Hello all
I’ve started 120 sweet pepper seeds, but they seem to be taking a long time. The 2 that came up so far seem ‘burnt’ on the leaf tips.
I did this last year with flying colors. Difference this year is instead of potting soil I used just peatmoss/vermiculite(or perlite, not sure which). Is this the trouble? Anyway to save them?
Thanks
Could be too wet, especially if vermiculite and not perlite. Perlite is little white balls, vermiculite is flaky.
Peat is very acidic, it is buffered in seed starting mixes. Sounds like they could be too wet too.
Do you use heat? I use a heating pad with mine. I keep it about 83F.
I agree with @Drew51,warm temps def reduce germination time on peppers and tomatoes, but you have to pay closer attention to watering b/c a heating mat dries stuff out quicker.
A bit of mold showed up, so could be too wet? I kept it as wet last year. In fact, it was old potting soil so I had some mushrooms and other junk coming out. Had to air it out a bit but I had Full germination rate.
Acidity I wondered too. This is not a premixed soil.
I’m also heating it to that temp.
The other differences are last years seeds were from 2 grocery store peppers we ate. This year’s seeds are from last years crop off those. I selected a cross section of 6 peppers’ seeds. I dried them according to a guide, and they appear to have stored ok.
I did accidentally pack the mix too hard, and had to really push the seeds in with a small stick. Perhaps that damaged them? But that wouldn’t explain the scorched tips of the 2 that came up.
Seeds do need ‘wet’ so I sprinkle the surface after planting with a mixture of 1 c sand + 1/2 tsp micronized sulfur to avoid mold and all goes well.
Anne, as last year, I sealed the trays in a plastic bag to retain heat / moisture. I air it out as much as I can until they sprout. They are constantly wet.
How long is a long time? I don’t really use any special lights or heat sources and peppers usually sprout for me in 16-21 days.
Not sure, maybe a couple weeks ago. I just get the sense somethings off. Tonight I dug a couple of the seeds out to take a look, and they just look dead. The 2 that came up don’t look well.
Really not sure what to do.
temperature has a lots to do with germination speed. I always put heating pad under, can see little plants less than 2 week. In your situation, I suspect it is combination of wet and low temperature
Go buy some seeds and try again. You have to have peppers!
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Temp water seem ok. Worked great last year.
I still have tons of seed, but will just repeat what I did on this batch as I can’t see any better way!
Here’s the only survivor. It’s scorched on the leaf tip. The other one burned off to the root. None other look like they’ll sprout.
Normally id say it got sun burn or dryed out, but defiantly neither.
Any ideas?
I can try and plant more seed in these holes, wait 2 weeks. Do exactly the same. May be too late season to bother this year.
get some new sterile potting mix
Would bad seeds act like this?
Peppers germinate only in warm soil. I use a covered seedstarter placed over a heat mat and keep the sun off it until they begin to sprout and I can lift the cover (or things can get too hot).
Start with a good mix- the easiest thing is to purchase one of the peat-lite mixes with perlite and peat moss some limestone and a material that helps the peat absorb water. No fertilizer is needed until real leaves emerge.
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It looks way too wet to me. Hard to tell. I have raspberries germinating and it dries almost completely out on me, which is the problem I have. Seems to dry quicker than I thought!
Here are some onions mixed in peat and DE. Moisture is about right.
I think pit moss is too acidic for the most vegetables, you should buy the good mix. You can try to sprout your peppers. Keep seeds on a dish inside paper towel moist but not in the water with plastic bag on the dish. Put the dish in the warm place, top of the heater, refrigerator, sunny window, heat mat, etc… Keep them moist and warm, look after 4-7 days. If the seeds are viable you will see the tiny sprouts and then you can plant them. If they are not viable they’ll just rot.
I have a temp water controlled covered starter, moist and 83 degrees 24/7, so no troubles there.
I know this is acid peat, it’s leftovers from my blueberries. Would acidic peat kill pepper seeds? Does acid ‘burn’ the seedlings as pictured?