This Week’s Focus in the Greenhouse
This week, our primary focus was cleaning up the Dutch bucket area as part of ongoing preparation for the next phase of seed stock production. Clearing out last year’s plants helps reset the space so systems are ready for new growth in the weeks ahead.
At the same time, the team continued monitoring about seven-week-old seedlings and maintaining stable greenhouse conditions as colder weather persists outside. Below are the Ghost Pepper seedlings we've been checking in on each week.
Live Pepper Plants: Production Update
Current Growth Stage
Seedlings in the greenhouse are now around seven weeks old. At this stage, plants are continuing to develop their root systems and early structure, setting the foundation for healthy growth as they move toward the next phase of production.
So far this January, we’ve planted 24,598 pepper seeds, offering a glimpse into the scale of what’s currently growing in the greenhouse and how quickly production ramps up this time of year.
Recent Changes in Care
With continued cold weather in Iowa, the team has been closely monitoring temperature inside the greenhouse. Internal temperatures are being maintained above 75°F to support steady growth and prevent stress on young plants.
No changes were made this week to watering schedules, feeding, spacing, or timing for live plant production.
Why the Change Matters
Maintaining consistent warmth during colder periods helps support uniform growth and steady development. Keeping environmental conditions stable allows seedlings to continue growing without interruption as outside temperatures fluctuate.
Growing Plants for Seed Production
Varieties Grown for Seed
There are no new updates to seed stock planting this week. The team is focused on cleaning up the Dutch bucket area in preparation for the next round of seed stock plants. This process includes removing last year’s plants, cleaning buckets and irrigation lines, and resetting the system so it’s ready to support healthy growth for the upcoming seed stock cycle. Additional details on varieties and plans will be shared in a future update.
Below you can see the Dutch Bucket area after cleanup with fruit producing plants still in place while non-productive plants have been removed.
Quality Control This Week
Preparing the Dutch bucket area ahead of planting is an important quality control step. Removing old plants and cleaning irrigation systems helps reduce carryover issues and creates a clean starting point for the next seed stock cycle, supporting healthier plants and more reliable seed production.
Observations & Challenges
What Didn’t Go as Planned
No major issues were observed this week.
Ongoing Challenges
One ongoing challenge the team continues to manage is uneven moisture levels across rockwool slabs. Some slabs dry out faster than others, which can make it tricky to keep all plants on the same watering schedule.
How We Adjust
To help address this, the team ensures flood tables are watered for a minimum of 10 minutes before draining. This approach helps promote more even moisture distribution across all slabs and supports consistent hydration as planting volume increases.
Next week, with 316 flats currently planted, the team will continue daily monitoring to ensure watering remains consistent across all trays.
Below is a comparison of rockwool slabs viewed from the bottom of the trays, showing moisture differences: drier rockwool on the left appears lighter in color and weight, while saturated rockwool on the right is darker and heavier.
What This Means for Home Growers
The system maintenance, environmental monitoring, and watering adjustments happening now help support consistent plant development as production scales up. These behind-the-scenes efforts play a key role in ensuring plants grow evenly and remain healthy before they ever reach home gardens.
A Few Personal Notes from the Greenhouse
Variety Spotlight:
Some pepper seedlings are beginning to show variegation, offering a fun and unique look early in growth. It’s always exciting to spot natural variation as plants emerge.
Below is a Jay’s Peach Ghost seedling showing early variegation, with light white flecks visible on the leaves of the center plant.
Small Win:
The team now has printed tray labels, eliminating the need for hand-written tags and improving organization and efficiency during planting and monitoring.
Once plants are ready to ship, each plant will receive one of these printed labels, helping our shipping team accurately identify plants as they move out of the greenhouse. Shout out to our amazing IT team for helping setting up the printer for us!
Stay spicy and thanks for growing along with us this week,
🌶️ The Pepper Joe’s Growing Team