Habanero pepper seeds successfully harvested/germinated

My habanero pepper seeds have finally germinated!



I came by these seeds in a slightly unusual fashion.  As a spicy food enthusiast, I love habanero peppers, and try to always have at least two or three on hand for spicing up nachos, pierogies, mashed potatoes, etc.  A bag of these peppers got tucked away in the back of the refrigerator, and instead of getting moldy, they dried out in a really pretty way.  Their orange color had darkened and they looked almost crystallized.

Habanero peppers are one of the hottest in the world, and I was pleased that the refrigerator-dried peppers had retained their spiciness.  As I chopped them up for cooking, I noticed that the seeds were completely dry and seemingly intact.  I don´t know much about harvesting seeds, but I know you have to dry them out first, and so these seemed like potential candidates for growing my own habanero pepper plants.

I looked up the planting and germinating instructions for habanero peppers at Renee´s Garden, and planted all the seeds I could harvest from the last dried-out pepper.  I´ve loaned out my seedling heat mat, and so I was concerned that the seeds might not germinate without that extra heat.  As the days and then weeks passed, I began to water the seeds with increasingly warmer tap water to try to really heat up the soil and encourage germination.  Finally, after almost a month, I have two habanero pepper seedlings and indications of at least one other germinating seed.

Like most peppers, it seems that habaneros really like hot weather.  Renee´s Garden recommends "sowing the seeds indoors in February or March, and then transplanting them outside when nighttime temperatures are consistently 50-55 F."  As with the pimientos de padrón, though, I can´t imagine that in this climate I´ll be planting these peppers in the garden before late June, if at all.  It seems at least possible to container garden habanero pepper plants and have them flower and fruit as a perennial.  This seems especially ideal since supposedly the hotter the growing temperatures, the spicier the peppers become, and it would be much easier to consistently supply the plants with hot and bright growing conditions indoors.  Year-round, home grown habanero peppers sounds fantastic.

more transplanting and a(nother) new greenhouse

After only two weeks, the tomato and pepper plants are already growing out of their peat pots:

The second batch of Maglia Rosa cherry and Dukat dill had also outgrown their containers:

So I decided to do some more transplanting.  Since the tomatoes had outgrown their new pots so quickly, I  chose a much larger upgrade, and bought 50 round, plastic "Classic 200" containers.  They are tapered, measuring ~5.75" deep and in diameter.  So far I've only transplanted 10 of the tomato plants, and of those, most are Santiam and Red House Free Standing.

In order to be able to transplant the tomatoes, I needed to have a space for the plants in their larger containers.  I bought from Lowe's a "Garden Treasures" greenhouse for $40.  It's 64" x 35.5" x 19" and has a really nice heavy-duty clear plastic cover with two zippers running up the front to make for convenient access to the plants. 

 

I've installed this new greenhouse in the south-facing sun room on the first floor.  This room is heated through vents in the floor, and I've positioned the greenhouse so that it is on top of half of one of the vents.  This seems to be providing sufficient heat and airflow to the structure.  

It still isn't consistently sunny here, so I've installed a 2' single T5 bulb fixture as supplementary lighting.  So far, I've transplanted and moved one each of Crimson Sprinter and Oregon Spring Bush tomato, and four each Santiam and Red House Free Standing tomato.  The Santiam and RHFS are both determinates that are supposed to reach maximum heights of ~30", so I'm not too worried about them outgrowing the structure any time soon.  I moved the Crimson Sprinter and OSB as more of an experiment to see how they'd do in a cooler and darker environment as compared to the growing shelf of the main greenhouse structure.  Even if this noticeably slows down the growth of these tomato plants, it will only help to space out the eventual tomato harvest.  

The newly-transplanted Maglia Rosa cherry tomatoes have joined the larger transplanted tomatoes in the new greenhouse.

  

I think they look dwarfed there by the other tomato plants, and even the basil.  Again, it will be interesting to compare their growth in this environment with the other Maglia Rosa plants growing in the warmer and brighter greenhouse.

All of the Garden sage, (second batch) Dukat dill, and Slow Bolt cilantro have now been transplanted into more permanent containers and placed by a window.

Close-ups, Dukat dill:

Garden sage and Purple Opal basil:

 

Purple Opal basil hanging by a west-facing window in the sun room:

 

I need more containers before I can transplant the rest of the Purple Opal basil.  Then I can use all of the shelf space in the new greenhouse for transplanted tomatoes.

fan installed and incredible growth continues

I finally installed a fan on the growing shelf to help circulate the air. 

Small fan attached to the greenhouse structure on the growing shelf blowing air just above the tops of the plants:

I'm thinking that this will be useful in two main ways.  One, keeping the air moving should help to prevent all the hot air from rising to and staying at the top of the greenhouse structure.  Two, it will prevent stagnant air in the greenhouse.  Stagnant air can allow pest problems and mold to develop, and also can starve the plants of CO2.  In the Greenhouse Gardener's Companion, Shane Smith writes that in still air a plant can draw out most of the CO2 just above the surface of its leaves, creating an envelope of CO2 deficient air.  Adding a fan to stir up the air around the plants prevents this type of CO2 deficiency.  It also helps to strengthen the stem and roots of the plant by mimicking wind.  This is especially important if the plants are going to be transplanted outside later.

The second batch of Dukat dill on the germinating shelf has really taken off.  I have no idea why more of the seeds didn't germinate the first time I planted them, but they are doing fantastically this time.  They have all put out their primary leaves, and probably will need to be transplanted soon.

Dukat dill on the germinating shelf:

They have already surpassed in height the lone dill plant from the first batch of seeds.

All the plants on the growing shelf continue to exceed my most optimistic expectations.  An excerpt:

Oregon Spring Bush tomato:

 

Crimson Sprinter tomato:

Red House Free Standing tomato:

 

Santiam tomato:

Maglia Rosa cherry tomato:

Chadwick cherry tomato:

Fox cherry tomato:

Pimientos de Padrón:

 Purple Opal basil:

first transplant slideshow

Here's a slideshow of all the plants after their first transplant.



I really can't believe how quickly the tomato plants are recovering.  The Maglia Rosa cherry tomato plants all had roots growing ~5" past their plastic slots, so I guess I waited too long.  Thankfully, all the tomato plants seem to be doing fantastically now.

Today, I had to raise the 2' 2-bulb fixture on the germinating shelf since the second batch of Maglia Rosa cherry tomato and Dukat dill have both gotten so tall.

Germinating shelf, Dukat dill and Maglia Rosa cherry tomato:

Dukat dill, second batch:

 

Maglia Rosa cherry tomatoes, second batch:

 

I can't believe how many tomato plants (and hopefully, therefore, tomatoes) I'm going to have.

I installed another velcro flap this morning.  So there are now two providing access to the front of the germinating shelf, and one each on the front and back of the growing shelf.  It's nice to be able to get in and out of the greenhouse so easily, but the greenhouse temperature seems to be decreasing as the number of flaps increases, which suggests that there's air is leaking out through the velcro seals.  As it gets warmer out, this won't be as much of an issue.  For now, I'm covering the velcro with packing tape to make a tighter seal.

happy plants and new sprouts, new slideshow soon

I have to say, I'm really quite impressed with how well the plants have taken to the new greenhouse post-transplant.  I've read that some plants, particularly peppers, don't like to be transplanted.  Thus far, I've seen nothing but improvements in all the plants, especially the tomatoes.  It's really better than I could've hoped for.  In only a few days time, I've seen not only tremendous growth, but also a return of the green pigment to the shriveled and yellowing leaves.  I'm working on a slideshow to show-off the progress the tomato plants have made.  It's really so nice to see them all looking so leafy and green again.  I think they are going to make a full photo-bleaching recovery.

The cilantro plots seem to be doing well in their new pot by the window:

They really look so small there, though, especially compared to the cilantro herb packets that they sell at the grocery store.

Somehow the Fino Verde basil and the tarragon have sprouted already, even though I just planted them Sunday night.  This has to be a record, and an especially impressive one at that, considering that I'm not using the seedling heat mat to speed up the germination.

The newly sprouted FinoVerde basil:

and the tarragon:

I still haven't installed any fans for ventilation, although I have put in a few more velcro flaps.  Hopefully I'll have time to work on the ventilation and air circulation this weekend.

transplant success, new herb seeds

The transplant operation on Sunday went really well.

On the top shelf of the new greenhouse in 3" diameter peat pots being illuminated by the new Quantum T5 Bad Boy are:

17 purple opal basil, 

11 Oregon Spring Bush tomato, 

8 Santiam tomato, 

8 Crimson Sprinter tomato,

7 Chadwick cherry tomato,

7 Fox cherry tomato,

6 Maglia Rosa cherry tomato, 

6 pimientos de padrón, 

5 Red House Free Standing tomato,

4 Garden sage,

1 Dukat dill.

In 2.5" square peat pots on the second shelf are the tiny herbs:  4 each of the tarragon and marjoram.

 

I decided that I should probably let them grow a little taller before I put them up on the top shelf since the light fixture is so much higher there.  They are currently being illuminated by one of the two 2' T5 bulbs that had previously been lighting the second shelf of the old greenhouse.  I combined the six slots of cilantro into a single large clay pot and placed them in the kitchen by a window that receives direct sun for several hours every morning.

The new greenhouse structure is really fantastic.  I love having so much more space.  I can really get my head into the grow space and interact with the plants more.  Watering is also now much easier, as I have plenty of space to manuever a watering can.

With more space has come my first bug as well, a gnat.  As the warmest and moistest place in the house, I'm actually surprised that more bugs haven't found their way in.  

Tonight I used velcro to install some basic flaps in the plastic sheeting wrapped around the structure.  My next goal with the greenhouse is to set-up a few fans for air circulation and ventilation on the top (grow) shelf.  

On the germinating shelf, I've already started my next batch of seeds.  Before the move to the new greenhouse, I had reseeded the Dukat dill to make up for the yield of only one plant from before.  I don't know why, but they seem to have germinated much better this time around.

Dukat dill sprouts:

To replace the rest of the transplanted herbs, I've planted more Garden sage, tarragon, Syriaca Zaatar marjoram, and a new type of sweet basil from Seeds of Change called Fino Verde.  I think that the sweet basil seeds that I planted from Ferry-Morse had fusarium disease.  They all grew to about the same height and then suddenly became brown, wilted, and died.  I'm hoping to have better luck with the Fino Verde.

Wilty sweet basil next to healthy sweet basil that has since turned wilty, brown, dead:

I've also ordered from Renee's Garden the herbs that were no longer available from Seeds of Change, namely: True Greek Oregano, French Rosemary, French Thyme, and some Heirloom Pepperbox Poppy.  I think that poppies are so pretty, and apparently the pods are "handsome" and the "nutty-tasting seeds" can be used for cooking and baking, while the pods can be kept for beautiful decoration.  I can't wait.

Thanks for the transplant assistance, guest gardener.