Newbie thrill: MacGuiver heating & sprouts!
This is my first time ever trying to grow peppers from seed, and you all have me so excited about all these neat new varieties that it looks like i'm practically starting a pepper farm. The DH got me a Parks Biodome for valentines day, so last week I put it into action, planting some of the seed I had.
...and then learned that peppers really like heat, and that I might need grow lights, two things I didnt have.
So I got some advice, did some thinking, and started MacGuivering the heat source to help them germinate. Every time we ran a load of dishes, I'd pull out the bottom rack and stick the seed tray into the steamy back of the dishwasher. Then i realized that crock pots are made to give off continuous low heat, so I put about 2 C of water into the bottom of our crock pot, put it on low, covered it with a towel, put a metal cookie sheet on top with the seed tray...viola! heat from below in an energy efficient form.
This morning to my complete astonishment I realized that about 50% of my seeds are starting to unfurl. EVEN THE PEPPADEWS (pic below), which I had pretty much convinced myself would take three months to peek out. The jalapenos are the only one of the hots that are breaking out so far, but I've got high hopes that the rest will follow. I'm sure this is old hat to you guys, but I feel like Merlin just worked a major magic getting these guys to sprout. I'm doing a little gardener happy dance, so I just had to share.
I have plans to run some trials to evaluate different MacGuiver heat options. So far I'm thinking of on top the crock vs in the crock (heat then turn off and insulate in a towel to retain) vs in a yogurt maker (max heat is lower there, close to 105, so either vent the top to dissipate heat or turn on and then off. I'm going to use my thermometer to test how long it takes the crock and yogurt maker to heat to the right range, and how long they retain heat when turned off and wrapped in a towel. If only I had a high schooler looking for a science project!
Now, to work on that lighting problem....
beetle_2007
woohooman San Diego CA zone 10a
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ottawapepper
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