Wednesday 29 February 2012

Mini Growbox Test

I needed somewhere warm and bright to get my chillies started off and to keep them healthy until they're ready to go outside, so I built this box out of scraps I found around the house.

There are 2 jalapeño seeds in each of those 4 'empty' pots. I'll let them all grow a bit, then kill off the weaker ones. I read that that's a good way to make sure you only end up with strong, healthy plants, so I thought I'd see how well it works.

That tall, thin plant is a radish that I put in there as a sort of test subject. I have radishes in other places too (the garden, the kitchen windowsill, an artificially lit propagator etc.), and I compare them all so I can keep a check on which growing environments are working well. They're all a bit stretched though, as you can see in the picture, because they didn't get enough light when they first popped up.

I also have a heat mat underneath them to keep them nice and warm, even when the light's off.

This is just a temporary box, I'll be upgrading to a more solid structure with proper insulation and lighting when I get some more money. I'll also be making little modifications to this box while I save up for the new one, like putting foil on the other sides to help keep the heat in.

9 comments:

teganwilson said...

I tried to grow chillies once, but my mother killed them by giving them too much water. Good luck!

Daniel said...

Thanks :)
I have 60 chilli seeds, so even if I mess up on my first attempt, I have plenty more chances.

Aze said...

Looks nice, i might try to grow some time too!

Anonymous said...

Very nice. I actually did grow some small crops at a younger age. These are wonderful tips.

argoneus said...

Wow, good luck man! I tried growing some stuff once too, but it didn't end up so well..

Daniel said...

Thanks :)
I've changed a few things in the box now and put a few more pots in there, I'll have a new post up soon to show the updates.

Wilhelm said...

Interesting.. One day Ill try it.

destiny said...

nice. now i can play mari0 Portal while i grow my chillie :)
start with growing tomorrow, will have much time.

do they need much light before i put them outside?

Daniel said...

I'm not sure what the minimum amount of light they need is. They're fine with no light at all for the first week or two, because they're still underground. After that, they can survive quite happily inside for another couple of weeks, just put them in a propagator on a windowsill and make sure they're warm.
Then once they're a few inches tall, you can put them outside. I'd do it gradually though, like by putting the propagator outside for a couple of hours a day, and not just planting them outside straight away. I've read that the shock of being planted out straight away can harm them.

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