I was wondering if PEPPERS and EGGPLANTS do grow roots on their stem like tomatoes?
Do PEPPERS and EGGPLANTS grow roots on their stem?
great picture but i don't understand what you mean by roots on their stems like tomatoes. can you explain more please.
When I start my tomatoes from seeds, I let them grom for about 2 weeks untill they develop the first set of true leaves.
After that I transplant them in a large pot and I berry the stem down to the soil, leaving only the leaves outside. In this the way the stem that is in the soil will develop roots and I will have a much stronger plant.
I was wondering if it is the some for peppers and eggplants.
drthor, normally peppers and eggplant do not grow the same adventitious roots that you are referring to with tomatoes. However, on occasion, either in a high humid environment or if the plants have been laid over and part of the stem is on the ground you may see a few rootlets growing. Burying them deep, as we do tomatoes, won't do it though.
Shoe
(edited for spelling, probably cus I type faster than I talk) τΏτ
This message was edited Dec 26, 2010 11:03 AM
Thanks Shoe. So I will not bury my pepper and eggplant seedlings up to their true leaves when I transplant them.
My little babies are growing.
drthor - now i understand what you said and i agree with shoe.
I killed some jalapenos by planting them too deep. The stems rotted where they were covered with soil.
Cala-How deep did you plant them? I've never been sure wwhat "too deep" means.
Uh,
Last January I conducted a "deep rooting of bell pepper seedlings to see if it would work" experiment, and it did...
I buried my seedlings up to their cotlyedons in 16 oz. Red solo cups and every one of them lived...and they were beautiful.
Mind you, I only did this after reading a research study by one of the Universities that had conducted their own experiment, and recommended that doing so certainly wouldn't necessarily hurt the seedling, so much as help it. So, mine was a calculated risk.
Here's a pic of the seedlings right after I had potted them up to their cotlyedons...
Hugs!
Linda, who posted here only based on her own, firsthand experience with the topic in question, and who would never, under any other circumstance contradict ANYTHING an Uber says...
The potting up occurred on 2/18/10.
Here they are on 3/2/10.
And, here's a pic of those same seedlings on their first hardening off field trip, 3/8/10...
Finally,
What I picked from remnants of those same seedlings on New Year's Day, 1/1/11...go figure...
Linda, my plants were big, at least six inches tall. I didn't have my own seedlings ready, so I bought a flat of 96 jalapeno peppers. I prepared the bed, added compost and planted those guys about 4-5 inches deep (like I would tomatoes). In a week or so, some of them started rotting at soil level. It could have been a problem with the plants because they also had mites and some kind of leaf spot. About 1/2 of the plants are still alive, still planted deep, but none are thriving.
I also bought a flat of bell peppers, they were planted in a different bed, probably planted as deep as the jalapenos and only a couple of those died (they have mites too, and the same leaf spot disease so they look terrible also)
I have some of my own seedlings growing, I can experiment because I have extras. I like to give plants a good anchor in this wind and planting deep would be nice.
Nice pics, Linda. Nice looking pepper plants, too
I've set pepper plants deep also and can see how some of yours might rot and die, Cala, be it the dampness of the soil or some disease that started it. What a bummer, especially since you bought so many that did that. I wonder if they were properly hardened off, too.
Linda, did you happen to take pics, or notice, if your pepper plants actually produced roots on their trunks (from the deep planting)? That's what I'm mainly interested in, not whether they can live deeply planted or not. The closest I've come is seeing new roots just at ground level where it is moist, never seeing roots below ground and above the original root system.
Looks like we'll all be trying this experiment this year!
Shoe
Shoe, they had been hardened off. I think they were diseased to start with.
Yeh, I would think something as simple as pythium would cause them to rot, or worse, Phytophthora (re-reading that they also had leaf spots), which might infect your soil. Ugh.
Hope things are doing better for you now.
Shoe
Shoe- I surface sow all my veggie seeds, and many of the peppers develop roots on the stems at least 2 inches up the stem even if they aren't potted up or planted out yet.
I'm lurking in this thread, but must ask: What is an Uber? OK, back to lurking....
Uber = a designation (as close to "God" as you can get) that is bestowed upon those with a body of knowledge, skill, expertise, and just plain ole all-around respected wisdom and experience in regard to a particular subject such as growing fruits/vegetables/gardening, etc., and knowing, for instance, if "PEPPERS and EGGPLANTS do grow roots on their stem like tomatoes?"
And, because they are so respected, any answer given is regarded as being the voice of an Uber, so you listen and hold your breath if you dare contradict it, cause 9 times outta 10 the Uber was spot on...anyway... Because if you go back and doublecheck on that 1 time outta 10 you even thought the Uber might be off the mark, a careful examination of said mark utilizing a high-powered, supersonic magnifying glass will reveal that he/she, in fact, did actually hit the bullseye ...
I love the Ubers!
Did ya'll know I was once an Ubernewbie? Yep. Sure was. Couldn't make more mistakes than I could...^^_^^
This message was edited Jan 6, 2011 10:19 AM
I thought about the question again, and realized that yeah, I need to pull up a plant or two to see if there were roots actually growing along the stem...
Will post findings when I repot the plants for the spring...pictures are forthcoming...
Hah! Linda, you're hilarious! Love it! (I'll never look at those with the Uber title the same again.) (But there are no Ubers in this thread...)
Lisa, "I surface sow all my veggie seeds, and many of the peppers develop roots on the stems at least 2 inches up the stem even if they aren't potted up or planted out yet."
Yep, I believe that. That's why I mentioned above "either in a high humid environment or if the plants have been laid over and part of the stem is on the ground you may see a few rootlets growing." If yours are surface sown are the stems partially in the soil and the rest lying close to the surface? If so I wonder if they only grow the extra roots when exposed to light. (Kinda like corn stalks do when they are putting down those extra roots from above the original roots.)
Shoe. (still chuckling at GG/Linda's Uber definition...) *grin
Well, now, Master Shoe-sahn, it may not say Uber under every name, but we know who the unofficial Ubers are...
Ah, so, Lily-sahn?
This message was edited Jan 6, 2011 2:41 PM
GG ~ You are TOO funny! It is a wonderful thing when gardeners have a sense of humor. I. too, have been lurking, as I grew peppers from seed last year, with moderate success. I am hoping to improve though. So a fairly *uber-newbie* when it comes to growing many different plants from seed.
Evelyn my Child,
In order to obtain the coveted designation of UBERnewbie, you must first grow a cabbage for 9 months to the day you planted it. You must plant it at the end of May as a wee seedling, nurse it through an entire summer of Texas Hellfire heat (and watch with mercy and tenderness in your heart as it limps along and looks like death warmed over while you struggle with the decision NOT to yank it from the dirt and put it out of its misery), through the winds of fall, the chill of winter and spring, and cut it off exactly one day after it splits from too much rainwater.
When you can do all of this, Evelyn, and still set a bounty on your table (and snatch the pebble from my hand), you will indeed be called an UBERnewbie...
Good journey my friend.
Your Humble Servant,
Linda
This message was edited Jan 6, 2011 3:36 PM
Wow, it's a good thing I have already have some cabbage outside growing now! I *may* get a chance at that title yet!
Uh, did you plant the cabbage at the end of May?
Naw - in November, before it snowed.
Gymgirl, my eggplants did root where the stems touched the ground. I have to explain about the eggplants. I grew them from seed and bought a plant or two at the farmer's market of different varieties. Now these little plants are so cute, and really, how big can they get? My beds are 4 x 34, so I figured at least 3 rows of 15-20 plants will fit in that bed. (should I add I've never grown eggplant before, never seen a mature eggplant?) Right beside that bed of eggplants I planted zucchini. Should not have been a problem, except I didn't read the whole description of this particular variety. They were romanesco zucchini, vining, not bushing. OK, not bad, I still have the walkway on the other side of the eggplant bed right? Wrong. Brilliant farmer that I am, I planted poblano peppers in the next bed. Now with my jalapenos I can put 75 plants in the bed so I figured that would work with the poblanos also.
Well who knew those eggplants would get 8 ft tall and at least 8 feet wide? I couldn't get down either isle, the zucchini vines grew across everything, the eggplants fell every which way, the poblano plants were huge.........Bud was frustrated because not only was the 18" isle between the beds taken over, the 5' isle between the gardens was taken over also. The eggplants fell over (I had 3/4" rebar for stakes and the eggplants pulled it over) and where the stems touched the ground, they rooted and started growing a new plant there, then those rooted..............what a mess!
(you think that was bad? don't ask what happened with the scalloped squash or the snowball cauliflower)
I hereby confer the coveted title of UBERnewbie upon Lady Calalily of the Isle. Anyone who can get a plant to rip out rebar is a true newbie! I have tears flowing from your efforts to single-handedly start a forest in your yard.
Hold the fleeting title closely to your heart Lady Calalily, and cherish the ignorance you once possessed. For, when you have gained gardening wisdom and knowledge, it will be your charge to confer the title to the next DG UBERnewbie.
Exercise diligence in seeking amongst the Forum of the Beginners the one whose quest bring tears to your own eyes. Encourage them to tell their stories, and then chose wisely.
Remember - there are only a select few...
Godspeed, and Good Harvest!
We are an army of two!
^^_^^
This message was edited Jan 7, 2011 10:06 AM
LOL! Last season I grew Diablo watermelons in a bed just accross the aisle from a new fence row of climbing roses. The TAMU website said the Diablos were heavy producers. But I grew watermelons up north (but only one or two mounds--and not with much success) and allowed about eight feet of growth space for each vine. I should mention that the aisle was about 5' wide (width of my lawn mower footprint) and the bed was 4'. Also had some smaller watermelons in that same patch with about eight Diablo mounds. The melons grew, and grew, and sprawled and sprawled on both sides. They reached into the rose bed. Then they took over the rose bed. And the roses kept growing too. I had such a time sorting out melons and rose thorns! I was giving watermelons away like some people give away zucchini! I lost count of how many melons each vine produced as I couldn't sort one vine from the other! Then they started moving in to the yard! DH wouldn't let me mowe them down as he was eating a watermelon per every three or four nights for supper and he liked that. This went on for well over a month! I didn't take pictures of the whole mess, but this next season the watermelon patch is going out to the far garden and will be about 20' x 20'. I'm trying Carole cantalope this year to go with the watermelons. I hope it isn't as space consuming....
Not going for any type of Uber here. I'm just commiserating! Perhaps we need an award at the end of the season for "The Plant(ing) That Ate My Garden--Who Knew?!?".
What variety of eggplant was that anyway?