First Glog - 2015

Runescape · Feb 22, 2015

Decent list, good luck, and welcome.

moruga welder · Feb 22, 2015

to T.H.P. ! don't mean to be stupid but don't believe your gonna get very far identifying sprouts my friend . good luck on your grow ! :onfire:

Sawyer · Feb 22, 2015

You might be able to distinguish the ghosts and jalapenos once they get some size on them. Some you'll probably have to wait for fruit. It kind of looks like the cat has been in your starter tray, too. Why is the potting mix level so uneven? And yeah, a heating mat would be a good addition. I try to keep my trays around 82ºF as much as possible. Once germinated, the seedlings will also benefit from some additional light.

mpicante · Feb 22, 2015

Welcome from California.Definitely yes on a heat mat.you'll also need some form of light when your seeds pop.Try your best to keep the cat away from your grow station if at all possible.Good luck on your grow.

NeedsWork · Mar 3, 2015

Thanks for the welcomes!

Sawyer said:
Why is the potting mix level so uneven? Once germinated, the seedlings will also benefit from some additional light.

I was sloppy when I sprinkled a little of the potting mix on top. I should have taken a little more time doing so. After watering them they are a little more even. Any suggestions for a budget seedling light? After doing some reading, I am thinking about following Gary's video.

A little over a week has passed without any pepper sprouts. This doesn't surprise me because the temperature has averaged 65 degrees in the grow box.

To remedy this, a heat mat showed up today with a temperature controller. I made a grow box out of some extra foam sheeting and aluminum foil. I hope it will help capture enough light once I have sprouts. I plan to drill some 1" holes in the back to help with airflow.

I ordered Pepper Joe's volcano in a box and fire in a box yesterday. I am not convinced my seeds from last year are viable. Once they arrive, I plan to carefully start them in the tray that came with the heat mat. I am still reading up on what starter soil to buy. To soak or not to soak?

On a greener note, some of my store bought seeds have sprouted. I suppose I planted a few too many carrot seeds together. Even some of the common pepper seeds I put on top have germinated.

Please pardon the terrible carpet in my spare room.

Until I have more news, I will be stalking the Glogs with envy.

Sawyer · Mar 3, 2015

Congrats on the sprouts!

The set up in that video might be better than nothing, but it won't provide sufficiently uniform lighting over the full area of the flat. Also, 1600 lumens is on the low side. A rule of thumb is a minimum of 2000 lumens per square foot. For a tray that is a little less than 1'x2', two of those bulbs would be the minimum, in my opinion.

If you had two trays and space to position them end to end, a single dual-bulb 4' fluorescent shop light would work. One 6500K lamp and one 5000K lamp would work well.

Runescape · Mar 3, 2015

NeedsWork said:
I am not convinced my seeds from last year are viable.

Year-old seeds should be fine, I would think...

NeedsWork · Mar 4, 2015

Sawyer said:
Congrats on the sprouts!

The set up in that video might be better than nothing, but it won't provide sufficiently uniform lighting over the full area of the flat. Also, 1600 lumens is on the low side. A rule of thumb is a minimum of 2000 lumens per square foot. For a tray that is a little less than 1'x2', two of those bulbs would be the minimum, in my opinion.

If you had two trays and space to position them end to end, a single dual-bulb 4' fluorescent shop light would work. One 6500K lamp and one 5000K lamp would work well.

You've inspired me. Thinking about it, it would be great if the setup could keep a plant or two over the winter. I miss having fresh peppers!

The local hardware store has 77"W X 24"D X 72"H storage shelves on clearance.

Then I have to decide if I want to get a shop light or spend the money and get a T5 grow light from a local shop.

Runescape said:
Year-old seeds should be fine, I would think...

I'm not sure if they baked sitting in the sun last fall. We shall see.

Sawyer · Mar 4, 2015

NeedsWork said:
You've inspired me. Thinking about it, it would be great if the setup could keep a plant or two over the winter. I miss having fresh peppers!

The local hardware store has 77"W X 24"D X 72"H storage shelves on clearance.

Then I have to decide if I want to get a shop light or spend the money and get a T5 grow light from a local shop.

I'm not sure if they baked sitting in the sun last fall. We shall see.

I'm jealous you have access to a Menard's. I've been wanting some of these plastic pails for awhile now. Can't find anything like them anywhere around here, or anywhere else online. I just bit the bullet and ordered 10 of them online. With shipping and processing, they wound up costing basically twice the list price, but that's still cheaper than what I can find anywhere else.

I'm not a big fan of the high-output T5s. Yes, they produce a lot more light per bulb, but you pay for it, both in upfront cost of the hardware and also in terms of efficiency. If the numbers in the Amazon ad are correct, 7200 lumens at 95 Watts, that's just under 76 lumens per Watt. These T8 bulbs are listed at 2900 lumens at 32 Watts, or just over 90 lumens/Watt. (Compare: both MH and HPS HIDs put out well over 100 l/W, cheap "white" LEDs easily achieve 100 l/W and CREE announced last year a 300 l/W white LED.)

The 4-bulb HO-T5 looks to be about 2' wide so the coverage directly under it will receive about 3600 lumens/sq.ft. (neglecting reflection losses), which is overkill in my opinion. You could use three of the cheap T8 shop lights w/ 6 bulbs for the same 2'x4' area coverage and achieve 2175 lumens/sq.ft. For a total price of 3x$7.88 for six bulbs and 3x$10.97 for three shop lights = $56.55, plus more efficient use of electricity, I know which way I'd go. Of course, there is the "coolness" factor of the HO-T5s and up to point, more light/sq.ft. is a good thing (I don't know where you reach the point of diminishing returns for peppers), so if have the bank, go for it.

Full disclosure: I use a similar set up to what I just described for my germination station, except it uses the old T12 shop lights, with a mixture of temperature rating bulbs. It has performed well for me for more than a decade. Occasionally I'll have to replace a bulb and more rarely a fixture. I can tell the bulbs output diminishes over time and some of my seedlings are slightly leggy right now, though dirty humidity domes are absorbing some light. When these lamps and/or fixtures fail, I'll replace them with T8s, until I can get my LED design finalized.

NeedsWork · Mar 4, 2015

Thanks for talking some sense into me regarding lighting!

24 hours after the heating pad was applied, L4 and L5 have germinated in the pepper tray. They are both jalapenos from a seed packet. At least something is growing in the pepper tray!

I set the pad to 85 for six hours and then it has been at 82 since.

Here are some shots from last year's ebay reaper plants (for my own motivation):

I'm not sure the pepper was 100% reaper. It sure was delicious.

NeedsWork · Mar 6, 2015

11.5 days after planting and 2.5 days after the heating pad was applied, C5 germinated.

This should be a reaper saved from my Ebay reaper grow last year.

Going to the hardware store after work. Should have some shots later of a new grow shelf.

socalgardengal · Mar 6, 2015

Good Luck!

NeedsWork · Mar 6, 2015

socalgardengal said:
Good Luck!

Thanks!

I found some shelves on sale.

Then I cut some foam.

...and covered it with foil.

The cats aggressively helped.

I did some math.

... hung some lights.

Then I moved my trays.

Non-pepper planter before shot.

She isn't pretty. Tomorrow I will add a fan.

All evening I've been singing "My wifes gonna kill me..."

Lights are 6500k. It was either that or warm white in the 3000's.

Cheers and thanks for the motivation!

NeedsWork · Mar 7, 2015

~12 hours after being under the lights, there is movement in:
A4 - pepper seed packet mix
B4- pepper seed packet mix
B5 - pepper seed packet mix
E1 - Hab harvested
E2 - Hab harvested
E3 - Hab harvested
F4 - Cayenne
F5 - Cayenne
H1 - Harvest Mix
H2 - Harvest Mix
H3 - Harvest Mix
I4 - Harvest Mix
I5 - Harvest Mix
K6 - Harvest Mix
L4-6, seed packet jalapenos, had already germinated but went crazy last night

Runescape · Mar 7, 2015

NeedsWork said:
~12 hours after being under the lights, there is movement in:
A4 - pepper seed packet mix
B4- pepper seed packet mix
B5 - pepper seed packet mix
E1 - Hab harvested
E2 - Hab harvested
E3 - Hab harvested
F4 - Cayenne
F5 - Cayenne
H1 - Harvest Mix
H2 - Harvest Mix
H3 - Harvest Mix
I4 - Harvest Mix
I5 - Harvest Mix
K6 - Harvest Mix
L4-6, seed packet jalapenos, had already germinated but went crazy last night

Cool...sounds like the wife didnt kill you though lol...

NeedsWork · Mar 7, 2015

Runescape said:
Cool...sounds like the wife didnt kill you though lol...

She will be back from visiting the parents tomorrow... :halo:

Set the lights for 16 on 8 off.

Picked up some bags of Just Right Xtra from a local grow shop. I want to be 100% Miracle Grow free this year.

Moved four cilantro starters, three chives, some smaller pepper sprouts and some germinated harvest mix seeds to solo cups.

A-F

G-L

Cups

Fighting the temptation to move the peppers to cups. I really want to wait until they have their first set of true leaves. Once my order from Pepper Joe's is planted, the non-pepper tray will go back in the window.

Sawyer · Mar 7, 2015

Man, that was fast. Speaking of getting the shelves and lights set up, but looks like the seeds are popping quickly, too.

NeedsWork · Mar 7, 2015

Sawyer said:
Man, that was fast. Speaking of getting the shelves and lights set up, but looks like the seeds are popping quickly, too.

I made a game plan over lunch on Friday. Hit Lowes, Walmart, Meijer and Menards.

2x T-8 shop lights - $36

Foam - $34

Shelving - $60

Foil - $6

Hot glue sticks - $6

4x 6500k T-8 bulbs - $16

Power strip - $7

Light timer - $20?

Sawyer said:
... Of course, there is the "coolness" factor of the HO-T5s ...

Talked me out of the "coolness" factor for the price difference.

Roguejim · Mar 8, 2015

Nice job! Some of your babies are really stretching for light. You might want to bring it lower.