Tuesday, February 26, 2013

No matter how many years I do this, it's always exciting to see the first seedlings coming up. These are long cayenne peppers. I'm going to let the 2 seedlings grow a bit, and then take one out. You'll have better results if you only have one seedling per section. Not a lot of room in there for more than one, and you want a good sized, healthy plant to put in the ground. The best way to eliminate one of the seedlings, is to use a small scissor. Just cut one seedling near the soil line. It's safer than trying to pull out one seedling. The roots of the two could be close together and you might damage the one you want to keep, by pulling out the one you aren't.

I'm pleased the seedlings are starting to grow. You want your seedlings to germinate quickly. You need enough light, and heat to get them going, and also help avoid damping off. Damping off is a fungal disease which will kill your seedlings. To avoid it, make sure your seedlings are in a nice warm place. If you place isn't that warm, use a seedlings heating pad to give them the warmth they need. Good air flow, and enough (but not too much) water, will get your seedlings off quickly, and hopefully avoid damping off. I'll post a photo of what you should look for if your seedlings start to get damping off tomorrow. 

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