The 2021 Chilli growing season

Fibre versus peat pots

Talking  seedling pots. This season I learned something  I never knew in all the years I have been growing Chillies.   It would seem that not all” peat” pots are the same. They might  look the same, and, in certain instances, carry the same name, but they are not !

This lesson was something I wish I had known about earlier. Much to my dismay, it cost me five of my seedlings. It was a lesson learned too late.

There is a difference

Let me explain. Over and above the pots, I mentioned in my last post ,I also have some seedlings in even smaller ones (about two inches by two inches).  I noticed that these smaller pots weren’t behaving in the way  I am used to. Read more

Developing the root ball

Potting on in various stages in a plant’s growth is extremely important. If you want healthy, Chillies allow a mass of roots to fill its pot.  Then gradually transplant into bigger pots to develop the Chilli plants root ball. This will ultimately lead to a plant, which can keep itself well nourished.

The first potting on normally happens when the seedings are pricked out of their starting medium. and potted on into pots. This year, of course, I have far too many to do this.  Instead, I will keep the seedlings as they are and transplant them intact in the pellets directly into pots. I will let them grow for a couple of weeks, and then thin them out. Only the strongest will remain. The less robust specimens will (sadly) have their stems snipped off at the base

The pots I will use for this are compostable peat pots about 2 inches wide and three inches high.  To get the repotting started, I will mix   John Innes compost number one with vermiculite in a ratio of two parts to one. The pots will then be filled to about a third full of this mixture.  A peat pellet (with seedlings) will be placed on top of this (see note).  The pellets will then be covered with compost, with the seedling’s stems sticking out above the surface. There is no need to be too precise about this. Chillies don’t mind their stems being buried deeply, but as a general rule, I try to have at least an inch (25 mm) of the stem sticking out above the compost.

These peat pots will be placed in a seedling tray on top of some capillary matting. I will then mix Chilli Focus (or a similar fertilizer) with water at the rate of 2.5 ml per litre of water, and wet the capillary matting until it is drenched. As soon as I do this, the peat pots will start sucking water from the matting through capillary action. This will ensure that the roots get enough water and nutrients for the seedling to grow.

It is always best to water seedlings in this way. If you water them from the top, there is a good chance that fungus gnats will arrive and start laying their eggs into the soil. Fungus gnats love wet surface soil, especially in seedling trays. Once the fungus gnat’s eggs hatch, the resultant larvae pose a threat to seedling root health.

The newly potted seedlings have now seen the last of the grow lights and will be placed on a sunny window sill indoors for them to progress in their growth.

This year, as a method of controlling the fungus gnats thoroughly, I will experiment with nematodes.  Dosing plants with nematodes  is a biological method of controlling these nasty little creatures. My next post will detail how I will do this.

Note. Some growers prefer cutting the netting  of the pellet away before doing this. I still have an open mind about this

Sprouting seeds in tissue paper

Okay, so I have more than enough seedlings for this season. My tried and trusted peat pellets have stepped up to the plate, and I have had good germination. Not so, as previously mentioned, with the Rockwell cubes and my Aerogarden,  due probably to seed viability

With the remaining method I tried for this season –  paper towel germination,  I have had more success.  But, as always, in Chilli growing, there is always something more to learn. My initial success ended up in disaster, and I had to go back to the drawing board. Here’s what happened

One way to test the viability of seeds is to use the paper towel method of germination.  If you are unsure whether old seeds stand a chance of germinating, you can use this technique to test a couple before planting. If they germinate, it means the thumbs up for the rest. You can plant your old seeds (into your usual medium), happy in the knowledge that you will probably have a good chance of germination.

So that covers one of the uses for the method. But how about using it to start your seeds for the season?  In other words, without peat pellets or the like?  The intention is to plant directly from the towels into pots.

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First arrivals for 2021

My first Chilli seedlings burst into life in the middle of last week. As soon as they germinated they taken out of the propagator and moved under grow lights. This needs to done immediately otherwise the seedlings will become leggy.  If they do not have an immediate source of light they go looking for it. This results in long, unhealthy stems that are not good for the seedlings at all .

I must admit I was a tad apprehensive about how good germination would be after the drying out hiccup earlier in the season. It, however, would seem (on the peat pellet side at least)  all is well. All in all, I have about 25 seedlings, with my Barak and Longhorn FI  seeds being the first to germinate. Since then, I have had germination from my Basket of Fire, Scotch bonnet, Numex, Baccio Ciliegia Piccante (Satans kiss), Prairie Fire, Habanero and Purple Tiger seeds. (I know, I know – many of these varieties were not mentioned when I started the season, but somehow the temptation just grabs you to plant more Chillies ( even when you vow not to! ) Read more

Dry seed starting pellets

To achieve a good germination rate for Chilli seeds, they need careful tending right from the start. While I try as I may not to make mistakes, sometimes stuff happens.

This morning, I was inspecting my peat pellets and Rockwell cubes for moisture. I noticed the peat pellets seemed on the dry side. As I have previously said, whilst you don’t want to give your seeds too much water, you certainly don’t want them to dry out either!   Yesterday I noticed condensation on the propagator’s lid. This normally means lots of moisture, so I wasn’t that concerned they were drying out. But guess what?

When I lifted the lid this morning, mainly to give the pellets some air and shake the condensation back onto the pellets, I noticed they seemed quite dry.  This seemed strange, so I thought I would look into it.

It turns out that when I sowed my seeds into the pellets, I put them into a seed tray insert, but did not place this into a seed tray. This means the seed tray insert (with holes in each compartment) has been in direct contact with the heat mat. As the pellets lie directly on top of these holes, they have been getting far more heat than would normally have been the case. This cased the pellets to dry out.

I immediately moved the inserts into a seedling tray, and then sprayed each pellet with a fine mist of lukewarm water. Normally I would have only given them a couple sprays from my mister, but because these were dryer than normal, each pellet got wet until it was moist to the touch. Hopefully, the seeds have not suffered any ill effects from this. They are quite tough, as you would expect worse to happen in real nature outside, but let’s wait and see what happens

You have to be on the ball to be really successful at growing Chillies !

Let’s sow some seeds

Now my Chilli growing season really starts. I finally get to sow some seeds. My Chilli seeds have soaked overnight. They have been woken up. My  Rockwell cubes have been PH balanced (and allowed to soak for two hours). So, I am now ready on that front.  All I need to do before sowing is to prepare my peat  pellets. So let’s get going!

As I will have a bit of a bit on my hands today, the other two methods (as mentioned previously)  – the kitchen towel and hydroponic methods will need to be tackled tomorrow. The parts  I will be dealing with today will be handled in the following ways:

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