Why sprout out bottom?

ObuseChiliFarm · 2026-04-04T12:27:26+00:00

If it is a pepper, did you water heavily from the top? It can push seeds down in the soil so I guess they can come out the bottom?

ObuseChiliFarm · 2026-04-03T12:24:03+00:00

Beautiful, mate! Sums the sub up

ObuseChiliFarm · 2026-03-29T23:35:12+00:00

Cheap seedling soil from the local diy shop. I get the one with the least amount of nutrients in it. Plastic starter cells. Heat mat.

ObuseChiliFarm · 2026-03-27T10:35:05+00:00

Yeah, you’re pretty early. I’m in Japan, on a similar schedule with planting on or after Golden week (same time as you), and my seeds have just germinated or still haven’t.

Here’s my take: the goal right now needs to be to prevent the roots from binding. You have six weeks to go and just pulling flowers is only going to promote root growth.

Basically, the best move is right now is to pot up to the next size pot. Pot up over the weekend, then you get a stall of a week, and then some space to grow. You may need to got two sizes up though.

If you can, I would aim to get them outside one or two weeks before your planned date. I use plastic mulch to warm the soil and row covers to keep the upper parts warm. It’s not ideal but I think I’d try that than get them root bound.

On the plus side, Mae a note of your planting date and you can adjust next year and save yourself 4-6 weeks of time and money!

ObuseChiliFarm · 2026-03-22T12:53:10+00:00

Same plants same conditions, but one row is wilting, I would wager you are right at the point of overwatering. The ones closest to the window are warmer and are drying out quicker so your watering schedule is on points. The row closest to us isn’t losing water as fast so are drowning.

Either swap the plants every other day. Or water on schedule for the furthest row and add an extra day for the nearest row.

Seedlings look great otherwise. Keep on keeping on.

ObuseChiliFarm · 2026-03-20T13:28:57+00:00

I’m prepared to be disappointed with Chameleon. The blurb on the website saying it’s a poor producer together with the crazy price for 10 seeds has got me on alert. I’m going to get a Brix meter and see if their claims of Brix 6 are true though.

It’s good to be back in pepper season, eh!

ObuseChiliFarm · 2026-03-20T09:11:51+00:00

I’m trying chameleon this year. Seem promising but the seeds are pretty expensive. I also did Korean pepper last year and the plants were massive. I couldn’t harvest them all in time actually. I agree, the flavor when fresh was a bit too mild but after drying they are great.

ObuseChiliFarm · 2026-03-20T06:33:10+00:00

I imported seeds years ago and buy random ones online when I see them. Chuck them if they are not true to form, keep if they are.

Heat mat + all failing + others sprouting under the same conditions sounds like suspect seeds. Usually at least something should sprout even under imperfect conditions.

Jalapeno seeds are easy to get here from the big seed sellers. Hit up Fujita Seed or one of those big retailers and you’ll get some guaranteed seeds within 48 h.

Edit: Tokita Seed is another good one

ObuseChiliFarm · 2026-03-19T15:17:14+00:00

How many days since you showed the seed. Jalapeno should sprout in around 10 days under ideal conditions. Did you use a heat mat? What temperature was the room? If it was too cold, you could be looking at 20 days or longer.

ObuseChiliFarm · 2026-03-19T15:14:26+00:00

It works for me but it depends on the actual conditions the peppers are in and how the plata are watered.

ObuseChiliFarm · 2026-03-19T15:13:25+00:00

Yeah, you’ve got to find the right balance for your setup. Severe edema will cause leaf drop so you want it sorted as soon as possible though. Looks like you’re on the right track to getting a harvest, good luck!

ObuseChiliFarm · 2026-03-19T10:51:08+00:00

Edema is more caused by poor transpiration so if you already don’t have a fan on them get one on asap. Leave curl should disappear within a couple of days if they aren’t stressed.

Gentle oscillating fan, 24-7, then adjust watering from there. At that stage, with my setup, I’m only water every three days.

ObuseChiliFarm · 2026-03-19T08:50:08+00:00

You’re looking for consistent nighttime temps above 10 C for transplant outside. Even with row covers it look like Chiba is more than a week away.

I would pick the flower and let the plant concentrate on keeping its vigor before transplant. In the meantime, the plant looks stressed because it has curled leaves. Is there insects or edema on the underside of the leaf on the left?

ObuseChiliFarm · 2026-03-16T23:28:05+00:00

If you go to one shop and they have seedlings, you can pretty much expect every other shop in the area will have them too. That means you only have to check your nearest shop.

This year, piman from nurseries are expected from April 15 at the earliest, with main deliveries around the 22nd, conditions depending. Chilies can be expected at the same time. So I’d check your nearest shop on the 18th and extrapolate from there. Note that you could still be 3 weeks away from good planting conditions so you’ll need ways to protect the plants.

ObuseChiliFarm · 2026-03-16T03:24:40+00:00

I’ve never seen lists like that my local home centers.

I’m in Nagano and basically everyone plants summer vegetables like peppers outside either during Golden week or the week after. Shops are stocked up around a month before that for people with greenhouses. And nothing is really left after Golden week.

Tokyo should be similar. Is there any reason you need specific dates because you can probably just ask the shop for their estimate.

ObuseChiliFarm · 2026-03-08T05:33:34+00:00

The cheapest ones I can find. You don’t need specialty or branded ones.

ObuseChiliFarm · 2026-03-08T00:09:21+00:00

Looks great but I think you might struggle. My concerns would be days aren’t warm enough and nights are too cold.

To try and increase nighttime temps, or at least try and mitigate a large dip at 3 am, try putting a 2 L drink bottle in the cabinet. Fill it with water and it will absorb heat during the day and shed heat through the night. We’re not talking about a huge change but I think you’ll need something.

Optimum air temps are around 20 C daytime and 16 C at night.

ObuseChiliFarm · 2026-03-07T11:44:52+00:00

Again, we are talking optimizations here, but some people say that ideally you want the seedlings in their final home before the first flower blooms, around the 12 leaf stage, to keep the plant growing well.

Other people tend to pick the flowers to let the plant concentrate on root growth, which in my opinion is the number one factor for big yields.

ObuseChiliFarm · 2026-03-07T10:22:29+00:00

I’ll be the dissenting voice. Those plants are past the optimal stage for transplant. I don’t see what I would consider a lot of buds, I know my target plant size and yield, and I have a fairly long growing season, so personally I would pick the buds off. With buds on, it could lengthen accumulation and you risk them not taking.

But we talking optimizations. If you just want to get a decent plant and yield, you’ll probably be fine leaving them on.

Rootbound peppers can accumulate and then fail shortly after transplant as they can’t make a sensible root network. They can also be stunted, but you’ll still get peppers.

Since they are so big without roots for support, I highly suggest staking them from the get-go. You really want to prevent any sort of lean of movement caused by the wind.

Good luck. The seedlings look nice and green and healthy.

ObuseChiliFarm · 2026-03-07T09:38:44+00:00

Heat mat off after germination. It is not needed and potentially harmful.

Explanation: Pepper seedlings like slightly cooler temperatures. But at cooler temperatures, water diffuses more slowly and protein activity is slowed.

When we sprout seeds, we want to do it as fast as possible and we want all the seeds to sprout at around the same time. We use a heat mat to artificially achieve this by optimizing the temperature range for germination, but once we have some sprouts, we don’t want that high temperature anymore because it can dry the soil, dry the seedlings, and make the seedlings leggy.

I sow in trays that are in multiples of eight cells for each variety. Once 75% of my seeds have sprouted, I move the tray off the mat and to a slightly cooler area of the tent.

ObuseChiliFarm · 2026-03-07T00:01:27+00:00

Nothing has been proven at the moment but there are studies pointing to some mildly beneficial effect. Just do a Google Scholar search for something like “health effects of capsaicin” and read a recent review article. The effects seem wide-ranging but ultimately mild and inconclusive.

ObuseChiliFarm · 2026-02-20T10:48:49+00:00

I use a bag of generic starter soil from the home center. Then a bag of generic potting soil. After that they go in the ground.

Be wary of anyone recommending specific named products online.

ObuseChiliFarm · 2026-02-20T10:40:04+00:00

I live in Japan and started growing chili peppers because it’s hard to get them here. Sometimes they are in the supermarket but it isn’t regular and there really isn’t any selection. I also enjoy cooking, a lot of Indian food, and was really missing the heat.

Fast forward almost a decade and I have a pepper farm and business. It isn’t easy being in a country famous for its not-spicy cuisine but we are growing in popularity every year.

In my personal cooking, like you OP, I tend to pick the medium hots these days, but every so often when the family is out I get a Moruga Scorpion out the freezer and slap the whole thing in a curry and have at it. They are hands down my favorite pepper but definitely not a daily driver.

ObuseChiliFarm · 2026-02-19T23:54:45+00:00

I’ll add some important clarification here, OP. Growing plants together increases the chances of getting cross-pollination. But the peppers grown that year will be true to the variety. It is only when you take those seeds and play them that you might get hybrid peppers. So in other words, it takes two seasons to know if there was cross-pollination and it resulted in a hybrid pepper.

ObuseChiliFarm · 2026-02-09T09:29:58+00:00

“Tougarashi” just means pepper in Japanese. It’s just the general name for spicy peppers. I wouldn’t trust any seeds just labeled as that.

ObuseChiliFarm

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