Hey guys! Does anyone have thoughts on whether or not I should top up the soil on my Thai chilies? I was told to do it on my tomatoe seedlings but now I’m wondering whether the chilies could use it too. This is my first time growing anything from seeds so any tips are much appreciated. They seem to be doing really great where they currently are.
They are too deep in the cup. I would cut off the tops of the cup leaving the soil 1/4 below the edge.
0 likes Ok I can do that. Thanks! I was following a website and that’s what their pics showed but they didn’t have very detailed instructions sadly. I guess once they get bigger they can be upgraded into proper nursery pots?
0 likes I should have stated the soil takes longer to dry out when it’s too deep in the pot. Plus, the light does not get to the leaves too well. You have to check the roots to see if there are enough before moving to a larger pot. Too much soil and too few roots can lead to root rot because the roots can’t absorb all the water in the soil. So, they sit in water too long.
1 like Ahhhhh that’s why I haven’t had to water them in a couple days. It didn’t say anything about burying them deep in the pot just that this person only puts 2” of soil in the bottom of a solo cup. (Didn’t even say anything about drainage, but I put about 8-9 holes in)
0 likes Drainage holes are required, for sure! Seedlings like these can quickly die from root rot.
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Tomatoes can develop new roots from the hairs on their stems so if you bury a tomato stem it will grow more roots. I don’t think peppers do that. If you bury their stems they may simply rot. I concur with other users who said to cut the cups down close to the soil level to give the seedlings some light. And when you sow peppers in future fill the cups almost to the brim to give your seedlings enough compost to develop plenty of healthy roots before you plant them out.
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