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  1. #21
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    Re: Peppers ..... mine won't sprout :?

    Try artificially pollenating them.

  2. #22
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    Re: Peppers ..... mine won't sprout :?

    hi everyone, the only way i could get my pepper's or tomato's to produce fruit
    was to hand pollinate them with a small paint brush it's time consuming but it
    work's. good luck Big Al

  3. #23
    Moderator urbanfarmer's Avatar
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    Re: Peppers ..... mine won't sprout :?

    I touch the nail of my finger to the pollen (anther) then to the male part (stigma). I tap at it a few times to make sure, but it ALWAYS works. Sometimes when I am lazy and there are a lot of flowers, I just give it a few quick but gentle shakes. In Florida, the paper wasp seems to LOVE pepper flowers. I have some in containers, and if I put them out I almost always see one of these little guys fly up withing MINUTES. I guess it has to do with the color or maybe the smell? I see everything else go to it too, but wasps seem to gravitate towards them.

  4. #24
    Moderator stucco's Avatar
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    Re: Peppers ..... mine won't sprout :?

    Just a note to those of you starting peppers this spring... we do a lot of bells and hot peppers and have come find that peppers like a little bit of sulfur both in seed starting and in growth. An old farmers trick is to stick a match head down in the seed potting mix and plant the seed right next to it- the water dissolves the sulfur and it is used by the seed to germinate.
    The also like phosphorus and calcium which both lend a hand in the blossoming and ability to produce mature fruit.
    Lastly- Epsom salts are generally used as a tonic - and safe for AP- for blossoming peppers. You can spray this directly on the plant when you start to see blossoming occur. It will help the fruit to form.
    Good Luck!!!
    Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.-- Dr. Seuss, The Lorax
    Simplicity of character is the natural result of profound thought~fortune cookie

  5. #25
    Moderator urbanfarmer's Avatar
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    Re: Peppers ..... mine won't sprout :?

    Germinating peppers does not require sulfur. I have never used it. I often get 100% germination and often 2-3 faster than the expected time. The trick is moisture and temperature.

    As far as using it later, I would imagine that depends on the specific nutrient situation. It might help some people and not help others.

    Foilar spraying would of course need to be done on the underside of the leaf, but otherwise epsom salt is great where needed (and much cheaper than buying the same thing from garden centers)!

  6. #26
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    Re: Peppers ..... mine won't sprout :?

    they can easily be cloned by rooting cuttings. if you have access to chile plants at a nursery it may be easier to purchase them and take cutting as they grow. as chiles age they produce fewer fruit so don't purchase old plants. they can also be grafted onto tomato rootstock as scions tomato rootstock is less prone to rot.

  7. #27
    Moderator urbanfarmer's Avatar
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    Re: Peppers ..... mine won't sprout :?

    We shouldn't have a problem with the root stock in aquaponics though!

  8. #28
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    Re: Peppers ..... mine won't sprout :?

    Find a successful farmer and then try to figure out the how and why using low tech. Could it be the soil was very alkaline and the match's sulfer acidified the soil helping them to germinate?

  9. #29
    Moderator urbanfarmer's Avatar
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    Re: Peppers ..... mine won't sprout :?

    Sure, but that doesn't even apply to using seed starting mix indoors...

    Yes, the pH is important for germination. Maybe the water used had a pH that was way off. Peppers are typically very easy to germinate if you get the right temperature and good seed stock.

  10. #30
    Moderator stucco's Avatar
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    Re: Peppers ..... mine won't sprout :?

    RE ABOVE: Germinating peppers does not require sulfur.
    Urban, I did not say it was required, more that it has been noted to be helpful in the early stages of development- which any seasoned gardener would agree. BTW.. if you noticed- the thread was about what could help the member get his seeds started- so .. Positive comments are always welcomed.
    In plants, sulfur stimulates more rapid early root development- hence the old farmer’s trick- since once the embryonic root has emerged during germination it is able to maximize growth, is necessary in the formation of chlorophyll, increases the growing plant’s protein content thereby increasing its physical strength. Plants use sulfur in the processes of producing proteins, amino acids, enzymes and vitamins. Sulfur also helps the plant’s resistance to disease, aids in growth, and in seed formation for future crops.
    A lack of adequate sulfur is almost always a limiting factor for some plants in AP and can be corrected thru -as I stated before – epsom salt foliar application which is highly beneficial. http://www.saltworks.us/gardening-with-epsom-salt.asp
    And yes, under the leaf is great, but more recent detailed research is showing that there are many locations across the leaf’s entire surface -both upper and lower- which will accept foliar spray so long as the cuticle’s hydrophobic surface is breached. Using a balanced but slightly acidic spray will help to temporarily break the cuticle’s protective surface and allow absorption. This is aside from just the stomata (which is what you were referring to when you said spray the leaf bottoms) who’s daily processes have limited opening and closing periods during which spraying is suggested.
    Perhaps you could post some recent pictures of your perfectly germinated peppers.
    Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.-- Dr. Seuss, The Lorax
    Simplicity of character is the natural result of profound thought~fortune cookie

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