A Fishy Winter Grow: Stuff in a Tent

Be it ever so humble...
 

 
Currently, there are three pepper plants on the bottom (the four all the way on the right are garlic experiments). The one that's nice and rootbound in a tiny container on the right is a manganji, which I pretty much just want to see the pheno from. In the bags on the left, there's shishito (which I found out my wife loves, so that goes on the list), and Greek pepperoncini, a.k.a. Friggitello.
 
I'm really hoping to grow giant white habanero, both over the winter and outside next year, but so far I've had no luck at all getting them to germinate. Which really sucks, because I was hoping to cross those with CGN 21500 and possibly larger sweet varieties. 21500 was also supposed to be the fourth tent pepper. I should have isolated seeds for that coming from my current plant soon.
 
But as I've been attempting to germinate those GW habs, I also started a couple other things. My purple UFO did not grow true, but I started more to see if I can get something on-pheno; on the top shelf, I have two new seedlings from that envelope in rockwool. I also have two very healthy-looking sugar rush peach in there. While I'd prefer to grow the peach outside next year, if I can't get those GW habs to take, I might have to switch, and that could be a pretty good candidate.
 
So the current plan is to have four one-gallon bags on the bottom with a nice selection of mild to medium hot peppers, and go through just as much hybridization experimentation as I can with rockwool and Khang Starr style mini-Kratky bottles.

 

[PaulG]

Seedlings look great, 'Fish. You are going
to have quite an array of Kratky jars before
long!
 
How is the trimmed back office plant doing?

 

[internationalfish]

Seedlings look great, 'Fish. You are going
to have quite an array of Kratky jars before
long!

 
Haha, yeah. Just wish the weather were a bit better right now; it's been hard to get those bottles painted in a timely fashion when it's either too cold or too humid out for good drying.
 

How is the trimmed back office plant doing?

 
Not bad!
 

 
[edit]
In a fun coincidence, right now there's a 'Giga Lemon' chuhai (cheap booze) for sale that looks to be seasonal... and I'm absolutely grabbing at least one tonight. Pepper in a Can challenge on FB starts 2/11; hopefully those Lemon Starrburst seeds arrive before then!
 
(...and a little later, after work...)
 

 
The black band across the middle says "giga lemon."
[/edit]

 

[PaulG]

Heck yeah! That office plant looks great!

 

[internationalfish]

So it seems like I'm probably getting thrip damage...
 

 
The bugs I've seen on the SRP pods looked like thrips to me. The post here didn't attract any answers, but Reddit agreed with that assessment. Based on that and this browning -- it's similar and much more extensive on the Friggitello -- I'm going to try hosing the interior of the tent down with neem oil and Castile soap.
 
Really didn't want to have to deal with bugs in the tent again, but here we are... 

 

[internationalfish]

In better news, THANK YOU, PAUL! 
 

BTW I have some spice containers (if they make it
through the mail). I can send some powders with
seeds as we discussed if you want. Let me know
what you would like.

 

 
Absolutely stoked! Thanks again!

 

[PaulG]

So it seems like I'm probably getting thrip damage...
The bugs I've seen on the SRP pods looked like thrips to me. The post here didn't attract any answers, but Reddit agreed with that assessment. Based on that and this browning -- it's similar and much more extensive on the Friggitello -- I'm going to try hosing the interior of the tent down with neem oil and Castile soap.
 
Really didn't want to have to deal with bugs in the tent again, but here we are... 

 
I hate to hear that, my friend. I have never
had a problem with thrips on my peppers.
They usually gravitate to our rose bushes
in the summer.
 
Good luck beating them back!
 
Glad to see that the 'seasonings' made it
all the way to you!

 

[internationalfish]

I hate to hear that, my friend. I have never
had a problem with thrips on my peppers.
They usually gravitate to our rose bushes
in the summer.
 
Good luck beating them back!
 
Glad to see that the 'seasonings' made it
all the way to you!

 
Thanks and thanks!
 
So... on a scale of marginally dumb to outrageously stupid, how bad of an idea would be spraying Castile soap and neem oil inside the tent? I'd rather not take these plants outside, and it doesn't seem like this stuff would be likely to hurt the walls. But then what do I know?
 
Finally, marginally related (it does have some friggin' tellos in it): I just started a batch of kraut fermenting.
 

 

[internationalfish]

Well, just gave the plants an application of soap and oil. Fingers crossed. 
 
On the germination test I started two weeks ago (somehow it feels like a lot longer than that... *stares at baby*), every single Nanba seed sprouted after less than a week, and they're all freaking cotied out. I'm definitely using these in one of my cans; already got a nice red one emptied out. All of the red habanero seeds sprouted as well, though they took a bit longer and are growing slowly.
 
A few of the chocolate hab seeds seem to be kicking out roots, but I'm not totally sure. The JHab x Fatalii and Goronong have so far shown no interest in joining the club.
 
A single, solitary CGN 21500 -- the only type in the test that I'm actually looking to grow right now -- did kick out a root. So I dug him a hole in some rock wool, and hopefully he keeps growing. That'd give me two CGN 21500 seedlings to start, which, hey, beats one. Or zero, which is what I'm coming up with on most of the rock wool germination for the stuff I wanted in the tent.

 

[internationalfish]

Started prepping my cans for the FB pepper in a can challenge.
 

 
Growing starts 2/11. Going to start some more of those enthusiastic Nanba in the red one on the left, Trippaul Threat Violet into the blue and gold one, and Lemon Starrburst in the Giga. They'll all be in the tent and packed with coir.
 
Think I need to find a replacement fourth can to grow some Purple Thunder in, though. Not too exciting having two cans that are so similar to each other.

 

[internationalfish]

Sorry. I'm so sorry. Somehow I didn't notice.
 

 
I'll get him rotated to match the others when I get home... 

 
Since I'm not sure what successfully germinated -- and I have four out of nine rock wool blocks in that batch that haven't pushed out a single sprout -- I transplanted two of the sprouts from cubes with multiples to new cubes. Hopefully my luck improves and I'll end up with at least two of each variety I'm trying to get ready for summer. This is particularly important since I botched a helmet surgery a couple days ago... ugh.
 
I have a total of three CGN 21500 sprouts growing now, which is an improvement. At this point I think the giant white habs are a complete no-show; gotta see if I have any seeds left to start, but unfortunately, it seems like that's just not likely to happen.
 
Spraying for thrips seems to be working. Haven't found a live one since the first spray, and I hosed everything down again last night. I also culled one of the purple UFOs (not planning on growing them anyway) and one of the sugar rush peach (since it seems like the one that fruited is on-pheno) to free up bottles for the two sprouts I removed. The white tray in the photo is new; I got a bunch of them, and they're a very snug fit for nine of these little bottles, which I think is nice. Need eight more to fill a second tray, and if I want more mini-Kratky containers after that, I'll try switching to beer cans. Much less work.
 
Outside of the tent, my little plum tree is blooming.
 

 

[CaneDog]

Sorry. I'm so sorry. Somehow I didn't notice.
I'll get him rotated to match the others when I get home... 

 
Get with the program, disorderly pepper - 出る釘は打たれる
 
Since I'm not sure what successfully germinated -- and I have four out of nine rock wool blocks in that batch that haven't pushed out a single sprout -- I transplanted two of the sprouts from cubes with multiples to new cubes. Hopefully my luck improves and I'll end up with at least two of each variety I'm trying to get ready for summer. This is particularly important since I botched a helmet surgery a couple days ago... ugh.
 
Bummer.  HH's can be so frustrating when the sprout really matters.  I just had my first HH of the year and operated few minutes ago.  It was an important one and I'm really hoping it was a success!
 
Spraying for thrips seems to be working. Haven't found a live one since the first spray, and I hosed everything down again last night. I also culled one of the purple UFOs (not planning on growing them anyway) and one of the sugar rush peach (since it seems like the one that fruited is on-pheno) to free up bottles for the two sprouts I removed. The white tray in the photo is new; I got a bunch of them, and they're a very snug fit for nine of these little bottles, which I think is nice. Need eight more to fill a second tray, and if I want more mini-Kratky containers after that, I'll try switching to beer cans. Much less work.
 
Outside of the tent, my little plum tree is blooming.
 
 

 
Glad to hear the thrips don't seem to remain an issue.  Little plum tree looks great, too.  Maybe spring isn't too far away for you.
 
So, does your 7-11 sell chuhai in 40's?   Seems like that would be a great option for pepper-in-a-can! 

 

[Bookers]

Sorry. I'm so sorry. Somehow I didn't notice.
 

 
I'll get him rotated to match the others when I get home... 

 
Since I'm not sure what successfully germinated -- and I have four out of nine rock wool blocks in that batch that haven't pushed out a single sprout -- I transplanted two of the sprouts from cubes with multiples to new cubes. Hopefully my luck improves and I'll end up with at least two of each variety I'm trying to get ready for summer. This is particularly important since I botched a helmet surgery a couple days ago... ugh.
 
I have a total of three CGN 21500 sprouts growing now, which is an improvement. At this point I think the giant white habs are a complete no-show; gotta see if I have any seeds left to start, but unfortunately, it seems like that's just not likely to happen.
 
Spraying for thrips seems to be working. Haven't found a live one since the first spray, and I hosed everything down again last night. I also culled one of the purple UFOs (not planning on growing them anyway) and one of the sugar rush peach (since it seems like the one that fruited is on-pheno) to free up bottles for the two sprouts I removed. The white tray in the photo is new; I got a bunch of them, and they're a very snug fit for nine of these little bottles, which I think is nice. Need eight more to fill a second tray, and if I want more mini-Kratky containers after that, I'll try switching to beer cans. Much less work.
 
Outside of the tent, my little plum tree is blooming.
 

Nice sprouts!!! Look like baby Yoda's!

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[internationalfish]

出る釘は打たれる

 
Fortunately, I live my life a quarter mile at a time. 
 

Glad to hear the thrips don't seem to remain an issue.  Little plum tree looks great, too.  Maybe spring isn't too far away for you.

 
January is the coldest month of the year, so we're on the way up, yeah. That's one reason I'm irritated at having failed to reliably pheno-test (or even germinate) most of the plants I want for the next season.
 
Today and yesterday we broke 60F. That's not supposed to be normal, but we've been unseasonably warm in every season for years now (go figure), so it's likely spring has been moved up more than the 40-year averages would suggest. I haven't even cut down some of my outdoor plants from last season -- just lazy -- and while I don't intend to keep them growing, it seems like they'll probably survive the winter. Didn't expect that.
 

So, does your 7-11 sell chuhai in 40's? Seems like that would be a great option for pepper-in-a-can! 

 
Ha! Unfortunately, we're just not that classy here. No 40's, no OE. 
 

Nice sprouts!!! Look like baby Yoda's!

 
Thanks! Haha, I hadn't made that connection, but I like it. Old Yoda is more eloquent, though.
 
Size matters not. Look at my pods. Judge them by their size, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not. For their ally is the Capsaicin, and a powerful ally it is. Nutes create it, make it grow. Its burn surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are they. You must feel the Capsaicin around you; here, between you, me, the mash, the sauce, everywhere, yes. Even between the hand and the genitals.
 

 

[CaneDog]

Ha! Unfortunately, we're just not that classy here. No 40's, no OE. 

 
It just can't be the same pouring out from a can of Sapporo for your homies.
 
Can you at least get the Olde Fortran?

 

[internationalfish]

It just can't be the same pouring out from a can of Sapporo for your homies.
 
Can you at least get the Olde Fortran?

You're right. And "一つ for my homies" has zero impact.

Old English, Old Style, we've got nothing. My wife calls me おっさん, which means old man... I think that's about the closest I've got.

 

[Bookers]

Nice sprouts!!! Look like baby Yoda's!

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Death to the darksided thrips!!!! Yoda has seen the force is strong with you hmmm!!! Cheers im digging the sprouts cheers...

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[internationalfish]

Well, that sucked monkey nuts. Salty angry bitey scratchy monkey nuts.
 
Today I gave up and dug through the old rock wool cubes I had the last batch of giant white hab seeds in. Nothing. I figured I had enough for one last batch, though, so I broke out the US seed vault; I knew I had a chunk of placenta in the last GW hab bag that I was pretty sure had some seeds in it.
 
But it didn't. So now I'm down to one seed.
 

 
Yeah, that's him. Sitting there laughing at me. Little bastard.
 
OK, whatever; it's probably a lost cause, but I stuck it in its own new cube. I don't think I had any corno di toro pop either, so I stuck a couple more cubes of that in there, along with some ghosts, just for gits and shiggles. This was going into my larger germination tray, so I just put one type at each end and the hab in the middle. No problem, right? Riiiiight.
 
Well, right then my wife had some friends arrive, and they immediately started unpacking shit on the table I was working on. Fine, fine, I'll get out of the way. Well, in my rush, I upended the goddamn tray. It was covered, but that didn't stop those cubes from getting real friendly and mingling at one end. SHIT. SHIT SHIT SHIT. It should be obvious if the GW hab sprouts, because hell will have frozen over (and it's the only one that's directly in the middle of its cube), but the rest are back to the good ol' "no problem, I'll just wait four damn months until they fruit" method of identification.
 
So I carpet-F-bombed the room, which shocked them pretty good, and evacuated to my office. And now you're up to date, and now I need a drink.

 

[PaulG]

Wow, sounds like a gothic novel, Fsh!

 

[Bookers]

I hate when that happens! I believe I might have a couple of hmm was it this or that? Fudge it, I'll find it later... but your story is much better! Cheers to that drink!

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[internationalfish]

Hello again.
 
The seedlings, whatever they happen to be, are coming along nicely. The ones that have put out true leaves got a drop of nutes last week and appear to be Lovin' It.™ No idea what they are, but oh well! There are two more little ones that aren't pictured; working on getting another of these white trays filled, and that'll be it for my Kratky bottles for the moment.
 

 
My maybe-purple-UFO finally decided to do the whole flowering and fruiting thing, and really went all in. It's not all that clear, but there's a wee pod just southwest of the middle, and at least four or five others have set and just started shedding their flowers. It's having mild nutrition issues that are being worked out.
 

 
Aside from that, I made a massive batch of kimchi last week, which thankfully came out very well. My wife pretty much gave away the whole last batch in a few weeks, so this time? Quadruple it. This was a serious pain in the ass to mix. 2L jar of fermenting kraut for scale.
 

 
And, finally, I expanded my fermentation repertoire a bit to try cucumbers and carrots. The former has ginger and a couple dried peppers, and the latter has garlic.
 

 
I'm taking over more and more of our tiny kitchen with this stuff, mostly because it's way too cold in my downstairs office for these to ferment in a reasonable timeframe. Hopefully they turn out well so I can justify doing it again. And again. And again.