I see signs of impending obsession and addiction. Fun isn't it? I think the germination part is almost my favorite.

john

It's definitly addictive and fun. My mom had stopped by to help me move my old mattress so the guy delivering the new set could pick them up I happened to look over and I was like "LOOK!!! they're coming up!!!" Course my mom just rolled her eyes. I was more excited about the peppers sprouting than getting a new mattress set lol. To this point the most exciting thing was seeing that first little baby pepper pod appear. This definitly beats that but the baby pepper pods are a close second. :)

Just wait till your neighbors see you yelling at them. lol

In about a week, keep a fan on them on low. Give them some air.

Take a look at mine sown January 27th. It came from a hot pepper pack so I'm not sure which is which. It's like having a baby and not knowing the sex. lol

It's like having a baby and not knowing the sex.
But you love them just the same lol.

I've noticed that there a few cells where the starting mix has become caked or stiff they've all been watered the same so I'm puzzled.

Question is should I try and keep them soft by watering and breaking them up a little or take the mix out of those and fish the seeds out and put new mix in those cells and replant the seeds? I've tallied up how many unused seeds I have of each variety I don't have many extra exept for a few varieties. I have time to order new seeds to replace the ones in those cells. My guess is that if the soil is hardening on top it's hardening throughout and those seeds may already be damaged.

I just take the whole plant out of the 4 pack or whatever when the soil is hardened. It means...time to pot up. Once the soil reaches that stage, it cannot accept more water I have realized.

Chris

the cells that are like this have nothing growing in them and so nothing to put in a pot. I've poked around with a toothpic and found the seeds in tact. I'm going to experiment with those cells and put fresh starting soil and replant the seeds that were in the dried up mix. What's odd is that some cells dried up while the majority stayed moist. I wonder if it's just the makeup of the mix that happened to end up in those cells.

Can't complain though, in the last 2 days 34 plants have either sproutded or have started to break the surface and only 3 of the 12 varieties hasn't sprouted yet. Red Scotch, Aneheim, and Garden Salsa.

I filled 72 cells...2 seeds each on Monday. It is like having a baby. They need to be nurtured and loved. We may be a sick bunch to some, but my god it's fun!!! I took a week off from work the end of May/ beginning of June to plant these babies.

I'm sure from the outside looking in it may appear crazy or sick. First thing I do when I get home from work is check out the cell tray and see and record any new sprouts in my spreadsheet. I'm trying to keep track the whole process. My family thinks I'm crazy but they just don't understand. I've even ordered more seeds so I can start more or replace ones that didn't make it . Last year I started with nursery plants but wanted more variety and wanted to try starting from seed.

Ah, I've definitely found my element. You guys have convinced me to take off work tomorrow and get those seeds started!

Naturalstuff, nice picture. Those are about the most NON-leggy starters I've ever seen - what's your secret?

Have a great growing season all,
Greg