Now that we have our soil, seeds, trays and a place to grow them, there is one more thing that we need to accommodate for before we start to plant our seeds: Heat. As I mentioned before, if we are going to be growing peppers, we have to remember the climate that these seeds generally come from, and that climate is hot. We will need to have some sort of warmth to provide these seeds to help them germinate. You can accomplish this by setting the on top of the refrigerator to help get them to turn into a seedling, or place your ‘grow op’ near a furnace in the basement. I personally prefer to use a heat mat. And that heat mat is one designed for starting seedlings, not that old heat blanket that you got in the closet with the electrical taped up cord on it. If you are going to use a heat mat, use a heat mat designed for seed trays.
You can find them by searching for “Seedling Heat Mat” on Google. They are waterproof, and designed just for this purpose. They will generally run you about $20 – $25. They are not a necessity, but I do highly recommending the purchase, they should last you for years and your seeds will thank you. You will need one of these per seed tray, but you can find some online that will accommodate two. Here is where we are now;
- We have, or should nearly have our seeds
- We have our seed trays
- We have our soil
- We have our lighting
- We have our heat
- We have our “Grow Op”
Next we plant our seeds.
–Jay
Written by Jay
Nick Lindauer founded Hot Sauce Blog in 2004, making it one of the internet's very first hot sauce review sites. After 20+ years of tasting, reviewing, and attending every major fiery foods event in the country, he's back behind the keyboard covering the hot sauce world he helped build.
4 responses to “Makin’ Habaneros – Part VII: Heat”
11 out of my 25 are 2″ tall. hurry up you canuck. LOL! my 3 butts (bhuts) are smiling at the sunshine and loving it. 🙂
Jay:
I’m sorry that this is jumping the gun on your blog but…
I planted 3 seeds per cell on March 1 – in the size of those 36-cell seedling trays. My cayennes are already seemingly getting too big (1.5″ tall) and it’s only been three weeks. The white habs are well one their way, too.
Do I need to transplant? Should I wait? They are only now starting to make the second set of leaves (barely). I am very nervous about transplanting as I’ve never done it before. But I’m afraid to wait too long, too. HELP!
Pepper Guy,
A 36 Inch cell is pretty big and the peppers are too large yet. One way to ensure that your plant isn’t outgrowing its house is to check the bottom of the tray, do you see roots, and lots of them?
If you do then the plant is getting pot bound and would need to stretch out more in a larger container.
You will probably be ok for another couple of weeks based on previous experience.
–Jay
Pepper Guy,
One more tidbit, kill all but the better, healther plant of each cell. Keep one per cell at this point.
Simply just cut most of the plant off, ensuring not do damage the neighbors.
–Jay