Week 7 of the 2023 Pepper Season

April 11, 2023 | Article Topics:

It’s been just about four weeks since our last update and in that time, nothing really of note has occurred. The little plants are doing their thing inside under the grow lights. So far, I’m liking what I am seeing, although I feel this year’s batch is a bit behind compared to last year around this time.

Looking back on the plants of 2022 at this time of year and I can see a pretty dramatic difference – and I think I know why. Granted there is a week difference between the time frames, but that’s not enough of a gap, time-wise, to be the reason for the variation in size and development.

pepper plants under grow lights

The plants pictured above look healthy and, for the most part, great. However, they are much smaller and not quite as along in their development as last season. I have a feeling that my omission of bone meal and blood meal in this year’s seed starting mix may be the culprit. For 2022, I opted to include a light blend of the two amendments as an experiment to see if it helped out the growth of the seedlings. Well, looking at past photos, it’s pretty clear that the addition of the two certainly didn’t hurt any. Last year’s plants – at this time – are much bigger with more lush development.

Here are some closer shots of some of the 2023 plants.

pepper plants under grow lights
pepper plants under grow lights

I guess, I know that I will need to stock up a bit earlier on bone and blood meal in order to add to my starting mix for the 2024 season and future grows. The difference, to me anyways, is clear.

Until the next update, happy growing!