Seedling pepper help!

[Jeremy brua]

My peppers are a few weeks old and the leaves are starting to yellow. Should I start fertilizing them now that they have their true leaves?

[jal_ut]

A little more information please.

Type of soil
Pots or in the garden?
Indoors or outdoors?
How much light do they get?

[Jeremy brua]

They are in starting mix, inside, and about 12-13 hours of light.

[jal_ut]

OK, I would start to give them some fertilizer. Get the kind you mix with water and follow instructions. You could also start to harden them off. Put them out in the sunshine for a couple of hours a day.

[Jeremy brua]

Thank you, I was told I could be over watering. Which I don't think is the case but how much should I water them? They are in the small 6-pack cups.

[rainbowgardener]

If they are a few weeks old and have a couple pair of true leaves, they really need to get out of the little cells, at least in to 3" pots.

And seed starting mix is sterile, has NO nutrients. So yes you need to be fertilizing them starting from as soon as they have the first true leaves.

Personally I don't bother starting seeds in seed starting mix because of that. I just start them in regular potting soil with Miracle Grow. The seeds don't need the MG to germinate/ get started, but it doesn't seem to hurt them and that way the nutrients are there when they do need them. Gets them off to a better start and avoids the problems you are having now.

Once they are in 3" pots, best way to water is from the bottom. Put the pots in a tray and just put a little water in the bottom of the tray and let the soil wick it up.

But I have to say for being in PA you are starting peppers quite late. They are slow growing. I plant my pepper seeds, indoors under lights, at the end of Jan. At the stage your plants are now, you are going to have trouble getting a lot of peppers before frost sets back in, in the fall -- although you didn't say what kind of peppers. I don't grow hot peppers, but I think they are a bit quicker to produce than bell peppers.

[Jeremy brua]

I'll put them in 3" pots today. I staryed them in the middle of march. I wanted to start them sooner but I was told to wait. I wont do that next year!

[rainbowgardener]

You didn't say exactly how big they are or how many pairs of leaves, but I'm thinking something didn't work exactly right.

Here's a picture of pepper seedling


[img]https://i602.photobucket.com/albums/tt102/rainbowgardener/green_pepper3-16.jpg[/img]


at about 8 weeks from seed planting.

Did you start your pepper seeds on heat mats? How long did they take to germinate?

[Jeremy brua]

I just got back from the local greenhouse. I found out I don't know junk about starting plants! Not sure what they do to thier plants. Thier plants at 3 weeks old are twice the size of mine. Oh well I hope I get somthing out of them, even if its just a learning experance.

[mscratch]

just repot or transplant in your garden, they will take off... don't be so hard on yourself, those greenhouse plants are mass produced and in an equisite controlled environment!