i started my late season chillis already, but i do have a room to work out of it is not a greenhouse it is just a room with the window facing west. gets 4to5 hours of sun,temp about 70+ rest. i will start this week or next.
dan
let it burn

killer,

Depends on your lighting setup and seed starting skills. 8 weeks before setting out is ballpark.

Disregard what you might read on other gardening sites. Plant them deep. If you have a lanky seedling then strip the lower leaves off and bury up to a few inches below tip. (I'm thinking danial might have lanky seedlings) LOL!

JohnT

danial,

I think owe you an apology. You seem experienced and I jumped to conclusions.

I like the 70° temp in your plant room. Just that I thought the west window would not give enough light. If you don't fertilize much it could work out very well.

Happy growing!

anon

anon
apology not need it is your opinion.i will say i do get some not many out of 120 chilli plants lanky seedlings.All i do believe it or not is after all seeds popup is cut the heat back to 55-60 till the out side temp take over. been doing this for 35 years is that enough experience. as far as feeding once every 30 days 1/3 mixture.
dan
let it burn

Dan,

Am so thankful that you are not offended. I tend to be very opinionated, but really try to be thoughtful and considerate in my replies.

I was 4 or 5 years old when pressed my first seed into the ground. A very kindly retired German couple were next door neighbors. He was a farmer/MD. (yes, a doctor) She was a school teacher. I think was radish seed. This was in a rural Minnesota village in the late 40s. Then my mom let me plant some zinnias in her garden. Been hooked on gardening ever since.

What works.. works! Nothing irritates me more than people that pontificate that 'this is the way it must be done'.

Again, happy growing!!

JohnT

I've already started some of my seed for this coming season. Not that we really have seasons here, but could get a day or 2 of frost. Matter of fact I have a Orange Hab among many others still happy and producing. It's supposed to hit 80 today...You'd never know it was winter.

We probably won't start till end of February or there abouts.

kendra

I'm in Pittsburgh, PA and I'm planning to start my pepper seeds around early March. I use season extenders* for putting out seedlings early May. Some of my neighbors put their's out around the same time with no season extenders, but I'm kinda paranoid I guess.

* Row covers, cold box and water teepees.

I will start a small amount in early Feb, most last week of Feb, first week of March for June 1st plant-out.

Chris

Can someone speak to the dangers of planting inside too early? I have an enclosed basement room that is thermostatically controlled (keep around 72F) with grow lights on timers (fluorescents, not the high intensity stuff). It seems I could do pretty well by starting things earlier than later -- what do I need to look out for? The space I've already got set up is for overwintering a couple of old pals. Can't some newbies share the same space (maybe just a heating mat for starting)??

Thanks,
Chuck

starting temp should be 78-85f no lights till you see green then in the light and temp 68-75f so they do not get to leggy.just my way of doing it there are many others too.
dan
let it burn

Yeah, I got the itch too until I was walking my dog in 10 degrees yesterday. Now I can wait a little longer.

We should start them indoors in March around CT area for a May/June planting. People use Mothers day as the transplant outside day. I think that's too late. :)

The Soil
73 degrees +
Correct Lighting above
Watering
A FAN to circulate the air.

That all leads to success.

I see no reason not to start early if you know what you are doing and your setup is adequate. Many people grow indoors and never set plants outside.

About the fan. I have mine on a timer and only run it for a few minutes at a time 2 or 3 times during a 16 hour on 8 hour off light cycle. This promotes sturdy stems. Greenhouse growers discovered that simply brushing the tops of seedlings with a stick daily resulted in stockier plants. The fan does the same thing.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Thigmotropism is a movement in which an organism moves or grows in response to touch or contact stimuli.

I have the 2nd fan below & am very happy with it. Got mine at Sam's Club and don't think it cost over $30. They don't seem to be carrying it now maybe because is a seasonal item.

Here is a link that might be useful: Scroll to FS5-40A (#2)

Thanks for the encouragement, I'll get busy :-)

i have already had to put 80% of my seedlings into there 3" pots they are no longer seedling they are plants.still waiting for the 7pot and scorpion to break ground hope there good seeds
dan
let it burn

I planted 2 and 3 weekends back..everything is sprouting right on time ..in a 62 degree basement...so much for the temperature police.Oh and I also set them under the lights as soon as I seed them..so.ditto for the light police.

Peppers take so long to grow that SOME of those are in along with about 500 other seeds :)I like to plant a few each month from here until planting out time. Gives me backups and different harvest times. These grow under shop lights and the new compact fluorescents that plug into a regular incandescent fixture. Those compact doods are cheaper to run and seem to produce as much light as the T12 48". At 8 bucks for 4 each 60 watters. they are no nore expensive to buy.

Let them share the space Chuck..looks like you " keep em alive" just as I do. My Hisbiscus, Boston ferns, geraniums etc. all come inside for the winter. Along with a few impatiens and others to clone from :)

All that those big plants need is a little light.I rotate mine in and out of the best spots.

And its about time to change the light from 14 hrs./day up to 15...

CrAzY LaRrY

Larry writes: > ...so much for the temperature police.

Yes, lets all follow your example. From now on I will post 62° as the optimal starting temp instead of 86°.

Thanks!!!!

I say that if you have the room and the required light early is good.
but i have also found that i have had stuff sit in the greenhouse for 2 months and be no better than plants that were a month younger.
I also thought i could leave them in the greenhouse over summer but then ran into a huge bug problem.
I know what works here in my part of the world but most likely wont in your part.
play around and see what works.
I was going to start habs at xmas but the day i went to buy dirt the grocery had them on sale so i will have none to grow.
my other harder to find stuff will be in in a week or so.

LOL, jt!

In my experience putting them out too early can result in stunted plants. Like wayfaster I have had plants started later catch up to and sometimes even do better than plants put out too early. I have a short season here in Maine and try to get an early indoor start. The problem is that I grow a lot of varieties and space and lighting become an issue. ( I also have, inside, tomato, eggplant, cucumber and other starts). What I now do is start them about 8 weeks before last frost but put them outside, permanently, 2 weeks after last frost. As soon as the days warm up I start hardening them off and they end up spending days outside when it is warm and inside at night.That way they don't have to endure those, sometimes, very cool temps at the beginning of June.

June 10th--can still bring inside at night if needed.

HA HA John...thats not optimal..but I live with what I have..all that I am saying..is give plants a chance...( hey I should write a song)..lol..plants pretty much know how to do it and are forgiving of our less than perfect settings.

I quote >>>"What works.. works! Nothing irritates me more than people that pontificate that 'this is the way it must be done'"

CrAzY LaRrY

> I quote >>>"What works.. works! Nothing irritates me more than people that pontificate that 'this is the way it must be done'"

Larry,

I think it was the 'police' part that I took too personally. Sorry abt that.

And I so agree abt starting early doesn't necessarily mean that you end up with the best of plants when set out. Many times I watched 6 week old tomato seedlings totally out perform seedlings that were started a month or more earlier.

And don't forget to plant both tomato and peppers deep.

Great quote by the way!!

anon

Sorry if the " police" line upset u..lamo..its all humor..all that i was trying to state was that a variety of methods " get er done"

Somethings are just unexplainable...why do 4 plants from a six pack excel while the other two are wasting space in the ground? I plant Pink Girl maters (main crop) every year and last years crashed sooo whatsupwitdat? Some years its great to plant early..others..yuk...Now if this was computer science then Gates cronies could explain it..(our upgrade caused XP to crash..sorry..please reinstall OS)

but its tiny little seeds..forced into all kinds of situations....n they do what they can with what they were and are given....in spite of us and our beliefs

PS..My maters and peppers are in the dirt as of yesterday.in the cold arse basement.(62 degrees ..still).....film..later..10 days?

Another mans opinion states: "How to test chile seed germination "Place the seeds where the temperature remains at 75-80 F. Ideally, the temperature should be controlled so that the seeds are at 68 F for 16 hours at night and at 86 F for 8 hours during the day, which is the standard test for chile seed germination. Use a minimum-maximum thermometer to determine actual temperatures (http://ushotstuff.com/germinationTest.htm)

Note: This man is probably Mexican and therefore an expert in this field. While I am a mere mortal attempting to entertain and feed myself.

Yet with all of that being said....I am not very far off... I am just altering this optimal germination setting a little bit..I am controlling the temp at 62 F for 16 hrs. and then at 62 F for another 8 hrs...lmao.....rotf....

CrAzY LaRrY

> Yet with all of that being said....I am not very far off...

Yeah right! LOL

Getting a feeling for you. (don't worry, not that kind)

I used to work (many years) with a man called Crazy Larry. Totally crazy and last I knew owns Mex restaurant and used car lot in Gladstone, Missouri. A totally outrageous person and kept us in stitches.

You seem thankfully more intelligent though regardless your siggy.

Plants are individuals and will vary just like our kids even though both have (hopefully) same parentage.

Hot regards,
JohnT

LOL, very funny thread. I guess one way to tell is to start some seeds at 62 degrees with lights, and then start some seeds one under a heat matt or an 80 degree room no lights (until they pop up) and see which does better.

There's no better way then trial and error. I used to be a smuck on these boards until I learned. :)

Don't forget a plant is a plant, but a pepper plant isn't a plant without peppers. Maximize the Yields by starting right.

Okay so I am forced in a clatamaclistic decision......(see Funky Wagners Hot New Words dictionary for that one..or watch the Wizard of Oz for the 50th time and try to figure out how if thats what he really said) A germination heat test must occur. But sigh I do not have a warming pad.

So cold basement man. You do not have a warm spot to germinate seeds eh? Back where I came from many people had cold basements, but, they had something you don't have...a warming pad. But alas poor basement man I do not have any warming pads left...care for a heart or a brain instead? You must prove yourself worthy cold basement man. Bring me these items.

Hunting film at 11.

CrAzY LaRrY

I usually keep my house cold so was a little worried about the heat requirement. I just started some seeds that cost $4 for ten really tiny little seeds. I started the first batch putting them in a moist (but not too wet) paper towel (Bounty of course) and inside a plastic chinese food container that's water tight so everything stays moist. I put that on a radiator which gets pretty warm but I hope not too warm.

The next set of ten I'm thinking of starting them in my potting soil mix and placing them on the radiator too.

This is my first time starting peppers from seeds so I have no clue as to what to do. I'm hoping that if I get some seedlings out of these that the seedlings don't have to be heated to 80+ degrees too.

That radiator sounds too hot. Stick a thermometer under the food container and find out for sure. Maybe on top of your water heater or tv would be better?