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seanw first glog (2013) - Racing the End of the Season...

Hello and greetings :) My first post here, and I'm prepping for my first major season growing. I've done a few small pepper plants here or there, and two summers ago I tried for some variety of ghost chili or other (the pop top cans you can get from thinkgeek), which turned out to look like ghost chilis, but were super mild (may have also been the fact that they were getting almost no sun in the apartment we lived in at the time, and by the time we got the house, they got outdoors just in time for the frost to hit).

I've got a heat mat and a 50 hole rapid rooter en route, and I'll be grabbing some cheapo work lights to give me some light. I also need to rig some sort of container to keep in the heat, they'll be going in my insulated-but-unheated garage until I move them into the garden, thinking either a styrofoam cooler or just putting that silver bubblewrap insulation stuff on a box.

In addition to some herbs and other garden veggies, here's my pepper list for the year:

HP22B
Yatsufusa
Tabasco
Paprika
Firecracker
Early Jalapeno
Moruga Trinidad Scorpion
NuMex Suave Orange Habanero
Chiltepin
Orange Hab
Bhut Jolokia
Red Savina Hab
Hot Cherry Pepper
Butch T Trinidad
Scotch Bonnet

I may have gone a bit gonzo on ordering. We haven't built our garden yet. This will be the second garden, the first is dedicated to berries, and got mauled by rabbits and chipmunks, even with fencing. The vegetable garden is going to be 6'x30', in three sections. Gonna stick peppers and some tomatos in one of the 10x6 section, the other two will be for the other veggies. I'm gonna have to break out some pots for the rest of the peppers. We'll see what happens once we get the garden together, though :) My current plan is to build a frame around the garden and cover it with 1" or 2" fencing, big enough for the bugs, too small for the critters.

Here's hoping all goes well!
 
Hi and welcome from Greenfield, MA

Hi and thanks :) Any tips for growing peppers in MA, particularly some of the super hots that like long seasons?

It sounds like you have a plan in place.. go ahead and follow thru.. post pix. plz

Hopefully the plan pans out, but, as they say, mice and men.

Nice list, great luck in your 2013 grow and yes post up some pics when you can :)

Thanks, I'll try to get some pictures once I get rolling.

Looks like a great list and :welcome: From New Jersey!!!!!!!!!

I used to live just across the Delaware from NJ (Near Trenton). Hi!
 
One might worry about catching "chili fever" and going to crazy with a garden.

I don't because I'm apparently already too far gone. I actually missed a couple peppers in my previous list, I also have some Serrano and (I think) Pasilio Bajio peppers. Additionally...I just ordered some Fresno, Fatalii and Chocolate Habs. I think that takes me to an even 20 varieties. Aiming for 1 each of the super hots, though I'll likely shoot for 2 each and (possibly) give some away if they all survive. Gonna go heavy on the jalapenos, and maybe fresnos, and then a plant or three of the other varieties. If I can't keep them all, well, my friends will get some free plants.

Seeds were sourced from Pepper Joe's, Pucker Butt Peppers, Pepper Mania, The Seed Saver Exchange and the Chili Pepper Institute.

May need to get a second hot mat and tray, we'll see if the peppers are ready to move out of the tray when I need to start sowing my other plants.
 
Welcome and good luck with your startup. If your germinating in a cooler temp garage becareful not to overwater the seedlings. The evaporation rate drops down with lower temperature. Keeping your grow light on 24/7 will help keep the seedlings warm...

Greg
 
Welcome and good luck with your startup. If your germinating in a cooler temp garage becareful not to overwater the seedlings. The evaporation rate drops down with lower temperature. Keeping your grow light on 24/7 will help keep the seedlings warm...

Greg

Thanks, my garage is kinda cool. Probably in the 50's, with periodic drops when we open the door to go out. Gonna get something to insulate them to keep them warmer and mitigate the temp dips. When would you suggest stopping the 24/7 light? Couple weeks after they've sprouted? I've seen some people suggest that you need at least some dark.
 
Hi Sean
I'm growing superhots for the first time this year, so I'll be learning it for the first time this year too. I did grow Orange Habaneros for the first time last year, and I'll be carrying forward what I learned from that. If you want to check out my grow last year you can find it here... http://thehotpepper.com/topic/28300-stickmans-2012-gochu-pepper-glog/#entry569260

I have TS yellow, Douglah, Hot Paper Lantern Habs, Jamaican Hot Chocolate Habs, Manzano Amarillo, Aji Omnicolor and Aji Criolla Sella that I'm germinating now. If you're growing any of those 150 day peppers, you'll probably want to start them now.
 
Most of my C. Chinense are sitting in a chamomile bath. Fatalli and Choco Habs have to wait until the mailman delivers them, unfortunately. They'll be going into the rapid rooter tomorrow. 6 seeds each, I'll probably be doubling up in some of the RR holes, since apparently I can't count. I plan on culling the weakest ones, anyway.

I took a picture...but it's just of dixie cups, and flickr apparently hates me, so I can't seem to upload it. Unsure why. It's not too interesting, anyway.
 
and a double post, but I've got an update...after about an hour of "fabrication" with some scrap lumber, foam board, duct tape, and plastic sheeting, my germination tent is ready. The Chinense have been planted, after I gave them a rinse with H2O2.

I, again, took some pictures, I'll work on getting them up.
 
Something cheap and easy to use, a thermometer. I just got a clock for my woodshop in my garage, it also has a thermometer, and a hygrometer to meaure humidity. Find something like that, and you can monitor your environment and make changes accordingly. I plan on moving my indoor stuff out there around april or so, when the temps stay warm enough during the nights. I think I might also start my vegges out there in early to mid april and let the heating mats and lights warm the room.
 
Something cheap and easy to use, a thermometer. I just got a clock for my woodshop in my garage, it also has a thermometer, and a hygrometer to meaure humidity. Find something like that, and you can monitor your environment and make changes accordingly. I plan on moving my indoor stuff out there around april or so, when the temps stay warm enough during the nights. I think I might also start my vegges out there in early to mid april and let the heating mats and lights warm the room.

I plan on taking the temp inside the germinator, which I'll also be using to grow the peppers as they get larger. Haven't done it, yet, as I wanted my heat mat to start warming things up. If they are still too cold, I'll start the lights now, not later. I also need to get a fan in there.

My garage isn't climate controlled, though it is attached and insulated.
 
Welcome to glogomania, Sean! You can't go wrong with CPI
and PepperMania seeds - I had great succdess with them last
season, and this year they are germanating at a high rate.
 
Welcome to glogomania, Sean! You can't go wrong with CPI
and PepperMania seeds - I had great succdess with them last
season, and this year they are germanating at a high rate.

Thanks :)

In other news...I may have to move my germinator inside my house, which will be really annoying. It's not getting warm out in the garage. I turned the lights on in the hope that they'll warm it up, but the CFLs I have in there don't get too warm, and I'm not too keen on having the lights on all day every day until it gets warm. I need to investigate other methods of heating the germinator - any suggestions? Currently it's the lights and a heating mat under the seed tray.
 
Thanks :)

In other news...I may have to move my germinator inside my house, which will be really annoying. It's not getting warm out in the garage. I turned the lights on in the hope that they'll warm it up, but the CFLs I have in there don't get too warm, and I'm not too keen on having the lights on all day every day until it gets warm. I need to investigate other methods of heating the germinator - any suggestions? Currently it's the lights and a heating mat under the seed tray.
Would it be possible to drape a reflective blanket over the set-up?
Like the ones we use for camping? Or even a regular blanket to
hold in the heat?
 
Would it be possible to drape a reflective blanket over the set-up?
Like the ones we use for camping? Or even a regular blanket to
hold in the heat?

I need to get a picture up...currently the bottom is 2 1" sheets of styrofoam board, and the 3 walls and roof are a single sheet of the board. The front is a clear plastic tarp, which I might be able to find something better. I guess I could try a blanket, I think we have some things around that I could use.

Thinking of maybe one of those lizard rocks...
 
I need to get a picture up...currently the bottom is 2 1" sheets of styrofoam board, and the 3 walls and roof are a single sheet of the board. The front is a clear plastic tarp, which I might be able to find something better. I guess I could try a blanket, I think we have some things around that I could use.

Thinking of maybe one of those lizard rocks...
I had a hot rock for an iguana once. They put out such low heat it
was barely warm to the touch. when the iguana would lay on it, his
body would trap the heat and warm him up. I'm not sure how good a heat
source it would be for a grow tent or shelf. With your lights and the
styro board, you should be close to 70, yes? The heat is getting out
through your clear plastic tarp; they don't reflect. Even putting a
cheap reflective blanket on the front should make a diff.

Good luck getting it dialed in. Sean.
 
The lights were stone cold after running for a couple hours. I'm not sure how warm it was, I do know the water was cold to the touch when I stuck my finger in the hole.

I have a space blanket somewhere, I'll throw that on there. Thanks for the tip.
 
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