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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..

12-30-11A001.jpg


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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cool Jason...welcome aboard...great forum and friendly people..

PIC 1 said:
Man those purple bhuts are taking off like crazy,...... nice even growth

Greg
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thanks Greg...I am thinking I like these...

PepperJam said:
Looks great AJ, i have to agree about the purple bhuts as i'm in the same boat :) They look amazing. Out of the sea of green, you have these purple gems. I'm also growing the Cheiro Roxa which are also purple. Very pretty too.
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When did you plant PJ?.....not familiar with the Cheiro Roxa....

PaulG said:
Lookin' really good, AJ - lovin' your pics, getting despondent :mope:
I hope I get three plants that look that good.
Keep those photos coming!
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keep your spirits up...with all the knowledge on this forum, I am surprised anyone has a bad grow...if you got a problem, the answer is here...

wrightdaddy said:
Bowing.... Aj you are a chili god
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:think: you must be thinking of some of the other growers...I just do what I can...

BakersPeppers said:
Lookin great boss! :) Gotta love healthy plants!
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Man, you are the one with the good looking plants....

MGOLD86 said:
Looking amazing Ronnie! This is the stuff that motivates me to grow.
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thanks MG...it motivates me too...I want to do things better and am constantly weighing the deltas between what I want to do and what I can afford to do...I really want a greenhouse that is totally environmentally controlled with a mist fertigation system...problem is, unless I cool it in the summer, it will be of no use to me...and i just don't have the room in my yard to waste a 16' X 24' area....

BakersPeppers said:
we have a 500 ft deep well straight to the Florida Aquifer :) So having to water ALL the time is not an issue, we can do that no problem....
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what is the pH of your well water?
 
cool on the pH man...

OK...I transplanted 68 this morning...

planted 9 Foodarama Scotch Bonnets and got 8 good transplants

02-09-12a001.jpg


then I transplanted tray 3 in which the seed were sewn on 04 January 2012....

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gonna run go get some more potting soil and may try and transplant tray 4 this evening/tonight...depends on how tired my shoulders get...
 
Nice AJ,
That looks familar, I throw on the gloves and soft hand pack those babies... Those three full flats and the six side cars to the right take a bit of time to transplant. I still have alot of the 3" containers going with new seeds starting this weekend. I try to pot up 2 flats of 16 into 4 flats of 8 containers each, 5 1/4"er's. I like to inspect each of the larger plants before they get potted. I try to loosen and tease the bottom of the rootball before it goes in. I throw a coffee filter in the bottom, one full scoop of soil, then I set the plant in about a half inch lower below the soil line. I hand pack the rest....check the label, when I'm done with the flats, I check ot the rest of the plants....look at the clock (2hrs gone by) and that's it for the night. Its pretty routine. I can't wait to plant out and watch those plants grow and bloom and take care of themselves..........if only......ha

Your stuff looks great, is that gallon bottle in the photo water or nutes?

Greg
 
empty, but it had nutes in it...15ml Karma and 5ml ProGrow...no calmag yet since they don't seem to need it...
 
AlabamaJack said:
gonna run go get some more potting soil and may try and transplant tray 4 this evening/tonight...depends on how tired my shoulders get...
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Your peppers are looking great AJ! What kind of potting soil do you use? Last year I mixed my own from Al's 5-1-1 mix. I would like to do something different to be easier and more cost effective if possible. Of course I don't want to do anything that will be less than optimal for my plants though either.
 
AlabamaJack said:
empty, but it had nutes in it...15ml Karma and 5ml ProGrow...no calmag yet since they don't seem to need it...
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AJ, when is a good time/sign to use calmag? I was thinking i should put a little in my next watering along with karma and progrow. But now not so sure.
 
tjbarney said:
Your peppers are looking great AJ! What kind of potting soil do you use? Last year I mixed my own from Al's 5-1-1 mix. I would like to do something different to be easier and more cost effective if possible. Of course I don't want to do anything that will be less than optimal for my plants though either.
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ty tj...I am being lazy this year and using plain ol' miracle grow potting soil...but this is the only time I will use it...my first transplant...I will use little or no nutrients on these plants after they are transplanted...plain ol' water and let the plants tell me when they need something...if they get yellowish looking, I cut back on the water and foliar feed with 1 Tbsp/gal epsom salt...if it is getting time for them to flower/fruit, I will give them a shot of calmag...just because the plant needs Mg for greening up doesn't mean it needs calcium...sometimes more is less...

by the way....one 2.5 cubic ft bag of the MG potting soil will pot up 168 3.5" sq X 3" containers....

when it comes time for the next transplant to 5 gallon containers, they will get my own soil mixture which is compost, cushion sand, a premium potting soil, and rabbit poo...got to pick up 10 bags of rabbit poo Friday...

PepperJam said:
AJ, when is a good time/sign to use calmag? I was thinking i should put a little in my next watering along with karma and progrow. But now not so sure.
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see above

I don't know why but this photo kinda gives me a woody...baby scorpions...planted 30 January 2012

02-09-12d003.jpg


and I think I am gonna like the growth habit of the galapagense...

02-09-12d007.jpg
 
AlabamaJack said:
02-09-12a001.jpg
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Shoot. This is what my plants should have looked like two weeks ago? Because that's how much of a head start I had (maybe more). I'll be lucky if they're half as big. My leaves are much smaller and not as green.

I'm making lots of mistakes (obviously)--but it's nice that I have an idea of what they were: too much daily temp fluctuation since germination (50°-90°F), too intense light (8-9 hours of outside sun every day), no nutes until I saw they were yellow, letting aphids suck for a while before catching them...

I feel educated though, and my seedlings are still alive, so there's hope.
 
AlabamaJack said:
ty tj...I am being lazy this year and using plain ol' miracle grow potting soil...but this is the only time I will use it...my first transplant...I will use little or no nutrients on these plants after they are transplanted...plain ol' water and let the plants tell me when they need something...if they get yellowish looking, I cut back on the water and foliar feed with 1 Tbsp/gal epsom salt...if it is getting time for them to flower/fruit, I will give them a shot of calmag...just because the plant needs Mg for greening up doesn't mean it needs calcium...sometimes more is less...

by the way....one 2.5 cubic ft bag of the MG potting soil will pot up 168 3.5" sq X 3" containers....

when it comes time for the next transplant to 5 gallon containers, they will get my own soil mixture which is compost, cushion sand, a premium potting soil, and rabbit poo...got to pick up 10 bags of rabbit poo Friday...



see above

I don't know why but this photo kinda gives me a woody...baby scorpions...planted 30 January 2012

02-09-12d003.jpg
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Wow, that looks like 100% germ rate from that pic :eek:. Awesome! Thanks for the info on the soil etc. I think I'll stick to my original plan of mixing my own when it's time for them to go to their final container. Do you think when it's time for them to move on to the Solo cups I can use the rest of the seed starting mix or would it be better to go with regular potting soil? Sorry for all the q's :oops:
 
you can use your seed starting mix for your solo cups but isn't that stuff expensive ? I wouldn't use my hoffmans for anything but seed starting but it is up to you...they will need nutrients though when you transplant...
 
AlabamaJack said:
you can use your seed starting mix for your solo cups but isn't that stuff expensive ? I wouldn't use my hoffmans for anything but seed starting but it is up to you...they will need nutrients though when you transplant...
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I would only do it because I have left over and probably wouldn't want to store what seed starting mix I have left over until next year. But only time will tell what I will end up really doing..... They will need nutrients when I go to the solo cups, or when I go to final potting? Probably both. I have Foliage Pro that I had bought last year, but that's all I have at the moment as nutes go.
 
even a simple water soluable fertilize will benefit the plants...vigaro makes a liquid 10-10-10 I think ....cheap and is at Home Depot...just feed about 1/2 strength for the first week or 10 days when the go into the solo cups, then go to full strength...depending on how "rich" your soil is, you may want to fertilize a little...I use a handful of 14-7-14 mixed in with a 5 gallon nursery container full of my soil mix as standard practice...
 
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