Chillies 2019

I'm growing a veriety. The ones you see here are Trinidad Moruga. I don't think they're too leggy - someone who can actually see that pic tell me if I'm wrong?). The kitchen in which the propagator lives is an extension and is pretty cold, but since they're in the propagator, I assumed that they would be OK, as it's a constant heat one.

I'm close to giving up.

 

@joh98.mac , I can see them and they do look leggy I'm afraid, sorry I have rescued worse though.

I don't grow ' super hots' as they are more fussy, so my knowledge is only based on what I've read, but I believe you need grow lights to be really successful with them. I'm sure I will be corrected shortly

As for what I do with cayenne, jalapeño etc....
Half a dozen seeds to 3inch pot. I place the pot in a sandwich bag and tie the handles ( mini prop and clean surfaces ) pop it in my bog standard aldi heated prop or in a warm room.
As soon as they germinate the bag is folded down and the pot is put on a cool, bright window ledge. I believe it's the light that is most important here.

When their first true leaves are growing nicely I prick out into 3 inch pots and again keep as light as possible, turning the pots regularly.
I find heat encourages legginess.

I hope some of this helps. As shiney says it's a lot of trial and error but this is what works for me. I've grown habanero this way too.

Good luck, keep trying Maybe try a less demanding variety?

 

I'm not a chilli grower, but I grow quite a lot of exotic stuff from seed, believe me, chillies are not that difficult.
Anyone can germinate the seed at any time of the year, but it is the growing on after germination that can be difficult, the earlier you sow seed the harder to get the growing on right afterwards.
Now I know they say chillies need an early start, but they also often say tomatoes should be sown early.
I bet if you sowed in early April you would still get some decent chillies right into the late summer and Autumn, the plants are tougher by then, and less likely to complain.

Having said that, I sowed some a few days ago and the first one surfaced yesterday, so now the process of hardening off from the humid propagator to the window sill begins.

PS, just looked at your photo again, the middle one still has the seed case attached, that's why it looks different, this often happens if you dont plant deep enough, it will hopefully sort itself out, but sometimes they dont.

 

Sure, remind of how my King Protea never germinated. Still have tne seed packet to remind me of my failure...

The still attached seed casing, just pry it off, gently.. done it and all was well. Humans have C sections..

 

Maybe others could explain what works for them? All info is good info

 

Re seed casing
I wet my fore finger and thumb then GENTLY touch the seed casing. Get it wet, warm water , then leave for a few hours before trying again.
Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't
If you only get one seed leaf the seedling can still grow
All trail and error, that's the beautiful thing about gardening

 

That's like Mrs H with me

 

Thanks to you all. I like Loki's idea of using a small pot with a food bag. I think I shall plant the remaining seeds like that this weekend. As for the seed casing, I can't remove it without damaging the seedling, so I'll try the warm water trick too.

 

Yes, the propagator has a lid. The method I use to 'guage' how much water they need is that when the inside of the lid loses its condensation, I wait for the morning after that, and use a spray bottle to gently moisten the surface of the earth.

 

@joh98.mac
If it helps, I water my pot before sowing, let it drain, then sow the seeds and sprinkle compost on top. It does not get watered again before germination and usually not before pricking out.
I never spray/ mist.
As I've said before ' this is what works for me' I'm sure you'll find a way that ' works for you'

 

So I decided to go with some less 'exotic' varieties. Popped to B&Q today and bagged some cayenne and some habanero. I took one of the actual trays inside the propagator (as opposed to small pots, which is what I've been using up to now), and filled it with compost. I then arranged the seeds in the compost and sprinkled some more compost on top. I then watered with a spray bottle, but got the earth quite wet.

Imgur

The tray is now back in the propagator, and I wait.

 

What strikes me about that photo is how wet the earth looks. I never have my earth that wet.

Could this be what I'm doing wrong?