My chillis are on the way...

This year I have been determined to resist the temptation to sow seeds too early. I don't have a greenhouse, and my house is aligned in such a way that none of the available windowsills get more than a few hours of sunlight per day, so there is a serious risk of my seedlings going drawn and leggy. I often ferry my seed trays from one side of the house to the other twice a day!

The first seeds I sowed this year were some chillis, and I sowed them on Valentine's Day, 14th February. I sowed six different varieties, two pots of each, and two seeds in each pot. They went into unheated propagators (i.e. seed-trays with clear plastic lids), and lived in the airing-cupboard for a couple of days until they had mostly germinated, when I took them out and put them on a suitable windowsill.

One of the jobs I like least is pinching-out one of the two seedlings, when both have germinated, especially when they come on at the same rate and seem equally strong. I always think "what if I make the wrong choice, and the one I choose to keep turns out to be a weakling?"

So which one of these gets the chop then - left or right? I think maybe the left one, because it isn't standing up quite so straight. But they both look pretty good. Oh dear, this power of life and death thing is such a big responsibility! *sigh*...

P.S. I made my choice (left one). I've added this final picture to my post just to demonstrate how big the root systems are on even seedlings as tiny as this...