Starting habaneros from seeds?

[Cole_Robbie]

Originally Posted by JerryHaskins

Habanero seeds may begin sprouting in 11 days and can take up to 5 weeks to germinate

I've read the same thing all over the Internet. My experience has not been that way at all, but my techniques are different than most people. I am a market grower, and I sell a lot of plants in the spring, so it is worth it to me to have a germination room indoors, with a 1000 watt metal halide light. Underneath that big warm light, my superhots will germinate in about five days. I dump my trays after a week and a half or so.

Manzano is the one pepper variety I can never seem to germinate. It might require soaking, which I don't do.

Having some sort of humate or humic acid in the seed-starting mix will speed things up as well. Light Warrior seed-starting mix has a bit of worm castings. Light Warrior is very expensive, but I dilute it so much that one bag gets me through most of the year. A drench of compost tea also does the same. I have tested tomato seeds, and found that the compost tea drench makes them germinate about two days faster.

[JerryHaskins]

Originally Posted by DonDuck

Jerry, you are hilarious. I thought many times about keeping a journal but it is a llttle late in my life to worry about it now. My memory is fleeting. Most people on this forum have forgotten more about growing stuff than I will ever know. I am just smart enough to ask a lot of questions. Enjoy your peppers!

I thought I had it covered last year when I bought a bunch of those little white plastic labeling stakes that they sell in the garden stores.

I labeled everything with a black Magic Marker and stuck the tabs in the soil next to the plants.

Trouble is the ink was not water proof and it all washed off.

I had tried the same thing with wooden popsickle sticks the year before and they rotted before the harvest season was over.

[JerryHaskins]

Thanks Cole Robbie, Don Duck, rhines81, and everybody for the comments.

Y'all are very kind!

[DonDuck]

Cole Robbie,
"Having some sort of humate or humic acid in the seed-starting mix will speed things up as well. Light Warrior seed-starting mix has a bit of worm castings. Light Warrior is very expensive, but I dilute it so much that one bag gets me through most of the year. A drench of compost tea also does the same. I have tested tomato seeds, and found that the compost tea drench makes them germinate about two days faster"

I agree about the humate or humic acid. Some commercial products contain it in very small amounts in their mix recipe, I would like to by it locally in a more pure form. I don't want to order it over the internet. How do you source yours?

[Cole_Robbie]

The worm castings in the Light Warrior mix contain enough humates for seed-starting. The stuff was like $26 a bag last time I bought it, just crazy expensive, but I think worth it when diluted, and especially when used for expensive or rare seeds.

As far as the garden goes, my family has a cow field that has had cattle on it since the Great Depression. The big hale bales get left in the field to rot. With the decomposed hay and manure, in places the soil looks like coffee grounds. That is the material I scrape up and use for raised beds in the garden, and also what I use for compost tea starter.

[DonDuck]

I seem to remember Humate as a naturally occurring mineral or a by product of some type of mining operation. If that is accurate, it should be readily available to gardeners; but I never see to find it gardening supply stores or big box stores. My memory may not be functioning properly tonight and I may be way off base on the source of humate.

[Cole_Robbie]

Humic acid can be mined, yes. It looks like coal dust. I have some I ordered from kelp4less. But humates is a broader term for decomposed, formerly-living material. Compost is a good example. Worm castings are another, as well as other manures. Rich soil is usually dark in color, from a high humate content.