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AJs 2012 Season - A Pictorial Discussion

I am getting a one day jump on last season...today is my 2012 season start...

The Germinator has been cleaned, I am using new trays for seed starting and Hoffman's Seed Starting Mix as my grow media...

If any of you decide to use Hoffman's Seed Starting Mix, be patient, it takes as much as 24 hours pre-soak to get this light weight mix totally wet...I have said it before and I will say it again...this is the cleanest seed starting mix I have ever used....clean and light weight means better root growth IMO..

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All circuits and systems are a go on the germinator...am stabilizing the temperature for the next 24 hours...as you can see, the upper box is about 93F and the lower box is 85F...I have to vent the top to let both chambers reach the same temperature...

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something tells me this is going to be another hot summer....close to record heat again...so the season will go as mother wants it to...I am learning each year how to change my grow techniques and am adapting to North Texas...

hope you folks enjoy this thread...if anyone has any questions or comments, they are welcome...
 
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PIC 1 said:
Hey AJ, Nice list ya have there for the start up!............... :cool:

Greg
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thanks Greg...haven't figured out how many varieties I will grow this year....maybe upwards of 100....it just depends on how lazy I get... :)


MGOLD86 said:
If there were a Pro League, you would run it. Looks amazing and I cant wait for them babies to start poppin.

Quick question, What is your process for soaking the Hoffman's? Do you just put it in a bucket and cover it with water overnight, put it in the trays and drop your seeds? I am splitting my grow with a flat of it and a flat or 2 of rapid rooters and wanna make sure I prep it correctly. I know that you are the original promoter of that brand so who better to ask?

Matt
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I fill my seed starting trays with hoffmans, then sit the tray in a storage container I got at walmart big enough for the tray to sit in...fill it up with warm water and let it sit for 24-48 hours...

BigCedar said:
Nice varieties AJ. I knew your growlist would be looking good :)

Hey Matt! just to let ya know dude.. if you don't wanna soak it.. (what I did and it worked like a champ)
Put all the dry soil in a plastic container/ big bucket.. whatever.. add a glass of water and knead the water into the soil. Add water accordingly and repeat the process until all of the soil is nice and moist. It took me all of 5-10minutes. I'm a very impatient guy and didn't wanna wait a day for soil to soak :lol:
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thanks BC...the reason I do not manipulate the starting mix is I don't want it to compact...as lightweight as this stuff is, it will somewhat compact if you soak it before you put it into your trays...and you have to remember something about growing chili's .....patience is a virtue...and very rewarding if you don't get in a hurry to do anything except bug control...
 
BigCedar said:
Nice varieties AJ. I knew your growlist would be looking good :)

Hey Matt! just to let ya know dude.. if you don't wanna soak it.. (what I did and it worked like a champ)
Put all the dry soil in a plastic container/ big bucket.. whatever.. add a glass of water and knead the water into the soil. Add water accordingly and repeat the process until all of the soil is nice and moist. It took me all of 5-10minutes. I'm a very impatient guy and didn't wanna wait a day for soil to soak :lol:
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While I have not had experience with Hoffmans I do this to hydrate my bale of Pro-Mix. It is a bit time consuming but gets the job done.

Looking good AJ. Are you going to give your cousin seedlings to grow again this season?
 
no, him not tending and taking care of the plants - just let them go and didn't keep the strangler vines and potato vines out of them so they became overgrown with the vines that killed most of them...there were probably only about 80 or so plants left in september that were not inundated with vines...so..."NO MORE SOUP FOR YOU!!!!"

really aggrevates me to think about it...I know he can not grow a legal crop that he can make up to $60K an acre off of....and I had request for thousands of plants for this coming year...

such is life...do NOT do business with kin folk...
 
haven't updated things in about a week...as is usual, my germination percentage increases with the number of trays I plant...I have to relearn to plant seeds each year...some are packed too tightly in the soil, some are too wet, some dry out, germinator gets too hot and cooks them...it takes me about 10 days to get things in order...

first tray is germinating at 67% after 11 days.....

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tray two is germinating at 67% after 9 days...

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Tray 3 has a couple germinated after 7 days....

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Tray 4 has none yet....

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trays 5-8 were planted yesterday....all Trinidad Scorpion from my seedstock....yup...back in the pepper growing business again but smaller scale this year as a test case...a friend of mine just north of Austin is going to grow them...it is a lot closer trip to tend the plants this year than last...120 miles vs 600...we are going to try about 500....then if things work out, next year we may grow up to 8,000

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Cool man, cool

You should see a publisher, write a book, "Some, Just Have To Like It Hot" and throw some of your best procedures and recipes in it!.......I'd be the 1st to buy one...

Greg
 
Seed trays look good and I know what you mean that it takes 10 days to relearn to plant seeds each year. Finely tuning your process and getting temps. and humidity and light just right for optimum seed growth takes a human touch to get just right. Wishing you all ther best Ronnie with your crop in Austin and at home this year AJ.
 
AlabamaJack said:
no, him not tending and taking care of the plants - just let them go and didn't keep the strangler vines and potato vines out of them so they became overgrown with the vines that killed most of them...there were probably only about 80 or so plants left in september that were not inundated with vines...so..."NO MORE SOUP FOR YOU!!!!"

really aggrevates me to think about it...I know he can not grow a legal crop that he can make up to $60K an acre off of....and I had request for thousands of plants for this coming year...

such is life...do NOT do business with kin folk...
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Understandable. Yea working with family can be difficult. Especially when it is something you are so passionate about.

I am glad to see you have seeds germinating already.
 
Hey AJ when I retire from the Navy I'll be moving near Sulfur Springs on about 150 acres...Maybe we can work something out! Won't be for at least 4 more years and probably closer to 8 or 10 depending on kids and college. Your setup looks amazing. Looking forward to your grow, and hope it works out because I REALLY want to watch you do 8k next year!

Wonder what the hottest pepper will be in 10 years...I'd be willing to bet it'll be on the far side of 2 million scovilles the way the current pepper arms race is going.
 
I just wanted to say good luck with your grow AJ :) Me and my father are doing roughly 10,000 plants this year on about 5 acres of land. We are first year pepper growers but hope that the 60 years of growing experience we have between us will work to our favor! Any suggestions for us perhaps?? LOL :)
 
man that looks high tech. im starting with one small light and a tray in my window. i hope your grow goes very well.
 
BakersPeppers said:
I just wanted to say good luck with your grow AJ :) Me and my father are doing roughly 10,000 plants this year on about 5 acres of land. We are first year pepper growers but hope that the 60 years of growing experience we have between us will work to our favor! Any suggestions for us perhaps?? LOL :)
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I would love to see how 5 acres of pepper plants would look like.
 
BakersPeppers said:
I just wanted to say good luck with your grow AJ :) Me and my father are doing roughly 10,000 plants this year on about 5 acres of land. We are first year pepper growers but hope that the 60 years of growing experience we have between us will work to our favor! Any suggestions for us perhaps?? LOL :)
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they need to be fertigated under plastic so you can get the feed directly to the roots and the plastic keeps the weeds down and prevents "dehydration" of the soil...

this is a pretty good article on commercial chili production...I think it was based on annuums...you should be able to get 5,000 per acre no problem...that's using 24" plant spacing as opposed to 12" as the article uses

http://sfp.ucdavis.e...arch/chili.html
 
stc3248 said:
Hey AJ when I retire from the Navy I'll be moving near Sulfur Springs on about 150 acres...Maybe we can work something out! Won't be for at least 4 more years and probably closer to 8 or 10 depending on kids and college. Your setup looks amazing. Looking forward to your grow, and hope it works out because I REALLY want to watch you do 8k next year!

Wonder what the hottest pepper will be in 10 years...I'd be willing to bet it'll be on the far side of 2 million scovilles the way the current pepper arms race is going.
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thank you for the compliment....I hope I am around in 10 years...there's no tellin' what the hottest in the world will be then, but I really don't care...after a Fatalii or Chocolate hab it really doesn't matter to me....superhot is superhot and the normal person won't eat a whole pod...I only use them for seasoning and making puree with for cooking...

judohero said:
man that looks high tech. im starting with one small light and a tray in my window. i hope your grow goes very well.
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I have worked on my growrage for abut 5 years now...adding something else each year...no tellin' how much money I have tied up in it....thank you for your well wishes...

S.S.Tupperware said:
Looks like your well on your way... Good Luck
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thank you my friend...same to you...
 
AlabamaJack said:
they need to be fertigated under plastic so you can get the feed directly to the roots and the plastic keeps the weeds down and prevents "dehydration" of the soil...

this is a pretty good article on commercial chili production...I think it was based on annuums...you should be able to get 5,000 per acre no problem...that's using 24" plant spacing as opposed to 12" as the article uses

http://sfp.ucdavis.e...arch/chili.html
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So theres no way i could plant directly in the ground and just use topdress 8 month fertilizer in the hole i dig per plant? Then supplement every 10 days or so with a liquid feed fertilizer? What do u think? We dont pay for water as we have a 500 ft deep well straight to the Florida Aquifer :) So having to water ALL the time is not an issue, we can do that no problem....
 
Look at all of those babies! If that doesn't get a person motivated nothing will. As always a pleasure to follow your log AJ.

Your list of 7 Pots is amazing.
 
I hope some your organization rubs off, after starting seeds in garage, bedroom, and even on my dash board last year, I am hoping to get 90% done this trip in.....then I'll have a few weeks to get them rolling myself. The full enclosure has me wanting....will try that next year.Lots of fungus gnats last year...
courtesy of a bag infested growing medium(not used...but the little buggers jump at the opportunity provided by moist seedling trays!), and "old" pots in the same shed...live and learn!Going to map em out as above also- gonna do that right now in fact. Best of luck....
Dave
 
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