Sudden Spurt

A few days on and suddenly I'm up to 7 germinated seed with several more subsurface loops showing. This is usually quite an exciting time - it's actually nice to have something to see when everything else in the garden is not doing anything. 

I've created a second chart on the blog that links through and shows the germination by variety. In each case I've sown three seeds, with a view to getting 2 plants of each type. Any excess will be given to good homes, so wont be wasted. I have another 4 varieties I'd like to grow that wouldn't fit in the propagator, so there might be used as a back-fill once some things get potted on. 

You can see from the chart what my grow list is this year, this has to be added to my 12 over-wintering plants, so already it looks like the greenhouse will be pretty full come the summer. 

Last year I focused on growing lots of superhots and habanero varieties, this year I decided to try something different and went for unusual plants, wilds and serial numbers plus a few things that caught my fancy. I will profile some of these varieties in posts in the coming weeks, although it should be pointed out that some of these varieties have limited data - so things should get interesting as the season progresses.

Signs of Life

Dec 28th and signs of life. 

One seedling showing (CGN 22871), an unusual Baccutum obtained from a seed swap and one hoop from Habanero Cristina (source: semillas.de ). It looks like there are a few subsurface hoops coming as well in other places, but I wont count them until I'm sure they are really coming up and break the plane of the surface. So the season starts for earnest at last.

I have updated the logging spreadsheet accordingly and the germination chart is now up and running (upper right of blog page).

Sowing

December 23rd and all seeds were sown - three of each of 16 varieties into Rootriot cubes. These were duly placed in the heated propagator and placed under the T5 lights. Having been on for 24 hours, the temp in there was already about right (28-32 degrees). The lights are only on for 8 hours per day, which I've found plenty in the past, and then the seeds are left to their own devices. The labels are made from cutting normal plant labels into four with a pair of scissors - it's a bit of a fiddle, but it makes the job easier and I have no worries that the label with block the light to the plant. 

I like the rootriots - in a head-to-head test last year they outperformed the standard jiffi pellets, they produce good seedlings and easy to handle and water. So that's good enough for me. 

All set up a ready to go:

(NB the lid was replaced on the propagator as soon as the photo was taken).

Based on past experience, I should start seeing signs of life in the next 7 days, with most the germination happening in 2-3 weeks after sowing. Fingers crossed.

Starting 2012

So I actually started my growing season for 2012 a few days ago. 

On December 22nd I put some seeds into soak - just a little water for 24 hours prior to planting. I'm not completely convinced that this is necessary, but I do it anyway, it's not like it's a lot of effort. 

Start for this year was 16 different varieties, a different mix from last year, to combine with the 12 over-wintering plants from previous season(s). This year most of the seeds were bought out of curiosity - trying to grow some unusual types rather than the classic hot and superhot varieties of the past few years. 

Seeds in soak - I use some lids from plastic bottles for this purpose. This seems to work for me. 

Whilst this was going on, I setup the heated propagator under the germination lights. I like to line the base of the prop with sand - this seems to even out the temperature and humidity levels better than running it as is. Otherwise I find some of the cubes dry out too quickly and others dont seem to get enough heat. 


By setting this up 24 hours in advance, the whole system (including the cubes) get chance to get up to temperature prior to actually inserting the seeds. 

Propagator lined with sand:

With the trays for the cubes added: