Flowering Indoors

stoopeechee · May 3, 2011

I started my early varieties awfully early and now have some of my stupice staring to flower. Will they make it another couple weeks indoors w/out ill affects?

les matzek · May 3, 2011

what size of pot are they in ?, if they are
in at least a one gallon pot you should be
able to keep them growing for two to three
weeks and not have any setbacks, good
luck.

les

stoopeechee · May 3, 2011

No, unfortunately they are in 16 ounce cups. Do you think it's stress on the plant causing the flowering? Also, they are very leggy, but I planned on trenching them.

les matzek · May 3, 2011

could be but i still re-pot up to one
gallon nursery pots (about 75.centh each)
bury them to within one to one and a half
inches of the true leafs,regards.

les

ddsack · May 3, 2011

Stupice always are the first to flower among my seedlings, not surprising since they are an early. They almost always have blossoms by the time I get them in the ground. You can remove them if it bothers you, I just let them be. I started my seeds the last week of March and right now they are in 12.5 oz cups and look stocky and healthy, but I have been ferrying them out to a plastic greenhouse during the day since they sprouted, and have a fan on them when they are forced to be in the house under lights on colder days. They come in every night that the temp is less than 40F. Growth is now exploding and I will have to transplant once more before they get in the ground. I have too many seedlings to use very much larger pots, because chances are good that they will still have to be moved inside on frosty nights for several more weeks. So I will end up with 16oz cups, or more likely 4 1/2" inch round plastic pots that I have hundreds of pots and fitted trays for. (A friend retrieved them from a landscaper that did a large project a couple of years ago. The pots are dark green or orange and I can Sharpie write on them, cross out and re-use. There are 12 pots per tray.) I can't sink them as deep as I would like, but at least there is room for the roots to spread out and not stall growth too much until I get them in the garden. Luckily, my sister will be coming in two weeks and will take away 2/3rds of my plants to points further south, and that will cut my work down a lot.

If it's impossible for you to transplant, I would use a very light diluted fertilizer occasionally and maybe also foliar spray to keep the plants healthy, but if you still have as long as three weeks left before you can plant, transplanting is a better option.

May 3, 2011	#1
stoopeechee Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: SE MI Posts: 33	Flowering Indoors I started my early varieties awfully early and now have some of my stupice staring to flower. Will they make it another couple weeks indoors w/out ill affects?

May 3, 2011	#5
ddsack Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Northern Minnesota - zone 3 Posts: 3,231	Stupice always are the first to flower among my seedlings, not surprising since they are an early. They almost always have blossoms by the time I get them in the ground. You can remove them if it bothers you, I just let them be. I started my seeds the last week of March and right now they are in 12.5 oz cups and look stocky and healthy, but I have been ferrying them out to a plastic greenhouse during the day since they sprouted, and have a fan on them when they are forced to be in the house under lights on colder days. They come in every night that the temp is less than 40F. Growth is now exploding and I will have to transplant once more before they get in the ground. I have too many seedlings to use very much larger pots, because chances are good that they will still have to be moved inside on frosty nights for several more weeks. So I will end up with 16oz cups, or more likely 4 1/2" inch round plastic pots that I have hundreds of pots and fitted trays for. (A friend retrieved them from a landscaper that did a large project a couple of years ago. The pots are dark green or orange and I can Sharpie write on them, cross out and re-use. There are 12 pots per tray.) I can't sink them as deep as I would like, but at least there is room for the roots to spread out and not stall growth too much until I get them in the garden. Luckily, my sister will be coming in two weeks and will take away 2/3rds of my plants to points further south, and that will cut my work down a lot. If it's impossible for you to transplant, I would use a very light diluted fertilizer occasionally and maybe also foliar spray to keep the plants healthy, but if you still have as long as three weeks left before you can plant, transplanting is a better option. __________________ Dee ************** Last edited by ddsack; May 3, 2011 at 04:00 PM. Reason: after further review -- realized pots were not 6", but 4 1/2"

May 3, 2011	#2
les matzek Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Landers, CA Posts: 191	what size of pot are they in ?, if they are in at least a one gallon pot you should be able to keep them growing for two to three weeks and not have any setbacks, good luck. les