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And we’re off

After sowing 20 seeds on the 10th of January I’ve been patiently waiting for the first loop to appear. Here’s what I sowed in my first batch of the year:

  • Brasileira Marimbondo x 2
  • Naga Jolokia x 3
  • Spanish Naga x 2
  • Dorset Naga x 2
  • Scotch Bonnet Orange x 1
  • White Habanero x 3
  • Chocolate Habanero x 2
  • Habanero Papafina x 2
  • Lemon Drop x 2
  • Bhut X x 1

All were sown in a regular cellular seed tray with some sieved all purpose compost. The seed tray was placed into a cheap heated propagator in the house.

Just when I was starting to get nervous that nothing was going to germinate, after exactly a week, up popped a Lemon Drop. Closely followed behind was a White Habanero and an Orange Scotch Bonnet.

Chilli Germinating Germinating Chilli Seedlings

As discussed previously I’ve been aiming to keep the propagator at about 25 degrees which i’ve just about managed with a little help from some bubble wrap, despite the bitterly cold weather we’ve been having lately. While i’m waiting for germination to occur I keep the vents on the propagator closed to keep the compost from drying out too much.

While i wait for the other seeds to germinate I’ve just put a regular cfl light over the propagator to ensure some half decent light for those seedlings that are already up.

Seed Tray CFL Light over Propagator

With out the little clip light (from Amazon for £5) I find the seedlings tend to get too leggy far too quickly. Before i put the light up the lemon drop was already leaning over towards the window in search of daylight!

It’s just a regular 11Watt energy saving light bulb in the light fitting – they are ideal for young seedlings as they are cheap to run and don’t produce too much heat. I’ll probably leave the light on for about 16 hours a day to keep the seedlings happy.

Right now it’s off to the shed to finish building off my new grow box…more on that later….




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