Re: [CH] A Man With No Plan
L Anderson (lowella@serv.net)
Tue, 10 Apr 2001 11:06:27 -0700
Kudjing@aol.com wrote:
>
> Hi, folks.
>
> Impulsiveness has just overcome good Yankee common sense.
>
You seem to think these are mutually exclusive. I'm not sure I agree.
:-)
> Two days ago, I began soaking about 150 seeds of five different varieties
> (habanero, Czechoslovakian black, chiltepin, Thai dragon, and firecracker
> piquin, if it matters).
>
I've tried all of these varieties doing much the same as you. The ones
I like best are habaneros and Thai Dragons. My experience is that
habaneros are easier to start than Thais, but harder to keep happy.
Thai Dragons seems to take longer to start but once established, are
easier to keep happy than habaneros. Go figure.
> They're now nicely wrapped in moist paper towels in a warm environment, and
> I'm rinsing and inspecting them daily, lest they either mold or sprout
> without my noticing.
>
This sounds good to me.
> Soon, they're going to begin behaving like plants....
>
> Here's where I would appreciate advice (which is a polite way of saying I
> have no bloody idea what I'm doing, and hope some more knowledgeable folk
> will save me from myself).
>
> When this happens, here's what I *think* I'm going to do: put them in
> seed-starting soil (much as it disturbs my urban soul to *buy* dirt), put
> them on a heated mat, and let 'em be until they are about 2 inches tall.
> Then I'm going to put them in Real Pots and gradually break them in to our
> lovely outdoor Boston climate.
>
I do much the same as you have done to this point but I use small cups
to contain, soak, and rinse the seeds. Once a variety has started to
sprout, I plant them all because I think those that haven't sprouted
will soon follow--and they do. I carefully pick them out with tweezers
and put them in pots--four inch pots work well--containing a good
commercial seed starting soil. If I have 40 seeds and only want 10
plants, I pot four seed per pot. After they have grown for a while, I
snip off the less vigorous ones with small scissors--nominally, first to
three, then to two, then to one. It hurts to have to cut those babies
down at such an early age, but somebody has to do it! Seeing those that
remain do so well compensates.
> My instinct is to water them frequently, whenever the top of the soil is dry.
> (It should be noted that, by following my gardening instincts, I have killed
> a wide variety of plants, including cactus grown in its native California
> soil, a feat I'm told is almost impossible.)
>
My experience tells me that putting the pots in a tray and adding water
to the tray rather than to the posts works best. This provides
humidity, the pots absorb water from the bottom, and the plants seem to
have less problem with damping off.
> Please tell me if I've gone wildly awry here. Or, as an alternative, you can
> *not* tell me what I've done wrong, and wait for the increasingly
> entertaining pleas for help that will no doubt follow. I believe that's all
> one word in German.
Most of what you have described works for me. However, you need to
ensure a very good light source once the sprouts are potted. For years
I jury rigged lighting but this year my wife bought me a 4' grow light
system with 'wide spectrum' tubes. It's incredible! It makes me wonder
why I went so long without one. If you don't have a good light source,
your plants will be leggy, more susceptible to damping off, and slower
to do well after repotting/planting.
Good luck.
Lowell Anderson