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AJs 2012 Season - A Pictorial Discussion

I am getting a one day jump on last season...today is my 2012 season start...

The Germinator has been cleaned, I am using new trays for seed starting and Hoffman's Seed Starting Mix as my grow media...

If any of you decide to use Hoffman's Seed Starting Mix, be patient, it takes as much as 24 hours pre-soak to get this light weight mix totally wet...I have said it before and I will say it again...this is the cleanest seed starting mix I have ever used....clean and light weight means better root growth IMO..

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All circuits and systems are a go on the germinator...am stabilizing the temperature for the next 24 hours...as you can see, the upper box is about 93F and the lower box is 85F...I have to vent the top to let both chambers reach the same temperature...

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something tells me this is going to be another hot summer....close to record heat again...so the season will go as mother wants it to...I am learning each year how to change my grow techniques and am adapting to North Texas...

hope you folks enjoy this thread...if anyone has any questions or comments, they are welcome...
 
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Ok...20 questions for AJ day! I am wondering about your spacing??? I have been really worried about making sure they have enough room, but yours look really close together. The ones in containers along the wall and the ones in your cinder block raised bed look to be about 18" centers? I've been putting most of mine in at least 24" and the larger ones like the scorpions at about 36". I have about 25 ft of south facing wall that still needs to be filled and if I can get away with a single row at 18" it will solve a ton of my room issues.

I miss being in South Tx where every fence row had tons of tepins and pequins ready for the picking almost year round. I have first pods on my pequins and flowers opening on my tepins so it won't be long. Hope they grow to be as nice as yours! Your overwinter 3yo's look like monsters! Also love the fertigation and florida weave you got going along that wall. Will be a hedge row from hell... literally!

Thanks in advance for any input on spacing!
Shane
 
I think the root ball size vs size of pot and plant is interesting too...but I probably won't change the way I am doing things anyway...

as far as spacing goes...some are on 18" centers, some are on 21" centers and some are on 24" centers...the ones against the wall are on 18" centers I think...I grow them close together to make a "hedge row" as you say...the plants support each other and with the wind we get here, they dang sure need it...I had to stop growing trinidad varieties on top of the wall because the wind kept blowing them off...even with support...so I only grow jalapenos on the wall now...maybe some cayennes on the end and the serrano in the back...got 37 places for annuums on top of the wall to the left...

you can give the plants as much room as you wish...seems I read somewhere that growing commercially, ideal would be 36" row spacing and 24" plant spacing...from my experience during the Mississippi Scorpion project last year 48" row centers and plants on 24" spacing is too close when you are growing in the ground...you can't hardly walk down the rows after 6 months in the ground...

since container plants don't get as big as plants in good soil (read sandy loam), smaller spacing is cool...
 
Thanks for the input AJ...I think I will now start a similar row but plus up to 22 or 24 since they're in the ground. I'll have to measure it out and see if I can get an extra plant in there for that 2" difference.. That will leave me more room to grow a few non peppers for momma.

Always learn something when I visit your glog! Can't wait to watch your season play out.

Shane
 
thanks Shane...

yes sir Patrick...that's it...with a few modifications...I am using small braided cord I think 1/8" or 3/16" and it is strong enough to put tension on to hold the plants up without all the in between stakes...
 
Great looking plants AJ. :clap:

Fabulous 3yr. bushes that would get the 25 gal treatment if I owned em. Nah. who am I kidding; I'd stick those babies in the dirt. :D
 
thanks SS...if I had dirt to stickem' in, they surely would go there...

my favorite plants so far this year...Purple Bhuts ~ 13 weeks from seed...

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and this plant is amazing me...it is a 7 Pot Philliperv....pods are elongated and with the way it is growing, I am wondering if it is hybrid vigor...also 13 weeks from seed...

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and I got another 22 Yellow Scorpions (my version) in their final home for the year...

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Hey AJ,
The hard works starting to pay off....don't get to relaxed though, I bet you spend as much time as you can with those plants to keep it all running smooth....I know I would

Man that 7/Pot Philli-perv or Phillip-erv....whichever...is sure pumping out those pods for a 13 weeker.
That's how my Purple Bhuts started out, I just dig that color. Now my plants are coming in with new greener growth. Pods start out purple and turn red......pretty cool


Greg
 
it is a labor of love Greg...and I do spend a lot of time with my plants...
 
Looks great AJ! I really admire your meticulous setup. Really good idea with the rope to prevent wind damage. Does the stone wall behind the plants generate any significant heat to damage the plants? I had some jasmine plants near my house next to brick. They got really messed up by that radiant heat. I have to agree, the purple bhut is a show stopper. For some reason, my purple bhut leaves are turning more green. It happened the day after i gave it worm tea/kelp foliar the night before. Strange.
 
I really like that Florida weave! Thinking about trying that down at the community garden with in ground plants. My only concern is the string/rope amputating the plants during our strong winds. I noticed yours are up against a wall. Do you have any experience using that technique out in the open?
 
PepperJam said:
Looks great AJ! I really admire your meticulous setup. Really good idea with the rope to prevent wind damage. Does the stone wall behind the plants generate any significant heat to damage the plants? I had some jasmine plants near my house next to brick. They got really messed up by that radiant heat. I have to agree, the purple bhut is a show stopper. For some reason, my purple bhut leaves are turning more green. It happened the day after i gave it worm tea/kelp foliar the night before. Strange.
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usually by the time July/August rolls around, the plants shade the wall from the sun...I expect these plants to be at least 5' tall by the end of the summer....I think Pic1 said the leaves on his purple bhuts turned greener once they got more light outside...

highalt said:
I really like that Florida weave! Thinking about trying that down at the community garden with in ground plants. My only concern is the string/rope amputating the plants during our strong winds. I noticed yours are up against a wall. Do you have any experience using that technique out in the open?
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I do not personally have any experience growing them in the open but my cousin (commercial farmer) uses this technique on a few different crops and he farms well over 1000 acres...
 
Nice grow AJ, All looks very hearty in el Sol de Tejas!

Nice discussion about rootball size. In my own mind, I have always felt the plants
put energy into root growth until the pot is getting filled, then start putting out the
new growth. The corollary is that the roots need input from the leaves to build, so
a small plant in a big pot just doesn't have the leaf mass to provide nutrition for mondo
root growth. Going into those 5 gals right away just means the plant is trying to
fill the pot with roots, rather than putting out veg growth. Once the roots have
started to touch the sides of the pot, they should literally take off, i think. When
working with bonsai this is a delicate balancing act - root pruning with foliage trim
or without is a constant discussion in bonsai circles.
 
Nice looking plants. Those Purple Bhuts are mighty fine...

highalt said:
I really like that Florida weave! Thinking about trying that down at the community garden with in ground plants. My only concern is the string/rope amputating the plants during our strong winds. I noticed yours are up against a wall. Do you have any experience using that technique out in the open?
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I used a Florida weave with my tomatoes last year, and our area is also windy. I did notice some abrasion where the hemp twine contacted the stems, but never enough for concern. As long as you have a small enough support spacing there shouldn't be much pressure at any one point, and as the plants grow in the weight of the alternating plants will hold their neighbors in place, which is part of the beauty of the technique.

Granted, with something like tomatoes their weight can get pretty excessive towards the end of the season, so I did have my twine start breaking around September. Just make sure you're using something sturdy enough for whatever you're growing...
 
3rd year scorpions starting to pump out pods and I already have one ripening...

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this will be my first year ever to have superhots before the summer heat hits...
 
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