Dr. Havanger's 2008 Grow Journal

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Drhavanger Posted on Tuesday, February 26, 2008 - 11:28 pm:    I planted about 140 pepper seeds of 7 different pepper plants on 02/17/08. Plants are: Burpee Habanero Burpee Hot Lemon Burpee Jalapeno Lowes Anaheim Chili Lowes Poblano WarMart Gardens Long Thin Cayenne (Hot) WarMart Gardens Serrano Chili This is my second season at growing pepper plants. Last year ended a little early with my apartment building catching on fire. The plants got scorched pretty bad and I'm sure it affected their production. I'm currently using a 600w HPS that's about 4-5 feet above the plants. I would like to start off with a MH bulb, but I can't justify the cost with myself. Temperature is steady at 90f, which I understand is a little on the hot end. I do have a small fan that is constantly on to help circulate the air and control the temperature. I'd like to move the ballast of the hps lamp out side of my growing area, but my cords aren't long enough and I think my cat would get into trouble with it. I started germination in peat pellets with a greenhouse dome. Some seeds I placed on top of the the pellets and others I put in the pellets. The seeds that were placed on top seem to be the quickest growing as far as I can tell. The plants are 9 days old today and they are at different stages. Some, as you can see from the pictures below, have shed their seed shell and are sporting their first two leaves, and others are just now sending out their taproot. Here are a couple of pictures of my plants at 8 days -and- Any suggestions/comments would be appreciated. Drhavanger Posted on Wednesday, February 27, 2008 - 11:32 pm:    The plants seem to be growing pretty tall and very thin. I believe this could be caused by 2 things. 1) being that the light is pretty far away, making the plants stretch and 2) that the plants haven't experienced any wind. For about 4 hours today I took off the dome and let them feel a slight breeze caused by my fan. When I came back most plants didn't look any worse, but there were about three plants that were leaning down, that used to be standing straight up. I've since put the dome back on and expect them to recover. My next move will be to start to bring the light closer to the plants. I'll try to do it gradual so that they plants aren't hit with all this extra light at once. Seil Posted on Thursday, February 28, 2008 - 01:48 pm:    Hi, Dr. You and my brother would get along great. The more peppers the better as far as he's concerned. From those pictures they sure are sprouting good for you. You're very right about them stretching for the light. I had this same problem a couple years ago when I first began starting seeds. You end up with some very spindly plants. Is there anyway you can raise them up closer to the light? I now put my trays on styrofoam blocks (packing materials I save) and then gradually lower them as they grow bigger. My seedlings get thicker stems and bushier this way. Drhavanger Posted on Thursday, February 28, 2008 - 06:34 pm:    I've got about 65 or so plants that have their first set of leaves, or are just about to break out of their seed shell and sport their new leaves. Some of the plant's leaf tips are starting to turn light green so I think I'm going to pick up some SuperThrive when I get all the soil and pots (which I hope I have enough time to do to night). Drhavanger Posted on Saturday, March 01, 2008 - 06:34 pm:    It took about 100 total pounds of potting soil and perlite to plant 30 plants. When potting the plants I tried to keep track which plants was what type, but it became too much of a hassle so I stopped. I've consolidated the other remaining plants into two different seedling beds. One is for the plants that are standing up and have leaves out and are tall. Another is for the shorter plants and those seeds that are taking longer to germinate (some are just now sending out the taproot). Still haven't lowered the light. I think I'll wait a few days on doing that, let the plants get used to their new surroundings. Also, trying to figure out if I can setup pulleys so I can easily raise it when I have to water and move the plants around. Other changes I need to make are: 1) finding a base that can be raised and lowered for my fan. 2) finding a new spot for the ballast. I'm thinking of putting it up on the shelf, out of the way. This will give me at least one more spot to put a plant at. I think I may have room for about 10 more plants once I remove the seedling beds and move the ballast up. Drhavanger Posted on Sunday, March 02, 2008 - 09:17 pm:    Here are some pictures of the plants at 14 days just starting their 3rd leaf, also have a picture of the plants I haven't potted yet. -and- -and- -and- -and- -and-

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