• Blog your pepper progress. The first image in your first post will be used to represent your Glog.

Duston 2015 Glog

This year is my first year that I am going all in. I've helped with the family garden in the past but I would say I am pretty new to peppers for the most part. I've done a lot of research in the past few months regarding next year's approach. Here's what I have came up with so far:
  • I am planning on growing roughly 120 pepper plants of differing breeds and heat levels. Roughly 50% of the plants with be Jalapeno or lower for the rest of the family and friends.
  • I am planning on doing a the bulk of the plants in the garden.
  • As an experiment I am toying with 1 plant in DWC (5 gallon bucket), 1 plant in "fogponics" (5 gallon bucket) and 6 plants in a DIY low pressure aeroponics system (27 gallon tote). I may scrap the "fogponics" idea mainly because I'm not hearing good reviews about it and go with a drip or DTW.
  • I'd like to put the hydro outdoors to avoid having to upgrade my light old T8 light fixtures. I'm going to take measures to mitigate temperature issues in the summer. I'm still research that... 
  • Also, I plan on overwintering a few of my favorite plants to get a jump on 2016.
Here's my grow list for 2015:
 
 
7 Pot / Trinidad Douglah
7 Pot Brain Strain Yellow
7 Pot Bubblegum
Bhut Jolokia
Big Sun Habanero
California Wonder Bell
Carolina Reaper 
Cheiro Recife
Chocolate Habanero
Early Jalapeno
Fatalii Yellow
Fish
Fort Knox Hybrid Bell
Inca Red Drop
Long Red Slim Cayenne
Magnum Orange Habanero
Mako Akokasrade
Prik Chi Faa
Santa Fe Grande
Scotch Bonnet Yellow
Tangerine Dream
Tequila Sunrise
Thai Dragon
Tobago Seasoning
Trinidad Chocolate Scorpion
Trinidad Congo
Trinidad Moruga Scorpion
 
I started germinating my Capsicum Chinense seeds via the ziplock/paper towel method. Most of those seeds were started on 1/18 with the exception of Mako Akokasrade and Tobago Seasoning which I received after I started the others. The Mako Akokasrade and Tobago Seasoning seeds were started on 1/20. 
 
On 1/26 I planted 4 varieties (7 Pot Brain Strain Yellow, Cheiro Recife, Magnum Orange Habanero, Trinidad Moruga Scorpion) that sprouted into pre-soaked expanded peat disks. I planted 2 or 3 sprouted seeds in each disk to attempt to avoid an empty disk if a seed fails to pop through the surface.
 
On 1/28 I noticed I had 4 other varieties (7 Pot / Trinidad Douglah, 7 Pot Bubblegum, Bhut Jolokia, Scotch Bonnet Yellow) that had 1 seed that had sprouted well ahead of the other seeds in the ziplock. I decided they would be the lucky ones to get to be part of the hydro experiment. They got moved over to some pre-soaked rockwool. 
 
I'll keep everyone updated on my progress.
 
Click to expand...
So this past weekend was definitely a busy one. The to-do list now looks like this:
 
Pot up tomatoes and broccoli
Pot up Annuums and Baccatums
Top the majority of my Chinenses
Prep Dutch Bucket system
Move DWC/LPA plants over to Dutch Bucket
Starting to get a fungus gnat problem. I've read several threads on FG issues on here and my plan of action is to hit them with a dose of AzaMax followed by a top layer of Diatomaceous Earth in the pots, yellow sticky pads and dunks in all future waterings. This is officially WAR!
 
Topping was a VERY painful process for me. It's rough to take scissors to your lovely ladies when you spend so much time and effort caring for them. I know with my short growing season it's probably for the best. Time will tell...
 
The dutch buckets are partially ready. I got the buckets sterilized and the outside spray painted black. I still have to drill holes, fill with perlite, rinse and repeat. I also have to go get the stuff to run the drip lines and drainage. 
 
I ended up hitting the plants with a soil drench of Azamax. That seemed to take a toll on the gnat population but they're not GONE gone. I'll have to hit them with a second treatment. I think their larvae chewed on my last couple batches of seeds so that would explain the poorer germination rates compared to the first few batches. My plan of attack:
  • bottom water only moving forward
  • hit with another round of Azamax
  • follow up with a round of Gnatrol during next watering
  • several sticky pads to try to catch the adults
  • I may set out a few cups of water with a little soap in them. I noticed that a bunch of them drowned in a water that I was letting sit overnight to declorinate. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt.
I talked the wife into helping me pot up the Annuums and Baccatums. Depending on how quickly we knock that out I might move on to something else on list. Potting up is my main goal for tonight. I'll take some pics as well. 
 
Happy Belated Easter to everyone that reads this!
 
Great grow ... such healthy plants and the roots are massive ... Topping all new to us in the UK ... don't think we are brave enough ... but like everything else I am sure it will catch on
 
Thanks Trident. Topping was definitely my least favorite part of this grow. I had a White Devil's Tongue that had some major leaf curl issues a few weeks ago. I topped it and pruned all the curled leaves and it looks like a completely different plant now. She's a lot smaller but VERY bushy. I'll take a couple shots of her tonight. Plus I still have roughly a month until I can plant out so I'm topping partly due to space constraints. 
 
So I topped the DTW and clipped the curled up leafs a couple weeks ago. Here's how she's looking now:
 
DSC_0066.jpg

 
She's VERY bushy compared to the others. 
 
I'll second what you said about topping. It just seems so wrong and goes against everything we'v done up to that point. We try and get our plants to grow big and strong by giving them proper light, nutes and care and keeping away the bad bugs and diseases only to cut and strip all that hard work away. I've read both sides of the debate. It does look like it helps if you have a shorter grow season but might not be the best course for those with longer seasons and might actually decrease yield. Since I don't have a short season and am growing a ton of plants I'm experimenting with a few different topping/pruning methods as well as just leaving the rest alone. At the end of the season I'll see what's what.
 
You've got some nice looking plants with some pretty roots. Here's hoping you have monster yields this season
 
Got the Annuums and Baccatums potted up last night and hit the group with a Gnatrol soil drench. The gnat population seems to have drastically declined but I'm not letting up on those little bastards. :-) They already took a toll on my my tray of peppers so there will be no sympathy. 
 
I got the first 7 DIY Dutch buckets made.
 
20150409_200733.jpg

 
It's been raining pretty hard all week so I haven't been able to get the perlite in them. I believe we're supposed to have some sunshine this weekend so hopefully I can get that knocked out.
 
I got the DWC/LPA plants transplanted into the dutch butch system late last night. It's half assed thrown together at the moment but it works. We had a busy weekend so I didn't get to dedicate as much time to it as I would have liked. 
 
Looking good!!  I am curious about the Fort Knox bell.... where did you get the seeds from.  I live very close to Fort Knox and I have never heard of it.  If it thrives in this climate then I want one.
 
I actually stumbled across them in Lowe's on a Burpee seed stand. They're essentially just yellow bells. I'll have to check but I might have some extra seeds if you want some Noah.

That reminds me, I need to update my grow list now that it's all said and done. It's changed pretty dramatically since I started my glog.
 
LOL your guess is as good as mine. They didn't seem to have the best germ rates. I ended up picking up a different type of yellow bell and had considerably better germs. I wanna say it was the Sunbright Bells or something like that.
 
So I am still deciding if I am going to put all of these in the ground or not. I may pot a couple in air pruning pots instead of the garden. I've got until Mother's Day to get that ironed out. I may do less but it's definitely too late to start more.
 
Breed - Soil - Hydro
7 Pot / Trinidad Douglah - 0 - 1 DBH (Dutch Bucket Hydro)
7 Pot Brain Strain Red - 1 - 0
7 Pot Brain Strain Yellow - 2 - 1 DBH (Dutch Bucket Hydro)
7 Pot Bubblegum Red - 2 - 1 DBH (Dutch Bucket Hydro)
7 Pot Primo Red - 2 - 1 DBH (Dutch Bucket Hydro)
7 Pot Primo Yellow - 0 - 1 DBH (Dutch Bucket Hydro)
7 Pot Red - 1 - 0
7 Pot White - 1 - 0
7 Pot Yellow - 1 - 0
Aji Brazilian Starfish - 1 - 0
Bell California Wonder - 8 - 0
Bell Fort Knox Hybrid - 7 - 0
Bell King of the North - 15 - 0
Bell Sunbright Golden - 9 - 0
Bhut Jolokia Chocolate - 2 - 1 DBH (Dutch Bucket Hydro)
Bhut Jolokia Orange - 1 - 0
Bhut Jolokia Red - 1 - 0
Bhut Jolokia White - 1 - 1 DBH (Dutch Bucket Hydro)
Bhut Jolokia Yellow - 1 - 0
Bhutlah - 1 - 0
Black Pearl - 4 - 0
Carolina Reaper  - 1 - 1 DBH (Dutch Bucket Hydro)
Cayenne Gold - 1 - 0
Cheiro Recife - 1 - 0
Devil's Tongue White - 1 - 0
Early Jalapeno - 10 - 0
Fatalii Red - 1 - 0
Fatalii Yellow - 1 - 0
Fish - 1 - 0
Fresno - 4 - 0
Goat's Weed/Black Cobra - 3 - 0
Habalokia Chocolate - 1 - 0
Habanero Big Sun - 1 - 0
Habanero Chocolate - 1 - 0
Habanero Hot Paper Lantern - 1 - 0
Habanero Magnum Orange - 1 - 0
Inca Red Drop - 1 - 0
Jay's Peach Ghost Scorpion - 1 - 1 DBH (Dutch Bucket Hydro)
Lemon Drop - 1 - 0
Madballz Brown - 1 - 0
Mako Akokasrade - 1 - 0
Naga Black - 1 - 0
Naga Dorset/Naga Morich - 1 - 0
Naga Peach - 1 - 0
Nagabrain Chocolate - 1 - 0
Nagabrain Red - 1 - 0
Naglah Brown - 1 - 0
Pimenta de Neyde - 1 - 0
Pimenta Puma - 1 - 0
Prik Chi Faa - 1 - 0
Rocoto Red - 4 - 0
Santa Fe Grande - 1 - 0
Scotch Bonnet Chocolate - 1 - 0
Scotch Bonnet Yellow - 1 - 0
Star of Turkey/Turkiye Yildizi - 1 - 0
Tequila Sunrise - 1 - 0
Tobago Seasoning - 1 - 0
Trinidad Congo - 1 - 0
Trinidad Scorpion CARDI Yellow - 1 - 0
Trinidad Scorpion Chocolate - 1 - 0
Trinidad Scorpion Moruga - 2 - 0
Trinidad Scorpion Red - 1 - 0
Trinidad Scorpion Yellow - 2 - 0
 
dustonj2008 said:
LOL your guess is as good as mine. They didn't seem to have the best germ rates. I ended up picking up a different type of yellow bell and had considerably better germs. I wanna say it was the Sunbright Bells or something like that.
Click to expand...
I also got mine at Lowes, but I had good germination; initially started 10 (2x5) had eight (2x4) germinate, started 2x1 more, both germinated, so 10 out of 12.
 
alkhall said:
I also got mine at Lowes, but I had good germination; initially started 10 (2x5) had eight (2x4) germinate, started 2x1 more, both germinated, so 10 out of 12.
Click to expand...
 
Interesting... I wonder if maybe I got a bad batch or something? For whatever reason that was the only commercial package of seed that had poor germ rates. Oh well...

I took a few quick pics with my cell this morning of the new dutch bucket setup and the rest of the ladies:
 
20150414_074156.jpg

 
20150414_074205.jpg

 
20150414_074240.jpg

 
20150414_074252.jpg


Yesterday I bit the bullet and placed an order for a mini greenhouse. Here's the one that is on the way:
 
http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/product/grow-it-6-x-8-organic-growers-greenhouse/hobby-greenhouse-kits
 
The greenhouse should be here today. I am looking forward to getting it setup and get these girls outside. I'm planning on hardening all my plants in the greenhouse with a white sheet draped over the top for a week. Hopefully the weather man is accurate and the weather cooperates long enough for me to get it setup.
 
Thanks Paul! They are definitely need of some more "elbow room". Under my main T5 HO light it's really hard to tell where one plant ends and the others begin. 
 
So I had a lot of trouble this weekend trying to setup the greenhouse. Most of my trouble is related to how un-level and hard the ground is under the greenhouse. Apparently at my house the ground is mostly clay mixed in with rocks so it's not all that far off from concrete... NOT FUN! Trying to hand drive 30" auger anchors into the ground kicked my ass. Per the instructions, it says to place the anchors on the inside of the greenhouse. That doesn't appear to work all that well. When you attach the steel cabling to the anchor and the corner legs of the greenhouse it pulls the legs inward. When the legs are pulled inward the cover is no longer taught causing more and more wind to get under it... boo... I am going to try to pull the anchors out and place them on the outside of the corner legs. The legs have less give outward than inward especially once the cover is on. We'll see how it goes... today there is a wind advisory in my area so I didn't trust the anchors based on how they are currently in place so I pulled the cover off last night. Nothing like the threat of 35 - 45 mph winds to test your poorly anchor greenhouse!
 
dustonj2008 said:
Thanks Paul! They are definitely need of some more "elbow room". Under my main T5 HO light it's really hard to tell where one plant ends and the others begin. 
Click to expand...
That sounds familiar!
 
I hope you have better luck with your greenhouse next time round
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top