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Windchicken 2014

Got some sheet pots in from Grower Supply a couple days ago. I got this type so I could pull out the individual containers and replace them if need be, and they fit perfectly in my 11" x 22" Permanest Trays. Anybody in NW Louisiana need a couple of these? If I keep growing the same size garden every season these sheets should last me around 12 years:
 
unboxing1.jpg

 
These are the only C. chinense I'm growing this year: The NagaBrain, now in its F3 generation, is the happy accident of Florida THP mentor and all-around good guy romy6; seeds for the F2 Chocolate NagaBrain are from the talented and skillful Florida grower Tmudder; Bonda Ma Jacques x 7 Pot Yellow, the F3 generation, is the creation of the THP breeding wizard Spicegeist; Both 7 Pot Yellow and Naga Morich are from THSC seed; Dystopia is a project of North Texas grower joemomma; and Madame Jeanette comes courtesy of the incredibly generous Netherlands grower Meatfreak :
 
tray%201.jpg
 
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windchicken said:
Thanks Paul!
 
The friendships I've made here on THP have completely changed the way I think about growing, and friendship, too...When I started it was about producing a supply of exotic, fresh chiles for myself and maybe a few friends and family. I saw THP as mainly a resource for advice, and not much more. I never could have imagined that I would become part of a global cooperative, helping to bring about amazing new varieties, each one with its own unique personality, much like all the enigmatic chile heads that I now call my friends...When I'm in my garden browsing through the different varieties or introducing someone to one of the many distinctive peppers that we share here, I'm usually reminded of the particular chile head that sent me the seeds or fresh pods. My life is quite a bit richer and more connected with the rest of the world for knowing all you chile fanatics here...I could never have imagined that!
 
Gary
 
Oh, I forgot to mention the URL of B&T Grower Supply, here in Louisiana. I buy lots of stuff from them; they're really fast; and they carry lots of stuff I can't find anywhere else:
 
http://www.growersupply.com/
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Amen, brother :) It's been the same story over here. I love telling people the origins of the varieties I grow, they are always so surprised that there are so many different varieties and people involved in growing peppers.
 
meatfreak said:
Amen, brother :) It's been the same story over here. I love telling people the origins of the varieties I grow, they are always so surprised that there are so many different varieties and people involved in growing peppers.
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Yeah dude! It's bigger than us, right?... :dance:  There are not enough summers in a lifetime to grow them all, either!
 
Roguejim said:
Hey Gary,  will you be adding new wood chips?
 
Do you prune your plants, or just let nature run its course?
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Hi RJ! Thanks for stopping in!
 
I "dress" my beds with fresh wood chips twice each year: 1) at the beginning of the season, after I set the plants out, to replenish whatever has been lost to decay and erosion, and to rebuild the beds to their proper shape, and 2) at the end of the season, which helps to prevent weeds from cropping up in the off season, and also introduces a fresh source of lignin and polyphenols that will have thoroughly permeated the beds by plant-out time. Also, there is usually some additional "patching" during the season due to damage from animals, weather, or gardener clumsiness.
 
Until lately I would just let the plants grow however they wanted, but in just the last season I adopted a practice of "one stalk and no suckers". What I mean is: 1) Trimming everything down to just one stalk per "locus," because I found that the "clumping" technique causes way too many branches that are very difficult to tie up when the plants get loaded with fruit. Beside that, several stalks make the plants very difficult to manage, they get too crowded, and interfere with one another's growth. 2) No branches below the first fork ("suckers"), because those branches seem to only produce undersize fruit, and they make the plants very hard to manage, especially late in the season, when the branches must be tied up to support the pod load...
 
If you want to see some real pretty chile plants, check the Facebook page of Søren Friis Larsen, the Danish creator of the Bhut Orange Copenhagen. His plants are my inspiration for how I want my plants to look (except quite a bit larger and in-ground, of course):
 
BOC.jpg

 
Thanks for asking! I hope that helps!
 
Gary
 
windchicken said:
 
Yeah dude! It's bigger than us, right?... :dance:  There are not enough summers in a lifetime to grow them all, either!
   
Hi RJ! Thanks for stopping in!
 
I "dress" my beds with fresh wood chips twice each year: 1) at the beginning of the season, after I set the plants out, to replenish whatever has been lost to decay and erosion, and to rebuild the beds to their proper shape, and 2) at the end of the season, which helps to prevent weeds from cropping up in the off season, and also introduces a fresh source of lignin and polyphenols that will have thoroughly permeated the beds by plant-out time. Also, there is usually some additional "patching" during the season due to damage from animals, weather, or gardener clumsiness.
 
Until lately I would just let the plants grow however they wanted, but in just the last season I adopted a practice of "one stalk and no suckers". What I mean is: 1) Trimming everything down to just one stalk per "locus," because I found that the "clumping" technique causes way too many branches that are very difficult to tie up when the plants get loaded with fruit. Beside that, several stalks make the plants very difficult to manage, they get too crowded, and interfere with one another's growth. 2) No branches below the first fork ("suckers"), because those branches seem to only produce undersize fruit, and they make the plants very hard to manage, especially late in the season, when the branches must be tied up to support the pod load...
 
If you want to see some real pretty chile plants, check the Facebook page of Søren Friis Larsen, the Danish creator of the Bhut Orange Copenhagen. His plants are my inspiration for how I want my plants to look (except quite a bit larger and in-ground, of course):
 
BOC.jpg

 
Thanks for asking! I hope that helps!
 
Gary
Click to expand...
 
Fantastic looking plant. When does he prune the lower branches like that? I love the canopy. I'll be going for something similar with my in ground plants this year.
 
Happy growing Windchicken!
 
windchicken said:
Thanks Paul!
 
The friendships I've made here on THP have completely changed the way I think about growing, and friendship, too...When I started it was about producing a supply of exotic, fresh chiles for myself and maybe a few friends and family. I saw THP as mainly a resource for advice, and not much more. I never could have imagined that I would become part of a global cooperative, helping to bring about amazing new varieties, each one with its own unique personality, much like all the enigmatic chile heads that I now call my friends...When I'm in my garden browsing through the different varieties or introducing someone to one of the many distinctive peppers that we share here, I'm usually reminded of the particular chile head that sent me the seeds or fresh pods. My life is quite a bit richer and more connected with the rest of the world for knowing all you chile fanatics here...I could never have imagined that!
 
Gary
 
Oh, I forgot to mention the URL of B&T Grower Supply, here in Louisiana. I buy lots of stuff from them; they're really fast; and they carry lots of stuff I can't find anywhere else:
 
http://www.growersupply.com/
Click to expand...
 Brother G. sorry I have not been following your grow. or anybody's really. ( I blame some of that on Santa bringing my son a ps4 ) . ;)
 
This quote you made  almost had me in tears . Well said Gman :clap:  . Cannot wait too see your  babies grow into monsters :fireball:  
 
 
Keep it green 
 
Awesome advice on the pruning, Gary.  I've been just letting mine
grow out for now, but will follow suit as early Spring draws closer.  
 
Good news; some of the NagaBrain seed sent has sprouted, so I
should be able to grow out four plants - two from seed you sent
and two from the late pods   :party:
 
Devv said:
And here we go!
 
Congrats!
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Lol, thanks Scott!
 
capsidadburn said:
Women and children first of course, then bring on the NagaBrain Train Gary!
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:rofl:  
 
Thanks Mike! Right now I'm not even sure where I'm going to put all those NB plants...
 
meatfreak said:
That's what the wife keeps telling me as well, Gary :lol:
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:rofl:  
 
I can't add much to that Stefan! But the results do back up your statement!
 
maximumcapsicum said:
 
Fantastic looking plant. When does he prune the lower branches like that? I love the canopy. I'll be going for something similar with my in ground plants this year.
 
Happy growing Windchicken!
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Thanks MC! I'm guessing he pruned as the new branches presented, but that's real good question…I'll ask him and get back to you on that…. :P
 
romy6 said:
 Brother G. sorry I have not been following your grow. or anybody's really. ( I blame some of that on Santa bringing my son a ps4 ) . ;)
 
This quote you made  almost had me in tears . Well said Gman :clap:  . Cannot wait too see your  babies grow into monsters :fireball:  
 
 
Keep it green 
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Lol, thanks Jamie! I've been eyeing the PS4 myself, but I just bought my first new Mac in 8 years, so my technology budget is blown for a while...
 
Dude, you have to know, with your being the creator of the NagaBrain and the guy that turned me onto the Yellow 7…I can't take one step into my garden without being reminded of you!  :party:
 
PaulG said:
Awesome advice on the pruning, Gary.  I've been just letting mine
grow out for now, but will follow suit as early Spring draws closer.  
 
Good news; some of the NagaBrain seed sent has sprouted, so I
should be able to grow out four plants - two from seed you sent
and two from the late pods   :party:
Click to expand...
 
Thanks PG! Excellent news on your NagaBrain sprouts! I'm still waiting...
 
Not only do Søren's plants appeal to my deep-seated OCD nature, they just make practical sense to me…. :P
 
Penny said:
Excellent advice! ;)
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Thanks Penny!
 
KiNGDeNNiZ said:
thanks for the advice gary...

im weeks ahead of you.. but knowing you.. YOU WILL definately catch up and have a monster NEW YEAR!
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Thanks KD, but I've got a feeling this is going to be the year of your Big Grow! :party:
 
Spicegeist said:
Yeah, me too, first flowers are always very exciting :onfire: !
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Charles, how did you interpret his statement about the goal of aborting blossoms being to "make volume"? I'm guessing he meant that it will increase the density of foliage by forcing the branches to fork more often? Correct if I'm wrong, but it seems to me that would actually decrease the overall volume of the canopy by creating the normal amount of foliage in a smaller space….
 
maximumcapsicum said:
Cutting the flowers is hard. Takes persistence too, especially when they start growing so large. Nonetheless may try this with a couple of my chinenses this year.
 
Thanks for all the info! It's very helpful.
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You bet, MC! My only concern with aborting blossoms here in NW Louisiana is that the really hot weather, which causes our usual "split season", can come very early, in the first weeks of June even…If I plant out in April then I have very little time to produce ripe fruit before the blossom-dropping hot weather arrives…That's the main reason I don't pinch blossoms….
 
However, I get most of my production after September, when the weather cools off…By that time the plants are large, and most of the fruit sets on the ends of the long branches, necessitating lots of staking and tying-up. A severe pruning during the hot period might actually make for sturdier plants that could better handle the late pod set...
 
Gary do you think he is referring to the first split as "point 1" or did I miss some annotated picture somewhere. Maybe that is common growing reference that has escaped me while I'm under a rock.

I have had some good after summer seasons, but I believe my best have been before summer. I think the better late season is a result of the mild summer for me. Just thoughts.

Have a great day!

Mike
 
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