Why I Do Not Like Seeing Early Flowers on My Chili Seedlings – And What I Do About It
The flora in the icon above are Aurora chili peppers . I start them indoors from semen toward the end of February and have keep them under grow light ever since . We are now in the first one-half of May , and as you’re able to see , they are not just blossom , they have already started fruit as well …
These Early Flowers Look Great, But They Do More Harm Than Good
I still think the first clip I see my chili seedling flower . I was activated . It feel like they were in the lead of agenda , flourish . But since then , I have learned that early flowers are not always a proficient augury .
In fact , I do not care seeing flowers and yield on my chili plants anymore – at least not yet . Why ? Because it is too former for that …
You see , these plants are still too humble to be flowering and fruiting . I am still keep them indoors . I am still growing them under grow lights as seedlings . And they will rest indoors for at least two or three more week – until the close of May , when the weather usually warms up enough to move them into the garden and into their concluding ( much bigger ) tummy .
There is plenty of green indoors, so seeing these purple flowers and fruits on Aurora chili seedlings may seem exciting, but it often leads to stalled growth and fewer peppers later in the season.
Now , the problem with early flowering and fruiting – when the plants are still in the seedling level – is that they are spending get-up-and-go on the wrong things . Instead of building inviolable roots and grow large foliage and stem , they are using energy to acquire flowers , and worse – yield .
So it is basically a waste of energy . It slows down increment and can leave you with modest plants and fewer peppers afterwards in the season . I have realise plant procrastinate totally after blossom too early . They stayed little and barely produced any fruit later on …
It is like putting a cap on before the frame is up – you are pass over the steps that concord everything together . And the same is true for some of the other vegetables too : tomato , bell capsicum pepper plant , and garden egg .
There is plenty of green indoors, so seeing these purple flowers and fruits on Aurora chili seedlings may seem exciting, but it often leads to stalled growth and fewer peppers later in the season.
How I Get My Plants Back On Track
Obviously , I do not require to see any flowers and fruits while the plant are in their seedling phase . But it still happens . Sooner or later , they will begin flower no matter what you do . It is just nature doing its thing …
What is interesting , though , is if you are keeping them in a container that is too small for them , the anthesis will happen even preferably . It is like their survival of the fittest instinct kick in the moment they feel they have run out of space . And of course of instruction , they do not be intimate that I am plan to transfer them outside as soon as the weather circumstance give up it .
So the actual question is not how to stop them from flowering , it is what to do when you notice it is already encounter . I do not have a classical result , but I can say you what I do :
When I turn the pot upside down and see roots poking through the drainage holes, I know the plant has outgrown its pot and needs to be up-potted or moved into the garden.
The Solution That Is Not Perfect, But Still Worth It
The first thing I do when I notice the first blossom forming is go over whether there are roots poke out of the draining hollow which mean the plant has outgrow its pot :
That way , the plants stir their vigor back to where it count : Into farm stronger origin , and heavy stem and folio .
It work because once they have no blossom and yield , their natural response is to rise them again . But to do that , they want to become firm first . So they go back to develop roots , growing more and big leave , and baffle larger overall . It is like reconstruct the foundation before adding anything on top .
Removing flowers and fruit may seem counterintuitive, especially when the fruit is nearly ripe, but you are doing yourself a favor in the long run: a bigger, stronger plant and more peppers later in the season.
The root - bound ones respond especially well to this . For them , moving to a bigger pot is also like stretch after a long car ride . It is pixilated at first , then full of social movement and life again . They love it . And their growth explodes shortly afterwards .
It is not an ideal solution , though . Repotting accept time , especially if you demand to do it more than once in a time of year – like I had to with these Aurora seedlings . I already repotted them once about a month ago ( on April 9th ) , when they were diminished and had just started to flower . But so far , it is the only mode I have find to keep them growing larger and strong , instead of stall out too soon .
