Gardening: (2016– )

KennethT · September 20

OK - so practically all of the chilli seeds that I planted (4-6 seeds of 2 different varieties) have sprouted, quite surprisingly - which now leads me to a dilemma that I'm hoping you all can help solve.

Since these seeds are hard to come by (I brought them in from Indonesia - I've never seen them sold in the US), I've weeded them down to 2 seedlings of each type -I'm nervous about something happening to the plants before they fruit and can give me more seeds. Since they're grown hydroponically indoors, technically, they don't really compete for soil resources so it doesn't matter how many plants are in one container. So I guess the limiting factor is whether 2 plants close to each other will shade each other.

I was hoping to not have to pull the seedlings apart to limit the root stress - I could just take the puck of coconut coir out of it's cup and put it in a perfectly matching shaped hole in a larger container when time to replant. And then do that again when time to upgrade to the next size, etc.

So, to split the seedlings or not to split? Thoughts?

Photos here and here.

rotuts · September 20

@KennethT

Ive done seedlings ' back in the day '

I'd advise keeping the seedings on the longer side in the same pot

then replant more than two of each in separate pots ( one plant / pot )

and see how many make the transition to single plants

then decide how many single plants you can keep to get to the seed stage.

some single transplants might not make it , but you've maximized your single plan yield.

in more detail : let all the plants grow in their original containers ' for a while '

the timing is up to you for the transplant. the transplant the all into at least the same

size pot . make sure the soil in the original and the new pots is moist .

take the seedings out of the original pot , and gently break out the individual plants

and repot in at least the same size pot , wet soil , gently tapping down to eliminate

any air pockets , and keep the new ly potted plants moist , not wet

out of the sun for a few days . as soon as you think they are doing OK , then sun

and don't be in a hurry to discard any plant . keeping 3 is better than 2 ,

by over 50 % thats what insurance is for.

good luck.

Id bet there are more seeds in Indonesia , just in case . !

Edited September 20 by rotuts (log)

FauxPas · September 20

1 hour ago, KennethT said:

So, to split the seedlings or not to split? Thoughts?

I'm not the best resource on this. I would be agonizing over the decision! My tendency would definitely be to let them grow larger without splitting them. At some point, it might make sense to split and pot them separately but they should be fine for awhile yet, right? I'd be so afraid of losing both if I tried to transplant them separately at this phase.

Good luck with them and keep us posted!

haresfur · September 21

Part of my failure as a gardener is difficulty murdering thinnings. Right now I have some spinach doing pretty well even though there are more than one plant in a clump and some rather sad thinnings that I teased apart and planted separately. My tendency would be to keep them together since you are doing hydroponics. You can always train the plants to grow farther apart for light. And they should help each other pollinate

Senior Sea Kayaker · September 21

@KennethT

In my experience chili peppers are very delicate in the early stages and my strategy has been to thin as soon as seeds become visible sprouts until I have well separated seedlings that will grow in individual containers for maximum light exposure.

My experience has been in starter soil so it may not be applicable to a hydroponic system.

My Carolina Reaper plant from a transplanted seedling and my Habanero started from seed and transplanted to the outdoor garden and re-transplanted indoors and starting to show flowers.

Good luck especially as your peppers are not otherwise available.

KennethT · September 21

Thanks All. @Senior Sea Kayaker - thanks - I had read that chilli seedlings were delicate which was my concern for breaking them up too soon. I have plucked all but 2 of each variety - keeping the first 2 of each variety that germinated. I still have more seeds just in case but I'm sure that as time goes on they become less viable.

Does anyone know the best way to store the seeds for long term storage? I know that strawberry seeds can be frozen for many years and still be viable, but I don't know if chilli seeds will tolerate freezing temps or just refrigerator, or should they just be kept dry at room temp?

Senior Sea Kayaker · September 21

21 minutes ago, KennethT said:

Does anyone know the best way to store the seeds for long term storage? I know that strawberry seeds can be frozen for many years and still be viable, but I don't know if chilli seeds will tolerate freezing temps or just refrigerator, or should they just be kept dry at room temp?

I've successfully germinated seeds that have been stored for three years at room temperature sealed in a Ziplock bag and stored in my dark and dry gardening tote.

I've never tried freezing however I've never had a 'volunteer' tomato or pepper plant after the winter long freeze.

rotuts · September 21

@KennethT

interesting questing . I found this :

https://extension.umn.edu/planting-and-growing-guides/saving-vegetable-seeds

and learned a lot.

KennethT · September 21

6 hours ago, rotuts said:

@KennethT

interesting questing . I found this :

https://extension.umn.edu/planting-and-growing-guides/saving-vegetable-seeds

and learned a lot.

Interesting. Interesting that it says peppers and tomatoes are self-pollinating. When I grew my tomato plant indoors, I had to manually pollinate it with an electric toothbrush to vibrate each flower truss otherwise the flowers wouldn't be pollinated and would drop off. I assumed I'd have to do that with my chilli peppers. But I guess they mean self-pollinating in the way that there are not some male and some female plants or flowers and vibratory or wind action would be enough to pollinate - they don't need cross pollination from different plants or flowers.

gfweb · September 22

Pawpaw are nearly ripe!

FauxPas · September 24

On 9/22/2024 at 10:29 AM, gfweb said:

Pawpaw are nearly ripe!

What will you do with them? Any special preparations?

FauxPas · September 24

On 9/20/2024 at 12:38 PM, KennethT said:

I was hoping to not have to pull the seedlings apart to limit the root stress - I could just take the puck of coconut coir out of it's cup and put it in a perfectly matching shaped hole in a larger container when time to replant. And then do that again when time to upgrade to the next size, etc.

So, to split the seedlings or not to split? Thoughts?

Back to this question. I thought I would share what I did with my pepper seeds this year. I germinated them in a Sunblaster countertop greenhouse with LED light, using those little jiffy peat pots.

Guessing about actual heights here but once they were an inch or two tall and had some true leaves on them, I transplanted them to garden store black pots, 10 to 14" or so. All of them were doubled or tripled up. I left them to grow in those for a bit too long, probably. They were at least 6 to 8" tall when I separated some of them and put them in their own pots. They did have roots intermingling somewhat and I was as careful as I could be at that point but not obsessive. I left a couple of pots with two plants sharing.

Almost all my plants did well, though I probably could have got a better harvest if I had given them more space. But for an example, here is one that is still thriving despite my less than delicate handling and it was definitely separated from one or two other plants. I still have several other ones but they are slowing down due to cool weather.

I guess I would say they can still do well but maybe best to give them a chance to develop some decent roots and grow some true leaves.

dcarch · September 24

On 9/22/2024 at 1:29 PM, gfweb said:

Pawpaw are nea

On 9/22/2024 at 1:29 PM, gfweb said:

Pawpaw are nearly ripe!

How many pawpaw trees do you have?

Years ago, I planted two pawpaw trees because pawpaws are not self-fertile. Just when they were about old enough to set fruit, one tree died!😒

So I am planting four more. I am not taking any chances.😋

dcarch

Senior Sea Kayaker · October 2

The indoor garden is chugging along just fine. The outdoor garden is winding down although still producing tomatoes, the odd cucumber, long bean and the last of the bush beans.

The cilantro (bottom row in the middle) has done very well.

rotuts · October 2

@Senior Sea Kayaker

your indoor garden is impressive

fine looking cilantro . I was never able to get indoor cilantro to do very well

so Kudos your way.

dcarch · October 2

4 hours ago, Senior Sea Kayaker said:

The indoor garden is chugging along just fine. The outdoor garden is winding down although still producing tomatoes, the odd cucumber, long bean and the last of the bush beans.

The cilantro (bottom row in the middle) has done very well.

According to my confirmed scientific experiments and medical research, based on the AI calculations of the quantity and types of indoor plants you have shown, the annual cumulative CO2 absorbed and O2 generated indoors by the plants may add 7.239 years more to you life span.

I advise you to adjust your retirement financial plan accordingly.

dcarch 😁 😁 😁

MetsFan5 · October 5

Aerogarden is going out of business:

https://aerogarden.com/home/

chromedome · October 12

Cukes are about done, beans and tomatoes are still hanging in (froze another 5 kg/11 lbs of beans the other day). My late planting of peas came and went fairly quickly, but it was a worthwhile experiment. Kale and chard are still going, of course. My mid-summer plantings of cauliflower and broccoli are starting to head up (broccoli is farther along than the cauliflower), but it's just about time to start giving them some protection at night. Will harvest my buttercup and spaghetti squash soon.

Still haven't had a frost yet, despite a couple of advisories. I don't expect that to last much longer; the forecast has overnight lows down to 1 C over the next week (that's just above freezing, for the benefit of those Stateside).

Senior Sea Kayaker · October 13

@chromedome

About the same here. I've been clearing out stuff this past week and freezing much of it. Also started another batch of ferments as well as fridge pickles and made a large batch of vegetable soup, in a chicken and mushroom broth, to mostly freeze.

Just green tomatoes, chard and two surprising hardy zucchini plants left with the herbs.

Some areas on the island have had frost but so far not here.

chromedome · October 13

32 minutes ago, Senior Sea Kayaker said:

@chromedome

About the same here. I've been clearing out stuff this past week and freezing much of it. Also started another batch of ferments as well as fridge pickles and made a large batch of vegetable soup, in a chicken and mushroom broth, to mostly freeze.

Just green tomatoes, chard and two surprising hardy zucchini plants left with the herbs.

Some areas on the island have had frost but so far not here.

My summer squash (a pattypan, rather than zucchini) was still producing well but I pulled it up because it was smitten with downy mildew during one of my visits to NS, and I didn't want it to spread to my buttercup and spaghetti squashes. I have plenty in the freezer, shredded, and still a dozen or so on my counter. I'll probably use several of them in a casserole to go with Thanksgiving dinner later on today. Gotta pot my rosemary and bring it indoors, as well. Going to cover my bell pepper and "basket of fire" hot pepper and see how long I can coax them into surviving.

Also need to find my soldering iron and fix up the second of my T-50 tubes, which has been hors de combat for a couple of years. I suspect it's just a bad solder connection somewhere in the fixture, and they're easily enough fixed. We have several of those inexpensive 1000-watt equivalent LED lights that we use for our indoor plants in winter, but that's not a pleasant light to share a room with. The Sunblaster T-50s give a naturally warm full-spectrum light, and I plan to mount this second one vertically on a wall in our bedroom for a small tropical tree we have there. As a bonus, the light will also help with my GF's SAD.

It's unrelated to the current discussion, but once I find that bloody soldering iron I'll also be able to fix my matched pair of 24" monitors. That generation of LG monitors got a batch of defective capacitors on the power board, and both of mine blew within weeks of each other a year or so ago. I picked up a used 24" to replace the first one, and recently added a bought-new second monitor so I can finally have my two-monitor setup back, because I haven't been able to carve out time for the repair (and still have no idea which box contains the soldering iron, 2 years after we moved, but the number of remaining boxes has dwindled sharply). My current monitors aren't a matched set, and I have to say it was nice having identical monitors on both sides, but so be it. Once they're repaired I can probably sell the older LGs as a pair and make back most of what I spent on the new monitor.

FauxPas · October 16

@KennethT, I'm wondering how your pepper plants are coming along - hope they are thriving!

KennethT · October 17

16 hours ago, FauxPas said:

@KennethT, I'm wondering how your pepper plants are coming along - hope they are thriving!

They're doing well.

Keriting on the left, rawit on the right.

**Shelby** · October 17

They issued a freeze warning for Tuesday night and it happened. When I checked the temp just before 8 in the morning it was 26F. So, the garden is done. We went out and picked tons and tons of peppers and the last of the tomatoes. Oh and a few zucchinis of course lol. Gave away three huge bags of jalapeños and bells.

Not gonna lie, I will very much miss being able to have so many veggies to cook with. However, I'm enjoying not having to go out and work every morning.

rotuts · October 17

@Shelby

composting those GBP's ?

I can see you keep them separate from the Good Stuff.

gfweb · October 17

On 9/23/2024 at 10:36 PM, dcarch said:

How many pawpaw trees do you have?

Years ago, I planted two pawpaw trees because pawpaws are not self-fertile. Just when they were about old enough to set fruit, one tree died!😒

So I am planting four more. I am not taking any chances.😋

dcarch

I have two and a seedling.

Animals got my crop this year :-((

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