Gardening: (2016– )

[KennethT]

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]

@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]

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]

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]

@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]

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]

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]

@KennethT

 

interesting questing .  I found this :

 

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

 

and learned a lot.

[KennethT]

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]

Pawpaw are nearly ripe!

[FauxPas]

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

Pawpaw are nearly ripe!

 

What will you do with them? Any special preparations? 

[FauxPas]

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]

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]

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]

@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]

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]

Aerogarden is going out of business:

 

https://aerogarden.com/home/