Pepper seedlings - do they need heat ?

[Smokin Okie]

My pepper seeds have sprouted, they're now seedlings but yet to put on first true leaves. I've kept them at 85* with a mat under the tray. Now that they've sprouted, do they still need the heat ?

 

[halleoneagain]

No, the heat can go, but they would like a nice gro-lite, or a very sunny window. I just started my pepper seeds two days ago, (on a heat mat, too) but I'm waiting another few days before the tomatoes get started.

 

[Smokin Okie]

I'm a tomato guy whose dabbled in growing peppers over the years, usually from plants bought at the nursery. I'm accustomed to tomatos fast growth from seed, compared to these peppers. Two years ago I attempted to grow peppers from seeds and it did not go well, at all.

In Southern Exposure Seed Exchange's growing guide , they say

How to Grow: Sow seeds 8-10 weeks before planting out after last frost.

For here in Oklahoma City, that would mean the last week of January. Our average last frost is April 7th. According to that schedule, I'm way behind with peppers.

But my experience growing pepper plants here, is that they won't really take off till it gets warmer. I have to wonder about going into the ground in mid April ?

This year, I did get wise on getting quicker germination with the heating mat, I had haberneros germinate in 5 days, with bell and jalapeno within 7 days.

Here's my current situation with my tomato and pepper seedlings , with the pepper plants just sprouting....................

 

[halleoneagain]

That is a really nice set-up! Mine is a simple heat mat, and an eight bulb gro-lite that is maybe 24" x 24". I just use an old card table.

Yes, peppers drag their heels germinating, so I start them about two weeks ahead of my 'maters. Our last frost date is around May 15th, but that hasn't held true the last few years (can you say climate change?). I used to set the peppers, eggplant, and tomatoes out around the first of May, using Wallo-waters, which help a lot. Last year we had an unexpected warm period that lasted a few weeks, so I pulled the Wallo's, then, go figure, the weather changed back to barely above freezing, and the basil, peppers, and eggplants just gave up and died. Somehow the tomatoes pulled through, but they didn't produce as they usually do. I think their DNA might have been damaged in some way. ??

I counted at least 25 tomato plants on your table, about as many as I used to grow. Now that it's just my daughter and I, I'm down to just four plants, one each of the varieties I like best. And each year I say I'll cut back, but somehow the entire garden gets planted. This year it will be a little harder to get through/around the garden, as I am putting up electric fence. The deer aren't going to have their smorgasbord without a fight from me!

 

[Smokin Okie]

Once the peppers germinate, do they grow as fast as tomatoes ? When I tried this a couple years ago, they did not. Which is why I asked my OP. IDK if it was something I was doing or they just grow slowly.

Last year was a weather anomaly. Was too warm here during our normal window for tomatoes to set fruit, which is May and June. When night time temps are above 70 and daytime get above 90, tomatoes " blossom drop ". Last year was my worst tomato year, ever. But I think it was an anomaly and not permanent.

I have 41 tomato plants but will only put 20 to 25 in the ground. I have neighbors who take what I don't plant. I battle the early blight here, and the only way I can deal with it is to over plant. And for years similar to last year when production is low. I can always give away excess tomato.

I only wish deer were a problem for me, wish I'd move out of this city housing addition 30 years ago.

 

[halleoneagain]

No, the peppers are pretty much laggards for me, too. Even giving them a two-week headstart on the tomatoes doesn't do much, they're still pretty small in comparison to the tomatoes when they do go in the ground. They do make up for their laziness later in the season, especially the Shishito's and eggplant. The Numex Heritage 6-4 gets with the program eventually, and then I have Anaheim type peppers coming out of my ears.

Nah, you really don't want a deer problem. I have raspberry bushes and had a grapevine. We didn't get any raspberries last year at all (nor many roses) for the deer pruning them, and they ate the grape vine down so often that it finally gave up the ghost, and I tore it out.

 

[halleoneagain]

I forgot to ask, are you on Tomatoville?

 

[Smokin Okie]

No, I'm not on Tomatoville. There's a small local forum that I visit frequently.

I suspected these peppers would produce better in the summer, its why was not in a hurry.

This show Oklahoma Gardening is a production of Okla St University. Last month, they had this piece on a professor's solution to deer . It works for him .....

 

[dr k]

Make sure the seedlings get 15 hours of light like the longest day of summer June 21st so they don't get leggy and reach towards light that's not there when the light turns off before 15 hours. After the cotyledon embryonic leaves drop then top the plant after the fourth set of true leaves to bush out vs gaining length. My Aerogarden Harvests are 6 pod but I only use the four corners now for root space. The Harvests are preset at 15 hours of light so I set them on at 5am off 8pm. Too little light=gangly. Lettuces in the winter only since they bolt in the 70F+. I did cherry tomatoes that produced for 13 months and have seeds for super hots I may do but I'm loaded with hot pepper powders for a lifetime. Maybe just Jalapenos IDK.






Put the other tomato plants from under the grow light in outdoor pots in the spring after weeks of slowly hardening off in/out of the house daily a few hours at a time outside/shade since they can turn the leaves silver from sun burn. After the Fall and these outdoor plants died off I still had the Harvests producing inside throughout the winter. May try two Chocolate Habs and two Carolina reapers in one Harvest this Spring. Still have parsley and Rosemary in the other Harvest now going strong. Something has been growing the the Harvest constantly year round for the last few years. You have to be the Bee with indoor Hydroponics to vibrate the flowers to release pollen for the self pollinating nightshades, tomatoes and peppers since no wind or pollinators. You can get a kids electric toothbrush or a personal hair trimmer with the cutter removed and the oscillator exposed to gently push the stem below the flower to see with reader glasses as the pollen flies around.

Homemade be the Bee pollen stem/flower shakers from hair trimmers for indoor hydroponic peppers and tomatoes.

 

[chopsaw]

Maybe just Jalapenos IDK.

Kurt , I'm down to 1 jalapeno in my harvest . It's been rode hard at 13 months . Still has a pepper or 2 on it , but they are small . I was gonna send it to the trash and reboot the Areo garden , but then thought I would try to hang on another month and trans plant it outside . Might trim some of the branches back and see what it does . I'm hoping that if it takes outside it will go crazy . I got more peppers off this one plane in the laundry room that I have on 4 plants outside .

 

[pit 4 brains]

Following.. I have issues with my peppers in a biodome over heat as well.

 

[LhornR]

Definitely heat mat for germination then the seedling can be room temp no problem. I reccomend running fans on the seedlings too. The movement stimulates the stems (as in nature) to make them thick and sturdy. Computer fans work great. With a lot of peppers on a plant they will need it...especially with large varieties like Poblano's and Anaheim's. When they go outside make sure to use a shadecloth if the temps go over 90°F. You would think peppers grow well in high temps but they dont. I had a bumper crop in 2021 with just 12 plants or so...but the 2022 heatwave I had a pathetic harvest with 30 some plants. And that was even with shadecloth.

This year I have 17 different varieties I'm trying. I'm currently doing some germination tests to see when I actually need to get them started. Last year I went with the packet's advice on starting them 4-6 weeks before last frost considering their advertised germination time of 14 to 28 days. Well they germinated in 3 freakin days! I ended up with a plant bound seed starting house before I could put them outside.

This was about 2 weeks before I was able to move them outside...then mid summer....

And in 2021 I was getting this every few weeks. I had so many I was giving them away.

For this year I also expanded my little seed starter house and have a better plant light on the way..so we'll see if the weather cooperates this year. This is what I have for this year..along with some Boldog Hungarian Paprika peppers not shown. Good luck folks.

 

[pit 4 brains]

This year I have 17 different varieties I'm trying. I'm currently doing some germination tests to see when I actually need to get them started. Last year I went with the packet's advice on starting them 4-6 weeks before last frost considering their advertised germination time of 14 to 28 days. Well they germinated in 3 freakin days! I ended up with a plant bound seed starting house before I could put them outside.

Nicely done!
I had a great germination kickoff then all of the sudden there was about 50% die off of all the varieties except the C. reapers. So now I'm re-seeding the plugs to try again.
At what point did you transplant into the solo cups?
Did you perforate the bottom of the cups? I like the idea, nice and cheap and reusable.

 

[Smokin Okie]

View attachment 660167

I get my tomato seed from Johnny's. Always good quality, good germination.

 

[LhornR]

Nicely done!
I had a great germination kickoff then all of the sudden there was about 50% die off of all the varieties except the C. reapers. So now I'm re-seeding the plugs to try again.
At what point did you transplant into the solo cups?
Did you perforate the bottom of the cups? I like the idea, nice and cheap and reusable.

I never had good results with those peat plugs..and a lot of growers dont recommend them either. I start them in a baggie with a wet paper towel...as soon as I see a sprout I put it in the 6 cell seed starter trays with Miracle Grow starter soil...then to the solo cups after an initial thinning of the herd. Yes I take scissors and cut 3 small slivers out of the bottom of the Solo cups. Can be reused over and over as long as you sterilize them each year.

The plants come out of them real nice too. In the starter house I made they sit in a plastic lined frame so I can just pour water into it and it waters all of them from the bottom.

Smokin Okie ..thats good to know...my first year with Johnny's...so far they are doing well.

 

[pit 4 brains]

Uggh... When I got my C reaper seeds, the instructions said not to germ in paper towels.. Different info from different sources can lead to confusion and frustration. I'm not against it by any means if it works.
I'm working with a biodome and heat mat from ParkSeed. I think I may have let it get to humid in there. My plants are quite leggy and reluctant to grow actual leaves.
This is only my third spring in SC so I am new to indoor starting / growing but I have had good harvests with bonnie plants in my raised garden. I'm hoping to do something like yours with containers on my patio so I can move them about to regulate sun / shade as needed.
This is what I started with..

I guess I should x-plant these into some soil now? It's just over 60 deg. in my garage right now.

 

[indaswamp]

You can remove the grow mat if room temps. stay around 68-70*F, otherwise, I would leave it a little longer. Peppers love the heat and can slow growth when it is too cool.

 

[indaswamp]

...and if you use the paper towel trick to germinate pepper seeds, don't remove the pepper seedling from the paper towel, just gently cut out the seed and root and plant. the fine root hairs grow into the paper and will rip off when you try to remove the seedling...learned that lesson the hard way.....your seedlings will be more prone to soil diseases.

 

[LhornR]

pit 4 brains ... I know the hotter peppers are a little different and different seed companies have different instructions for sure. I found the problem with those plugs is they hold too much water...actually had some mold on top that I had to kill with Hydrogen Peroxide. A fan blowing on them helps leggy plants but its more a symptom of not getting enough light. I'm an old farm boy but in no way an expert at growing peppers...just doing what worked before.

indaswamp ....with the paper towel method putting the seeds face down helps them stay unattached to the towel due to the root will follow gravity to the plastic bag. But your right if any doubt do surgery.

 

[pit 4 brains]

L LhornR I think your right in that the plugs are way to wet for pepper plants. I'm going to elevate them out of the water but leave them just above to retain the heat available. This arctic cold high pressure is not helping at all. We're struggling to get high temps back into the 70's and the dew points are dry for South Carolina.
Worst come the worst, I replant and try some new ways as you and indaswamp suggested..
Pete