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What I have learned in 2011

H

halo_players_junkyard

We so far I have learned :

If it's not broke, DON'T FIX IT

I changed from 72cells per flat to 128ish per flat. I figured That I could plant a single seed per cell and not really be losing any space for those that don't come up. And this would prevent losses of plants that are tangled together. But in reality it risked all on my plants because the roots grow straight out the bottom and cause nightmares when transplanting because the plants take such a beating.

Anyone else have screwups to share?
 
Learning point: Neighbors who say "Oh, that pepper plant looks fun, can I have one?" have no idea what they're getting into, and should be pre-armed with the peanut butter trick sometime prior to harvesting.
 
halo, we don't have enough time to discuss all the mistakes I've made this year - and I've been growing chiles for about 15 years now! Probably the best lesson I have learned is to keep an open mind and learn from others - but just because they are doing it doesn't mean you have to. Like you said, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I've tried 5 different germination methods already just this year. And I finally took others advice on soil and ditched the miracle grow. My plants seem much happier, but damn you have to water a lot more often!
 
Not as much as a screw-up as it was just laziness. I had been doing some outdoor vegetable gardening an not so much chilies. But this year I had decided to do both, was ready in time and was looking for chili seeds. Well time past an ended up too late to plant. but I do have some chili plants that are 1-2yrs old. Plus I started some new ones seem to be doing pretty good! Next Year I'm ready!!!
 
I learned to not promise your wife, "honey, that's all the plants, I swear...... No, no more. If I grow more I'll take you on a vacation."

......now we are saving for a trip to the beach........
 
I learned that seedlings dont like the same mix that your full-grown plants like.
I also learned that Pro Mix is a growers best friend.
Lastly, I learned that the easier you make things on yourself, the more you can grow! i.e.drip irrigation for home garden, sprinklers for the large garden.
 
Learned that when you plant enough seedling to fill up your grow area... they will almost ALL germinate and make a larger area necessary :rofl:
 
woody3says said:
I learned to not promise your wife, "honey, that's all the plants, I swear...... No, no more. If I grow more I'll take you on a vacation."

......now we are saving for a trip to the beach........
Click to expand...

I prefer the just a "few" more line, lol. just cause that few is the same few that it was a 100 plants ago doesnt mean anything.
 
Mine is along the same lines as Alphaeon....I didn't want to plant 3 seeds per peat pellet because I didn't want to cut any when multiple seeds germinated in the same pellet, so I planted 1 per pellet & just planted extras. Well.....almost everything germinated & now I have 200 plants all 4" - 6" tall under lights now. I will have PLENTY to give to family & friends.
 
......that even though your plants look great and have been outside you MUST watch weather changes. Just a change from partly cloudy, low 80s to sunny and 90 can do some damage. I burnt my plants and am now nursing back to greenness.
 
....If you tell your wife i will only add one or two things to the garden, that really means at least ten! Started off with one 72 cell flat of peppers now have 5 1/2 with 13 different types of peppers and about a dozen other types of vegetables :)
 
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