Stupid Jerk's stupid grow log for jerks

I think it is safe to say that my girlfriend now regrets bringing home a cayenne plant this July. It sparked an interest in me that has lead me to spend countless hours reading about gardening, filling the windows and balcony with plants and seedlings, purchasing a grow light, and ultimately joining a community garden. I've decided it is time I start documenting my journey.

Grow list:
7 Pot Congo Yellow (Denniz)
7 Pot Douglah
7 Pot Jonah (Denniz)
7 Pot Primo (socalchilehead)
7 Pot Red (Denniz)
7 Pot SR Congo (socalchilehead)
7 Pot Yellow
Bahamian Goat Pepper (socalchilehead)
Biker Billy Jalapeno (ajijoe)
Black Pearl
Black Cobra (smokemaster)
Bhut Jolokia
Butch T (Denniz)
Butch T x Douglah (Denniz)
Carolina Reaper
Cherry
Chile Tepin (socalchilehead)
Chocolate Bhut Jolokia
Chocolate Bhut x Yellow 7 pot (socalchilehead)
Chocolate Habanero (ajijoe)
Datil
Fatalii
Fresno (Grocery Store Pod)
Jamaican Hot Chocolate (Pogeys)
Morouga Scorpion (Denniz)
Purple Jalapeno
Red Habanero
Scotch Bonnet (Turns out to be an Anuum, so we'll call these Notch Bonnets)
Scotch Bonnet Foodorama (socalchilehead)
Scotch Bonnet Tobago Yellow (socalchilehead)
Scotch Bonnet Tobago Red (socalchilehead)
Surprise Hot Mix (ajijoe)
Thai (Grocery Store Pod)
White Bullet
Yellow Brainstrain (Denniz)



These are plants that I have obtained as adults:

Aji Yellow (smokemaster)
Habanero (home depot)
Peach Bhut (smokemaster)
White Pearl (smokemaster)
Yellow 7 Pot (smokemaster)

I have a limited amount of space, so most varieties will only have one plant in the ground.

Here is a before picture of the garden:

It's a 400 sq foot plot and over half of it was filled with nutsedge. I have since pulled out the nutsedge and hopefully most of the roots. Filled a massive wheelbarrow with all that I pulled out. I tried eating one of the tubers because I read they were edible, but I wouldn't recommend it. It was the consistancy of an almond, but the taste of a dirty pine needle. Maybe they are good roasted.


Growing in the ground is going to be a new adventure that I am no way prepared for. I suppose I need to do a soil test before I attempt to amend the soil. Completely organic is the plan, but I've seen a few tiny green balls in the soil, and as far as I know that means slow release Miracle Gro. On the positive side(I think?) there is a bark mulch that is mixed through the entire garden that has started breaking down throughout. You can see some of it near the pavement in the first picture. Not sure what kind of wood it is.

If anyone has any advice, feel free to chime in. I built a fence with 2x8's around the bottom. I plan on having a 2' wide 8" raised bed around the perimeter along with 3 raised beds in the center. The ones in the center may have to wait a while unless I find someone getting rid of some wood. In the mean time I plan on just mounding the ground up in those areas. I see a lot of my neighbors still have chili plants with ripe or ripening pods on them, but I think I'm waiting until mid January to early February to plant them out.(edit: planted out in March) It hasn't frosted since I moved here, but I supposed it is possible.(edit: It happened this year)

 

[PaulG]

Great looking pizza, buddy!

 

[Sanarda]

YUMMMMMMMM..... I see the girlfriend dug you up just in time to cook her dinner. Smart girl

 

[SocalChilehead]

Plants look great and pizza look tasty. Your plants will explode in growth once your ready for plant out in that plot.

 

[StupidJerk]

WOW. I just got a package in the mail from Fernando and I'm blown away. 19 more varieties of hot peppers, several other various vegetable seeds and a massive bag of dried peppers. You guys on this forum are too generous.

Thanks again to Denniz, Smokemaster, and Fernando for all you guys have given me. Looks like I have a lot of giving back to do next year.

Looks like I'm also going to have to start convincing my friends with yards to let me fill them with peppers, because my 400 sq ft garden isn't going to be enough.

 

[SocalChilehead]

Dude i am glad everything got there safe and glad you like the veggie seeds I have more in case your interested. Let me know how the dry pod experience and aftermath goes for you.

 

[KiNGDeNNiZ]

Carson. This is just the beginning. Everyone here is very giving. I too have tons of veggies melons. And all sorts of cukes. Check out my glog. Good work on the car package Fernando.

 

[StupidJerk]

Here's the update one the Peach Bhut overwinter:

Not too shabby. You can see a few spots where hornworms started chewing on it, but I hunted them down and slaughtered them before they got big enough to do real damage.

Also, the Black Pearl is flowering. I've been pinching buds on other plants, but I wanted to let this one flower. It's an ornamental for the ladyfriend. I suppose I should get a pot that looks a little better than this 3 gallon grow bag.

 

[WalkGood]

Great job on the pizza Carson, looks really tasty and now I’m starving … also nice update on the OW and yes I would get a nice pot to gift her the BP, keep up the great work!

 

[StupidJerk]

Dude i am glad everything got there safe and glad you like the veggie seeds I have more in case your interested. Let me know how the dry pod experience and aftermath goes for you.

Thanks again. I'm going over to a buddy's house to watch the fights tonight and bringing a few of the dried pods. I'll see if I can get any bravado filled drunk guys to eat a whole one.

Carson. This is just the beginning. Everyone here is very giving. I too have tons of veggies melons. And all sorts of cukes. Check out my glog. Good work on the car package Fernando.

Thanks Denniz, I'm slowly reading through your glog from last year. Learning some things for sure.

You have a great back yard. Makes me want to purchase a place with some land, but I think that's going to have to wait a couple years. Must be awesome having all of those fruit trees.

YUMMMMMMMM..... I see the girlfriend dug you up just in time to cook her dinner. Smart girl

She cooks most of our meals, but if I want something that isn't fair trade quinoa topped with cage-free tomatoes and free-range kale I have to make it for us. She ends up eating the unhealthy stuff, but I think she needs me around to make it so she doesn't feel guilty.

Great looking pizza, buddy!

Thanks, and thanks for stopping by!

Great job on the pizza Carson, looks really tasty and now I’m starving … also nice update on the OW and yes I would get a nice pot to gift her the BP, keep up the great work!

I think I'm going to try to do something special with it on the next repot. Maybe around mid-february

 

[StupidJerk]

The peach bhut is starting to have a ton of buds popping up, here are some pics:

Some seedlings. Those Black Cobras like to shoot up fast.

This Fatalii is looking happy in its Happy Frog soil. Had it in the cheap Garden and Bloome soil before and it looked terrible.

Same thing with the Jamaican Hot Chocolate and Biker Billy that had a triple first fork. I thought I was going to lose them, but they seem happy. I keep having to pinch buds off of the Biker Billy.

Here is the infamous Carolina Reaper. Lets hope the pods turn out true. If not, no huge loss, I'm about to start some Primos thanks to Fernando.

Last but not least, I have an Eggplant Long Purple going. I sometimes hear it singing "Feed Me Seymour" when I turn my back. This thing is a beast.

 

[WalkGood]

Carson that Peach Bhut looks smexy and so do the seedlings, nice pictures. Good point with the soil on the Fatalii, Jamaican Hot Chocolate and Biker Billy, they all look lush! I need to do that to one of my Jalapeños that's looking sad. Glad you didn’t post some food pics, this way I can stay on line for a while

 

[KiNGDeNNiZ]

love the updates.... babies look good.. looks like youll have pods in a months time... hope that reaper grows true.. love how yours is already bigger than mine....

 

[HillBilly Jeff]

Everything is looking super. Can't wait to start seeing your poddage pics popping up here!!!!

 

[Indiana_Jesse]

Nice thorns on that eggplant! Where did you get that one?

 

[StupidJerk]

The eggplant I grew from seeds that I purchased through Botanical Interests. This is the exact one I ordered: http://www.botanicalinterests.com/products/view/0132/Eggplant-Long-Purple-HEIRLOOM-Seeds/category:vegetables/filter:56

 

[StupidJerk]

Of the last batch I started: 32 of 36 pellets germinated. I don't have a ton of seeds for each type, so I've been doing 1 per pellet, so about 89% on the germination rate. Everything germinated in less than 14 days.

I have one final batch I started tonight.

From seed sent to me by Fernando:

7 Pot Primo
7 Pot SR Congo
Chocolate Bhut x Yellow 7 pot
Chile Tepin
Peach Habalokia
Scotch Bonnet Foodorama
Scotch Bonnet Tobago Yellow
Scotch Bonnet Tobago Red

The only one not from Fernando:
Lock's Reaper - This is the seed from the smooth stingerless reaper pod I received from Lock. I already have a few going from the seeds I bought, might as well see how these compare.

 

[Pepperhead]

The only one not from Fernando:
Lock's Reaper - This is the seed from the smooth stingerless reaper pod I received from Lock. I already have a few going from the seeds I bought, might as well see how these compare.

Wow. 2nd Gen Reaper already!

 

[StupidJerk]

I potted up a few peppers today from solo cups into 1 gallon grow bags. They all are a little funky looking because they just went 24 hours or so without a light on as I moved some things around.
The pictures are worse than usual. Sorry.

Black Cobra (Seed from a pod I got off of the plant smokemaster gave me. Plant didn't make it)

Scotch Bonnet

Chocolate Bhut Jolokia

Douglah

Aji Joe's Chocolate Hab Mix

I also have an update on THE NEW WORLD'S HOTTEST(AND MOST DRAMATIC!!!) PEPPER!

HP22b/Carolina Reaper

You can see it has just split. I put my jewelers loupe up against my cell phone and took a picture of the split. You can see 3 buds at that first node. Seems like a sign that this could be a prolific plant. I should probably move it out of its tiny 1 gallon pot.

I have another Reaper that I started in August, one of the first things I ever tried to grow from seed. I over-watered it almost to the point of death a couple months ago, then re-potted it and put it outside. It's starting to finally get some new growth.

I finally moved the monster eggplant outside 5 days ago. Its leaves started blocking the light for my chile seedlings, so I had to move it. I started germinating eggplant A and B from the same seed pack on 12/14 and for the first couple weeks both were under my t5, then I moved B to a window sill. After a month apart, I decided to reunite Eggplant A with Eggplant B before I put them both outside. Here they are:

I'll let you guess which one is which.

 

[JJJessee]

Plants look really nice, Carson, as did the pie.
I predict an awesome grow-out.

 

[stc3248]

Carson, that Black Cobra looks nothing like the one I had going last year...will be one to watch for sure! Could be a cool cross! That comeback reaper will be a shrub this summer! Plants are lookin good so far! Keep 'em green buddy!
Shane