My target transplant date is May 1 or a bit earlier. Iiuc, Tabasco take 3 to 4 weeks to germinate, jalapeño 2 to 3 weeks, and bell peppers about 2 weeks. I’m setting up a single tray in my incubator (at 29.5 degrees). I’ll plant the tabasco tonight, jalapeños next week, and the bell peppers the week after that. My hope is that none of them will overtake the others for space, and they’ll all be ready to go hardening off etc. at about the same time.
I wonder if you are allowing too long of an expected time for germination of your peppers. I sowed all of my C. annum and C. buccatum varieties of peppers last Sunday (a week ago), mostly 2 seeds per cell to make sure I didn’t have any “blank” cells. There is at least one seedling up in every cell I planted a jalapeno (Numex Lemon Spice, Zapotec and Farmers jalapenos) at this point. I have them all on a heating mat at about 85 degrees. I presoaked the seeds for about 10 minutes prior to planting in a solution of 80% water and 20% hydrogen peroxide (it is a 3% standard solution of hydrogen peroxide). Some other varieties of these species can take a little longer to germinate, but I’d be surprised if I didn’t have germination of all varieties well within 2 weeks.
I grew Tabasco last year and I don’t think they really took any longer than my other peppers to germinate. I do see longer germination times of some C. Chinense types, with the hottest of peppers sometimes seeming to take the longest time to germinate. Older seed or seed that was poorly stored can take longer as well.
I use a heat mat and even my hottest peppers sprout in 2-3 days at 90 degrees.
I find eggplant and the hottest chilis sprout best at 90 degrees, and sweet peppers, tomatoes, and most other things at 80. Once I bumped the temp to 90 my germination rates got a lot higher and sprouted in days.
Once they sprout I like to grow them at soil temps around 70-75 to reduce the risk of damping off.
Cheers. So you figure I should plant all now? I also double or triple seeded, with the plan to cut down any extras ( hope they don’t rot).
That’s a good idea to stop them damping off I’ll try that.
I would. I plant out by April 20 and all of mine are seeded now and most have germinated. Some plants may get a bit big by the time you plant, so you could wait another week if you have limited space and are growing them in smaller cells (72 to a flat) and don’t want to repot into larger pots before planting them in your garden. Since so much of their growth depends on lighting and fertilizing, I usually just hold back on fertilizing if they’re getting a bit ahead of what I’d like on growth.
Repeating what jxz says, by using a heat mat in the past, I haven’t had a long time (less than 2 weeks) for germination for quite a few of my super-hot peppers, including Habanero, Bhut Jolokia and various 7-pots.
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Ok great guys. This year I’m trying larger cells, so more room. I’ll bump up the heat to 90. So how deep do you plant the seeds?
i place 2 seeds on the surface of the soil then lightly cover with 1/4in. worm castings. the castings prevent dampening off and get the little guys off to a good start.
Yikes! I was like 1/2” - 1” deep.
By the way, It’s only been two days and there’s already a layer of white fungus over the tray soil. Cheap bag of potting soil and I mixed with about a third of perlite. Not really a fresh smell on the soil from the start. It is too wet and covered. I can try airing it out for a while.
Or is Is it best to toss it all and start over again?
they will still probably come up. another reason i use worm castings is mold for some reason doesnt grow on it. id just disturb the top of the soil a little to get rid of the mold. diluted neem oil will kill it if you add some to your water next time. it has anti fungal properties.
I used to plant around 1/4 inch deep, but have gone to closer to a 1/2 inch now. The advantage is that it is pulling up through the soil a little longer and is more likely to pull off the see coat completely, so less “helmet head” to deal with. They all come up cleanly now. 1 inch seems a bit too deep, but might be okay.
I use a very light starting mix with about 20% diatomaceous earth (Floor dry) and it seems to be working very well. The seedlings have no trouble emerging. I used to use promix but like this stuff even better for seed starting. I get it with free shipping when they have a promotion. If I had worm castings available, i’d definitely use them as well.
https://www.amleo.com/berger-germination-mix-3-cu-ft/p/BM2/
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Thanks guys
I tossed the old mix and bought some “expensive” seedling starter mix from the store. Glad I did as it’s a lot fresher no problems now. The first seedlings (jalapeño) just sprouted today. I’ll start venting the box out and drop the temperatures to 75.
Last year I used some clean stuff that contained coconut fiber, pear moss, etc, but The few that sprouted seemed quite stunted and never grew past the 2 leaf faze if I recall correctly. I’m guessing it didn’t contain enough nutrients in the soil or something.
In order to maintain the temperature I have a clear plastic lid on top of the box I made. The room is quite cold at night, but gets very warm with the sunshine coming through the window. I put a blanket on top of it all as an insulator and it works well until they’re sprouting. But now it becomes a bit tricky to keep venting the box at the right times to get rid of excess humidity and heat from the sun while not letting it get too cold or dry inside. Also maximizing sun, along with a couple of led lights I have.
Not sure there’s an easier way.
I’ve noticed some of the seedlings are quite pale and even getting discolored almost crispy leaf tips. The jalapeños are especially leggy. The direct sun is going through a corrugated glass and then through condensation-caked plastic lid, so I was hoping it’s not too powerfully direct. I really hope this soil type is OK for these seedlings. I had fabulous success just growing sweet peppers the first couple of years. But last year I lost all of them, possibly because the soil didn’t have any nutrients in it. This is my first time growing jalapeños and Tabasco from seed, as well as Sweet peppers. I may not have the same amount of time to continually baby them like I did the first couple of years.
The seedlings in the photos need more light. The are getting leggy.
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They just sprouted yesterday, so I can’t imagine that’s the problem.
I plant out May 10. If I start peppers now, they’ll be too big to fit under my grow lights before I can put them out.
I will probably start them around the 20th of this month.
To maintain a high soil and air temperature in a cold room, I’m covering it up at night, which increases the humidity around the plants. I’m taking the top off during the day to air it out and let the sun in. I’m wondering if this is shocking the seedlings and is causing the problems I’m having now?
I could try leaving the top off all of the time, but the air temperature will go quite low at night, and I’m not sure the heat mat will be able to keep up maintaining the soil temperature either.
Seems to be doing pretty good now. I’m getting almost 100% germination. That means I’ve got like 3 seedlings out of the same spot. I was going to cut two down, but I’m wondering if the plants can adapt and be more productive just to leave three in the same spot, despite overcrowding.
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Just an update. Everything turned out really well. I’ve got them all planted in the garden A few days ago and they appear to of taken pretty well.
A couple of notes: really glad I swapped out the soil for higher quality stuff. No mold problems. I know it would’ve been a nightmare otherwise. I’ll start them much later next year so that I can leave my garlic in longer. Also, the jalapeños probably should’ve been planted deeper as they were the tallest ones. The Tabascos were very small. The paprika is very vigorous.
A couple of notes: really glad I swapped out the soil for higher quality stuff. No mold problems. I know it would’ve been a nightmare otherwise. I’ll start them much later next year so that I can leave my garlic in longer. Also, the jalapeños probably should’ve been planted deeper as they were the tallest ones. The Tabascos were very small. The paprika is very vigorous.