This Week’s Focus in the Greenhouse
This week in the greenhouse, our team continued preparing for the upcoming live pepper plant shipping season. As we get closer to shipping, the focus shifts toward making sure plants are healthy, stable, and ready to transition from the greenhouse to home gardens.
Alongside shipping preparation, we’re also continuing to plant new flats and closely monitor greenhouse conditions as temperatures fluctuate. Balancing temperature and moisture remains especially important as plants grow larger and require more consistent care.
Live Pepper Plants: Production Update
Current Growth Stage
Pepper plants throughout the greenhouse remain in the seedling stage, with our oldest plants now reaching approximately 14-15 weeks of growth.
At this stage, plants are continuing to build strong root systems and fuller foliage as they approach the next phase of production and the upcoming shipping window.
Ghost pepper plants at approximately 14 weeks old, continuing to fill out as they approach shipping readiness. The greenhouse is getting crowded, which made this tray a little harder to capture, a great sign of how much production has scaled up.
In addition, we now have a batch of plants entering the final phase of growth, currently staged on Table 10 in the greenhouse. Each flood table is labeled based on the growth phase of the plants it holds, which helps guide specific watering and fertilizer schedules.
Our greenhouse is organized into phases to ensure each group of plants receives the right care at the right time:
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Table 1 Germination: Seeds sprouting and early root development
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Table 2 Nursery: Young seedlings beginning early growth
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Tables 3–5 Vegetation: Rapid growth and structure development
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Tables 6–8 Finish: Plants maturing and preparing for shipping
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Tables 9–10 Staging: Final checks and preparation before shipment
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This phased system helps us manage growth, nutrition, and timing so plants are ready to transition smoothly into home gardens.
Table 10 in the staging phase, where pepper plants receive final care and preparation before shipping.
Environmental Conditions We’re Monitoring
Temperature continues to be a key focus as outdoor conditions shift week to week.
Recent temperature swings have required careful monitoring inside the greenhouse, especially after insulation was removed from exhaust fans to allow for increased airflow during warmer days.
Maintaining stable temperatures is critical to supporting consistent plant growth and preventing stress during this stage. Even small temperature swings can impact plant growth, which is why consistent monitoring is especially important during seasonal transitions.
Recent Changes in Care
As part of our ongoing process improvements, we are continuing to cut rockwool slabs earlier in the growth cycle.
Once rockwool cubes are cut, they become more exposed to air, which causes them to dry out faster than uncut slabs.
Because of this, watering frequency has increased for these plants.
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Cut rockwool cubes: watered approximately every 3 days
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Uncut slabs: watered about once per week
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This adjustment helps ensure plants receive consistent moisture while still supporting the goal of reducing transplant shock before shipping.
Why This Adjustment Matters
Cutting rockwool earlier allows plants to gradually adapt to being separated before shipping.
This helps:
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Reduce transplant shock
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Prevent roots from growing together
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Prepare plants for individual packaging
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However, this process requires more frequent and attentive watering, as individual cubes dry out more quickly than grouped slabs.
A full rockwool slab in the tray on the left and individual cut rockwool cubes in separation trays on the right. Separating the cubes gives each plant its own space, but also causes them to dry out faster, requiring more frequent watering.
Seed Stock Production
There are no major updates for seed stock production this week.
Seed stock plants continue progressing through early growth stages in both greenhouse systems and with local grower partners. These plants will eventually support future pepper seed availability in our store once they mature and begin producing peppers.
Two approaches to seed stock production: pepper seedlings grown in soil (left) are sent to local grower partners, while Dragon’s Breath seedlings grown in rockwool (right) will remain in the greenhouse and transition into the Dutch Bucket system.
Observations & Challenges
Temperature Fluctuations
Last week’s colder temperatures created some challenges in maintaining stable greenhouse conditions, especially after insulation covering the exhaust fans had been removed during warmer weather earlier in the week.
This required closer monitoring to ensure plants remained in a consistent environment despite outside temperature swings.
Looking Ahead
As we move closer to the start of shipping season, the team will continue focusing on:
• Monitoring moisture levels, especially in pre-cut rockwool
• Adjusting watering schedules based on plant needs
• Managing temperature as conditions fluctuate
• Continuing preparation for live plant shipping
These final adjustments help ensure the pepper plants are healthy, stable, and ready to transition successfully into home gardens.
What This Means for Home Growers
These behind-the-scenes adjustments help ensure your plants arrive ready to establish quickly and continue growing successfully in your garden.
By cutting rockwool earlier and managing moisture carefully, we’re helping plants adapt gradually before shipping. This reduces transplant shock and gives them a stronger start once they’re planted in your garden.
Personal Notes from the Greenhouse
Variety Spotlight
We’re seeing some fun variegation in this pepper variety grown in soil by our local grower partners. These plants are being grown out for potential seed stock, and if everything continues to progress well, the seeds may be added to our offerings in a future season.
A variegated pepper variety which will be grown in soil by our local grower partners as part of ongoing seed stock production.
Keep Up with the Greenhouse
Missed a week?
👈 Week 11: Last Week’s Update
Want to see how the season started?
👉 Start at Week 1
Stay spicy friends,
🌶️ The Pepper Joe’s Growing Team