growing peppers in the winter

[Minnesota Mato]

This fall I crossed a caribean red hab with a jalapeno and disided to grow it in my aero garden for fun. It is starting to flower now and I hope I can get seeds from it so I can plant the f2 generation. I have this and about 25 other pepper plants over wintering in my house this year, winters are sooo long lol.
craig

[jennifer28]

Craig,

My sister just gave me an aerogarden. How do you grow your own seeds in it? Did you buy a kit with sponges and nutrients? Also, have you ever used your aero for seed starting your summer garden seeds? I have the aerogarden in my classroom where I teach and we are growing the aero tomatoes in it now, but I'm just curious how well it works for seed starting and such. We are all excited about our new toy.

Jennifer

[Minnesota Mato]

I have done everything with my aero garden! I start all my tomatoes and peppers in them. I bought the garden starter, I think it holds about 70 plants. I start all my peppers in the grow sponges on a heatmat then when they sprout I transfer them. tomatoes I can start right in there. Once they get so big I put them in pots so I can get more batches through. they transfer well into dirt and have a much greater rootmass. I love them, there fun to play with! craig

[tjg911]

this turned out to be nothing like what i had expected.

i googled areo garden to see what it is. why go this way vs just growing under a shop light? you can put many plants under 1 4' shop light tho as they grow they need more room so you get less under a light. is there something about this that makes it a better way to grow something, it seems limited to the number or size of a plant you can grow under it. for example, i have 4 pepper plants (4 areo gardens would be a sizable expenditure) under a shop light that i started from seed on 9/25/2011. this was a germination test that turned into seeing how well the plants would grow that now has turned into a long slow slog to june to get them outside!

i'm not criticizing you for doing this but to my frugal ways this looks like a very expensive way to grow something! maybe it is something to do for the fun of it?

when did you start the seeds for this plant, how old is the plant, how tall is it? i was amazed at the size of the leaves, either they are really large or you have a small hand. could you explain all this?

tom

[Minnesota Mato]

there are pros and cons. It is a basic hydroponic system, with the roots in the water. I did not write down the date I started this plant so I will not pretend or guess. when I first got an aero garden I did alot of trials with half of my seedlings in miracle grow potting soil and the other half in the aero garden. the ones in the aero garden always grew faster, bigger. I even made sure they recieved the same exact amount of light. mine has spots for 6 plants so room is limited, ther is a tray for garden planting that holds 70 seedling. it is a styrofoam peice that floats on the water. They are close together so you can only grow them so big or space them further apart. the best benefit is the root system. The root ball is many times bigger then those grown in regular soil. When I transplant them in soil they are stronger , further ahead, and show no ill affect. I waited for department stores to unload them after christmas and after a few months they were down to 29$ I bought bulk nuitrients for 25$ which give me a couple of years feedings so my cost is minimal. You are right about the shop light, I am constructing a hydroponic/aerogarden system with a ten foot peice of raingutter and a 20 gal aqarium filter so I can fit more plants in it. alone it is just something to play around with but with alittle timing and some soil after awhile I can increase my plant growth greatly.

I just found the receit of the seeds I planted with my cross, I croped a tomatoe plant out of the picture. I recived them on nov 20th so I probily planted it around thanksgiving. It is about 18 inches tall and yes they are really large leaves. that is one thing that really stands out about this plant is its extra large leaves. I plan on re-crossing it back with a habanero or 7pot in hopes of getting a habanero with thick walls. I make alot of hot sauces and want peppers that are thicker and juicier but still have the heat and the flavor of the habenero family. I often try to plant f1 generations in my aero garden to speed things up so I can plant the f2 generation in the garden that spring. craig

[darwinslair]

I just started long season peppers at the beginning of the month, but I do have some peppers I am overwintering. Siberian Peppers do really well for me in pots inside in the winter. Of all my peppers, those are the only ones that seem to actually enjoy it. The rest I just attempt to limp along until spring. My Peppadew "tree" is making it, and one of three lemon drops lived through the transition. If I can get the one left to spring I wont need any other lemon drops. Second year plants equal in production for me 10 first year ones. Other than that, just my rosemary plant is in the house.

Wish I had a heated green house, or a solarium I could keep plants in.

Tom

[tjg911]

thanks craig. i must type more or it won't accept my post.