Seed sources:
The seeds that I bought from Pepper Joe were very satisfactory. Each envelope contained at least the number of seeds that were advertised,
and the seeds were generally in excellent condition. All told, the seeds produced healthy, vigorous, fruitful plants. The same can be said for the seeds I bought from Tough Love Chile Company,
with the exception of very poor germination percentage (22%) from the NuMex Twilight seeds and the troubling fact that the Thai Hot seeds produced three distinct types of plants (see Author's Comments for this variety on the
Seeds for 2001 page).
Conclusions: I continue to recommend Pepper Joe as a source for chile pepper seeds. I reserve judgement on Tough Love Chile Company until I have evaluated
more of their seeds. Top
When to start seeds:
In 2000, I started seeds on 20 March, and concluded that "[t]he start date used for 2000 (20 March) was a more appropriate starting date that that used for 1999 (30 Jan), [but was] not 100% optimal". This season, root development was excellent at each of the repotting stages (thoroughly-developed root-balls
with no plants being root-bound), and the timing of the final repotting matched the coming of warm weather very well.
Conclusions: The start date used for 2001 (6 March) was optimal. The first week of March should continue to be the target for my start date. Top
Change in germination conditions:
As discussed on the Conclusions for 2000 page, some household changes caused "[t]he ambient temperature profile during the germination process [to change] from the 1999 season to the 2000 season, and this impacted germination". My solution was to build a shallow, heated open-top enclosure to hold seed
cups during germination and the early vegetative growth stage with a view to improving germination rates and initial growth rates. I built the enclosure and used it during the 2001 season, and germination and early growth rates improved dramatically over 2000, coming back into line with my 1999 results.
Conclusions: The heated germination box provided the expected benefits. Continue to use it for germination and early vegetative growth stage. Top
Last updated 31 January 2015.
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