Lawrence Logic wrote:
"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
...
Lawrence Logic wrote:

Six of the Bhuts have sprouted now. What do you mean by "true
leaves"? Does that exclude the pair of leaves that open when these
babies first sprout?

Yes, those are called cotyledons, see

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotyledons


Thanks David. That takes me back to my agriculture class in high
school. I actually had the word "dicotyledon" going through my head
when I saw the sprouts, but I didn't really know why. Thanks for the
link.
Nine of my twelve babies have popped their heads up, but one had an
unfortunate skull-cap. The seed husk was sitting proudly on top. When I
saw the same on the only Orange Habanero to reveal itself, I
removed it and was greeted by a couple of first leaves. The Bhut
didn't fare so well and just has small first leaves. I'm hoping that
it'll catch up.
I was expecting these seeds to take a while to germinate but now I'm
thinking only negative thoughts about those that haven't presented
themselves yet. It's still only 17 days since they were planted. Should I
remain optimistic about the stragglers? Can my negative
waves have an adverse affect on them?

I cannot recall the usual time for chillis but 17 days doesn't seem over
long. A degree of variation in emergence time is normal. The slow ones may
be genetically inferior or slowed down by the environment (in a dry corner
or planted too deep for example). If you are short of starters plant out
the runts anyway as they may recover and go on the give good yields. You
can always select later by saving the seeds of the healthiest plants. If you
have plenty cull them.

You should avoid discouraging your plants with negative thoughts. For those
gardeners with a predisposition to anxiety and negativity this force can be
counteracted in a number of ways.

A pyramidal hat can have a shielding effect. I have also heard that the
same can be achieved by only wearing underpants made of natural fibres or
better still none at all.

You could try combining the two effects if you can find a seamstress who
will stitch you some pyramidal hemp undies. I am not certain if the
direction of the apex is important, you and she may have to experiment with
orientation. Or forget the stitching and just fructify the fields together
at the next full moon.

David