Should I individually pot these peppers? They will be inside the house for about 5ish more weeks. I will slowly introduce them to outside in 3ish weeks. Will they be ok in the trays until I officially transplant them in my garden the first week of May or should I pot them individually now? Thanks!
by injeolmi55
9 Comments
If the roots aren’t overwhelming the container then they should be fine
I started snail rolling seedlings when they get true leaves. Seems to be working great.
My guess is that they will be starting to get a bit rootbound by the end but that wouldn’t worry me. The usual risk with large-ish plants in small containers is that they dry out in the blink of an eye if you arent rigorous with your watering schedule.
So if I thought there was a risk with watering I’d pot them on, if not, I’d leave them until they can be planted out. Those on the right look less advanced.
A lot of people will say wait for 2-3 sets of true leaves, but I’ve been potting up plants the same size as yours for several years now and I don’t think I’ve lost a single one in the process. In comparing growth side by side, over the long term the plants that are potted up earlier wind up doing better.
You have to be pretty careful because the roots are super delicate at this point, but if you let the cell dry out completely, you should be able to pinch the cell from the bottom to loosen the soil plug then gently turn the seedling out into the palm of your hand. You shouldn’t have to yank by the stem at all.
The main thing to be concerned about is overwatering, because the larger pots can trap a ton of water which can drown the roots of the tiny seedling. So just be mindful of that.
As an aside, the best way I’ve found is directly sowing seeds into [3.5″ deep pots](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06WP51MPF?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1). The difference in growth over 2 months between the directly sown seeds vs seeds started in tiny cells and potted up was dramatic. They were sown at the same time and grown side by side in identical conditions with identical feeding schedules. The directly sown plants wound up about 20%-30% larger than the transplanted ones. Something to consider experimenting with 🙂
I suggest you pot them up into 4″ containers. I’ve made it a practice to transplant from cell packs when the plant’s first true leaves (as opposed to the cotyledons [seed leaves]) have expanded. That way, when you plant them in the ground their root system will be more developed.
I suggest watering with ½ strength Miracle Gro and Seasol, allowing the media to get to the barely moist stage before watering thoroughly again. High light to keep them from stretching (etiolating).
Pictured: what I’m calling a 4″ pot (with chives in it.)
https://preview.redd.it/q5zy6uvm6pqe1.jpeg?width=2736&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7931cadddd0336714066066ddc345d3203ff4d9e
I wouldn’t yet
I’d wait until they are 3x as tall as the container they are in
Potting up has nothing to do with the foliage, and everything to do with the roots. Wait until they start poking out the bottom, and pot up then. That goes for every plant. If you want a reference, mine had around 3 sets of true leaves. Check around then, but I recognize your cell trays, they’re transparent, so just check them once in a while.
probably soon