I'm afraid you'll have to start over. Next time allow them to grow a couple true sets of leaves before gradually hardening them off outdoors, not all at once.

I dunno about starting over, but you might want to start another set just in case these don't make it. You shouldn't expose to sun until they get at least one set of true leaves. These are still at the cotyledon stage.

Are the cups drained? If not then you can't put them in rain.

Dennis

From the OP... "I had them in a place that receives some sun, but not a full-day and they were there for several weeks... no growth."

Any day now? Sorry, imo they're toast. They even look a bit toasted. ;-)

Edit: On the other hand, the fact they're still alive suggests they haven't given up, so maybe the OP shouldn't either. Peppers can be extremely resilient given half a chance.

So yeah, like Dennis said, it wouldn't hurt to hang on to these, but plant more just in case.

This post was edited by mecdave on Sun, Aug 24, 14 at 13:49

Poke holes in cup. Do toothpick test on soil to see if enough a/ or too much water is present. Proceed accordingly.

To echo Dennis - sun too fast is not good.

What are you using as a growing medium, and are there drain holes in the cups? Too much water retention reduces the oxygen needed for normal root function and makes it very difficult for the plant to take up water and absorb nutrients.

Al

I'm using a soil which allows for excellent drainage and yes these have holes at the bottom to drain excess water.

In terms of waiting for true sets of leaves, does that mean you would still leave them indoors until this point? And for the true set of leaves, are those the first pair that come after the first two during germination?

I had indoor plants behaved this way, it was the growing medium, what do you have them planted in? As for the sun as long as you started them off in the sun that should be no problem. There might not be enough food in the growing medium for them to keep them going, most mixes contain enough but if its mostly peat then you can give them a very low dose at every water or every other should be fine, I think it resembles a nutrient diffiency.

?1 = Y
?2 = Y

See description from DMForcier above.

habjolokia - The bag of soil doesn't say much, just an organic compost for garden plants. Its got this "rice skin" mixed in, and so as I mentioned it drains well and in fact, I use it for other plants that are producing and its been great so far. In terms of sun, well, as soon as it sprouted, I put them outside, so technically they have been outside since the start... And whats more interesting, all the other plants I have grown I have done similar... even before I got fancy using the wet paper towel method, I just put the seeds in soil and put them by the window. However, I'll give the new method a try I will try leaving the next set indoors until real leaves start growing and maybe at the same time also give a little fert boost to these guys on the next water and see how it goes.

jtight - thanks, just wanted to confirm.

I'll post updates in a few weeks.

This post was edited by salevene on Sun, Aug 24, 14 at 19:17

Just as an FYI...Everyone has their own "methods" for starting, growing, maintenance, etc.. In saying that there are staple basics that are common practice. You'll have to expirement a/ find what works for you a/or what you like.

Key practice though is to make sure the plants are "ready for the sun" (i.e., true set of leaves) before you stick them in it.

jtight - if that is the case, how do people direct sow?

I start everything indoors via quasi direct sow. I don't propogate anything in papertowels. I have a couple of planter cells (72 cells each) that I use on top of heat mats to start.

Something like this picture.

I had peppers left over that had fallen off the plant that were ripe and I left them in the soil, they sprouted and I left them in the ground and they grew into nice plants. If your zone permits direct sow that will work. Most though live in zones that direct sow or starting in pots outdoors is not feasible, also it's so much harder to control the environment when sprouting seedlings in containers using the sun and the elements. I myself prefer the methods jtight recommended seedlings grown indoors and after three sets or more true leaves and weather permitting harden them off.

I hope all works out for you and your plants get back on track. Also never used rice skin so unsure of what that does for a planting medium.

This post was edited by habjolokia on Sun, Aug 24, 14 at 20:41

That water drains from your container doesn't mean your soil drains well. If your medium says it's produced as a dressing for garden plants, it's probably not pH adjusted (so pH would be very low), and you're probably getting a LOT of N immobilization because I can see by the picture what you're using has a LOT of uncomposted material comprised of mostly cellulose that breaks down quickly. In fact, you might have so much 'composting' going on in your medium that high soil temps might be a limiting factor (the composting process is an exothermal process - it gives off heat). After seeds germinate, the soil should be about 10* lower than ambient temps.

I'd try again with a more appropriate medium you can keep barely moist. Damp - yes, wet or soggy - no.

Al

I agree with Al. Water drainage and water retention are two things. Your soil might seem to drain ok but it retains too much moisture.

Another cause can be nutrients deficiency. Compost is not suitable for container and the food in it might not be available readily to the seedling. Try feeding them with liquid synthetic fertilizer at about 1/3 strength.

Pale color is an indication of too much moisture , not enough nutrients, or both.

Ok, I will try giving a little fertilizer, because I don't think its the water retention. I use this soil for my other plants that are producing and they are doing quite well.

I'll report back..

The soil you are using in other pots is different because it is in other -> deeper When you read Al's theories in the Container forum, you learn the concept of Perched Water Table (PWT). The PWT is essentially the saturated (drowned) layer of soil at the bottom of the pot, like the water retained in a sponge after the excess has drained away.

PWT is measured from the bottom of the pot. So in a deep pot there may be a PWT but several inches of unsaturated soil where the roots can grow. In a tiny little pot like starter cups, there may be no more than an inch of unsaturated soil, severely limiting root growth.

So the fact that the soil mix works well in other applications is not germane to starter cells.

Dennis

P.S. Toothpicks to measure the moisture level aren't long enough to reach the bottom of the cup,

When you say that you put them in the sun right away, do you mean that you put them in a sunny window? Glass is transparent, but it filters out a big chunk of the high-energy wavelengths. Plants in a sunny window are getting a good deal less energy than plants in direct sun. I'd say that seedlings could spend several hours a day in a window, even before the true leaves show (yes, the second set of green leafy things) where several hours in full sun would be dangerous.

That said, I agree with Mark that the bigger problem with putting starter sets outside is regulating moisture and temperature.

Dennis

The plant shouldn't need fertilizer until the first set of true leaves is formed, it gets it's food from the seed endosperm. Plants in soggy soil take up nutrients VERY poorly, and metabolize carbohydrates, oils, starches, ..... very poorly, so don't discount a soggy soil as a likely issue.

Hold the cup in one hand over the sink - move it downward, then sharply reverse movement so you're lifting the cup and watch how much excess water exits the cup. You want seed starting mix to be very well aerated and damp - never wet, never soggy.

Most growers that have a good sense of how water behaves in soils, and why, find that knowledge holds significant sway over their growing decisions. Your soil is your planting's foundation. Try to build on a poor foundation and you'll be fighting your soil for control over the plant's vitality for the life of the planting, or at least until the planting matures to such a degree that the negative effects of excess water retention are minimized.

Your 'soil' is based on fine particles, so we know with certainty it holds excess water, because water retention is directly related to particle size and size gradient.

Did you add lime to your soil? If not, you probably have low pH issues as well.

Al