The Life of A Garden

More on Peppers

More on my search for trying to salvage the pepper seeds...

From the Old Farmer's Almanac:

PEPPER SEEDS need warm soil to germinate. Experiments by Georgia horticulturists have shown that the highest rate of germination (80 percent) occurs when the soil temperature is 70° to 80° F. Water seedlings from the top with warm water. I'm planning to dig out the heating pad for this and I hadn't used warm water before.

Start pepper seeds three to a pot, and thin out the weakest seedling. Let the remaining two pepper plants spend their entire lives together as one plant. The leaves of two plants help protect the peppers against sunscald, and the yield is often half again as good as two segregated plants. Interesting! I will definitely do this if I ever get some seedlings!

If you buy pepper plants at a nursery, use the seed leaves (the first leaves to emerge) as a "stress barometer." As long as they are strong, green, and healthy looking, you have a good, healthy plant.

When pepper plants bloom, make a solution of Epsom salts in water, and spray the plants. The NGA asked test gardeners to mix one tablespoon of Epsom salts in a gallon of water and spray it on the leaves of 'Gypsy' peppers, once when they bloomed and again ten days later. The results, attributed to magnesium in the salts, were larger plants and fruit. What's a Gypsy Pepper I wonder?

Take a book of matches with you when you set pepper plants out in the garden, and put two or three matches in the hole with each plant. They give the plants a bit of sulfur, which they like. There's that match head advice I was looking for. Check.

Okay then...
XXKHT

“Life's real failure is when you do not realize how close you were to success when you gave up.”

My peppers are not doing well. The only ones that have germinated and grown leaves are the Chocolate Bells. The King of the North grew two tiny green curled over stems and failed to go any further. I tried replanting everything over, thinking that they were all victims of the holocaust, but so far a week later, nothing has shown up, and it's getting late for peppers!

I was so looking forward to Jimmy Nardello's Sweet Italian Frying Peppers, and the colorful Fish Peppers from my native Chesapeake Bay area...I feel I can't just give up so I went searching for more information (the only thing you can do).

What I found is this comprehensive website on starting chilis at:

Uncle Steve's Seed Germination and Growing Tips

Excerpted from there are the following things I did not do but am going to today. Better late than never right?

Before planting, we recommend soaking the seeds in a mixed solution of 3 Teaspoon of 5% Chlorine Bleach and 1 Tablespoon of TSP (Trisodium Phosphate) into one quart of warm water for 15-25 minutes and then rinse for 5-10 minutes under cold running water. This does two things, kills most seed born disease and helps soften the seed hull. An easy way to soak the seed is done by placing the seeds in a small sieve and dipping into a cup or bowl of the mixed solution. Dab the floaters with a finger to brake the surface tension. Any seed that will not sink remove. We have found that floaters generally do not germinate as well and/or produce stunted plants. After rinsing place seeds on several layers of paper towels to absorb the extra moisture (Seeds will not clump together and are easier to handle).

Also, I think this is what happened to the King of the Norths!

A day or two after the seeds germinate, a "hook" emerges from the soil, and soon afterwards the seed leaves unfold. If your seedlings are hull bound (seed leaves can not emerge from the seed hull) it helps to leave the dome on, thereby keeping everything moist. Do not pry or pick the seed hull off until the leaves have fully developed and have extended, otherwise you will damage or kill the seedling. At this point seedlings should have as much light as possible to produce strong stocky plants.

and then I think this was a problem as well (see holocaust):

Do not set a domed flat in direct sun! It can cook the seeds. Remove the dome once to every other day to let fresh air get to the seeds and mist spray soil if needed.

Uncle Steve also recommends using a heating pad which I have and will use this time.

Other problems we've had so far are a fuzzy mold and what appear to be mites on the marigolds. I hate to destroy the young flowers as they've done so well so far, but I can't have them messing up the other seedlings - which would be a most un-beneficial thing for a companion plant to do. Before I head to the garden store today I'm going to look up organic remedies before I take any drastic measures.

I also read that adding match heads to the pepper trays adds the sulfur they need, but it's not mentioned on Uncle Steves. Back to the net for further investigation.

I just have to keep hoping and trying...
XXKHT

“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” ~ Plato

...or in this case "women who are afraid of the light.."

Today I learned several things...

First, that I most likely planted my tomatoes way too early and that I probably should have started a few weeks from now (screw the two weeks hardening off etc. I was just making excuses to get started).

Be careful what you wish for, because today, in less than two hours, I lost all the sage, and all the Pink Ladies, Striped German and Brandywine, Tommy Toes and one of Joanna's Plum tomato seedlings. They fried like they'd reached the end of the Green Mile (Oh John Coffey, I'm so sorry!)

So much for "can't get the lights close enough." Apparently, seedlings need to harden to the light as well as the cold.

The other thing I learned today was that it's a good idea to plant way more than you need, and be prepared to exterminate the weaklings.

Sound harsh? Well, for some of us, it is; but that's what this boils down to. Survival of the fittest, with a little help from The Goddess in You Form.

Next round, I'll plant six seeds in the hopes of getting two plants, and I will get the light on them as soon as they break ground, and I will not ease them into the light.

Always happy to end on a high note, I have two:

At least now, I get a do-over without having to intentionally destroy viable plant matter.

And... the new tomato seeds arrived today with a bonus packet of Lemon Cucumbers.

We grew them last year and they did well early on but got powdery mildew about mid summer, so we pulled them out because they were an ugly spot in the front of our otherwise pristine oasis of community garden space.

Somewhere along the intensive self study course of the past few weeks, I read about a homemade mixture of baking soda and water...now that I have them anyway... I guess that'll be another fun learning experience to look forward to.

Stay tuned!
XXKHT