Stickman's 2013 Glog - Time To Pull The Plug on 2013

I'm pulling things together to get ready for my next growing season. I bought NuMex variety seeds from Sandia Seed company in New Mexico, Hot Paper Lantern Habaneros and Antohi Romanians from Johnny's Select Seeds in Maine and Korean varieties from Evergreen Seeds in California. Due to the unbelievable generosity of a number of THP members I've also gotten seeds to a wide variety of chiles from around the world. Special thanks to BootsieB, stc3248, romy6, PaulG, SoCalChilehead, joynershotpeppers, highalt, cmpman1974, smokemaster, mygrassisblue, Mister No, chewi, KingDenniz, orrozconleche and most recently and spectacularly, Habanerohead with a great selection of superhots and peppers from Hungary!

There are eleven varieties of Hungarian peppers in here, mostly the early, thick-fleshed, sweet ones that range from white through yellow to purple and red.., plus Aji Lemon Drop, BJ Indian Carbon, Naga Morich, Bishop's Crown and TS CARDI Yellow! Now I just have to go through my seed bank and match the space available to what I want to grow. Thanks Balázs!

 

[stickman]

Thanks Doc
I went through and culled out the extras because I'll be needing the space soon. The culls will be going to a new Hydroponics shop in Hadley, MA called "Here We Grow", and these are the ones left...

The tray on the right is all Kurtovska Kapija. The three furthest away on the left are the C. Baccatums. The two on the left are Aji Omnicolor, the one on the right is the funny looking Criolla Sella. rest are in columns of 2. Maya Red Habs on the left, Douglahs in the middle and Yellow 7s on the right. The 2 cups closest in the left tray are the Jamaican Hot Chocolates.

The Hot Paper Lantern didn't make the cut since it is so close to the Maya Reds I figured to let it go. Instead, I think I'll try to get another Criolla Sella going, and of course, I'm still trying to get a couple of C. Pubiscens going as well. I'll be starting the C. Annuums about the 16th to the 23rd of February... That aught to enough time to get them started before plant-out near the end of April.

Looking good up there Rick! Oh, when you get a few minutes can you post up or pm me your Kimchi recipe? I want to make a batch and see if the family is accepting of it. I already have one daughter that has discovered the pleasures of the korean cuisne and it'll be a surprise when she comes for a visit during Spring Break.

Wish those rocotos and manzanos would grow down here but from what I've seen they dont like to be likin it around here. have a great week brother,
Bill

Hi Bill
Glad to hear at least some of the family are into Korean foods. I posted my kimchi recipe with pics somewhere on THP... can't remember where just now, but I'll look and pm it if you haven't found it first. I probably aught to ask the boss to move it to the sauces and pickles section, wherever that is...

I've got all my seed planted for the Manzano/Rocotos and I haven't given up hope yet. Shane is sending fresher seed, so I hope to get something happening soon.

Your grow is looking great... did any of those ground cherries pop for you?

Cheers

 

[stc3248]

Nice update...and good numbers so far Rick. Don't worry...we'll get you through puberty soon!

 

[GA Growhead]

When i read "culled" i cringed. Then continued to see they are still alive and heading to a good home. I like that idea so much better than termination.
Looking awesome!

 

[WalkGood]

That sounds like the ticket Ramon. I was surprised to see how well your eggshell germ worked out... I guess it shows that we shouldn't over-protect our chiles. They're tough little buggers.

I've never done it in winter, have had a hard time keeping the inside of the egg case above 80, so there is a strong chance that many will fail. That said, I've calculated percentages of this specific start, posted to my glog and it's way too low That said, I just had 2 more pop in the last few days so I'm not saying "Uncle" yet

 

[Stefan_W]

Very nice looking plants! I hope the ones that didn't make the cut end up finding happy homes.

 

[HillBilly Jeff]

Looking really nice. Hated to see the Paper Lantern go....sorry for your loss.

 

[stickman]

Nice update...and good numbers so far Rick. Don't worry...we'll get you through puberty soon!

Thanks Shane! So thoughtful...

When i read "culled" i cringed. Then continued to see they are still alive and heading to a good home. I like that idea so much better than termination.
Looking awesome!

Very nice looking plants! I hope the ones that didn't make the cut end up finding happy homes.

Looking really nice. Hated to see the Paper Lantern go....sorry for your loss.

Thanks Guys! There was a happy ending.. I found them a good home where they can demo at a Hydroponics shop locally.

I've never done it in winter, have had a hard time keeping the inside of the egg case above 80, so there is a strong chance that many will fail. That said, I've calculated percentages of this specific start, posted to my glog and it's way too low That said, I just had 2 more pop in the last few days so I'm not saying "Uncle" yet

Hi Ramon
It's not so hard to start plants in the winter if you provide the right warmth and moisture. If anything, I think it's easier using seed heat mats and dome lids than what you're doing. More power to you I say.
Cheers

 

[spicy_echo]

Just went through your entire glog stickman. Nice setup. I just got a mini greenhouse setup that looks exactly what you have there. Cool to see someone else using it. I wanted to go straight from the dome pod setup to solocups like you. Very cool read and I will be following you

 

[stickman]

Just went through your entire glog stickman. Nice setup. I just got a mini greenhouse setup that looks exactly what you have there. Cool to see someone else using it. I wanted to go straight from the dome pod setup to solocups like you. Very cool read and I will be following you

Thanks Charlie... welcome to the zoo! I got my mini greenhouse setup for $20 at a Tractor Supply store last year and it served me well. I had to modify it slightly then because I was growing in my basement, but could jettison the modifications this year since I'm growing upstairs in our living space.
I was just checking the min/max temperature plat for Lubbock from Wikipedia, and I see your growing season starts about 3 months before ours does... Good luck with your grow this year. Will you be planting anything besides Chiltepins? Cheers

 

[spicy_echo]

Thanks Charlie... welcome to the zoo! I got my mini greenhouse setup for $20 at a Tractor Supply store last year and it served me well. I had to modify it slightly then because I was growing in my basement, but could jettison the modifications this year since I'm growing upstairs in our living space.
I was just checking the min/max temperature plat for Lubbock from Wikipedia, and I see your growing season starts about 3 months before ours does... Good luck with your grow this year. Will you be planting anything besides Chiltepins? Cheers

Man.... I just looked at my profile because I had no idea what you were talking about at first lol.... Needless to say I did some updating... I have 72 pods currently in germination phase! 7 pots, bs, bhut j, lemon drop, TS variety, you name it! Half of them I've never even heard of as this is my first year to grow superhots. Due to much research last year on here though I found out I wanted to see what the fuss was all about Our grow season in west texas isn't to bad but it is dry and windy which usually isn't a good thing for most peppers. Late june-september is basically a non producing time. So hopefully I can get an early start on them this year and harvest some before but after the summer it won't be till October'ish!

BTW all of those peppers have came from members here on the boards. What a great community here!

It seems like you have many seeds going but only growing on one row on your rack? Where are the others going? Do you use all the shelving and just add lights for each shelf? I'm just curious as I said before I am doing something very similar and would love any input. Thanks!

 

[stickman]

Man.... I just looked at my profile because I had no idea what you were talking about at first lol.... Needless to say I did some updating... I have 72 pods currently in germination phase! 7 pots, bs, bhut j, lemon drop, TS variety, you name it! Half of them I've never even heard of as this is my first year to grow superhots. Due to much research last year on here though I found out I wanted to see what the fuss was all about Our grow season in west texas isn't to bad but it is dry and windy which usually isn't a good thing for most peppers. Late june-september is basically a non producing time. So hopefully I can get an early start on them this year and harvest some before but after the summer it won't be till October'ish!

BTW all of those peppers have came from members here on the boards. What a great community here!

It seems like you have many seeds going but only growing on one row on your rack? Where are the others going? Do you use all the shelving and just add lights for each shelf? I'm just curious as I said before I am doing something very similar and would love any input. Thanks!

Hi Charlie
Have you talked to chewi over in Parker County, TX? He's far enough inland from the Gulf that I think conditions there are pretty similar to your own, and he's been at this awhile. This is the first year growing superhots for me as well, and I also got some of my seed from THP members. Yup, it's a great community!

My plan is to start all my chiles upstairs in the living area where it's heated, but when the Annuums get big enough, I'm going to move them to a grow setup I have in my unheated basement. It's not as bad as it sounds, because it stays a pretty constant 50 degrees down there during the winter. If anything, it probably helps in the long run because it's still pretty cool when I plant them outside in April and this will give them some time to get accustomed to it. With the exception of the Kurtovska Kapija, which is a long-season Annuum, I'll plant the rest of my Annuums in a few weeks... probably on February 23rd. That's about when I planted them last year, and they did fine.

I fastened a power strip to the underside of each shelf on my grow rack, and rigged them in series... I plugged the one on the bottom into the wall, plugged each one into the power strip on the shelf below. Once the power strips were in place...

I plugged an Edison socket for each CFL bulb used into the power strips...

Cheap and effective! I've been using 23 watt 5000k CFLs for light up to now, but found a supply of 32 watt 6500k CFLs which I'll pick up when they get them in stock next week. I'm hoping the additional lumens will help speed the grow up a little bit.

 

[spicy_echo]

Ahh! Missed the lights underneath i just saw the power strip.

Haven't talked with Cherie but I will make sure to bug him and tell him you said so lol

 

[DocNrock]

Man, your glog moves FAST! Glad to see things moving along. Love the power strip idea!

 

[Stefan_W]

I love the idea of moving them downstairs to where it is cooler to help harden them off. I usually take them off of my heating pad once they are at a decent size, but it never occurred to me to go even colder to give them an easier time when they are put outside in the spring.

 

[stickman]

Came home from work tonight and found an envelope from Brother Shane...

Wow! That was fast! Thanks a lot Chief! I'll put them on to pre-soak right away.

Man, your glog moves FAST! Glad to see things moving along. Love the power strip idea!

Thanks Doc, I saw a similar idea here last year and just tweaked it to work with my system.

 

[stc3248]

Now get 'em going Rickster! Good luck...they are a tricky bunch.

 

[stickman]

I love the idea of moving them downstairs to where it is cooler to help harden them off. I usually take them off of my heating pad once they are at a decent size, but it never occurred to me to go even colder to give them an easier time when they are put outside in the spring.

It seemed to work pretty well last year... when I put them downstairs it slows the growth down, but I don't think that's a bad thing. If they're shorter, they're closer to the warmth radiating up from the soil at night.

Now get 'em going Rickster! Good luck...they are a tricky bunch.

Thanks Shane! You're incredibly generous my friend, there must be at least 50 seeds in there!

At least one... please sprout!

 

[stc3248]

I have about 2000 more, so don't be too impressed with me! Would've sent more, but didn't wanna chance the package arriving postage due.

 

[PeriPeri]

Looking good Stickman! Can't wait to see you get these in the doil! Going to be good reading during our winter

 

[stickman]

Thanks for the kind words Lourens. Me too...

I soaked 6 more Criolla Sella seeds last night, and a dozen of the fresh Orange Manzano seeds Shane sent. Planted them this morning. I kept 2 each of the Chinense, have 2 Aji Omnicolors and a Criolla Sella already up. I just want 1 more Criolla Sella and a couple Manzanos in this round to complete the set.