Growing peppers to transplanting pepper plants can be a tricky, lengthy process, but with a little bit of know-how it can be fun and rewarding. In this blog post, we’ll outline the basics of transplanting pepper plants so you can get started in any size garden! You’ll love having a variety of hot peppers and sweet peppers growing in your garden that are healthy and can be eaten fresh, pickled or frozen for later use.
Supplies
Here are the supplies you will need to transplant bell pepper, sweet pepper and green pepper.
- Containers: 3 1/2 inch Reused plastic pots
- Regular potting soil
- Large mixing container to premoisten soil
- Garden Gloves
- Masking tape
- Sharpie
Step by Step Directions
Start by pre-labeling the bell pepper plant variety on each of larger container pots. Next fill the large mixing container with enough potting soil to fill your pots. Using filtered water, pre-moisten the potting soil, adding water slowly mixing thoroughly with your hands as you go.
The soil moisture should stick together when squeezed but not drip any water. This is a good time to also add in your soil supplements, like Epsom salt. Fill the pots three quarters of the way, using your fingers to fully compress the soil until you feel some resistance. Add more soil, patting down then use your finger to create a hole large enough for the seedling transplants.
Massage the outside of the containers to loose the soil. Turn the containers upside down to gently remove the seedlings root ball from its cell. If it is stubborn, keep gently massaging the outside of the containers, never using any force or you could harm the plant.
Place the seedling into the pre-dug hole in the new pot, centering the stem. Add more soil to surround the seedlings roots, filling to the top of the soil surface. Compress the soil around the plant and you are done!
All that is left is a quick drink of water for the pepper plants and returning the growing pepper plant to its growing location. Whether you are transplanting your pepper plants into a larger container or into the ground, these steps will help you along the way. If you are transplanting your pepper plants into the ground for the final home, dig out your hole three times the size of your plant to allow room for growth.
Why Transplant Pepper Plant?
What is transplanting? Transplanting is the process of moving your plants into a new growing container. In the first round, you will be moving your seedlings from the seed cells into three and a half inch pods. Once your pepper plants outgrow those pods, they will then be transplanted one more time into its final container.
So why not move your seedlings directly into its final container and skip the growing pods? A large container will retain a lot of water, more than your pepper seedling will drink in a reasonable amount of time. You will end up with saturated soil that cannot be used by the plant which will invite mold and fungus in the unused soil. The other reason is to save space. Transplanting all of the seedlings into larger pots will take up a lot of space as they continue to grow and develop its root system. gradually increasing the size of the pot as the plant grows will allow it to grow full healthy root system. Once the root system of your pepper plants reaches the edges of its container, you will transplant the pepper plants into a larger container to continue to grow.
When Do you know it’s time to transplant your seedlings?
There are many factors to consider when figuring out the best time to transplant seedlings. First, the type of pepper variety, as well as the amount of sunlight your pepper seeds are getting along with soil temperature. Second, check the root system of your pepper seed.
Around two to three weeks after your seedlings sprout, they should be ready to move out of their seed cells. They should be about two to three inches tall and have three sets of true leaves. True leaves are the set of leaf that grow after the cotyledons. Cotyledons are the first set of leaves that emerge from the seed as the plant is sprouting. You can check to see if your pepper plants are ready to be transplanted by carefully checking its root system. Simply slide the soil out of the seed cell. You are looking for the roots to reach the bottom and edge of the soil. Catch the plant for transplanting before the roots become too densely coiled and bound.