Greetings!
It's been a very long journey observing and waiting for the perfect time to finally do a transplant, hoping the plants survive. Yes, I'm refering to my peppers.
One of the desires I've been pursuing is to finally have pepper plants in my garden that I can easily pluck whenever I want to cook. However, it's been challenging, especially since the first sets didn't sprout. This led me to resort to planting them in a pot. Along the way, I had to transplant them into the ground because the pot was retaining too much water.
It was a thing of joy when I finally saw them germinate in tiny forms. I diligently watered the ground on days when it didn't rain because I didn't want to lose them for any reason.
After about a week, I checked again and saw significant improvement. This time, the leaves had started to develop well, though still tender. I remained hopeful that they would continue to grow and not be eaten by pests
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A week later, I returned to something disappointing. Although some had grown, many had died. I felt weakened by this but didn't dwell on it too much. I noticed they had been clustered together, and the lack of space might have caused some to be hidden or stunted. Also, I observed that some of them were cut off from the top, which I suspected was the work of pests.
I've been documenting their progress in pictures because I want to learn from each stage, in case they don't survive, so I know how to handle the next planting.
So, I checked again and found that the surviving ones were growing stronger. Although they hadn’t grown much in height or size, there was a sense of maturity, and they were gaining strength in the ground. At this stage, it would take a very persistent pest to damage them, compared to the earlier ones. By this point, the leaves had become bolder and wider.
About a week ago, after taking a photo and preparing to transplant them, I decided to pause and make some inquiries first. That's when I messaged @monica-ene, sharing the photos with her, and she advised me to give the plants more time to establish themselves. She cautioned that transplanting them while they were still small could lead to loss because they might not be strong enough to withstand harsh weather, even if I watered them morning and night. I didn’t argue with her since she’s more experienced, and I accepted her advice. She also recommended that I enrich the soil with manure, as it was clear the soil wasn’t rich enough to promote faster growth.
That week, I visited a neighbor who raises fowls and collected some droppings from her fowl cage. I added the droppings to the soil, hoping they will help nourish the plants. Now, I'm waiting for them to grow enough to transplant them with enough space so they can mature quickly and start producing peppers for my kitchen.
Thanks for reading.
All the photos used are mine
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