do these look ready for repotting yet? there in a tray of about 1 inch soil atm
Yes. They look just right.
They may sulk for a few days after and then pep up again.
I'd also rotate the tray 180 each day so they get used to growing straight otherwise they'll stay bent and the adult plant will be a pain to keep upright!
Just make sure that the soil mixture is well draining - get the pearlite and vermiculite mixed in. Either 1/2 soil to 1/4 each v & p, or, just use a 1/3 of each. Mix thoroughly and break up the clumps.
When you repot bury the plant stem just a few mm short of it's baby leaves. It may look odd by that part of the plant will sprout roots and the stem will be secured upright rather than falling over.. a couple of my plants I didn't do this and they wobble. The better repotted Nagas are rock steady.
Once repotted - start watering by bottom up (a good habit) when they need it (ie lower leaves start wilting). This ensures you're not over watering. It may be a little as once a week.. but each variety/plant and maturity will make a difference.. best thing is to watch them.
They'll not need chilli feed and usually attempting to feed them too much causes them to droop etc. Only later when they're heavy in flower/fruit they may need more.
The pot size does have an effect on the size of the plant and when it flowers/fruits. A plant will contiinue growing until it's roots become pot bound. At which point it usually stops growing and starts flowering/fruiting. The size of pot defines the amount of roots which defines the nutrients which then defines the size of the plant.
My Nagas in 12 cm pots are 1/2 the height and width of the 21 cm repotted nagas (they've not stopped growing yet!) which are beasts at 80+ cm tall. The small pots are also looking like their flowers will mature and create pollen (because they're now pot bound). Repotting the large pots caused the plants to stress out and their flowers haven't matured and they dropped some of their lower leaves in shock.
I've left my Jalapenos in the 12 cm pots and they're perfect size (and have a lot of fruit!).
You want to repot in stages to ensure that the roots grow to use all the space. going from seedling tray to monster 50cm pot isn't a good idea unless you know exactly how big it's going to get!
In short: small pot = smaller plant/foliage quick to fruit, less fruit growing at one time. Large pot = slower to fruit but more fruit at one time from a large plant with large amounts of foliage..
However all the grow tents are maximum of 200cm high.. which is too low for the 400W light.
so I'm going to have to find a friendly fellow to rehome them. Possibly start again with smaller pots.
