Growing Chillis, Peppers and Aubergines: Day #14 - Strong seedlings & planning a 2nd round of germination
It's been 2 weeks since the first batch of aubergine, chilli and pepper seeds were started in paper towels. I have 35 germinated and transplanted seeds and 24 of these have fully expanded their first seed leaves.
I helped a few of the seedlings along, removing the seed case if it didn't fall off naturally and the leaves looked like they are trying to expand.
The propagator maintains a temperature of 23 celsius and the lights are on for ~16 hours per day. I've been surprised at how fast the coir pellets dry out and have been watering, just a little, every 2-3 days.
In the middle of the propagator the light level measures 5000 lux, at the sides 1000 lux and in the far corners only 500 lux. I can't see much effect on the seedling due to the different amounts of light apart from the Jalapeno in the bottom right corner, receiving 500 lux, that may to be reaching however it also had bigger leaves than the other seedlings so could just be a bigger plant! I will shuffle these around later so the Jalapeno's get more light and try not to use the corners.
Not all of the varieties have germinated well though. My grandfathers sweet peppers have produced 2 seedlings from 10 seeds and none of my home saved aubergine or Row 7 Habanada have germinated.
Not to worry, I planned to try a second round of germination in this situation. This time I will try a seed pre-treatment: 12 hours in weak tea to soften the seed shell. Today I will prepare the tea, letting it cool down and then heating it up again on a heat mat to 28 celsius. If the temperature is right this evening I will soak the seeds overnight, otherwise they will start soaking tomorrow morning.
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| 24 aubergine & pepper seedlings |
The propagator maintains a temperature of 23 celsius and the lights are on for ~16 hours per day. I've been surprised at how fast the coir pellets dry out and have been watering, just a little, every 2-3 days.
In the middle of the propagator the light level measures 5000 lux, at the sides 1000 lux and in the far corners only 500 lux. I can't see much effect on the seedling due to the different amounts of light apart from the Jalapeno in the bottom right corner, receiving 500 lux, that may to be reaching however it also had bigger leaves than the other seedlings so could just be a bigger plant! I will shuffle these around later so the Jalapeno's get more light and try not to use the corners.
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| A big Jalapeno seedling or reaching for more light? |
Not all of the varieties have germinated well though. My grandfathers sweet peppers have produced 2 seedlings from 10 seeds and none of my home saved aubergine or Row 7 Habanada have germinated.
Not to worry, I planned to try a second round of germination in this situation. This time I will try a seed pre-treatment: 12 hours in weak tea to soften the seed shell. Today I will prepare the tea, letting it cool down and then heating it up again on a heat mat to 28 celsius. If the temperature is right this evening I will soak the seeds overnight, otherwise they will start soaking tomorrow morning.
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