time to pot up?

11 years ago

last modified: 11 years ago

This is my first time attempting to grow hot peppers from seed or even grow anything at all for that matter. I have received great input and read much helpful information from this site and would like to thank everyone who participates here.

That being said, I moved my seedlings from their tray about two weeks ago and put them in 3" clear solo cups. They have really started growing fast. I can now see many roots through the sides and bottoms of the pots. Do I need to pot up again now?

I'm still about six weeks from the last freeze here in utah and believe I'm going to need more lights and space much sooner than that. I wasn't expecting to have such a high success rate of germination and also expected to lose more seedlings after initial transplant. Thank you garden web. Here's some picks of my brand new babies.

Carolina reapers, devils tongue, ghost, Trinidad scorpions.

The light is generally much closer, it hangs from a hinged lid for easy access to watering and of course taking pics.

Featured Answer

Edymnion

11 years ago

Generally speaking, the roots will be as big as the above ground plant. So my general rule of thumb is that if I can flip the container upside down and sit it over the top of the plant, then its big enough. Otherwise, time to get a bigger pot.

I'd say what you've got there is fine for now, but yeah, you'll probably need to up pot before the end of 6 weeks.

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Comments (9)

Mike Wyatt
Original Author
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Ok apparently I missed some info, just read some negative comments on somebody else's thread about using clear plastic cups. Guessing I'll be re potting this weekend. So far have been really happy with my plant growth and figured the clear plastic would help to keep me from over watering as I bottom water.

Any thoughts on clear plastic would be appreciated as well.
ronnyb123
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
But did you also read you could just drop the clear cups into red colored cups. This way you can watch the roots grow and keep them from burning at the same time.
Mike Wyatt thanked ronnyb123
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ryang23
11 years ago
I would not repot yet. I like to wait until I can pull the whole plant out with the soil still attached. I'm guessing if you tip those upside down and shake them out of the cups, about half of your soil will not be attached to roots. You could probably go two to four weeks before repotting. It also might just be the pics but some of those look pretty soggy. Your plants are at the point where they will enjoy dry soil before watering. Is that miracle grow garden soil?
Mike Wyatt thanked ryang23
Edymnion
11 years ago
And yeah, thats always the way it goes.
"I only want one or two of this pepper, I'll just plant what I need." = Half don't germinate, the other half dampen off.
"I only want one or two of this pepper, I'll plant a dozen after what happened last time!" = 100% germination rate and 0 losses.
Mike Wyatt
Original Author
11 years ago
No it's not mg garden soil, I,m using mg potting mix
woohooman San Diego CA zone 10a
11 years ago
Like edymnion said, you're fine for now, but will probably need a pot up before 6 weeks. The caveat is usually space under the lights. You could repot now, but are you going to have the space under the lights for the bigger pots.

MG potting MIX is fine. I add extra perlite. Usually, beginners might have problems with it because they overwater or don't circulate the air to keep the damping off fungus at bay.

You've done well. Nice seedlings!

Kevin
Mike Wyatt thanked woohooman San Diego CA zone 10a
Mike Wyatt
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you all for the input, it is greatly appreciated!
naturemitch
11 years ago
Don't worry about transplanting because of the clear cups. I would wait a bit longer, then up size to a 16 oz. solo cup....they are nice and deep, IF you see the roots really starting to circle round the cup. You might be just fine in these cups for another 6 weeks, depending on room temp. and pepper type. What I wouldn't do is put these guys outside in the clear cups, make sure you drop them into an opaque cup to protect the roots from the sun if you need to start hardening them off.

Your seedlings look great!!