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maxcaps 2014 grow: avoiding the freeze!

Hello All,
 
New here, but feeling right at home. I figured I'd go ahead and get my glog started, though I may wait a few weeks yet before starting anything.
 
I'm pretty new, not totally new. I had a small grow last year, mostly in containers, bringing up plants that I hoped would make cool overwinter bonsai's (bonchi's). I ordered a handful of different varieties from http://fataliiseeds.net, all  95% of which sprouted nicely, though something must have gone wrong because many never grew true leaves. I think my house was too cold... I've moved now and now have an excellent heating system. I also kept the seeds by a window that I think got too drafty. 
 
I did have a handful of chinenses survive, including a wonderful Red Habanero from fataliiseeds, and some chiero roxa plants that produced a handful of tasty purple pods. I purchased some local Scotch Bonnett starts from a small scale nursery, and grew jalapeños and serrano starts from a local nursery. It's safe to say I am now addicted, as all these fire worked its way into my family's weekly diet. I have a 12'X8' plot begging for plants, and I may do some extra in containers...
 
Enough background. Here's the plan. As jalapeños (salsa, roasted, and canned) are not a staple, I want to grow a handful of varieties. The chinenses have amazing flavors, so I'm going to branch out with two or three new varieties (though sadly I did not save any scotch bonnet seeds from the last season... what is wrong with me?). Last year I tried some super hot varieties... none lived. I am going to try again! I actually ordered most of these seeds before stumbling upon this wonderful community. In any event, here is the lineup:
 
Chinenses:
 
Red Habanero (seeds kept and OW bonchi (thanks fatalii)
Chiero Roxa (seeds kept, may use OW bonchi, haven't decided)
Scotch Bonnett (forgot to keep seeds, but I can replant OW bonchi)
White Habanero (seeds from Pepper Joe, should arrive soon...)
Chocolate Habanero (seeds from Pepper Joe, should also arrive soon)
Fatali (from pepperlover.com)
Big Sun Habernero (from pepperlover)
 
Superhot Chinenses:
 
Carolina Reaper (seeds from PuckerButt)
Naga Morich (seeds from PuckerButt)
Bhut Jolokia (seeds from PuckerButt)
Dorset Naga (seeds from PuckerButt)
7 pod (from pepperlover.com)
 
Other Superhot:
 
Tiepin (seeds from PuckerButt)
 
Annuums:
 
Poblanos (from Pepper Joe... growing to Acho's to use as powder base)
Giant Jalapeño (from Pepper Joe)
Early Jalapeño (from Pepper Joe)
Black Jalapeño (from Pepper Joe)
Purple Jalapeño (from Pepper Joe)
Fresno Pepper (from Pepper Joe)
 
Wish I had found you guys sooner, I'd have added some douglah's to the list. I am also on the fence about adding a couple more chinense varieties. 
 
Also growing some companions. Planning on putting in a couple tomato plants, garlic, cilantro, and carrots (had a lot of luck with tasty fat purple carrots... atomic purple I think they were called)
 
Will post some picks of my OW bonchi's tomorrow, and start going into techniques. On the fence about coffee-filter germination versus sowing in a tray.
 
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Seeds arrived from Puckerbutt today. Waiting on the next batch then I'll take some pictures. Also thinking about adding a couple more chinense varieties... the aromas and flavors are simply too good! Had some yellow habeneros in burgers today... so good.
 
PaulG said:
Nice selection of varieties, 'cap!
It's never too late to add more seeds to the grow   :rofl:
 
Welcome to the forum, and to growing hotties!
Click to expand...
 
I couldn't resist. I actually added three more varieties from pepperlover.com. 7pod, Habanero Big Sun, and Fatali. Not sure how many plants of each variety I am going to shoot for yet... need to figure out how many pods each one makes thereabout then leave myself a buffer.
 
Okay.  The Fatali is a winner!  I have a Fatali going into it;s third season
and it produced like crazy this year for a small plant (2'x2').  In all I got
109 pods which made 79 grams dried.  The Fatali is one of my first OW
successes, and makes a great pod - flavor and heat.  Wonderful powder -
mixed a 1/4 tsp with 4 oz. of Apricot preserves to make a great hot spread!  
Poor man's spicy marmalade!
 
Got seeds from pepperjoe. Will post pics before too long, but everything is looking sharp. He sent two extra annuum varieties. Gonna have to see what I can make room for!
 
Yeah, definitely going to try to get that second plot up and running, or find some space for containers.
 
Alrighty, time to introduce the team a bit!
 
Last year I mostly grew from nursery starts, but I did manage to get two chiero roxa and one red habanero plant to live from seed. Hopefully germination will go better this year... going to keep everything warmer, and add more light, and use a seed starting mix instead of peat. We'll see how that works, but that's an update for another post.
 
When I moved, I moved the pepper plants I grew from seed with me, and planted them in my new garden plot. Here is one of the roxas at its height:
 

 
When the temps started dropping, I figured it was time to bring the team indoors. I purchased a small wooden ikea shelf and strung some shoplights to it. I'm using two cool white CFL's, something like 1450 lumens a piece. They're on a 16 hour time. Most of the light is directed at my bonsai trees. To keep everything consistent, I decided to try to bonsai the pepper plants too, following instructions from fataliiseeds.net. I didn't make the true bonsais... didn't want to buy bonsai pots for a possible failed experiment, so I stuck 'em in cheap 6" pots from the local big box store.
 
Here is the big chiero roxa after I cut it down in october:
 

 
I trimmed it a bit further as well, especially the roots.
 
Here is the red habanero after I cut it down:
 

 
I also cut down a scotch bonnet and a second chiero roxa. I also took cuttings from the chiero roxa plants, five of which have been thriving pretty well. One has died. More on that later.
 
Here is the big chiero roxa now, thriving and going strong:
 

 
The second chiero roxa:
 

 
The scotch bonnet:
 

 
And the best so far, the red hab:
 

 
I took cuttings from the chiero roxa, and all but one has lived. Had a man down because of aphids, which I've only just now got under control. Now some of the cuttings are starting to put on flowers:
 

 
All in all a complete joy. I'll probably move at least the scotch bonnet and one of the roxas back outside during the spring. The best looking bonsais may become desk plants. We'll see.
 
Stay tuned!
 
 
 
PaulG said:
Nice work getting those bonchis going.  
They should develop really nicely!
Click to expand...
 
Thanks! I hope so. I'll probably take two of them and keep them as desk plants. The other two will be replanted to see what a second season of growth will look like.
 
GA Growhead said:
Everything looks really happy!
Click to expand...
 
Hope so! One of the leaves on the smaller chinense is drying around the edge and dying. Never seen a leaf die like that... think its nutrient issue or rot?
 
Also, I noticed some brown spots on the red hab leaves where I applied diluted dish soap to kill the aphids. Dunno if there's anything I can really do about it... the aphids had to go. I guess I could have rinsed the leaves afterwards, or further diluted the dish soap. 
 
Jamison said:
Looking good in Hotlanta! Awesome OW's and bonsais! I meant to do that this past year, but totally didn't. Looking forward to following your grow!
Click to expand...
 
Yeah man, that was actually one of the things that got me into it. One of the roxas is losing a leaf or two, and the aphids keep popping back up, a dozen or so at a time. Aphid eggs must be in the soil. Hard to spot. Grr. Keep on sprayin'.
 
Hate aphids.
 
Sounds like a fun experiment with the bonchis, Max.
 
Devv said:
I like what see here.
 
You should be able to grow monster plants in Ga.
 
Wishing you the best this up coming season!
Click to expand...
 
Thanks Devv! Will keep you up to date. I think the OW's are doing well. I am hoping a second season of growth on two or three of the bonchis will get some really thick stems.
 
A couple of days ago I got a package of pepper seeds from Judy (pepperlover.com), rounding out the varieties I had tentatively planned on planting this season. She generously included !two! additional superhot seeds (7 pot brain strain and White Bhut!) along with the fatalii and habaneros I ordered. So I have options...
 
Okay, so I got the legacy seeds from last year's best plants ready to go. Chiero Roxa and Red Hab:
 

 
I am on the fence about whether I'm going to start more Roxa's or just replant the OW bon chi's. I also have clones of the roxas as well, so who knows. Still some time to think about it. I'll probably start some good ol' red habs, as you can never have too many red habs.
 
Here is the haul from the three (!) seed suppliers I ordered from. Smokin' Ed has a nice sale a while back so I got some superhots I definitely wanted to try, Pepper Joe has a selection of jalapeño varieties that sounded interesting, and I needed jalapeño seeds anyway. He sent a couple extra annuum varieties I may plant if I have space. Then I discovered THP and learned and saw all of Judy's stirling reviews, and I was feelin' like I should try even more habs, so I placed an order. So four different sources for the seed. Hoping to do more swapping and trading next season now that I am here, but you got to start somewhere!
 

 
Alright, now that all my orders have arrived, I've started thinking about how to lay out the garden. I have an 12x8' plot right now in my community garden. I have applied for another one as well, but no guarantees on that. So I am planning around the 12x8.
 
As I am going for MAXIMUM CAPSICUM, I have slotted room for only one other vegetable: tomatoes. Probably Romas and Beefsteaks... cuz you need tomatoes to go with your peppers! The downside is they catch a lot of the same diseases, and I am already going for a crowded plot, so yeah, still thinking things through. Additionally, the garden is strictly organic.
 
Another caveat... I'll have to see what germinates, and how many germinate. I'd love advice on how many seedlings to aim for to get around 2 healthy plants for each of the varieties below. Without further adieu, here is the current plan:
 

 
Basically I'll do a row of tomatoes away from the sun, and 1 or 2 of each of the plants on my grow list, which is now looking something like this:
 
Chiero Roxa (2 plants)
Red Hab (2 plants)
Choco Hab (2 plants)
White Hab (2 plants)
Fatalii (1 or 2... may wildcard one of these)
Big Sun Hab (2 plants)
Early Jalapeño (2 plants)
Black Jalapeño (2 plants)
Tiepen (1 plant)
Giant Jalapeño (2 plants)
Fesno Pepper (1 plant)
Purple Jalapeño (1 plant)
Bhut Jolokia (2 plants)
White Bhut (2 plants)
7 pot Brain Strain (1 plant)
7 pot red (1 plant)
Smokin' Ed's Carolina Reaper (2 plants)
Naga Morich (2 plants)
Dorset Naga (2 plants)
 
I may leave out the wildcards to make a little more space, but GA Growhead has tempted me with some seeds from his successful season last year, which may be a good idea since we're in the same environment. Also tempted to try MoA scotch bonnet, especially as bonnets in general are lacking from my list. I could also drop to 1 on some of the plant varieties (such as superhots I have never grown before). 
 
I'm going with far fewer annuums than last year. I love fresh jalapeños, especially in salsa, but the fragrance of the chinenses can't be beat. If I get the second plot there will be a lot more annuums, as well as garlic and cilantro and probably basil. Also cut poblanos, as I feel like I'd need a bunch of space for those if I wanted to do much with 'em. Will add them in if I get the space.
 
Alright, question time, how many seedlings do you recommend to shoot for per final garden plant? Think I should sow the seeds in individual cells then transplant them, or stick 3 seeds or so in solo cups from the start and snip the weakest links? Share with me your wisdom, THP chili heads!
 
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