Going to try my apparent green thumb at this...

[Ricky Shaw]

Hiya Kimchi, nice thread and beautiful pics. These plants are very young to be exhibiting this much leaf curl. Older plants, stressed at the rigors of weather and inconsistent water, pests, or herbicide drift are usual suspects. Of those factors, I would look at water.

[KimchiMonger]

Howdy Ricky Shaw, and thank you for noticing what I thought might be an issue. But I've remained unsure all the while. The only water I've given the plants is direct from my koi pond. Well the fish are 8-10" long gold fish. Water is crystal clear, chemical free, and constantly moved and churned. I thought it might be the kind of nutrient rich water the plants would benefit from. I'll watch the plants for this issue now that I've switched to day old tap water that has evaporated any chlorine.

Also laying off the watering! Must admit I've been thorough on the watering. Just read elsewhere that leaf curling can be caused by several factors but overwatering is most common cause.

[KimchiMonger]

Decided to take the (3) 7-8" Mountain Gold plants and set them outside on a patio table today. Small chance for showers but the area is protected with minimal rain fall. They still continue with leaf curl. Last night had to water them just a little as the soil dried up well overnight with the combined 600W LED lights and small fan. Reason for my daily but slight watering was the soil drying up so much overnight. Shame this is an issue considering how thick the main stem and laterals have grown. The others are doing really well, with spread out leaves, and no sign of this leaf curl. They remain under LED lights.

[BigVanVader]

Sounds like your watering too much. I usually water my seedlings once a week, maybe twice once they get 6 inches high or bigger. You want the soil to dry completely between watering. Using water from outside can also introduce fungus/bacteria. Stick to warm tap water.

[KimchiMonger]

Will definitely lay off the watering. When I first noticed the leaf curl, I thought it was LACK OF WATER, not the other way around. I hope I didn't damage beyond repair as they were coming along so well. Will update yall next weekend.

[BigVanVader]

Good Luck! It is normal to over-love your plants at first. I killed all mine my first season and had to buy my plants from a garden center.

[Ricky Shaw]

My seedling game got 10X better with high porosity mixes and freely draining pots. Coir with 25% perlite, diatamceous earth (floor dry), peat 50%/ perlite50%, promixHP are great starters and nearly impossible to overwater. You're going to see more vibrant root growth, less incidence of damping off, and plants that take off quicker after potting up.

[KimchiMonger]

Now that sounds like a very good and aerated mix! Will try that sort of mix next time I begin from seed. These seedlings took off well in original miracle grow starter mix of some sort. It was when they reached about 5" that I transplanted them into Dr. Earth Vegetable mix soil that I began over watering. Been a couple of days without water and they have improved a little. One of them has come back really well! Good lesson learned. I overreacted to a dry soil top due to lamps and low fan air but apparently still wet further down the 16oz cups. These are all in a two cup pot. Inner cup has drain holes and housed in a second intact cup. The rest of my tomato/super hot seedlings seem to appreciate less water as well!

[Gardeneer]

I mix DE (floor dry) and peat moss ( ~ 30/70 ?)
What DE does is to aerate and improve drainage, while storing moisture. .
I have stopped using perlite.

[Tracydr]

I think the hardest part with peppers,especially the chinoise types is germination. I had some very weak seeds one year and couldn't get anything to germinate,even with heat mat. New batch of seeds and everything came up fine.
They grow more slowly than tomatoes but overall, I find them much easier.
My favorite is Datil. I least I think that's what it was. I lost all the labels last year. I've overwinter about 10 and this year most of them are this variety,plus a Ghost and a jalapeño.
I love the super host,especially when they aren't so hot that I can use them on pizza or as a topping for baked potatoes.
I've had an issue with overwatering this winter. The mix I made was too heavy. They do like it gritty!

[rdback]

Originally Posted by KimchiMonger

... The only water I've given the plants is direct from my koi pond. Well the fish are 8-10" long gold fish. Water is crystal clear, chemical free, and constantly moved and churned. I thought it might be the kind of nutrient rich water the plants would benefit from...

In my opinion KM, that's a great way of thinking. Sounds like your koi pond is healthy and thriving, so the water should be excellent for your plants. Certainly better than Dallas city water. Just don't water so often.

[KimchiMonger]

2/24/17 - The leaf curling has been reduced. Watered today after 3 days of allowing grow cups to dry out. They all responded very positively! The peppers have filled their grow cups and will separate and repot them tomorrow. Hope I don't have too much a tangled root mess to deal with.

So following the loss of a few seedlings, and thining out the available stock, this is what I end up with thus far:

(4) Mountain Gold
(4) Giant Belgium
(4) Yellow Brandywine
(1) Costoluto Genovese
(4) Black Tom.
(2) Chocolate Stripe
(3) Virginia Sweets
(5) Cherokee Carbon

[KimchiMonger]

2/25/17 - Had to raise the lights again this Saturday morning. The first planted Mountain Gold seeds are the tallest at 8.5 inches tall. Been a little over two weeks since I added a little miracle gro to water. Discovered how much moisture this Dr. Earth Garden Mix really retains when I emptied a cup that had a dead seedling. It was moist and not needing any water despite the hard crusty surface! For repotting I had mixed the Dr. Earth with a tsp of Plant-tone per quart.

As member Ricky Shaw had noted earlier, a couple of these plants exhibited leaf curl and suggested laying off the water. Once I did so, the plants improved. Now off to repot some of those super hots.

Below first photo is one of my Black Tomato seedlings followed by the recovering Mountain Gold Tomato.

[Gardeneer]

My peppers are out of light. They get sun outside during the day and go to the garage to sleep.
They will do this drill for a while after my tomatoes are planted out. It would depend on how the weather will be then. Also the soil temperatures. I have mostly mild and sweet peppers. My hottest this year Scotch Bonnet, Chinese 5 color , Newmex Sunset, and black Pearl.
my belated one is Poblano. I just checked : they have germinated in zipbag/paper towel. Gotta put them in soil.
I love Poblanos. They are pleasantly mild but flavorful. They go well on the grill/flame.

[KimchiMonger]

3/5/17 - All the seedlings have been oudoors on my patio for a few days now. Despite a little rain last night and low temps between 48-60 degrees, they have a little pep in their overall look. Leaf curl gradually replaced with decent looking leaves that aern't curling or wilting.


Pictured below Giant Belgium and Virginia Sweets tomatoes. Pepper shots include Purple Ghost and Trinidad Scorption Chocolate.