• Blog your pepper progress. The first image in your first post will be used to represent your Glog.

Violentglitter's Time to Grow!

... grow those growing skills, that is.
 
2018 was a bit of a fumble. I ran out of time, I STILL have plants in solo cups that are just now (in JANUARY) podding up.
 
If I've learned something from 2018, and going into my third year of growing (or second of actually attempting more than just 'hey, cheap seeds lets see what I get") it would be to get the shit into bigger pots faster, and get them out in the sun ASAP. I had big plans to try to plant out in ground, but couldn't get the time to spend in the field clearing the roots and such and amend the soil. I also had a moment of thinking that if I planted in ground, Murphy's law would take over and hurricanes would come. This year I'm thinking of maybe going the Walmart-reusable-bag route or something. If I make more bags like the handful I made this year, they will need to be out of better landscape fabric, as the one I had sitting on the ground grew right into the ground. It also performed worse than the one constrained to a slightly smaller bag.
 
My mom got me a little greenhouse for Christmas (one of these: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ogrow-56-in-W-x-29-in-D-Deluxe-Walk-In-3-Tier-6-Shelf-Portable-Greenhouse-OG6834-S/204840639
nothing fancy. Finances, finances. ;) ). I got a black 13-gal ish garbage can full of water to hope for enough heat for our cold nights that if getting below freezing usually isn't for long. I'm open to any other ideas, too! :party: 
 
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Just has my solo-cup guys (that are SCREAMING for more space but flowering and setting pods) and my scraggly Russian Queen tomato with it's one green fruit on the ground for now.
 
 
Now, what better way to start off a glog than with a pic of a small harvest from a few days ago:
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That pepper with the hole bugs me that I didn't catch it. Ohh well.
 
Decided to try using coco coir to start, so let's see how much I screw up with it! Perhaps the lack of nutrients will guilt me into potting up sooner.
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3 of each variety, in case I need to abort and restart.
 
Front is (from right to left, because that's the direction I went):
Sri Lanka Chili Red - growdown
Sri Lanka Chili Red from Ella, Sri Lanka from Guru's pod
Bahamian Goat
Bahamian Beast Peach F3
CGN 21500
Coyote Zan White
 
Back, right to left:
Fatalii (I didn't get any to germinate last year. *crosses fingers*)
Cumari do Para
Legacy
Early Jalepeno (My husband loves jalepenos, so I made sure to include them in first round)
Bolivian Rainbow
Black Pearl
 
I somehow couldn't find the clear lid, so saran wrap it is:
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... and on to the heat mat it went.
 
I know I will do another round of stuff I do have that didn't go in this round, and I might order a few more varieties. I was near loading up all of my converted ice-cube trays and various other seed starting things, but decided for the sake of survivability I'll leave it at that. :shh: :shh: :shh: :lol: :lol: :lol:.
 
Now, the wait.
 
Great to see you back for round 3, Liz!
Good luck with the coir.

Have fun using your little greenhouse
Is it fastened down? The wind affects
them a lot, but with a little care, they last
quite awhile.

To retain more heat, you can lay the bottom
flaps out flat and cover with a little dirt to block
little drafts.
 
PaulG said:
Great to see you back for round 3, Liz!
Good luck with the coir.

Have fun using your little greenhouse
Is it fastened down? The wind affects
them a lot, but with a little care, they last
quite awhile.

To retain more heat, you can lay the bottom
flaps out flat and cover with a little dirt to block
little drafts.
 

It is tied to the fence behind it. I had to pick it up at least 3 times the day I put it together, and it wasn't even very windy. :lol: I anchored it first with the included anchors, and our sandy soil (slightly soil-y sand is more like it) didn't even attempt to hold it.
 
That sounds like a great idea. I have some cheap topsoil still in bag that was doing nothing but sitting under one side of a small quick set pool to keep it from drooping because the ground was ever so slightly not level last summer. I might use that, or I could use what's around of course!
 
violentglitter said:
 
It is tied to the fence behind it. I had to pick it up at least 3 times the day I put it together, and it wasn't even very windy. :lol: I anchored it first with the included anchors, and our sandy soil (slightly soil-y sand is more like it) didn't even attempt to hold it.
 
That sounds like a great idea. I have some cheap topsoil still in bag that was doing nothing but sitting under one side of a small quick set pool to keep it from drooping because the ground was ever so slightly not level last summer. I might use that, or I could use what's around of course!
Very nice so far. Id get some cheap (I think $.67 cent) bricks from depot and zip tie or rope tie to the legs.
Should withstand our normal winds
 
To copy from last year's glog:
 
I realized the spot I had my heat mat was still in an area of the porch that got too cold, and it was only heating to ~65 during the cold part of the night. So no signs of life yet. :mope:
 
I also couldn't resist ordering more seeds of some varieties that I've wanted to try and a couple that just struck me at that moment. Those are... *pulls up emails because of cluelessness*
 
Hangjiao Space Pepper #9 - Big Bang
Peach Naga Cross - White
Madballz Chocolate x 7 Pot Burgundy
7 Pot BBG- Orange
Aji Lemon Drop
Trinidad Pimento
Sugar Rush Peach
 
I'm hoping a couple varieties will be something more people in my family can enjoy as well. I also have some basic sweet banana pepper seeds that my oldest saw at Dollar General and wanted to get because he's decided they are good. If they grow to be banana peppers. ;)
 
-----
 
I also got a pack of cheapy plastic 2g grow bags as an intermediate home for some of the peppers. I'm thinking they can be a home for my plants stuck in solo cups (still) until we are closer to being frost-free and I can set them outside. Hopefully I will have enough room for the ~22 of them in the little greenhouse that way.
 
That also means I should probably nail down my soil mix. I have a few bags of soil and compost, a very small amount of worm castings, and a very small amount of perlite. I'm sure there is other stuff I will want to add/pick up more of. Time to research!
 
 
Off to a great start. I wish I was down that area. My sis lives in Jacksonville, and always picks on me about how much longer the grow season is there than it is here in NY.

A little suggestion with the coco coir, you could add some notes along with the feeds. Just like with soil. I used it for a few last year and had decent success I alternated between fish fert and Epsom salts diluted I believe it was 4 tablespoons to a gallon of water. I'd have to check my old glog.
 
I agree with the fellas up top ...I have had several of those little greenhouses and loved them  but having it anchored down very very very good is a must. It's the worst when you have it full of plants and they blow over or end up in your neighbours yard. When it warms up be sure to vent that bad boy as much as you can as it heats up pretty good. And my final tip...Once your not really using it much in the hotter months make sure to cover it or put it away somewhere outta the sun...The UV is extremely hard on those pvc covers so anything to help extend the life of it will help..extreme cold is alos bad but I doubt thaty is an issue in your climate eh.
 
 
Can't wait to see how you make out though and hope that little greenhouse helps ya extend it even farther!!
 
Will give that a shot with the epsom salt and fish fert. 
 
So far the greenhouse has helped them through a couple nights where it touched freezing, but you're right, we don't have much in the way of extreme cold here! 
 
I was toying g with picking up a greenhouse like that, but I'm afraid I'll put grow it too quickly. (Yes I mean me, not the plants) plans to put up a large greenhouse are in the near future once we move into a more permanent place. Renting an apartment doesn't really work for someone who wants a HUGEZ garden. How is the coco start going? I am using it for some of my seed starts and it's doing pretty well, But I mixed it with about 1/4 perlite to aerate it some. Seems to be working well. I put a few seeds into it 5 days ago and I've got a couple hooks.
 
More seeds hit dirt for a total of... 78 seeds.  :scared:
That escalated quickly!  :beer: I still plan to plant at least a few bells for random kitchen use, and quite a few tomatoes. 
I wanted to sow a few YBS, too, but I still have 2 larger (for me!) living plants and one that looked sickly still in a solo cup that someone tossed it in the woods thinking it dead that my oldest found and has been nursing back to health with some new growth coming up. So I'm holding off. 
 
My total grow list ATM- 
 
7 Pot Red Large
Aji Lemon Drop
Bahamian Beast Peach F3
Bahamian Goat
BBG7 Orange
BBG7 Yellow Small
Black Pearl
Bolivian Rainbow
CGN 21500
Cochiti Pueblo
Coyote Zan White
Cumari Du Para
Early Jalepeno
Fatalii
HJ Big Bang
HJ Solar Flare
HJ Total Eclipse
Jay's Chocolate Ghost Scorpion X
Legacy
Lotah Bih
Madballz Chocolate x 7 Pot Burgundy
Peach Naga Cross White
Peach Wasp
Pepperoncini Orange
Primo x Lemon Drop
Rocoto Yellow
Scotch Bonnet WHP
Sri Lanka Chili Red
Sri Lanka Chili Red, OG Ella
Sugar Rush Peach
Tabasco
Trinidad Pimento
Trinidad Scorpion Cardi
 
The first group (3 of each):
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I attempted to remove helmet head from the Bahamian Beast:
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Oops, half a coty gone. Could've been worse.
 
Then the newcomers (2 of each):
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My 11 year old and soon to be 7 year old also got an ice cube tray to plant whatever they wanted. They have banana peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, cantelope, broccoli, lettuce, peas, and cantaloupe. 
I didn't take pics of that, and they are going to germinate "naturally", as my heat mat is a little... full.  :whistle:
 
 
Blitz527 said:
I was toying g with picking up a greenhouse like that, but I'm afraid I'll put grow it too quickly. (Yes I mean me, not the plants) plans to put up a large greenhouse are in the near future once we move into a more permanent place. Renting an apartment doesn't really work for someone who wants a HUGEZ garden. How is the coco start going? I am using it for some of my seed starts and it's doing pretty well, But I mixed it with about 1/4 perlite to aerate it some. Seems to be working well. I put a few seeds into it 5 days ago and I've got a couple hooks.
 
I started my first grow living in a small duplex, where this greenhouse would come in handy, if for nothing more than the vertical growing space. That was all 25 cent seeds that only one ever even made it out of a solo cup (yet also where I got the bright idea to get 10 14-cube ice cube trays to drill holes in to use as seed starters, and I had all of them full of some random stuff I had no room for). I'm still renting (from old family friends, in short) but we are considering buying. I have at least a half acre that is fenced from the rest of the property that isn't even looked at by anyone else right now to throw my plants in when they get bigger. 
 
I considered adding perlite to the mix, but since the first few are coming up fine, I'm holding off. If some die off, it might do me some good.  Good luck with those seedlings!
 
So germ list so far-
 
First round (1/19):
 
Black Pearl - 3/3
Bolivian Rainbow - 1/3
Early Jalapeno - 1/3
Legacy - 0/3
Cumari do Para - 2/3
Fatalii - 0/3
Coyote Zan White - 2/3
CGN 21500 - 3/3
Bahamian Beast Peach F3 - 3/3
Bahamian Goat - 0/3
OG Sri Lanka Chili Red - 3/3
Growdown Sri Lanka Chili Red - 1/3
--
20 of 32. Haven't seen a new hook on this batch in probably a week, though that is a total guesstimate that could be way off. Almost all the ones up are getting their first true leaves, though still teeny tiny. It seems like everyone else has true leaves coming much quicker. Maybe I should have been giving very weak doses of some ferts (or even using my used aquarium water) before first true leaves? I think I will try to get these guys in solo cups this week.
 
Second Round (2/1):
 
Peach Wasp - 1/2
Lotah Bih - 2/2
Primo x Lemon Drop - 0/2
Orange Pepperoncini - 2/2
Tabasco - 2/2
Jay's Chocolate Ghost Scorpion x - 0/2
Rocoto Yellow - 0/2
Total Eclipse - 1/2
Solar Flare - 0/2
Big Band - 1/2
Aji Lemon Drop - 2/2
Sugar Rush Peach - 0/2
Trinidad Pimento- 1/2
Cochiti Pueblo - 2/2
Peach Naga x White - 2/2
BBG7 Yellow sm - 0/2
Scotch Bonnet WHP - 2/2
Madballz Chocolate x 7 Pot Burgundy - 0/2
Trinidad Scorpion Cardi - 0/2
7 Pot Red lg - 1/2
--
19 of 42, giving these guys more time, had at least 3 hooks just show up this morning. 
 
Also potted up a whopping 2 of my solo cup plants into 2gal bags. Then I ran out of perlite. I put them in a basic mix of top soil, compost and perlite in equal amounts. I picked up some peat when I got more perlite to try that instead, as I know that is not exactly the greatest mix to have in containers.
 
The first round babies:
 
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One of the now year-old-ish solo cup plants making it's move:
 
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This one hasn't moved yet, but I'm curious as to what it crossed with. It's supposed to be a Serrano, but doesn't look like one:
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It has a second pod about the same shape that also turned purple right away. Can't wait to try it and maybe save the seeds  :party:
 
Kennylay said:
everythings looking great in the grow, how has the heat been on your hotter peppers in recent years?
 
Im from a similar area and wonder if its going to hurt my yield on some of my superhots!
 
I'm still pretty new to growing, so I couldn't say for sure. There did seem to be a lull in flowers setting during the hottest parts, but that very well could've been me.  :lol:
 
I've no idea what a bahamian beast f3 is, but please pot it in a container that you're able to separate from the rest of your garden - 300 ish yards should do.  :)
 
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