Care instructions: Sowing seeds, vegetable plants & chayote | Plant worlds

Care instructions

Applies to all plants:

After receiving the plants, allow the package to acclimatize at room temperature for two hours.
Then open promptly and carefully remove packaging material.

1. Chili and Pepper Plants in Spring:

Always keep the substrate slightly moist and ensure good ventilation.
Ideally, place plants in a very bright location at 18°C or higher.
If plants start to etiolate due to lack of light, move them to a cooler spot.
When outside temperatures reach approx. 14°C, plants can be slowly moved outdoors and carefully accustomed to the sun.
Bring them back indoors in the evening.
They can be permanently moved outdoors after the last frosts.

2. Tomato and Cucumber Plants in Spring:

See Chili and Pepper
These plants can be kept a little cooler indoors after receipt.

3. Sowing Seeds:

Generally, a germination temperature of 22-25°C applies, with a sowing depth of 0.5cm. However, at least cover with substrate that is two to three times the size of the seed.

Keep the substrate moist, not wet. The cultivation should take place covered in a humid environment so that the substrate does not dry out. Briefly ventilate once a day.

Seeds should be stored cool and dry until sowing.

Specifics are listed below:

Roselle/Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus): Germination temperature 18-22°C.
Tobacco (Nicotiana): Germination temperature 18-20°C, only sprinkle seeds and press down (light germinator)
Native Sundew species (Drosera), Columbine (Aquilegia): These seeds require winter before germinating (stratification). Ideally sow in place or in pots before or during winter.
Opium Poppy (Papaver somniferum): Can be sown outdoors as early as September. This gives it a head start the following year.

4. Planting Chayote Fruits:

The special thing about chayote (Sechium edule) is that the seed is still surrounded by the fruit as it germinates. This ensures that the seedling is supplied with nutrients and moisture before it roots.

When planting, proceed as follows:

Chayote requires a nutrient-rich and well-draining substrate.
For growing the sprouting fruits, a slightly less nutrient-rich substrate is beneficial for root formation, but not strictly necessary.
To plant, fill a pot with substrate and press it down. The pot can safely be chosen a bit smaller for initial rooting. This saves space on the windowsill. Then refill it to the rim and carefully and slightly diagonally press the fruit with the vertical germination furrow (picture) into the substrate until the sprouting shoot is covered with about two centimeters of substrate (picture).
Then water and subsequently keep the substrate only slightly moist. (Water when the top layer has dried out)
Place the pot in a bright location.
Can be kept cooler at approx. 15°C if you are concerned that the plant will grow too large before it can be moved outside.

Note: Some report that the plants grow massively throughout the year but do not set flowers or fruits. When fertilizing chayote, which should ultimately bear many fruits, I recommend paying attention to a balanced ratio of nutrients. I assume that an excessive intake of nitrogen strongly promotes growth, but fruit formation may fail in the worst case. For this, I recommend special fertilizers for vegetable and fruit plants, which are formulated to promote yield.

The fruit can form roots anywhere. Primarily, however, on the shoot itself. The described position ensures that the shoot has space upwards, but also that the roots have space downwards. This ensures that the plant stands stably in the substrate after the fruit dies off.

5. Moonflowers (Ipomoea alba):

The plants like it very warm and sunny
A south-facing window is ideal
Happy outdoors in summer
Bring indoors during prolonged cool weather (observe growth)
The roots are relatively delicate. When repotting, ensure the old pot is fully rooted. Do not damage the root ball.