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I think they are looking pretty darn good. Would keep an eye on the one in the very bottom left though. In #6

What kind of lighting set up? It seems to be doing a nice job.

Whatever your fert feeding instructions are, I would cut in half.

An oscillating fan need be on only 10-15 min or less twice a day to toughen up the seedlings.

I would set the small pots in a tray of water to hydrate them and after taking out of the water tray would not be watered again until quite dry.

Keep the pix coming... very helpful

Hot regards,
jf

Thanks for the reply man. No fertilizer yet, and I do let them dry almost all the way out between waterings. Once the pots finally do decide to start to dry, they dry all the way out pretty quickly. They are only about 2 weeks old this weekend, so when do you think I should start fertilizing? I know for a fact the soil I used had no nutrients. I think the slight chlorosis of the leaves may be from a nitrogen deficiency, but I'm still not sure whats causing the curling. I'm gonna feed them a 1/4 strength dose of fox farms Grow Big next watering and a few drops of superthrive just for the hell of it. They should be old enough to handle that.

Also, what kind of soil would you recommend for peppers? The seed package said "sandy loam" whatever that means, I'm a noob. Would a good soil-less mix like pro-mix work?

My lighting set-up is just a few compact fluorescent lights. They work quite nicely for indoor grows, are fairly cheap, put out almost no heat, and come in both red spectrums for flowering and blue spectrums for vegging. I have red spectrum ones right now, but they still work for vegging, just a little lankier internodal spacing. I have a little fan blowing across the light fixtures too, but not on the seedlings, to take away a little excess heat. I'm going to be picking up a few more 42 watt cfls (2700 lumens) once the plants get big enough to need them. I might ask for a DIY metal halide ballast kit for christmas, if I can find one somewhere. I know they're cheap, but I haven't seen any sites that looked too good that had them besides ebay.

Also, the one in the bottom left is supposed to be purple. It was the only one whose cotyledon (i'm assuming thats what those non-pepper leaf shaped first leaves are) leaves didn't curl down. The stayed nice and straight. It was cool, when it broke ground it was white, then it turned green with purple veins and then purple all in less than 18 hours. The new leaves are green with purple veins. Pretty sweet. On the seed package it says the plant is suitable as an ornamental indoor plant as well, so I'm assuming that means it does well under low light, so it should thrive in my glowing ass closet. I'll keep up with the pics as progress goes and let you know what they think about their first food.

Your seedlings look good. The purple one is very cool. #3 looks very healthy. Sorry canÂt help you more IÂm a noob myself. Started about a month ago.

You should see my seedlings! I made the mistake of putting too much algae fertilizer in the mix. Now i have algae growing with the seedlings. I'm now spraying them with a chamomile mix maybe it's going to kill the algae, I know it's good for killing mildew.

Don't why but mine are getting black! Air temp was 100F and soil temp 85F. I moved the light further but everyday they are getting more and more black. ARRGGG!!!

Oh well I have a lot more seeds to experiment with. IÂll post some pics tonight.

Try a little more water, Get a moisture meter to be sure

Feeding give them a 5% soultion of whatever you must use

habman

Black is frozen or phytophthora

If it's black and stinks it's phytophthora

Nothing will fix either situ.

>>Black is frozen or phytophthora
If it's black and stinks it's phytophthora
Nothing will fix either situ. Oh no! So I should kill them all ?
Anything I could have done to prevent this?
I think it started getting black after I used the algae extract fertilizer.

Sorry txclosetgrower don't want to hijack your thread.

black leaf

black leaf2

Algae!

By all means man, post as many pics as you want, I love pics :)

What kind of light are you using? And did you originally have that much space between the first leaves and the first real pepper leaves or does it stretch out after they form? Nice looking plants except for that blackness on the leaves. I've never seen anything like that so I can't be of help.

Don't worry abt the blackness or the moss. Seedlings look good!

jt

That kinda purple black is too much fertiliser or many
peppers have a purple tinge on the leaves.

>>too much fertiliserThat would make sense. Too much love I guess :)
I will try transplanting them into larger pots and put new dirt without adding anymore fertiliser.
Just in case they die in a week I will start some new ones.

txclosetgrower

I started with a 20watt CFL 2700K for a week. I didn't like the light color and switched it with a 13 watts 3000k CFL that I already had.
Then I got my 85watts CFLs that I ordered from the net (6500k,5000k and 3000k). They are currently under one 85 watts 6500k CFL.
This is most likely overkil for sedlings but I plan to grow my peppers to maturity with only artificial lights.

>>And did you originally have that much space between the first leaves and the first real pepper leaves or does it stretch out after they form?The leaves stretch out. They are about one month old.

I've used about every kind of lighting imagineable and have switched over to GE Sunshine F40 tubes for both seed starting and overwintering. Even though only 2250 lumens I like the 5000k color temp.

jt

Awesome man, I too am growing under CFLs, and I've seen people have great luck with other plants under them, grown all the way from seed to harvest. I'm getting some of the 42 watt 2700 lumen ones, they're only like 10 bucks a piece at wal-mart. I have some of the 23 watt ones now, I got a 5 pack of them for 10 bucks. THe best lighting fixtures I found for them are the clamp lights you can pick up from home depot or lowes. They look like a light socket with a round metal reflector with a squeeze clamp for mounting attached to an extension cord. They're only like 5 or 6 bucks. I prefer to use them without the reflector, cause most of cfl lighting comes from the side of the bulb, not the tip. I've considered maybe getting one of those DIY metal halide ballast kits you have to wire yourself, since they're only like 60-70 bucks for a 100 watt one, just for some decent supplemental lighting.

What kind of light cycle are you running? I have mine under 24 hours light right now, but I'm going to cut it back to 18/6 soon once I get a timer. I don't believe peppers are photoperiod dependent for flowering, but I may be wrong.

Light cycle...

I've done 24/7 and don't agree with the 'experts' that say Solanaceae need a resting period.

16 on and 8 off is what many or most agree on. That's what I use for seedlings and go to 12/12 or less for overwintering. Come springtime I try to match the normal daylight/night hours for overwintering plants before set out. Daylength may or may not trigger plant growth and blossoming, can't prove either way, but still do my cloning around Jan & think the change is beneficial.

I thought the 12/12 was for folks that had more trays than lights, They swap the trays under the lights every 12 hours
(BTDT :-))

Some authors claim that plants absorb nutrients during daylight hours then digest and distrubte during dark hours..

Just a different thought

I found some Daylight bulbs from WW Grainger for about $6 ea

The plants at plant out are a little greener than other bulbs

> Some authors claim that plants absorb nutrients during daylight hours then digest and distrubte during dark hours..

Byron,

Yes, have heard that b4 especially from your Dr buddy youknowwho back in the late 90s. Might be true, but just never saw evidence personally.

The 12/12 is just for older plants am overwintering.

When I get back from turkey day in uff-da land (Minnesota) am going to send you some powders (rather different) whether you want them or not.

Happy Thanksgiving, my friend and hope to see you Sept '07!

jt

Update (11/27/06):
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Lookin better :) Should I just go ahead and pull up that little guy who sprouted next to the jalapeno? How bad is it really to have 2 plants per pot (i know its not ideal, but would it hurt a lot?) if I use some string to train them to grow away from each other?

From my experience... two plants crowded in a container will produce smaller plants than if one per container, but total pod production will be greater than a single, larger plant. The pods may be smaller, but total weight will be more.

jt

Why do you think you get more pod production? Stress?

John

John,

Because two plants and not one. At least that is my guess. Stress may be involved too.

jt

txclosetgrower did they grow that much in only one week!

My seedling have not progressed at all since I posted the pics...ARGGGHH!
I transplanted them this weekend and started some new ones (marble, pretty purple and white habs).
Hopefully these will do better.

Cool, the purple one has a little seedling that sprouted next to it too. The leaves were almost circular so i just thought it was a retard too, but now I'm starting to think it may just be the cayenne seeds that might have gotten mixed in to that dirt lol. Cause its starting to look better, but it has way different shaped leaves. I'm just gonna train the plants away from each other, plus I'm gonna transplant before too long so they'll have more room anyway.

Yep, all that growth in 8 days. I have the lights like 2 inches above them, I've found with other plants that CFLs can produce quite a bit of growth as long as you keep them within 1-3". I have a fan that blows straight on the lights to keep it cool enough to do that.

I also got 3 new types of seed today!!! I'm so excited, I got 10 dorset naga seeds, a whole bunch of red savina habanero seeds, 9 gold bullet habanero, and a small packet of dorset naga powder. I ate one tiny flake and man those things are hot. Thank god for milk. I'm gonna plant one of the dorsets here in a minute and throw out that retarded jalapeno in the cup. I'll have pics up as soon as it sprouts :)

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The trained purple chile:
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The monster almost 1 month old jalapeno that wants to flower(don't worry, I pulled them off):
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And the dorset naga. Its so small and cute now, hard to believe that in a few months its going to have me chugging milk and crying like a baby:
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Those Black leaves are stunning..!

Are they a Black Pearl or Purple Tiger.?

Anyway whatever, im growing them next season as i want a plant with black leaves like them.lol

Arthur.

Arthur, that "black" plant is a Peruvian Purple Chile. I bought the seeds from www.seedsofchange.com

Fast germinator, 6-10 days. Mine was above ground in 4. It has been the most beautiful shade of dark purple ever since about 8 hours after it broke the ground. It has mildly hot upright peppers that are just as dark as the plant.

I might could spare a few of the seeds, shoot me an e-mail.

Hey txclosetgrower

Your plants look great! I have had good luck indoors as well. My CFLs are supplimental light and the plants are on a east window.

I noticed you use organic ferts. Does your potting soil have slow release chemical ferts? If so it gets pretty far from organic.

I use Metro Mix 360(No endorsment intended). It is really good because it does not have so much peat but outside it dries quite fast. I noticed soilless mixes heavy in peat moss holds quite a bit of water which is great outside in the summer. When I use those mixes indoors I have to wait till the soil dries quite a bit between waterings. But with MM360 and other similar types I can water every day and the mix doesnt have to get so dry. I have done many side by side comparisons and have noticed better results in many different plants. When comparing both the better one is lighter right after watering. This tells you how much water is held in that given amount of mix by weight.
Since roots need oxygen and water a mix which has the best drainage and adequate water holding capacity is best.

Also those good types have no added ferts and it allows you to control nutrition. I use organic ferts on my peppers. I compared those 2 mixes for growth and yield. The organic produced a smaller plant but no real difference in yield or quality. The slow release produced a taller wider plant with longer internodes but no real increase in yield. The slow release had no other ferts added. The slow release was giving constant nitrogen at all stages of growth which causes bigger plants. When I used hydroponic ferts in the good mix it was the best yield on plants which were smaller than the other two methods. I got to fully control the ratio of NPK at different stages of growth and I had good pH and I could measure exactly how much ferts were in the solution with a EC probe.

I love purple types. One of my favorites is Maui Purple. It is very dark, very productive, very hot, nice flavor that has hints of sweetness at maturity. I have produced many F1 hybrid seeds and F2 lines from this parent.

It may help to use reflective materials on the walls. I use a glue stick and paste aluminum foil to cardboard and put those flat against the walls. Reflection is very important in any indoor setting so be creative.

If plants are diffent heights then it may help to use HID lights like HPS or MH. I got a 150 HPS from my hardware store for $90. It is very nice and the bulb is mounted in the reflector and covered by a clear plastic cover, so it is kinda like an enclosed box. This helps reduce heat from the bulb to plants and more importantly it is safer because the bulb gets hot and any water that hits a hot bulb can cause it to crack and those bulbs contain things that you should not breath. It was not built for this purpose and it took some creativity to hang it from the ceiling.

Good Luck

Yeah, thanks for all that info amar. Mine are still in scotts seed starting mix which holds too much water for my liking, but I'm too broke for new soil til next semester, which is a couple weeks away. I'm looking at probably picking up some promix. The soil i have is un-fertilized, and the only thing they've been fed is a small dose of fox farms Grow Big and Big Bloom 1 time, and superthrive with ever watering. I wait to water until the pot feels almost completely dry, which takes awhile with this type of soil.

I've thought about getting an HID light, but then I'd have to worry more about cooling and better ventilation. So I decided to go with t5 single light fixtures. The ones that you can daisy chain together. I'm planning on getting 4 of the 2' long ones, and making a small 2.5'x2.5'x4' grow box in my closet with some computer fans for intake and exhaust.

I will most likely be switching to hydroponics next semester too. I'm looking at going with deep water culture for my first try, since it seems easiest to build. Either that or a drip system or an aeroponic system, I really can't decide what would be best.

I'm definitely considering growing those peruvian chiles in a screen of green style, since they produce upright fruits and are a real bushy plant. They are responding really well to the low stress training I've been doing to them. Training them to grow horizontally makes getting light to the entire plant way easier, and maximizes the efficiency of my fluorescent lights.

Hey txclosetgrower

I know what you mean it seems like I can't do anything without saving money. The soil that I buy is about $18 a bag and the bags are huge I think 2.5 or 3 cubic foot. I can reuse it for almost two years if I sterilize in a retired microwave. I add 1 cubic foot bag of earthworm castings (around $8) and some dry kelp, dolomite lime, bone meal, feather meal, benificial bacteria, any other thing which is cheap. Every time I reuse the mix I sterilize, then add more of all those additives and finally leach the soil for a long time. When the mix gets old I use it outdoors or to start seedlings for the garden.

I tried hydroponics in a cheap homemade drip system but hydro ferts are expensive and require monitoring of pH and E.C. and my friend would have leaks in the reservoir which was a mess. If you buy a system it probably won't leak and it will be easier to use but of course $$$$. Just be careful with the water if you are in an apartment. I hated having to empty a big reservoir during water changes (once a week). But the think that bothered me was the really high cost of ferts. I thought it would last longer but I kept running low on ferts. If you read up on formulas used on Capsicum you can make your own for cheaper and it is not really difficult.

In the long run I actually enjoy watering my plants and adding different organics and seeing them thrive.

I am a student too. I am a senior and I am done this spring :) but I got 20 credits next semester:(

Oh yeah almost forgot, check out liquid seaweed it is my cheapest additive and it has good K and over 60 micronutrients. Also here in Iowa the hardware and big box stores sell lime and additives for dirt cheap in the fall when they are trying to get rid of those things.

Good Luck

Yeah I had thought about that about all the water needed and leaks and whatnot, which is why I was leaning toward aeroponics. You would still need a reservoir of course, but you not as much water as you would need in a dwc. I had also considered a drip system, but I'm not really sure of which way to go. And I'm aware of the monitoring pH & ppm, lol, that is part of the reason I wanna switch. I like technical type hands-on things and just watering and waiting doesn't give me enough to do in my little closet. (it would be a little more work with more than 4 plants) Plus, hydroponics has just always interested me, so I'm gonna give it a shot. I'm not too worried about the cash this next semester, I worked full time up til august this year so I'll be getting a fat income tax return, which I plan on setting my closet up with :)