Started Peppers indoors about 10 days ago. Seed starting mix is 50% Sphagnum Peat Moss, 17% worm castings, 17% perlite, and 17% vermiculite. I have them under grow lights (2” away) for 12 hours per day (on a timer). Ambient temp is 60 degrees. Bottom watered as indicated by soil conditions. Utilizing a DILUTE solution (15ml/gallon) of FoxFarm liquid plant food every other watering. However, the peppers looked like this prior to first administration. Any ideas?
by AWintergarten
7 Comments
Did the seed shells get stuck on the leaves as it was sprouting? It pinches them and prevents those first leaves from growing right. This is what mine looked like when that happened last year.
Leave the worm castings out. Seed starting mix needs no nutrition, and can be harmful to the baby plants. A seed has everything it needs to get you to the first set of leaves, which is when it should be transplanted. That next mix can have a little nutrition in it. No compost though. For your current problem I agree with the other person it was probably a seed shell crimping the leaves.
I didn’t notice at first your comment about feeding liquid plant food. Definitely don’t do that. That’s why the tips are burnt. Way too small for that.
Normal, and almost certainly related to physical restraints of the seed casing.
You have no problem. It’s just the cotyledon (baby leaves) being crimped from the seed during germination.
To comment on feeding the seedlings. Contrary to what others are saying, you can feed your seedlings this young. I have been doing this for almost 20 years and keep very detailed notes on variety. Every pepper variety I have tested will germinate in miracle grow potting soil. (There are other plants where the chemical fertilizers inhibit germination)
The only concern is making sure you don’t burn the plants from a high nutrient concentration.
Agreed with what has been said about it being normal. Those are Cotyledons and are not true leaves. Most likely got pinched during germination by the seed shell. I always get a few that look like rejects but the first set of true leaves are perfect. Don’t worry about it.
I greatly appreciate everyone’s input. Yes, definitely had the seed shell stuck on a few. I gently coaxed off (not sure if this is recommended). I also appreciate the input on worm castings and feeding. I watch a few guys on YouTube religiously and decided I’d try their recommendations on some real low organic fertilizers (e.g., 0.5-0.5-0) to see if it made any difference. Still experimenting.