Planting peppers from seed

[Capt.Ron]

I have some seed that I saved from last seasons jalapeno and Cayenne pepper plants as well as some seeds from some supermarket purchased yellow bells.
I purchased a "Jiffy Strips" brand greenhouse from my local Wally World to start the plants in. On the package it says to use a soilless mix. I was thinking of using some of the cottonseed compost that I purchased from the gin southeast of Waxahachie lake last yr.
Would this composte be ok?
Should I keep this green house outside in the sun? (The package say to keep out of direct sunlight)
Should I use any type of fertilizer before the seeds germinate?
I have a bottle of Garret Juice, I thought maybe a dilluted version would make a good rooting fertilizer.
How early should I put them in the ground?
Also I tilled my garden area about 2 months ago, should I wait and till it again right before I'm ready to plant or should I do it sooner and/or then again before planting?
Thanks

[culdeus]

[quote="Capt.Ron"]I have some seed that I saved from last seasons jalapeno and Cayenne pepper plants as well as some seeds from some supermarket purchased yellow bells.
I purchased a "Jiffy Strips" brand greenhouse from my local Wally World to start the plants in. On the package it says to use a soilless mix. I was thinking of using some of the cottonseed compost that I purchased from the gin southeast of Waxahachie lake last yr.
Would this composte be ok?
Should I keep this green house outside in the sun? (The package say to keep out of direct sunlight)
Should I use any type of fertilizer before the seeds germinate?
I have a bottle of Garret Juice, I thought maybe a dilluted version would make a good rooting fertilizer.
How early should I put them in the ground?
Also I tilled my garden area about 2 months ago, should I wait and till it again right before I'm ready to plant or should I do it sooner and/or then again before planting?
Thanks[/quote]

Where are you?

Compost in general will compact too much to allow for roots to spread. You will need something to areate the soil a horticultural rock like vermiculite, perilite, etc. The basic potting soil mix on the main page should get you started.

Compost might harbor diseases that can hurt seedlings but not mature plants, so be wary of that. If your seedlings are weak and fall over and die you might have to bake your mix to kill the problem.

Rooting fertilizer is not needed for seed starting. Save the $$ and use water until you transplant.

I would say tilling more than once a year is not a good idea.

As to your greenhouse, I would say leaving it out unventilated will certainly nuke your plants, but seedlings need lots and lots of light (16+hrs) until they set true leaves. (This might run afoul of the "natural way") Consider a grow light until the true leaves set and then use your greenhouse to protect your plants overnight.

[Capt.Ron]

I'm in the DFW area (near Waxahachie).
You say to use a grow light. Should I move them out in the sun each morning (uncovered) then cover them and move them inside under the growlight in the evening to complete the 16 hr light cycle?
Thanks

[kbrew]

A word of caution on using saved seed. You may not get what you expect if they are from a hybrid variety. Especially on the yellow bells from the market. The cayanne is probably okay.
If it's practical for you to move them inside and out, that would be ideal.

[culdeus]

Capt.Ron wrote: I'm in the DFW area (near Waxahachie).
You say to use a grow light. Should I move them out in the sun each morning (uncovered) then cover them and move them inside under the growlight in the evening to complete the 16 hr light cycle?
Thanks

Yes, that's alot of trouble. So I self constructed a greenhouse + light box combo. When the lows are <40 I bring it inside otherwise I leave it out and supplement with the grow light. I took the picture below about a month ago and it's overflowing now :-)

I would second the mention of the problem using hybrid seeds from groc. store fruit. About the only ones I would consider using would be Jalepeno, and even that's a bit risky versus the cost of a seed packet that can last up to 4 years.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/culdeus/LightOn.jpg

[Capt.Ron]

Well I went ahead and planted my seeds and every single seed has sprouted! Even the bells! Was the worry about the hybrids that they wouldn't grow or that they wouldn't bare fruit?
Now what kind of fertilizer should I put on them while waiting to transplant into the ground?
Thanks

[culdeus]

Capt.Ron wrote: Well I went ahead and planted my seeds and every single seed has sprouted! Even the bells! Was the worry about the hybrids that they wouldn't grow or that they wouldn't bare fruit?
Now what kind of fertilizer should I put on them while waiting to transplant into the ground?
Thanks

I think the worry with the hybrids is you might not get fruit similar at all to the parent fruit. Hybrids are some sort of a cross and the next generation even if pure in some varieties might regress to a prior generation. But, I've never tried saving stuff from the store. Tell me how it goes.

What size container are your seedlings in at the moment? Probably all you need to do is move them to a 4x4 container. I'm no psychic but the lows all seem to be >50 for the next 10 days. Nothing stops you from setting them out now. (Assuming Dallas)

Otherwise I take the less is more philosophy on fertilizing seedlings it's a pretty quick way to stress them because the concentrations can be quite high in a small pot.

[kbrew]

Capt.,

It may turn out that you get wonderful results from these seeds...but you may not. The point here is that it's a risk.

I think spending 95-cents on a pack of seeds is worth every penny when you consider that in three months you won't have wasted a lot of time and effort if they happen to not produce what you want or don't produce at all.

But that's just me.

[Capt.Ron]

Yea they've all sprouted but I'm not getting any more growth out of them. they haven't really gotten much taller since the first couple of days and haven't grown any new foliage. I've kept them outside in the sun during daylight hrs and inside under a growlight for a total of 16 hrs of lights and 8 hrs of dark. They are currently in the little peat cups (2"X2" cubes). It's looking a little slow at this point so I may have to go out and buy some plants and maybe till an extra garden area for the little guys for a kind of an experiment run.
I bought last yrs plants at Walmart in Waxahachie, does anyone have any suggestions as to where I should go for this yrs garden? (Mostly tomatos and peppers)

[culdeus]

If you want something funky try out:

Mike's Garden Center in Arlington

They tend to carry the more eccentric varieties.

I wouldn't drive to Dallas just to get some Celebrities IIWY.