My pepper seedlings are now large enough to be transplanted into larger pots. If you look at the lower photo, you'll notice that I'm growing seedlings in an unusual type of container.
It's called the "All-Roots Seed Starting System" and I got it from Gardens Alive! It involves growing the seeds in soil plugs which fit into a styrofoam frame that floats in a reservoir of water. It's a type of hydroponic set-up that I just use to get the seeds to germinate and grow a few true leaves.
I love this system because all you have to do is plop a seed into an indentation at the top of each soil plug and set them into the frame. No messing with potting soil and the reservoir does a great job of keeping the soil plugs moist.
I primarily use it for starting tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, basil and artichokes, and it works well for annual flowers, too. I tried it once for starting the large-seeded veggies like squash, melons and cucumbers but the seeds were too large for the indentation in the soil plugs, which made it difficult for the seeds to orient themselves and sprout normally.
Anyway, the upper photo shows you the kind of root system you can expect when using this type of seed-starting kit. Impressive, isn't it?
Last week, I used an organic potting soil to transplant the peppers into their own pots. They don't seem to have any problems with the transplanting process, which is nice, probably because the soil plug keeps the seedling moist thus avoiding shock.
