, hot and otherwise, is set for March 1, with a few small exceptions, mostly baccatums.
 
My November starts are doing okay, but not without slight complications. My aji amarillos are already trying to flower. Part of me wants to let them. I'm glad I'm waiting for other varieties.
 
If you have a short season like I do, some of these plants WILL want more time than you'll have, adding more complications come September. A greenhouse is a huge consideration.
 
Good luck!
 I too started plants in November with the hopes of growing pods indoors.  I ran into issues with pots size, some nutrient confusion, and time issues.  All those plants were about 2' tall and flowered vigorously, but they all dropped.  Due to timing, I retired most of them to house plants, where they are continuing to grow.  They will have a huge head start come May.  Thanks for the responses.  At 3.75", I should be able to fit 60 solo cups or deep jiffy pots in my grow room.  That should be enough for me to give away/sell a few, plus have a glorious outdoor garden.  I do plan to look into a green house this summer.  I had originally planned to finish my basement and put a full scale indoor garden in there, but that investment might have to wait a little longer. Too many hobbies, not enough money.
 
Thanks again! 
 
1. 8-10 weeks is probably the minimum. more like 12 weeks. especially if you are a new grower. you might mess up and have to restart some of them. so it's ok to plant now.
 
2.  3in deep pots or solo cups are good choices.
 
+1 on post #3... Freeport Bum is your man for growing advice in Maine. He just crushed it last year with some monster plants and a bumper harvest. Cheers!
 
OK, one more general question. For germinating at a larger scale, so you use the wet paper towel method, or start them in a smaller seed tray and transfer to pots? I was thinking of using flat Tupperware with paper towels, and using my lights as a heat source. Seems easier than bags, and I already have the Tupperware. And maybe more productive than straight into soil?
 
smallbutfierce said:
OK, one more general question. For germinating at a larger scale, so you use the wet paper towel method, or start them in a smaller seed tray and transfer to pots? I was thinking of using flat Tupperware with paper towels, and using my lights as a heat source. Seems easier than bags, and I already have the Tupperware. And maybe more productive than straight into soil?
 
That should work... Chuck (OCDchilihead) in the Colorado mountains is starting his seeds that way.
 
 
t's a good thing to start early. We also have danger of last frost lifted somewhere around mid May (usually a lot earlier, but you only need one cold night to kill all your chilies). I have learned it's best to start early, because when the summer finally arrives and chilies take off, they should be prepared and start flowering. Two years ago, we've had unnaturally crappy summer throughout the whole summer. Rain fiesta each day, every day. In the end, none of my chilies that need so looong to finaly get ripe made it. I had to pick half ripe pods from sad looking plants. Last year we've had superb summer and I still have frozen chilies in my freezer, waiting for me to use them. The thing is, after the fiasco, I decided to start the seedlings earlier. In March. This year, I'll try starting in late February, because I missed whole month of pretty warm temperatures. :)
 
Back
Top