No_Shade555
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Germinating Pepper Seeds - I am a bit stuck

Hi all,

This is my first post on this forum. This is my first go at growing hot peppers and until now I thought I had been doing everything right. My pepper seeds are currently germinating in rapid rooters. The germination period started 6 days ago and so far only one seed has sprung. I have two questions:

1st: The person I spoke to at the gardening store told me to fill the propagator tray up to the line with water and just let the seeds sit in the rapid rooters until they pop. Against my better judgement I followed their instructions but I am not starting to worry that I am over saturating my pepper seeds with water and they will rot. I have been keeping track of temps and humidity over the last 6 days and my hygrometer reads on average 81 degrees F and a humidity of 99%.

2nd: I didn't expect one seed to grow almost an inch while the others haven't even broke ground. It seemed to happen over night. I want to add the seedling nutrients I have and begin to incorporate my lights but I am worried that I will be damaging the rest of the seeds that have not germinated yet while trying to keep my one seedling alive. Does anyone have suggestions on finding a balance? I feel it is way too early to be transplanting such a young seedling.

Any help would be much appreciated on these topics.

Thank you and happy growing!

imafan26
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What is the temperature? Hot peppers won't germinate unless the minimum temperature is consistently above 68 degrees. Some of the very hot tropical peppers like Ghost peppers prefer 80 degrees. I have not used propagators. However, some pepper varieties are harder to germinate. If you soak the seeds in about a teaspoon of potassium nitrate and a cup warm water for 24 hours, it can help speed germination. You can use the water to water your media.

Seeds should be kept moist but not soggy. Bottom water, but drain after 10 minutes and empty the reservoir before putting the tray back in. How often you water depends on the kind of media you are using and how fast it dries.

Peppers could benefit from a heat mat and some lights if you are germinating indoors.

I germinate peppers outside. I put them in community pots and they sit in full sun. I only water once a day. My daytime temperatures have been hot and cold . It has been as low as 61 and as high at 68. Peppers will grow slower in the cold. The peppers germinated when the rain stopped and the night temps hovered around 71. I have started sweet peppers since they will germinate in cooler temperatures and super chili, which pretty much comes up as volunteers and all I do is pot them up. Start fertilizing as soon as the true leaves open. Transplant when they are about 3-4 inches tall.

pepperhead212
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Welcome to the forum!

Peppers, especially the hot peppers from the tropics, like heat - 81° is pretty good, but I keep mine around 85°, maybe a little more. And peppers can vary greatly - my first sprout came in 4 days, but now is 16 days later, and one has not come up, and a couple have only one or two that came up (and these are all new seeds!), while the rest had every seed come up, and they are growing like crazy! I never used those rapid rooters for pepper seeds, but with the seeds I did try in them, I didn't have great luck, even the ones I do use Jiffy Pellets for, like squash and okra. Just my experience...

Peppers I start in strips of vermiculite, then transfer them to the pots, under the lights. Like imafan said, soaking in a potassium nitrate (saltpeter) solution helps, but I just do it about 12 hours, overnight.
ImageThunder mountain 4-5 First pepper sprouted from 4-1 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

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TomatoNut95
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I always start my pepper seeds indoors on the kitchen table in egg cartons.

The warmer pepper seeds are, the faster they'll germinate. But typically they can take up to 3 weeks. Keep the soil moist, but not soaking.

No_Shade555
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imafan26 wrote:
Fri Apr 16, 2021 10:45 pm
What is the temperature? Hot peppers won't germinate unless the minimum temperature is consistently above 68 degrees. Some of the very hot tropical peppers like Ghost peppers prefer 80 degrees. I have not used propagators. However, some pepper varieties are harder to germinate. If you soak the seeds in about a teaspoon of potassium nitrate and a cup warm water for 24 hours, it can help speed germination. You can use the water to water your media.

Seeds should be kept moist but not soggy. Bottom water, but drain after 10 minutes and empty the reservoir before putting the tray back in. How often you water depends on the kind of media you are using and how fast it dries.

Peppers could benefit from a heat mat and some lights if you are germinating indoors.

I germinate peppers outside. I put them in community pots and they sit in full sun. I only water once a day. My daytime temperatures have been hot and cold . It has been as low as 61 and as high at 68. Peppers will grow slower in the cold. The peppers germinated when the rain stopped and the night temps hovered around 71. I have started sweet peppers since they will germinate in cooler temperatures and super chili, which pretty much comes up as volunteers and all I do is pot them up. Start fertilizing as soon as the true leaves open. Trans;plant when they are about 3-4 inches tall.
Hi imafan26,
I really appreciate you taking the time to reply to my post. I would love to plant my peppers outside in my plot but sadly New England can be mean (we got 2 inches of snow yesterday). So to not miss harvesting times I decided to buy a tent and a nice set of lights and start them indoors. I currently do have them on a heating pad and the temp is steady at 81 F. I think my biggest mistake was listening to the guy at the gardening store and allowing them to just sit in the tray of water. As of yesterday I removed the water from the tray and am letting things dry out a bit. The next watering will include a gentle fertilizer (1-0.6-1). Should I assume that the other 7 seeds I planted are gone? or should I wait it out and see what happens?

No_Shade555
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pepperhead212 wrote:
Sat Apr 17, 2021 12:03 am
Welcome to the forum!

Peppers, especially the hot peppers from the tropics, like heat - 81° is pretty good, but I keep mine around 85°, maybe a little more. And peppers can vary greatly - my first sprout came in 4 days, but now is 16 days later, and one has not come up, and a couple have only one or two that came up (and these are all new seeds!), while the rest had every seed come up, and they are growing like crazy! I never used those rapid rooters for pepper seeds, but with the seeds I did try in them, I didn't have great luck, even the ones I do use Jiffy Pellets for, like squash and okra. Just my experience...

Peppers I start in strips of vermiculite, then transfer them to the pots, under the lights. Like imafan said, soaking in a potassium nitrate (saltpeter) solution helps, but I just do it about 12 hours, overnight.
ImageThunder mountain 4-5 First pepper sprouted from 4-1 by pepperhead212, on Flickr
Hi pepperhead212,
Thank you so very much for your reply! From what people are saying my first amateur mistake was to not soak them. My second was letting them sit in a tray of water for almost a week. At some point I would like to post a photo of my setup. It is a little difficult to keep things above 81 right now because its in the low 30s here and I am trying to save on heating oil :() . Should I assume I have lost the rest of my crop that hasn't sprouted yet due to over saturation? or should I wait and see what happens?

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applestar
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Personally, I would wait and see what happens after draining them. Peppers are finicky and can surprise you. Sometimes, I have pepper seeds sprouting LOOONG after I’ve given up on them from neglected seed starting set ups that would seem impossible — weather too wet or too dry — as much as 6 weeks later And only discovered because I finally got around to cleaning up piled up junk.

At this point, though, it might be getting late ... Even if these manage to sprout later, it might be too late to see reasonable harvest before fall and frost, so I would advise to only pursue in the interest of experimentation and further adventures in practicing and learning about pepper cultivation and overwintering the resulting plants. Peppers make good winter houseplants and can bloom and bear fruit if you give them sufficient light. Adult pepper plants are comfortable at temperatures that are comfortable for humans. More later if you decide to try. But here’s an example:

Subject: 2015-2016 Winter Indoor (Tomatoes, etc.) Garden
applestar wrote:
Fri Oct 16, 2015 9:29 pm
After having been subjected to the 50's and even occasional 40's low temps outside for a couple of weeks, the peppers respond to the replenished fertility of the new potting mix they have been planted in as well as the warmer indoor temps by rapidly ripening existing green fruits and bursting into new blossoms:

Image

...after they are finished with the fall flush of fruiting, I can expose them to lower temps and let them go dormant. Then they don't need as much light or water and will be easier to keep over the winter, until they start budding and leafing out in late winter/early spring.

After this weekend's frost and freeze, I'm going to keep an eye out for aphids, etc. in the indoor garden and order my first batch of ladybugs in November. :-()


You might also consider buying some started plants at planting time — when overnight temperatures stabilize above minimum 55°F.

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applestar
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Also, this is one way to save on space and find a spot to keep your pepper seedstarts warm until they germinate:
Subject: Applestar’s 2021 Garden
applestar wrote:
Thu Apr 08, 2021 4:35 pm

... I’m going to work on catching up with my seedlings — transplanted some of the seedzip-sprouted pepper seedlings today — these are going to be a bit delayed but I can’t put them outside for another month at least, maybe even 6 more weeks, so we will see....

Image
...I try different setups mostly out of curiosity (top of TV box, under or over CFL light, top of heater, heatmat, thermos of heated water in watertight container, etc.) — difficulty can be in maintaining a CONSTANT steady temperature, but fluctuation of up to +/- 10°F is acceptable). The tiny zip bags (these contain a bit of vermiculite, but I’ve tried other media) are kept in clear clamshells until the seeds germinate (root) and then sprout (stem loop and seedleaves starting to emerge) ...then a piece of straw is added to keep the bags from collapsing and to provide ventilation, and are placed under bright light for 16 to 18 hours per day ...they can be sustained this way until the seedleaves unfurl, but not much longer.

imafan26
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I think Applestar has good advice. If you have a short season, you are better off starting new seeds if you have space or starting with transplants. Some of the longer lived peppers will take 90-150 days to harvest.

Older plants will tolerate cooler temperatures although they may not bloom or do much growing in low light and cold conditions. As long as they are in a bright room that you are comfortable in, they should survive until they can go outdoors.

Peppers are heavy feeders, especially in production and some peppers can get quite huge. One of my superchili is about 5 ft and I have cut it down before. Longer lived peppers can be rejuvenated by cutting them back hard as long as they are healthy.

Peppers started from cuttings would be a way to multiply or save plants to overwinter.

I don't have a lot of space for starting seeds individually, so I start seeds in 4 inch community pots and transplant them later. I start about 5-8 seeds in a pot. Sometimes more.

Applestar has good luck germinating in zip bags and on spoons. I have used the paper towel method to test seeds and it works well too. Paper towels and zip bags speed germination because the seeds are kept constantly moist but not soggy and as long as they are in a warm, well lit place they usually will germinate faster than those planted in media.

No_Shade555
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applestar wrote:
Sat Apr 17, 2021 11:29 am
Also, this is one way to save on space and find a spot to keep your pepper seedstarts warm until they germinate:
Subject: Applestar’s 2021 Garden
applestar wrote:
Thu Apr 08, 2021 4:35 pm

... I’m going to work on catching up with my seedlings — transplanted some of the seedzip-sprouted pepper seedlings today — these are going to be a bit delayed but I can’t put them outside for another month at least, maybe even 6 more weeks, so we will see....

Image
...I try different setups mostly out of curiosity (top of TV box, under or over CFL light, top of heater, heatmat, thermos of heated water in watertight container, etc.) — difficulty can be in maintaining a CONSTANT steady temperature, but fluctuation of up to +/- 10°F is acceptable). The tiny zip bags (these contain a bit of vermiculite, but I’ve tried other media) are kept in clear clamshells until the seeds germinate (root) and then sprout (stem loop and seedleaves starting to emerge) ...then a piece of straw is added to keep the bags from collapsing and to provide ventilation, and are placed under bright light for 16 to 18 hours per day ...they can be sustained this way until the seedleaves unfurl, but not much longer.
Hi applestar,

Thank you so much for all of this information. You have some seriously good looking pepper/pepper plants. I actually have a decent sized (5-2-7ft) grow tent that I am thinking about doing the entire process in. Currently my seeds are in the propagator inside the tent on a heated mat which is really keeping things at a constant 81 F. As I mentioned before I totally messed up on the amount of moisture required for the germination period so I emptied the tray and will let them dry out slightly before adding more water. If/when this fails I am really interested in the zip lock bag technique you use for germination. I think I am going to try that next time because it seems as if rapid rooters are not the best medium for germination purposes. Currently this is my set up:


Image





Image



As you can see I have one champion that is looking pretty good. It is a Serrano and I am excited to see it continue to grow

imafan26
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What is in your seedling mix? It looks very dense. It is almost like a seedball the way it pulls away from the sides of the tray.

pepperhead212
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imafan26 wrote:
Sat Apr 17, 2021 7:39 pm
What is in your seedling mix? It looks very dense. It is almost like a seedball the way it pulls away from the sides of the tray.
I thought that was the problem when I used those Rapid-rooters. Just seemed like solid peat, or something like that, w/o perlite. Not sure if it's the same now, many years later.

I use a method similar to applestar's spoon in the bags with the paper towels - I put them in petri dishes. I used this method for my eggplants this year, plus my chinense peppers, which I started earlier than the rest. I also use this method for seeds I may have trouble with, like one tomato, that I finally got a sprout from after 11 days!
ImageExtra Hari eggplant sprouted, all seeds sprouted this year. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

No_Shade555
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imafan26 wrote:
Sat Apr 17, 2021 7:39 pm
What is in your seedling mix? It looks very dense. It is almost like a seedball the way it pulls away from the sides of the tray.
Those are called rapid rooters. I was told by a couple of people that is was the easiest way of germinating seeds. Now that I think more about it however, and with the information you all have given me, I do not think I will be using these for the next sewing because they are very dense and solid. The tiny seedling must really have to fight to break through the medium. The reason I used them is because transplanting is simple because the roots just grow into the medium and you simply just pick up the rooter and place it in a bigger pot with soil. Thank you again for the advice!

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You have received good information from folks that know what they are talking about. For me, I start pepper seeds the same as tomatoes with a couple of exceptions. Old pepper seeds don't germinate very well. The seeds need to be no older than three or four years old. I plant them in soilless mix with a heating pad under the tray with the temperature at eighty degrees F at a minimum.

My peppers get started two to three weeks sooner than tomatoes. The varieties chosen for my area are always early or mid-season since our growing season is too short for longer season peppers. I get good plant growth with longer season varieties but reduced harvest.

All the plants are grown under lights, on 16 hours and off 8. I re-pot at the two true leaf stage just like tomatoes into individual two inch plastic pots. Peppers go into the garden at least a week later than tomatoes since they like the soil warmer. I wait till the soil temp is 70 degrees F.

All that then hope I get a good crop. Me and peppers don't get along all that much. Great germination rates, good plant growth and health, so-so production on sweet peppers and better with hot peppers.

imafan26
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I am like you Paul. I get great hot peppers but unless I plant the bull horn or banana type of sweet pepper, I don't get great production on the sweet peppers. I can grow bell peppers, but most of them are not resistant to diseases and the birds like big red things like tomatoes and red peppers. I am having better luck planting the giant peppers like Chinese Giant, Emerald Giant, and Monster. I plant the giants because my peppers are never giant in size. I have a Great Stuff Bell pepper that has been a true warrior, but it is a small plant and only has three peppers that have taken forever to grow. They are a mini bell size less than 3 inches in diameter. They are supposed to be bigger than that. The birds have already made a hole in the one pepper that started to turn red. I have gotten decent sized peppers from Chinese, Emerald and Monster peppers. The first fruit touches the ground and the plants need help supporting the weight, but I have been able to get only 3-8 peppers from each plant before pests and disease take them out. Carmen and Fushimi Sweet are the most productive sweet peppers for me. I used to plant banana peppers and they did well but I haven't planted those in a while. I am trying some other varieties that have better disease resistance. I just bought seeds for Carolina Bell which is from the South. I'll try Right Stuff again. I planted it in July so it did well in the rain and was resistant to pepper spot and the fungal diseases. It might grow better in warmer weather.

Normally peppers don't like to grow or produce peppers in the cooler months. But this past winter was a little crazy with cold fronts interspersed between unseasonaly warm days. Even my hot peppers were producing flowers and fruit when they normally only ripen fruit but don't bloom. Bell peppers don't like as much heat as the hot peppers and they need good leaf cover or they get sun scalded. They will germinate at cooler temperatures than hot peppers. They are the ones that I can usually germinate at a consistent 68 degrees night temperature. My day temps are usually in the 70-85 until about May. Then the temperature for summer will average 88 degrees and July-August will be around 91 ave. It will be hotter in the city and at sea level. The hot peppers are unfazed, but I don't have too many bell peppers that have been able to survive the heat and the onslaught of pepper, spider, and broad mites. Peppers have to be caged and tomatoes have to be netted to keep the birds from eating all of the fruit.

No_Shade555
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Hi Gents,

Thought I would post some update pictures for you all since you have been so helpful to me. I think drying them out slightly was the right call. We have lots of light sprouting up. I see a fourth little guy coming to life and will probably be fully sprouted by the morning.

I do have another question for you all. I am starting to notice that the ends of the leaves are curling slightly. Should I be worried about this? what is that an indication of typically?

Thanks,
-Shade

Image
Image

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applestar
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Seed leaf tip damage in pepper seeds are most often due to them being stuck in the seed shell a little too long ... generally due to struggling to fully extricate and sprout. So these are probably consistent with what’s been happening.

If they are curling but not browned or drying, then wait and see if they stretch out.

No need to be concerned since seed leaves are not critical after true leaves grow out, but if you see damaged area expanding, you might snip those tips off with sharp tiny scissors (imho — embroidery scissors should be a part of your seed starting toolkit)

btw — these look a little stretched out — you may need to position the lights closer .

pepperhead212
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Those hulls sticking on the pepper seeds can be a problem, and some varieties seem more prone to this than others. I have had some varieties of which every single seed sprouted with the husk stuck on the leaves, preventing them from opening up! (I usually didn't grow those again!). I usually plant several more than I need of each variety, but with the ones I have only a few seeds of, and get this problem, I try just putting a drop of water on them to soften them, before replacing the lid each time, and if they still don't open up, I get one of my eye loupes, and two very small tweezers, and attempt to separate the hulls carefully - works about 75% of the time.

No_Shade555
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applestar wrote:
Thu Apr 22, 2021 10:14 pm
Seed leaf tip damage in pepper seeds are most often due to them being stuck in the seed shell a little too long ... generally due to struggling to fully extricate and sprout. So these are probably consistent with what’s been happening.

If they are curling but not browned or drying, then wait and see if they stretch out.

No need to be concerned since seed leaves are not critical after true leaves grow out, but if you see damaged area expanding, you might snip those tips off with sharp tiny scissors (imho — embroidery scissors should be a part of your seed starting toolkit)

btw — these look a little stretched out — you may need to position the lights closer .
Hi applestar good to hear from you again!

Thank you very much for the advice. I am learning a lot very quickly with the help of you and others. I will definitely purchase a pair of those scissors and keep an eye out. So far everything is looking nice and green and healthy. I will agree that they are stretching a bit much to get light so I have moved the light closer. I may actually switch to my much larger, more powerful set of lights that I was going to use later on when they got bigger.

Thank you,

-Shade

No_Shade555
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pepperhead212 wrote:
Fri Apr 23, 2021 1:45 am
Those hulls sticking on the pepper seeds can be a problem, and some varieties seem more prone to this than others. I have had some varieties of which every single seed sprouted with the husk stuck on the leaves, preventing them from opening up! (I usually didn't grow those again!). I usually plant several more than I need of each variety, but with the ones I have only a few seeds of, and get this problem, I try just putting a drop of water on them to soften them, before replacing the lid each time, and if they still don't open up, I get one of my eye loupes, and two very small tweezers, and attempt to separate the hulls carefully - works about 75% of the time.
Hi pepperhead212,

I will certainly give the water droplet technique a try. Scared to touch them in anyway at this stage because they are so fragile but if they don't fully open I will have some problems I am sure.

Thank you,

-Shade

No_Shade555
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Hi guys,

Want to keep updating you all on the progress so far. As you will see I am pleasantly surprised with how my peppers are doing. The Serranos are the clear champions and looking super strong. I think most of these will be going out to the garden on Memorial day, while a couple will stay in the tent as an experiment.



Image



Should be smooth sailing from here hopefully. Will be watering every other day as needed. The only other thing I haven't worked out for the pepper grow would be adding nutrients/fertilizer.

Will keep posting to this thread with more updates!

Thanks,

-Shade

No_Shade555
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applestar wrote:
Thu Apr 22, 2021 10:14 pm
Seed leaf tip damage in pepper seeds are most often due to them being stuck in the seed shell a little too long ... generally due to struggling to fully extricate and sprout. So these are probably consistent with what’s been happening.

If they are curling but not browned or drying, then wait and see if they stretch out.

No need to be concerned since seed leaves are not critical after true leaves grow out, but if you see damaged area expanding, you might snip those tips off with sharp tiny scissors (imho — embroidery scissors should be a part of your seed starting toolkit)

btw — these look a little stretched out — you may need to position the lights closer .
Hey applestar,

I noticed that some of my pepper plants are starting to droop and turn a slight yellow on some of the leaves. I thought it was due to overwatering so I skipped a watering cycle to see what would happen. Didn't see much of a change so now I am thinking potentially underwatering? It can possibly be a nutrient deficiency because I am using ocean forest soil which is packed with lots of good stuff. I also thought maybe they were getting too much light so I raised the LEDs slightly which didn't seem to help much either. Any thoughts?


Image


Image


Image

imafan26
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Yellowing can be both from watering issues and nutrients. For me, I would have potted up the peppers to 4 inch pots by now. Once the peppers have true leaves they can come out of a seed starter or compot. I don't add fertilizer to seed starter mix except maybe some osmocote because it is in my basic potting mix.

Seeds don't need any fertilizer until the true leaves come in. Once the true leaves come in the roots and leaves will need to be fertilized.

Young plants will be set back if you don't pot them up. Top growth is matched by the root growth. I would pot them up into at least a 4 or 6 inch pot.

I would start to feed them regularly. Water should not be on a schedule but based on need. When plants are very tiny compared to the soil volume they need less water, but plants, especially in pots will need more and more water as the roots take up the space in the pot to meet the demands of the plants.

You should always check the roots of the plants by lifting them and seeing if they are loose or beginning to crowd around the pot. You want to transplant when you have a good root mass, but avoid the roots being forced by the confinement of the pot.

I don't do organic in pots. Some other people may have fertilizer recommendations that work.
Organic fertilizer needs to be converted by soil bacteria before it becomes available to plants. There is not any native soil bacteria in a sterile soil less mix. And there won't be enough of a population to convert enough organic fertilizer to be self sustaining. Young plants will demand a lot of nitrogen when they are actively growing and organic nitrogen is the hardest thing to get to meet plant needs. It is why I prefer to use complete slow N fertilizer in potted plants. Synthetic slow nitrogen fertilizer will still deliver more nitrogen than the same volume of organic and I don't have to fertilize every week.

No_Shade555
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Hi There everyone!

Wanted to give you all an update and ask about the strange early budding I am starting to see on my plants.

As you can see I am starting to get flowers budding which is incredibly odd to me simply due to the fact that they haven't even been planted for 50 days. Even my Carolina Reaper which I have been told from multiple sources that it could take upwards of 100 days to fully mature is already budding. Is there something I did wrong here? Did I wait to long to transplant in to bigger pots? did I not feed them enough with high N fertilizer? Or is this just how the process begins and they will continue to grow? It is to my understanding that once the flowering stage has begun the plants will not longer expend energy on thickening and creating more branches. For a first time grow I guess I shouldn't be upset too much because some yield is better than no yield for a first time grow. I am honestly just shocked, I didn't expect to see flowers start for another month.
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Hope everyone is doing well and staying safe!

Thank you,

-Shade

imafan26
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Peppers are slow growing at first then they seem to just get a growth spurt all at once. I don't know why your plants are setting flowers so early, but there is a difference in days to maturity when you are counting days for plants sown in the ground and those sown early indoors. The indoor ones usually take longer to get bigger, but for me at least flowering on short plants usually indicate that it was not potted up in time or that it wasn't fertilized when it needed it.

pepperhead212
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Shade, Were those plants extremely rootbound when you transplanted them to the larger pots? That will trigger the early blossoms in many peppers. I had three chinense peppers that were actually the slowest growing of the ones I planted early, so I didn't transplant those to much larger pots, like the 11 others. By the time it was getting warm enough outside, they had take off in those little pots, and by the time I put them out, one had a single bud on it, but it hasn't developed any more - once planted outside, it started growing, with no more buds. Hopefully, yours will do that, too.

No_Shade555
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imafan26 wrote:
Fri May 28, 2021 7:32 pm
Peppers are slow growing at first then they seem to just get a growth spurt all at once. I don't know why your plants are setting flowers so early, but there is a difference in days to maturity when you are counting days for plants sown in the ground and those sown early indoors. The indoor ones usually take longer to get bigger, but for me at least flowering on short plants usually indicate that it was not potted up in time or that it wasn't fertilized when it needed it.
Hi imafan26 good to hear from ya,

I totally agree with you that seeds sown early indoors take much longer to mature which is why I am so perplexed. The plants I have in the garden are much smaller and have zero signs of flowering. In a perfect world I would expect the complete opposite. The Serrano variety that I have growing were the first to really take off. and yes they definitely were root bound. That being said the three Serrano plants that were hardened off and then planted in the garden last weekend are not as big and are not flowering. The Reaper and the scotch brain strain however were not root bound and I believe I transplanted them at decent times. The scotch brain strain is not showing signs of flowering but the reaper already has a few buds showing. I think I am going to just stay the course and continue to give them fertilizer that is High in N to try to convince them to keep growing. If that doesn't work after a week or two I am going to switch fertilizers to something with a little more K and embrace my first harvest lol.

Thank you for all the gardening wisdom,

-Shade

No_Shade555
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Posts: 26
Joined: Fri Apr 16, 2021 6:58 pm

pepperhead212 wrote:
Fri May 28, 2021 7:39 pm
Shade, Were those plants extremely rootbound when you transplanted them to the larger pots? That will trigger the early blossoms in many peppers. I had three chinense peppers that were actually the slowest growing of the ones I planted early, so I didn't transplant those to much larger pots, like the 11 others. By the time it was getting warm enough outside, they had take off in those little pots, and by the time I put them out, one had a single bud on it, but it hasn't developed any more - once planted outside, it started growing, with no more buds. Hopefully, yours will do that, too.
Hi pepperhead,
I will admit that yes the Serrano plants were EXTREMELY root bound. I am still a novice and lost track of how quickly they just took off. routes were coming out the bottom of the tray. however the scotch brain strain and reapers were not. I assumed 3 gallon pots would be big enough for a final home for the indoor guys but maybe not? would you recommend moving up to a five gallon next time? obviously I need to transplant them sooner which is part of the learning curve. The same plant variety from the same seed bag that were transplanted at the same time but were put in the ground outside are not budding at all. Just very strange behavior from my guys in the tent lol but this is why I did this to see the differences between full indoor and half/half moving outdoor.

Thank you so much,

-Shade

pepperhead212
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Shade, 3 gallons should be large enough for the serranos, jalapeños, and most of the smaller to regular sized peppers. But for most habanero and other chinense peppers, you'll want something larger - at least 5 gal. To give you an idea of how much larger those get, I grow 4-5 non-chinense peppers in Earthboxes - 2 cu ft, which is about 15 gallons - and at the end of the year, they pull out easily. Habaneros, OTOH, I only grow 2 per EB, and even then, by the end of the season, they won't pull out! I just leave 3" of the trunk in there, over the winter, to let the rest rot, and even then, there's a lot of roots to pull out.

imafan26
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Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

I agree with Dave. The annual peppers can do fine in something smaller in the 3-5 gallon range. Really big and long lived peppers like superchili, cayenne, Hawaiian chili, and Thai peppers that get over 5 ft tall and live over 5 years, I put them in my biggest pots, 18 gallons. They actually live longer in the ground than in the pot. I do pot them up in stages. I don't have to worry about cold temperatures, so my peppers can potentially get very big.
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No_Shade555
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Hi friends!

I apologize for not being as active as I should be. Had to re locate for work and the move was rather crazy. I also found a way to break my tent in the process. After a little tape and twine action we are back up and running and I have some updates for everyone.

@pepperhead212 I know in your last post you advised moving up to at least a 5 gallon pot for the chinense family but I have decided to just let them stay put in the 3 gallons for this experiment. If I get zero peppers from them than so be it but I really just want to learn and see what happens. I have learned so much from you and everyone else on this forum and I am incredibly appreciative of all the support.

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As you can see this guy as really taken off and has a decent amount of flowers going. I will say though that I am concerned for two reasons. The first is that the flowers seem to be soooo very small which would indicate that I am going to get tiny peppers? also I make sure to give him a shake every morning to pollinate new flowers but I have noticed some flowers falling out in the process. I am starting to think the fertilizer I have been giving them is too heavy on the Nitrogen perhaps? (5-4-2) Also would it be beneficial to supplement with some calcium/magnesium?

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Below is my 7 pot hybrid and my reaper plant. The reaper is doing some strange things and seems to be growing outwards in one single direction. Not sure what is up with that but it is very interesting to say the least.

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imafan26
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Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

The size of the flower does not really indicate pepper size but be aware that with peppers there is such a thing as pepper load.

The bigger the pepper and the longer the peppers take to mature, the fewer peppers the plant can support. Habanero has a pepper load of about 20 while superchile has a pepper load of about 200-500 depending on the size of the plant. For plants with larger peppers like bells, I use the small cone tomato cages to support them or the plant will flop over from the weight of the peppers.

Peppers need regular feeding in production. Nitrogen is needed most in the beginning while the plants are growing and smaller amounts as the plant age. Phosphorus and potassium needs depends on what is already in your soil. Growing peppers in pots, a tomato or citrus fertilizer works for me.

pepperhead212
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Location: Woodbury NJ Zone 7a/7b

That term pepper load makes sense - only so many peppers that can grow on a plant, full sized, especially larger peppers. I had a couple of peppers I started early one year, and by April I had to transfer the large plants to other lights, to make room for the trays. Turns out, it was under HPS lights I put them, and I didn't know at the time that the red of HPS triggers flowering, and these plants ended up with a huge number of flowers! I pulled well over half of them, but there were sti a couple hundred, and the peppers just did not grow to full size - not even close. However, I never noticed the blossoms getting smaller - they were still normal sized.

No_Shade555
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Joined: Fri Apr 16, 2021 6:58 pm

Hi Friends,

My apologies for not being as active as I should be on here. I wanted to give you all a "final" update on the plants.

Below are plants from both indoors and outdoors. The experiment between indoor tent and outdoor was incredibly educating:


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The indoor plants and peppers were much larger in size which I pretty much assumed would happen due to the never ending rain in New England. However, the outdoor plants fruit set about 1-2 weeks earlier which I found interesting. Overall this experience was fantastic and I couldn't have done any of it without the help of everyone who was nice enough to reply on this thread.

I am a big believer in always giving back to those who have helped you so I would like to extend an offer to anyone who would be interested in some of the first batches of my hot sauce. I will send it to you and pay for shipping.

I am looking into a much larger walk in tent so that I can increase my yield output due to the fact that making hot sauce has a way of eatting up a lot of the yield. I also would like to grow other varieties and other vegetables as well through the winter.

Again thank you to all of you! you have been incredibly kind with your words of encouragement and wisdom.

Happy farming,

-Shade

No_Shade555
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Posts: 26
Joined: Fri Apr 16, 2021 6:58 pm

Hi imafan26,

Not sure if anyone is watching this thread anymore but I thought I would ask a question for something I am noticing on my Serrano plant.

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as you can see here my peppers are getting this darkish brown spotting on them. At first I thought it was end rot but it is superficial to the skin and can be scraped off. the inside the of the pepper is fine nice and healthy and green. Do you by any chance had any clue as to what this could be? All research leads to end rot but they are not rotting it is almost like a discoloration.

Thank you,
-Shade



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