Hey, Turku, I'd try a more porous mix.
Water from the top, don't allow the seedlings to sit in water.
It sounds as though your seedlings are damping off.
Do you have access to Perlite, Pumice, Lava rock (Scoria)?

Here's a pic of the fast-draining mix that I use.
This was my first Bhut from earlier this year (March).
All seeds germinated, but only 5 out of 6 grew into full-sized plants.
Thick, healthy trunks on my seedlings from start to finish.

At the very least, they need more light.

Looks like your soil is regular MG potting soil. In my experience, it doesn't drain very well for starting pots like those. I had some luck with them but they grew very slowly. I'd definately use a different soil, like the kind in the previous post. That MG potting soil allows the water to stand a bit much.

Personally I keep it simply and use those burpee starters with the dirt prepackaged. Apart from roots invading adjacent pods, they work like a charm.

When u said yer pepper plants were only 1 to 2 inches for "months", I'm wondering if u still had them in a seed starter flat with those small little compartments?

I started peporoncini and hab's in those flats this year and probably had a 90 percent or better germination rate. They were growing quite slow as i left them in there maybe close to to a month and a half and then re-potted them in 8 ounce foam cups with holes cut in the bottom for drainage. They grew a little more in those cups for about a month.

When i planted them in the ground in various beds around the yard with different soil mixes and differnt sunlight hours i noticed a substantial growth spurt and now have peppers forming on the peperoncini's and habs are showing flower buds forming.

Maybe yer plants just need a lil more room to grow? Maybe sunlight is the issue as well.

Thanks everyone for responding. Greenman28's picture is cool but how do you transplant something like that? Seems like the rocks would fall away and you would be left with just roots. What soil mixture would you transplant into?

Shoontok and napalmxv3 what soil mixture do you use?

I was thinking maby cactus mix. I look at other pics of peoples BJ's and they seem to be in normal soil.

Still not sure what to do. I guess I need a step by step.

Thanks.

The mix is very loose, but the roots hold everything together.
When I transplant these small seedlings, I put them into a mix that has a greater percentage
of bark - about 5 parts bark, 1 part perlite, and 1 - 2 parts pumice. I include Garden Lime
at 1 Tbsp. per gallon of soil, and a small amount of Osmocote slow release fertilizer.

Although it looks crumbly, it is a wonderful media from seed-start to transplant.

{{gwi:30126}}

Josh

My starters use the prepackaged dirt discs that come with the starter trays.

I haven't ventured into trying the fancier soil mixes. That's next years experiment. At this point I used Miracle Gro potting soil with bone meal added around the roots when I transplant. after a bit I put some fish emulsion into the mix and later added a bit of fertilizer, making sure to take things slow. It works well when you have very little time on your hands.

Josh,

Thanks for your reply.

What kind of bark are you using and what is your mix ratio for the seeds?

Are your plants outside and if so what are do you live?

One last question how are you able to post your pics in the reply? I tried to do this and I only got a red X.

Thanks for your help.

My pleasure!

First, you need to use the HTML code to link your pics. It's the code that begins with one of these "I don't use Flickr, so I'm not too sure how that site works.

Bark:
I use Orchid Bark or Micro Bark. I screen the particles with a 3/8 and a 1/16 inch screen.
That leaves the majority of the bark pieces between 1/8 - 1/4 inch, which is what I use.
*Some folks use Repti-Bark (for lizards and such), purchased at pet stores. From
what I've seen, it is more expensive...but it's also pre-screened and (I think) sterilized.

Seedling/Starting mix:
The Seedlings are in a 1:1:1 mix - Bark, Perlite, Pumice (scoria, lava rock). It is very gritty, and
the drainage is excellent. There is no standing water, no algae, and no fungus gnats. As a precaution against
aphids, you might want to pour boiling water into your bark (in a bucket) to sterilize any pests/eggs.

Location:
I'm in northern California, in the Sierra Nevada foothills, at about 1,600 feet elevation.
I start my seeds indoors in late February, using a very simple two-bulb 40w grow-light. I start
my seeds in the nursery 6-packs, and I re-pot into 4-inch containers when roots peek out the bottom.
Typically, I plant my peppers in the garden in May.

I'll include a link that details my entire pepper season.
Please, feel free to ask any questions.

Josh

Here is a link that might be useful: Greenman's Peppers 2010 (pics)

Josh,

How often do you water the starter mix since it is so porus?

hello
i beleive another problem your facing here is that some species of pepper do not like a peat content in there soil Bhuts are one of them, MG potting soil has an awefull lot of peat in it, peat can cause all kinds of problems for these sensitive species, such as retarded growth, blossom drop, no blossoms, fruit drop, leaf drop and eventually death of the plant, i would get them in some soil with no peat, my lemon bhuts are doing great planted in my garden because there is no peat in the soil, i am starting to harvest a few,

hope this helps thanks your friend joe

I water every two to three days or so in winter.
Although the mix looks dry, the bark, perlite, and pumice all hold moisture without staying wet.

Josh

we use Park's sponges to germinate all of our seeds & plant the sponge/plant in the garden. Never had any problems & have nearly 100% germination.

I used a mix of some basic potting soil and peat moss to germinate my plants and worked just fine. They didnt really grow nicely until i got them outside into the ground that i tilled top soil, some peat moss and some manure. And have been using fertilizer from time to time.

I still think Turku's problem must of been an issufficient lighting issue.

Greenman where do you get ground pumice/lava rock like that? Also do you use that mix or when you plant in ground did you then use soil?