Here are my pepper seedlings!
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I need help!
Since I’m sitting (mostly) idle in SoCal with yard space, containers, and everything necessary for growing things, I’m going to try starting seeds for various vegetables.
BUT - I have never done this before. So any advice, or do’s and dont’s for a first timer, would be much appreciated!
We have a lot of old seed packets that I’ve been warned may not yield anything, but it seems a waste not to try. Then there are a few new seed packets that we managed to get.
Here’s what I have in seed form:
Kale (4 types)
Lettuce (2 types)
Zucchini/squash (2 types)
Snow peas (I am most excited about these, because I love the leaves too)
Banana peppers
Butternut squash
Muskmelon
I have several seed starter trays at my disposal, so my thought was to do 3-4 rows of each, separating the old seeds and the new ones in separate trays for tracking.
Is that too few?
Should I do anything special for the old seeds to improve their odds? Soak them?
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Do you know your Sunset zone? Are you inland or coastal? If you are coastal, or someplace where it does not get above 70’s in the summer, it might not be too late for peas. You might be able to get some pea shoots/tendrils before it gets too hot regardless, but some of them need a lot of trellising. Kale and lettuce also prefer cooler temps.
How big are your seedling trays? How many cells in each one, and how big is each cell? Do they have "humidity domes? Can you post a picture?
Banana peppers should be started with bottom heat and lights now, to plant outdoors in May. You can probably start muskmelon and butternut squash directly in the ground in April or May.
There are a couple of 72 cell trays, a 36 cell one with a lid, a 40 cell one that can be cleaned out, also with a lid.
The 72 cell tray has 2-egg size indentations - ditto the 36 cell. The 40 has little cone-shaped dents. I’ll post a pic a bit later.
I’m in San Diego, coastal. It’s currently 60s/70s daytime and 50s at night.
We have a couple of different areas that get sun/shade at different times, so I can choose hotter/cooler spots as needed.
I can’t tell how big each cell is, but I’m guessing about an inch. I think that’s perfect for banna pepper seedlings for this summer, and lettuce and kale when the time is right, but I think zucchini, squash, and melons will very quickly outgrow them. I’ve only tried melons a few times but I’ve read some like it hot (ha ha!).
Thanks! I’ve been reading up a bit, which is good, because some things apparently don’t like being transplanted so direct seeding will be necessary, and other things may benefit from a bit of soaking.
I will say that the Botanical Interests seeds I ordered from WF have much more helpful information on the packets than the old seeds - lots of Seeds of Change packets, for eg - no information on them, have to look it up.
I’m curious about which ones those are, but sounds like you have plenty to do!
It says so for snow peas and some older seeds too.
I’m in analysis paralysis at the moment, I think.
Printed my spreadsheet, now I’ll get to it.
I transplanted the few tomatoes I have today to another media, when digging into the old soil, there are some germination going on with the tomato seeds. I think maybe this year I sowed the seeds a bit too deeply, I just see the germination goes on forever underground. I transfer those too, to see if they will go any further. Tomorrow will start more seeds, different types of basils.
Beautiful, do you grow in containers? Or directly in the ground.
These two plants are in a half wine barrel. They seem happy.
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Lots of baby plants coming up. Weather has turned nasty, though, and I’m afraid of moving them now.
Various tomato seeds - they were old but rallied well!
Kale popped up nicely too - better inside than outside, though the stuff outside finally peeked out too.
I soaked and planted some fenugreek in a shallow tray, and it’s growing like a champ - have to figure out what next.
Those beet tops went into a pot (with some beet seeds too) and i was afraid they weren’t going to make it, but they perked up today.
And the pepper seeds from a green pepper we ate 2 weeks ago seem to be alive too - we thought they weren’t doing anything, but it turns out they were just slow.
Snow peas are slowly peeking out. Zucchini is taking a while. I’m not sure the butternut squash seeds are still good, there’s been no sign of life yet. Still waiting on parsley and cilantro too. And the lettuces from seed.
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Well done @Saregama! Your going to have a lot going on in a few weeks!
What do you do with fenugreek?
I see what I think is lettuce, but I don’t see the peppers.
Here are my little ones. I won’t be able to give many away this year, so I’m afraid I’ll have to throw some away.
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Going to harvest the big artichoke today. And sometimes in the last week two more popped up. That’s four total so far. Right now they are about 6 feet tall!
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Wowza! Don’t throw them away… I bet you could post on your neighborhood group and people would come get the plants and sanitize the outside of the cups.
I need to learn what happens next with these - assume I take the tops of those seedling trays and let them grow some more before transplanting?
Fenugreek is widely eaten in leaf form in India - halfway between a herb and a vegetable. The bitterness of the seed but much gentler. Very tasty and very healthy. I’m hoping the shallow tray I used isn’t a dealbreaker for those champion seedlings!
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Gorgeous! How long did it take to get to fruiting?
Any tips for serrano chilli baby plants?
We got a couple from the nursery, along with mexican lime plants.
