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Sawyer's 2013 Glog - Last Harvest/First Sauce

I haven't done a grow log before, but thought I'd give it a try this year. I'm growing mostly super hots, so I feel like I'm already behind schedule. Anyone know where January went? No pictures yet, I'll add some later when things (hopefully) start popping.

My setup is a basic home-made 2-tier 1" PVC plant stand. Each tier can accommodate 4 standard 1020 nursery flats and has three 2-bulb T-12 4' 40W fluorescent shop lights suspended above. The bulbs are a mix of Daylight, Wide Spectrum, and Power Twist. (I can't give you a K rating on these off the top of my head.) I use heater mats to try to keep the flats in the comfort zone for germination. They are wired to a dimmer switch so I can adjust the current. Even with the dimmer switch, in the past I've had trouble keeping uniform temperature, so this year I've put a layer of aluminum foil on top of the mats to spread out the heat and a layer of kraft paper on top of that. The flats go directly on the kraft paper. If anyone has any tips or tricks for controlling the temperature of heater mats (without purchasing an expensive thermostat), I'd love to hear about it.

I use standard 1020 nursery trays with 1206 (72-cell) inserts. I filled the inserts to planting depth with Sushine Mix #1 and planted anywhere from 2 (new) to 4 (old) seeds per cell. I then topped off the trays with some peat-based germination mix. I intended to use Fafard 3b germination mix, but didn't want to open a new bag for only four flats. I had a small bag of Miracle Grow and one of Ferry Morse left over from days past so I used one of those, I forget which.

The germination stand is in a back room in the warmest part of the house. As plants geminate and become established they'll be moved, either in whole flats, or potted out separately, to a 3-tier, 5 flat/tier stand in front of a bright picture window on the south side of the house. No lights on that yet and may not need them since the window gets direct sun for several hours per day. I'll be starting a lot of other seeds besides hot peppers, so I can't just leave them on the heater mats 'til plant out.

I started four flats today, one whole flat of self-propagated, pure-strain red Bhut Jolokia and up to 12 cells each of the following (note - I prefer the term 7 Pot to 7pod, but am keeping the 7pod nomenclature here out of deference to the vendor):

(First parenthesis is # of plants from first planting on 2/11, second is # plants/# soaked on 3/4)

Red Bhut Jolokia (my own isolated) (75)
Yellow Bhut Jolokia (PL) (0)
Brown Bhut Jolokia (PL) (1)
White Bhut Jolokia (PL) (8), (15/20)
Yellow Fatalii (RFC) (11), (6/10)
Giant White Habanero (RFC) (7)
Trinidad Scorpion Moruga/Moruga Blend (PL) (10), (28/35)
Trinidad Scorpion Moruga/Moruga Blend (RFC) (14)
T. Scorpion Moruga/Moruga Blend Yellow (PL) (6), (19/25)
T. 7pod Congo SR Gigantic (PL) (9), (2/7)
T. 7pod Large Red (PL) (4)
T. 7pod Large Yellow (PL) (1)
T. 7pod Brain Strain (PL) (10), (2/9)
T. 7pod Brain Strain Yellow (PL) (4), (11/12)
T. 7pod Brown (PL) (17)
T. 7pod Burgundy (PL) (8)
T. Douglah (PL) (5), (4/20)
T. Scorpion Butch T. (PL) (7)
T. Scorpion Yellow (PL) (18)
T. Scorpion Original Strain (PL) (1)
T. Seasoning (PL) (4)

New strains/sources started on 3/4:
Red Bhut Jolokia (PL) (45/50)
Scotch Bonnet Brown (PL) (22/34)
'12 7 Pot Yellow (RFC) (0/11)
'12 Bhut Jolokia Chocolate (PL) (0/14)
Datil (PL) (7/22)
Bhut Jolokia Orange (PL) (15/20)
T. Scorpion CARDI (PL) (7/20)
Tobago Treasure (PL) (8/20)

Started on 3/6:
Red Bhut Jolokia (own isolated) (>50)
Trinidad Moruga Scorpion (CPI) (13)
NuMex Pinata (CPI) (40)
White Bullet Hab (PL) (13)

Unrecorded plant date:
Orange Hab (PL) (2)
TS Cardi (PL) (7)
Dorset Naga (PL) (5)

Started on 3/25:
Yellow Bhut Jolokia (PL) - 8/?
Long Choco Habanero (AjiJoe) - 17/42
Pimenta da Neyde (PL) - 14/30
Giant Mexican Rocoto (PL) - 0/40
CAP 1144 (PL) - 0/21
(old) Yellow Habanero (Trade Winds) - 0/24
(old) Jamaican Red Mushroom (RFC) - 0/18
Trinidad Congo Red (PL) - 10/12
Datil (PL) - 9/22 (4 hh)
7 Pot Primo (PL) - 5/18
Early Jalapeno (PL) - 19/36
Cracked Jalapeno (PL) - 33/36
Large Hot Cherry (PL) - 33/36
Surprise Hot Mix (AjiJoe) - 97/144

Edit 4/3: add sources PL=pepperlover, RFC=Refining Fire Chiles, CPI=Chile Pepper Institute
Edit 4/3: (in blue)
Edit 4/29: Edit title (again)
 
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Hey guys, thanks for checking in.  I'm still here and still trying to get caught up from my trip.  Leave for 10 days and come back a month behind.  Most of my pepper plants survived, but many have stalled from being drowned and/or root bound.  It has rained a lot here up until the last couple of weeks.  Some of the 22 plants I put in the ground before I left have started to take off and grow, finally.  The ground was so wet for so long, they just sat there while I was away.  I lost some of those 22, apparently from being stepped on by a deer.  One got bitten in half, but it's coming back strong.  I have blooms, but haven't noticed any pods yet. 
 
Other items of note:
 
The one Gourmet Jigsaw that germinated from the three seeds DesertChris sent to me is still alive.  It's been potted up from germ. flat to 3.5" square pot and has started growing again.  This one will remain in pots (being potted up in size as needed) in partial shade for the duration of the summer and held for overwintering.  Will isolate some blooms for seed.  May try some cloning.
 
I have four MoAs from the seeds Steve954 sent to me.  These are also in 3.5" square pots and will receive the same treatment going forward as the Jigsaw.
 
I have several Carolina Reapers, some from each of the three vendors, PB, PJ, and RFC.  These are still in germ. flats and root bound (I know, I know :( ), but otherwise very healthy.  These will soon be potted up and some of them prepared for the garden.  I'm going to try to get crosses from all combinations amongst the three.
 
I've had bad luck with the chiltepins and other small-podded pepper seeds I got from Capsidaburn.  I put all the flats under trees before I left, hoping to moderate the sun, rain, etc.  Unfortunately, the flat these were in was under a big limb and apparently rain collected on the underside of the limb and big drops fell directly on the flat.  Whatever the cause, several cells had all the dirt knocked out of them.  I have saved one Amarillo and there are a few others that are going to make it, but I haven't identified them yet.
 
Still have one or more each of the red, orange, and yellow manzanos.  I haven't done a complete inventory yet, but with the exception of the aforementioned chiltepins and small-pods, I think I have at least one of every pepper I tried to start. :woohoo: Not so with the tomatoes. :mope: Most of those either drowned or got eaten by pill bugs.  I've heard it said pill bugs don't eat seedlings, but I don't believe it.  Something ate them and rollie-pollies were the only bugs I saw (a lot of them).  Anyway, not looking good on the tomato front.
 
Weather has been great lately.  High temperatures have been in the upper 80s, creeping into the lower 90s this week, with lows around 70 at night.  We had been getting regular rain, but nothing in the last week or so.  I've had to start watering the plants in the ground.  (Potted plants get daily attention.)
 
Lots of other stuff going on, too.  I'll try to get some pictures posted soon, but it will probably be next week.
 
Thanks to all for looking in.  I'm going to try to get caught up on pick up with everyone else's grow soon.
 
Welcome back brethren hope you had a great time, made some mula and are now ready to grow your crop \o/  I can tell you that you were missed and it’s great to have you back ^_^
 
I see congratulations are in order for the Jigsaw, the MoAs and the rest of your crop that took care of themselves ;) that is awesome brethren but where’s the pics ;)
 
Sorry to read about the maters, you could always buy some small potted ones and still have a decent yield if you don’t have a problem with that. Regardless of my jokes, I’m looking forward to seeing your pictures, have a great day brethren!
 
Agreed.  It may just be rationalization for procrastination, but I like to think I'm selecting for extreme conditions.  The six OW bhut jolokias I have are three years old now and still in 1 gallon pots.  They spent their entire first year still in the germ. flat. and for much of that time their roots were completely submerged.   Got potted up to 4" round pots for the first winter and into the 1 gal pots for last summer and winter.  I changed the soil early, early this spring, but kept them in the same pots.  Now they're sitting on the front stoop baking the sun for about six hours per day.  They are going into 3 or 5 gal pots soon and into partial shade for the worst of the summer heat.  Please don't report me to the SPCP!
 
BTW, I've noticed this year that the Jolokias I have (red, white, orange, yellow, brown) are all among the most tolerant of abuse.  Maybe surprisingly (but pleasantly so) so are the Reapers.
WalkGood said:
Welcome back brethren hope you had a great time, made some mula and are now ready to grow your crop \o/  I can tell you that you were missed and it’s great to have you back ^_^
 
I see congratulations are in order for the Jigsaw, the MoAs and the rest of your crop that took care of themselves ;) that is awesome brethren but where’s the pics ;)
 
Sorry to read about the maters, you could always buy some small potted ones and still have a decent yield if you don’t have a problem with that. Regardless of my jokes, I’m looking forward to seeing your pictures, have a great day brethren!
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Thanks, Ramon.  Funny thing about mula, there always seems to be a need for more.  Oh well, it was a good trip and good exposure.
 
I think I can salvage some of the tomato plants.  I was shooting for purple calabash, several varieties of orange, and a rainbow of cherries.  Those are kind of hard to find at the store, but yeah, if I can't revive any of these, I'll buy some beefsteak or something.
 
Pictures forthcoming, weeds and all.
 
Sounds like you were sharing in our June weather; glad to see it's looking up there.
We were in D.C. a few weeks ago - great city.
 
What part of Arkansas are you in?  I don't remember if I asked you that before.
My grandparents had a little farm near Bentonville called Tenacres.  I visited
there a few times many years ago.  I remember the Ozarks as a beautiful
place.
 
I hope you are successful in the plant salvage operation and getting a handle
on the bugs eating your stuff.  Weird about the Sow bugs, I always thought of
them as beneficial as composters.  Sounds like you have good skills, brah, so
I know you will cruise into summer in good form.
 
PaulG said:
Sounds like you were sharing in our June weather; glad to see it's looking up there.
We were in D.C. a few weeks ago - great city.
 
What part of Arkansas are you in?  I don't remember if I asked you that before.
My grandparents had a little farm near Bentonville called Tenacres.  I visited
there a few times many years ago.  I remember the Ozarks as a beautiful
place.
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Well, I said D.C., but actually I was in Arlington, just across the river.  Was in meetings from 8a to at least 6p every day, breakfast and lunch catered and had "homework" every evening.  So there wasn't much time to sightsee.  Plus I came down with the worst spring cold I've had in years during the drive there.  Once I found a place next to the hotel that made a great Angus burger with blue cheese and grilled onions and peppers for dinner, I fell into a routine for the week.  Didn't even get a Cobb salad while I was there, something that is sorely in short supply around here.
 
I'm in NWA, just outside of Fayetteville to be specific.  It's not out the question that I might I have heard of Tenacres, but if I ever did, I've forgotten about it.  It is beautiful here, for three seasons, anyway.  The summers can be pretty miserable.  It's not just the heat, but also the humidity, ticks, chiggers, mosquitos, etc.  Normally, I keep things well mowed and avoid water catchments and that helps with the bugs, but things got away from me while I was away.  Slowly getting things back in shape.  And so far (fingers crossed), the heat hasn't been too bad this year.  If it's broken 90 at all, yet, then it was just barely.
 
I went out just awhile ago to water everything, having remembered I hadn't watered since yesterday morning.  The gang was thirsty, but only the six OW BJs looked really bad.  One of them was so far gone all the leaves had fallen off, or so I thought.  So I moved them from the front stoop where they sat on concrete and got full sun from about 9a to 3 or 4p to the lawn under the edge of the silver maple canopy where they'll get full sun from about 8a to about noon and filtered light the rest of the day.  I looked more closely at the denuded plant and noticed two of the three pods (nice size for such a small plant, I didn't know it had any) that were the only green left on the plant besides the stems, had been chewed on.  Then I looked at the plant that was next to it, that was also losing leaves and that's when I saw the bastard.  A hornworm the size of my little finger.  I pulled him off and speared him with a stick.  Then I found another, and another, and another, four in total.  One more night and all six plants would have been bare.
 
I did discover one possibly useful thing, though.  For me, anyway, the natural way to pluck them is to grab them by the horn.  Of course then they whip around and spit on you or maybe even try to bite; I never hold on long enough to find out.  (Maybe I'm an idiot and you all already know about this, but...)  For whatever reason, for the second worm I grabbed him by the neck right behind the head, as you might pick up a puppy or kitten by the scruff of the neck.  Guess what?  They won't let go of the stem with their hind feet.  I pulled him completely in half and the remaining body just flopped there, still holding on to the stem.  Didn't get any juice on my fingers either.  I tried the same thing for worms 3 and 4 and they did the same thing.  The only problem is you might mistake the dead remains still hanging on the plant for another, new worm.  I'll have to look tomorrow to see if the leftovers eventually fall off the plant.
 
Hornworms are a bitch. A couple years ago I tried growing jus two pepper plants and nothing else and they managed to essentially kill them in one night. Can they bite? I hope not. Most bugs don't bother me aside from roaches, but they gross me out for some reason. So I used gloves to pluck them off and fed them to my fowl despite my plants already destroyed. Ultra satisfying seeing them gobbled up alive. Luckily seen no pest this year aside from aphids, but none of he usual ladybugs or mantis either, so fingers crossed.

Anyways hope you have a great season and got the last of the buggers!
Ps: though they can be great decomposing matter munchers, I have heard of pill bugs eating plants. Perhaps part of the reason for the name potato bug idk.
 
If you have a portable black light, use that in complete darkness, those hornworm bastards glow flourescent green and are super easy to find....even the little baby ones and the eggs!! I slayed thousands of them last year that way. I had a 5 gallon bucket next to me... pluck and drop into the bucket...then drown em :)
 
Hey, If you need Tomato seeds, mine should have ripe fruit soon... a couple already are...
I have mostly plum and cherry size varieties, and some are pretty cool. Let me know, and I'll pick some fruits, dry some seeds and mail them to you :)
Check my growlist on page one of my glog for the tom varieties if you're interested.
Oh, almost forgot....
Still waiting for those replacement seeds from Finland, but after a month I figure they may be lost.....Geez....
 
But my One plant looks awesome so far,
So we now have one each :) WOOHOO!!
 
 
That's the best hornworm story I've read in a while.  
Great tip about the night light search.
 
I remember the chiggers!  I was young, so most of the bugs didn't
bother me, I guess; I don't remember many others.  Oh, and the
hornets.  They got me good when my cuz and I were throwing
rocks at their nest!
 
Thanks for stopping by, Taylor, Gnome.
 
Hey, Chris, we were just talking about the black light trick over in WalkGood's thread.  I don't have a portable one, but I do have an 18" fluorescent and a really, really long extension cord. 
 
Thanks for the offer; I'll let you know about the tomato seeds.  I need to see what I can salvage and also check what seeds I have left.  You do have some interesting varieties.
 
I saw your Jigsaw over in another thread, looking good.  It's about twice as big as mine.  Mine's looking healthy, though, now that I've got it out of the water bath and into decent some soil.  Don't give up on the replacements.  Remember how long it took that one package from me to arrive?

PaulG said:
I remember the chiggers!  I was young, so most of the bugs didn't
bother me, I guess; I don't remember many others.  Oh, and the
hornets.  They got me good when my cuz and I were throwing
rocks at their nest!
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I think I'm just the opposite.  When I was a kid a bad batch of chiggers or, especially, seed ticks could just about bring me to tears.  These days, while I still don't like them, they are a lot less painful.  Maybe it's just because I've learned to recognize they are there sooner and do something about them before they settle in for dinner.  I've been stung by just about everything around except hornets, and count myself lucky for it.  I'd rather get twenty yellow jacket stings than be stung by a hornet, at least from how I've heard their sting described, and from looking at the stinger.  Those big, black-face bumblebees are no fun, though, I can tell you that.
 
Welcome back!  I also have 100+ varieties of tomatoes so if you need anything let me know.  I am growing about half of them this year and you can see what varieties in the "official Tomato Thread" in Growing Other.
 
Sawyer, got behind on glogs for a while and slowly catching up.  Hope you had a great time in DC.  Like Paul said, sounds like natural selection helped you weed out the weak ones.  ;)  Seriously, though, sorry you lost a few.  But it sounds like it could have been a lot worse.  Given the prolonged absence, the numbers that did survive is impressive.  Let's see some pics of those flowers and protopods!
 
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