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Pepper growing advice-Please help!

15 years ago

Hello everyone... I'm a new member seeking advice about pepper growing conditions. I'm currently growing Bhuts, Fatallis, Scotch Bonnets, Scorpions, 7 Pots, common Habs, Serranos, and Jalepenos. They have all germinated and I'm wondering the best conditions for these to be transplanted into. I got Supersoil brand cactus mix for potting soil as it is supposed to be good for aeration. I also got fish emulsion fertilizer that is 5-1-1. Lastly, I got two kinds of bonemeal... On is MG 6-9-0, the other is Vigoro 1-11-0.

So... Do I have the right stuff? Is one bonemeal better to use than the other? Is there anything you would suggest adding or subtracting to this repertoire such as perlite or vermiculite for example? Should I use the same methods for growing each plant or should some be treated differently? Any other suggestions are greatly appreciated!

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Comments (2)

zanderspice
15 years ago
Will you be growing these under lights for a while? If you have them indoors, you might want a different mix to absolutely ensure it's bug free. I used the cactus mix one year, and it is great for outdoors. This year, I've moved my seedlings in to coco coir/perlite, they are very happy and I haven't had a single fungus gnat or critter on them.

I'm not a fertilizer expert, but I think the Vigoro bone meal might be better, it's slow release but the MG numbers have a lot of N. If you are growing organic, you might want to get some seaweed based fert, Espoma or Dr. Earth to supplement the fist fert to give them something extra later in the season.

Personally, I'm blown away by the coco/perlite combo with some GH flora series chemical fertilizers. I'm sure they could be transplanted to soil later on. You could also use a peat/perlite/vermiculite mix which is light and sterile and with a little bit of fertilization, they can grow indoors until transplant time.

A lot of this depends on your climate, and how much attention you can give them during the day. If you are in a mild climate and can move the plants around during the day, you can bring them outside much earlier and might be fine going right into the cactus mix.

Good Luck, you've got a great mix of peppers lined up. I'd recommend adding Thai chilies to that list next year. Very hot, vigorous and bear fruit for a long time.
macheske
15 years ago
Peppersgalore,
Sounds like you're off to a good start. Honestly, you'll figure out what works for you. I don't worry about some of the things that you're concentrating on, based on your post. Bottom line, when starting peppers, keep them fairly dry. They don't like wet feet so let them wilt a little between waterings. Any decent fertilizer should do fine. Just make it very weak (I use 1/4 strength every month). A decent seed starting mix works well to start seeds and a decent potting mix is typically used to repot to. Concentrate on what works and you'll learn quite a bit. Here's a pic of a couple of mine. I'm experimenting on number of hours to leave lights on. The one on the left has been under 16 hours per day. The one on the right has been on 24 hours per day. Wish you best of luck.
Rick

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True that the more heat, the better for peppers, but they absolutely need as much sun as you can give them outside. If you are concerned about the cool nights, you can always move them inside or cover them at night. I would start hardening them off right away. (search for hardening off on this forum and you'll get some good advice). Yes, you were right in thinking the pots are not big enough. So while you are hardening off, start planning on getting some larger pots and more potting mix. When you repot them you can bury the one with the sideways stem deeper. Support may be needed for the plants when you get them outside depending on how much wind you get. Next time when starting from seed, take the cover off when you see the first signs of germination. A bottom heat source helps to shorten germination time. The seedlings need to go under light right away - probably you'll need to provide supplemental light since window light in winter months at your latitude is not strong enough. You can get a grow light or even a fluorescent shop light, but you'll need something. (You might want to check out the Growing from Seed and Growing Under Lights forums here.) Peppers don't like a lot of fertilizer, but they do need some, especially when growing in containers.
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