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Super Hots Canada 2016 Grow

After two years or more my other grow log was starting to feel cluttered, so I figured it was time to start fresh. :)
 
Sadly, of the 60+ plants I had this past year only one (Orange Bhut Jolokia) seems to be semi-alright and one other (Devil's Horns) is just barely hanging on. Between work projects, relationship troubles, and having been sick far too long in the past few months (found out I ended up with Pneumonia - yay..ugh) I just didn't have time to try and fight off the aphids that spread all-too-rapidly across my plants that I had managed to take in from outside. Even one of my oldest plants - a Naga Jolokia that was at least a couple years old - that I had put in the bathroom (I was putting plants wherever I could fit them) ended up giving up on me, even though I tried to fight off the aphids on that one.
 
So back in November I converted (yet again) a part of my bedroom into a grow space to use to get my plants started. This time I went with clear plastic to wall off the space, the kind of plastic they use for kitchen table covers - figured that would be sturdy enough to keep the cats out, but clear enough the sunlight from my bedroom window still reaches the rest of my room. Yes, I've decided that when it comes to the share of natural light in my room, my babies comes first. lol
 
I've got a couple of my T8 fixtures setup in that space and I also intend/hope to use another small room in the upstairs as a grow space as the babies get bigger and I need to spread them out. I still have my grow room in the basement with a 1000w HPS light, but this season I can't afford to run that light and there's basically zero natural light that makes it into that room - the window there is too small and usually blocked in the winter by the snow - so if I have to use that space it'll be a last resort. At least in the upstairs my plants are guaranteed to get natural light.
 
Also in November I tried planting a selection of varieties I was hoping to grow this season. Plenty of them popped, many didn't, but by late December the aphids somehow found there way into the new space? How? I have no damn clue. I ended up having to scrap them all, which was painful to do to them. The aphids by that point were just too much. So now I intend to scrub down the new space in my bedroom from top to bottom and I'm going to give it another shot. Sadly, a few of the varieties I was hoping to have I don't have more seeds for, but luckily I have a nice collection thanks to orders I've made and trades I've made with fine folks here on the forum.
 
It's likely far too ambitious, but my goal for this season is to have a total of at least 125 plants. I am aiming for five of each variety, if I can make it happen. This past season I tested the waters of seeing if there would be interest in my area for my peppers and I did find interested parties, only I simply didn't produce enough to really supply any of them. I know five plants of a variety still isn't much, but of the varieties I grow this past year where I had at least 3-5 plants I did produce more than enough to build up a supply of seeds to sell with a good portion of pods after that I could sell fresh or dried.
 
Part of my limitation with my grow last year was that with most varieties I only had maybe one or two plants and most of my seedlings had their growth stunted by the aphids. If I can manage a truly fresh start free of those damn things then I'm very confident I will have an amazing season.
 
So, without further ado, here is what I'm looking at planting from the seed collection I currently have:
 
2016 Grow List
 
* MoA Scotch Bonnet
* Farmer's Jalapeno
* Brown Naglah
* Giant Mexican Rocoto
* Cayenne, Long Red Thin
* Anaheim
* Douglah
* Fatalii (Chocolate)
* Fatalii (Peach)
* Urfa Biber
* Aji Habanero
* Fish
* 7 Pot White
* 7 Pot Jonah
* Aleppo
* Bhut Jolokia (White)
* Bhut Jolokia (Caramel)
* Bhut Jolokia (Peach)
* Devil's Horn
* Elephant's Ear
* Brazilian Starfish
* 7 Pot Primo
* Bishop's Hat
* Pink Tiger
* Datil
 
A number of businesses and people I talked too in the past year expressed interest in the super-hots, but also said they'd love it if I could try supplying them with sweet/mild varieties. I haven't that much luck with Annuum's, but I'm going to give a few a shot, such as Urfa Biber, Aleppo, Elephant's Ear and Anaheim. I know Anaheim is pretty damn common, but some months back I decided to buy a sampling of a few different varieties from a local grocery chain and I really liked the flavor of that one.
 
By the time the summer hit this past season my Carolina Reaper (which was my oldest plant) had given up on me. It never did manage to grow many pods and even the new Reaper plant I grew in the past season only managed to produce under 10 pods.. So I've decided to give the Primo a go this time around. All the debating aside, some of the reviews I've read have said the Primo isn't so slow to mature and is more prolific, so I want to see if that's true. If it proves true, that'll be awesome.
 
And I'm going to attempt the Brown Naglah again since a couple seasons back it did incredible. I loved the color when they're fully mature and I really liked the taste - it stands out to me above all the other super-hots I've had the chance to try to this point. (the folks at Buckeye did a fine job with that creation). :)
 
I'd love to give 7 Pot Bubblegum a shot again, but this past season discouraged me. It threw out plenty of pods by the end of the season, but none really grew to any size. Of 20-30 pods I managed to get a total of -3- seeds. *sigh*
 
Click to expand...
juanitos said:
good luck! don't forget to update your sig lol
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the reminder! .. Sadly, I don't have a paid account anymore, so my signature isn't so fancy now lol
 
 
mpicante said:
Nice list and hang in there hopefully this season will be stellar for you.
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Thanks and I hope so! Some of the varieties in my list are ones you sent me. :)
 
Okay, so here we go with the seed planting!
 
A few things to note:
  • Sadly, at the moment I only have two small heat pads, so I just have to cross my fingers that some of my seeds manage to pop without the nice, comforting heat under them
  • My preferred medium is Jiffy pellets. I've read plenty of pros and cons, but for my current budget and available time they are the most efficient.
  • I only had 12 unused pellets in the house.. ugh. In the past week or so (the earliest I had the money) I searched through the local stores I could think of that have carried them in the past and not a single store had boxes of them. I had a -little- luck in that at our Central Supplies (primarily a building supply company) four boxes of pellets that are made of coconut coir instead of peat. They came in boxes of 20 and I bought up the last of their supply.
  • I ended up not using all the coconut coir pellets due to their size, and ended up having to compensate by filling in the blanks with Jiffy pellets I had previously used from last year (even had to dig out some dead seeds out of a few of them along the way)
  • With each pellet I put in 1-4 seeds each, depending on how many seeds I had available for each variety.
 
Photos of my trays/pellets.. some seeds weren't covered before I took the photos:
 
IMG_20160104_221806755.jpg

 
^ This tray used the coconut coir pellets. Where the tray will hold 72 typical Jiffy pellets, it only comfortable holds 55 of these. They seem much more sturdy than the regular pellets. I decided to use them for most of my super-hot varieties, saving the regular pellets for the milder varieties.
 
 
IMG_20160104_225833712.jpg

 
 
IMG_20160104_225844809.jpg

 
^ With these ones there just wasn't room in the other two trays, so I had to go with a plastic container.. sadly, I could do with just one more heat pad.. I just have to cross my fingers and hope that these ones pop. *crosses them really tightly*
 
 
  • One last note: Learning from past experiences, I now use plastic, permanent marker, and tougher tape for my variety tags. I took empty, washed out margarine containers and cut them up to make the tags. Takes a bit of work, but they work great. :)
 
Having a bit of money on hand right now I decided yesterday to place a couple of orders.
 
Some time back Pepper North was awesome enough to trade seeds with me and is the reason I was able to grow the Giant Mexican Rocoto (and some others) and I wanted to give back, even a little bit. So I placed an order for the "Bhut Jolokia (Ghost) x Jalapeno" - they just look damn cool. :)
 
As well, I also decided to give ordering from Ford's Fiery Foods and Plants a shot for the first time. With them I decided to go with: Borg 9 Bleeder, Borg 9 Chocolate, Big Black Mama, Genghis Khan Brain, and 7 Pot Bubblegum Pimenta de neyde.
 
I may not get a chance to grow this them season, but at least I'll be able to tell myself I have the seeds for 'em. lol
 
Super Hots Canada said:
Okay, so here we go with the seed planting!
 
A few things to note:

  • Sadly, at the moment I only have two small heat pads, so I just have to cross my fingers that some of my seeds manage to pop without the nice, comforting heat under them
  • My preferred medium is Jiffy pellets. I've read plenty of pros and cons, but for my current budget and available time they are the most efficient.
  • I only had 12 unused pellets in the house.. ugh. In the past week or so (the earliest I had the money) I searched through the local stores I could think of that have carried them in the past and not a single store had boxes of them. I had a -little- luck in that at our Central Supplies (primarily a building supply company) four boxes of pellets that are made of coconut coir instead of peat. They came in boxes of 20 and I bought up the last of their supply.
  • I ended up not using all the coconut coir pellets due to their size, and ended up having to compensate by filling in the blanks with Jiffy pellets I had previously used from last year (even had to dig out some dead seeds out of a few of them along the way)
  • With each pellet I put in 1-4 seeds each, depending on how many seeds I had available for each variety.
 
Photos of my trays/pellets.. some seeds weren't covered before I took the photos:
 
IMG_20160104_221806755.jpg

 
^ This tray used the coconut coir pellets. Where the tray will hold 72 typical Jiffy pellets, it only comfortable holds 55 of these. They seem much more sturdy than the regular pellets. I decided to use them for most of my super-hot varieties, saving the regular pellets for the milder varieties.
 
 
IMG_20160104_225833712.jpg

 
 
IMG_20160104_225844809.jpg

 
^ With these ones there just wasn't room in the other two trays, so I had to go with a plastic container.. sadly, I could do with just one more heat pad.. I just have to cross my fingers and hope that these ones pop. *crosses them really tightly*
 
 
  • One last note: Learning from past experiences, I now use plastic, permanent marker, and tougher tape for my variety tags. I took empty, washed out margarine containers and cut them up to make the tags. Takes a bit of work, but they work great. :)
Click to expand...
Are you growing white ghost. Or Bhut Jolokia White. There are now two strains going around. The smooth white ghost that has slightly less heat. And the bumpy version that has the same heat as the original and ripens to a white/ yellow cream color. This year I am growing the bhut Jolokia white " bumpy hot" version.
 
SvtCobra said:
Are you growing white ghost. Or Bhut Jolokia White. There are now two strains going around. The smooth white ghost that has slightly less heat. And the bumpy version that has the same heat as the original and ripens to a white/ yellow cream color. This year I am growing the bhut Jolokia white " bumpy hot" version.
Click to expand...
 
The phenotype I have is the one created by Judy @ PepperLover. It's not quite as hot as the original Bhut Jolokia and it is smooth, but left long enough it definitely turns white.. And it produces a -ton- of pods, just like it says in the description on her website - so much so that I lost around 200 pods from three plants from branches breaking off because of the weight (I'll be more careful in the future). :)
 
Super Hots Canada said:
The phenotype I have is the one created by Judy @ PepperLover. It's not quite as hot as the original Bhut Jolokia and it is smooth, but left long enough it definitely turns white.. And it produces a -ton- of pods, just like it says in the description on her website - so much so that I lost around 200 pods from three plants from branches breaking off because of the weight (I'll be more careful in the future). :)
Click to expand...
Ok that's what I was thinking. I guess the one you are growing is white ghost and the other is white bhut. Or at least that's what everyone is calling it. I have grown the white ghost before and enjoyed it. So I am excited to be growing the hotter white version this season. Seeds came from overseas and this particular variety.
 
SvtCobra said:
Ok that's what I was thinking. I guess the one you are growing is white ghost and the other is white bhut. Or at least that's what everyone is calling it. I have grown the white ghost before and enjoyed it. So I am excited to be growing the hotter white version this season. Seeds came from overseas and this particular variety.
Click to expand...
 
Yeah, there's bound to be a few different phenotypes out there. On her website and on the seed pack I got from her they're labelled as White Bhut Jolokia. I just put "White Ghost" on the tag when I planted the seeds because writing with a permanent marker is a pain in the butt and it took less effort lol
 
 
D3monic said:
Very nice list, best of luck this summer!
Click to expand...
 
Thanks! .. Now I'll just need to try and figure out where I'll put them all.. and how I'll manage to get enough planters and soil for them all. lol
 
With the last round of seeds that I planted back in November (the ones that inevitably failed), I went through the process of separating the newborn seedlings straight from the time they popped up, stripping away the jiffy pellets. This time around I've decided to transplant without stripping away the pellets. This will give the seedlings a chance to establish some roots before I divide them up into their own individual pots.
 
Since the 9th a whole lot of babies have sprouted and I have a lot more transplanting ahead of me in the next bit. Last night I managed to get 21 of the pellets transplanted and there is still many more that I need to transplant out of the incubators. Definitely feeling like a good start so long as the damn aphids stay away (thankfully, no sign of them yet!). The way multiple seeds in each are happily sprouting I might have enough that if I can find the resources (and space) I'll have even more than anticipated. Might even try selling some of the seedlings locally.
 
Photo from last night:
 
IMG_20160113_033120796_HDR.jpg
 
I'm now at 37 pellets transplanted - many of them have 2-4 seedlings sprouted in each. Plenty more seeds yet to pop!
 
I transplanted one of the White Bhut Jolokia pellets since I saw a seedling is working on breaking the surface. The same is happening with the other four pellets with these seeds, but I've decided to leave those till tomorrow when I hope to transplant even more of the pellets.
 
At this rate I'm running out of space very quickly. I'm definitely going to need to do some re-organization soon enough. I need to move in more lights to my upstairs because a rough estimate puts me at about enough room for around 80-85 small pots under the current two lights, leaving the last 1/3 needing a place under the lights.
 
Tonight's photo:
 
IMG_20160116_034222817.jpg

 
.. I wanted them closer to the lights, but given my limited number of fixtures I need to be able to fit a lot under little and with them closer to the lights some weren't getting proper coverage and were severely bending.
 
I need to make some money quick to get some more lights and plastic to expand my grows spaces. :)
 
I -really- suck at updates this year - I apologize for that.
 
Anyway, my plants have been struggling, yet again, this year with the damn aphids.. but I hit on a bit of luck in the past week or so - a bunch of ladybugs crawled out of the woodwork (quite literally - they came out of the walls lol), humped and had a whole lot of babies! .. In the space of a week they've all but destroyed the aphid population in my primary grow area (in my bedroom lol). The following is a short clip of them in action:
 
 [media]https://youtu.be/hels6yxAcDA[/media]
  
.. I have my plants spread around three different sections of the upstairs of the house. I wanted them to be exposed to natural light this year where in the past I had them in the basement under the T8's and 1000w HPS.. that and I can't afford to run that massive light this time around. And I figured with the natural light they would be able to resist the aphids better than under the artificial lights (and I appear to have been correct - they were fighting hard until the ladybugs freed them lol).
 
P.s. There's whispers that I -might- have an investor soon.. but nothing confirmed yet - just plenty of crossing fingers.
 
Maligator said:
Liked the video of the ladybug feast / aphid destruction ;)
Click to expand...
 
Thanks :) I'm rather proud of the little buggers.
 
 
FiresOfNil said:
Nice video, lady bugs are awesome predators! :D
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That they are.. I see people complaining / spreading this stupid post around on Facebook claiming these Japanese ones are the worst things ever - but if they don't want them showing up in their homes in the middle of winter, they can happily send them my way. lol
 
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