BigCedars SuperHot Grow 2012

Siliman · Feb 3, 2012

Schwweeeeeeet. Maybe the 'red' lights put a a whammy on them and now they are so greatful for the 'blue.' Roots amazing!

What size are your pots (maybe 3.5 x 5 tall?) and what kinda 'dirt' you using now?

I've also got some 'tinker toy' poles and shelving from my mini g-house I could use for a few weeks for indoor lights/shelving like you did there. Hmmmmmm.

PaulG · Feb 3, 2012

Really looks great, Brandon.
You've got serious production going on!
Thanks for taking the time to document
your new set-up and the super progress your
seedlings are making!

BigCedar · Feb 3, 2012

chileaddict said:
Hey Brandon. Glad you survived! I did plant 72 cells with 2 seeds each about 10 days ago and about half are popping their heads up. Many have already moved up to the 2 1/2" pots. I will plant another 72 cell tray in about a week. This year I soaked the seeds for about 12 hours and used Black Gold seed starter mix with great results. Keep it safe and watch out for falling branches.

Hey Richard, glad to hear that black gold worked well for you, I saw that at michlendons jbefore I bought hoffmans but hadn't heard any reviews so I didn't try it out.. I'll give it a shot next year, the only problem with hoffmans is I have to order it online. How are your plants doin? btw I never asked ya.. whatcha growin this year? hope all is well dude.

PIC 1 said:
Hey Brandon,.........welcome back!
You set-up looks very professional and organized........no dirt on your floor!
Nice job with the transplants, you hooked them at the perfect time. It's definitely a process, especially with 208 at once. Good for you.
I've got it down to 32 transplants a night.........I'm running out of organ donors......ha
Seriously, thats where I'm at 32 pot-ups a night into 5 1/4" containers. I've been going through bags of soil like crazy.......it's a fun process.
Well I gota skidattle out of here.........time to pick up some more bags
Greg

Thanks Greg! Oh there was dirt on the floor at one point trust me lol, I keep it clean though, keeps the wife from disliking this hobby of mine even more lol. Dude I can't imagine potting up 2 more times before their final home like you, my hats off to you my friend. I'm hoping the plants can ride out the rest of the indoor grow in the 3inch pots I have them in now, I got about a month to a month and a half (weather permitting) left indoors so I think I should be perfect. Your soil bill has to be like paying the rent every month lol, not like your using cheap stuff either. Thanks for the reply dude

Siliman said:
Schwweeeeeeet. Maybe the 'red' lights put a a whammy on them and now they are so greatful for the 'blue.' Roots amazing!
What size are your pots (maybe 3.5 x 5 tall?) and what kinda 'dirt' you using now?
I've also got some 'tinker toy' poles and shelving from my mini g-house I could use for a few weeks for indoor lights/shelving like you did there. Hmmmmmm.

Thanks man! Yeah I was thinkin about it.. I think if I hadn't messed up originally with the lighting that they would have actually gotten too big to be inside especially with my space issue, I can't pot up again until plant out. Next year knowing the growth rate for the blues I'll probably be starting a couple weeks later than I did this year. Nice call on the pot size! As for dirt, it's a northwest company called carpinito brothers. I'm using their all purpose premium quality potting soil, I get it from work for whole sale, been using it for 5 years now with good results. I'm tellin ya the tinker toy items n such saved my life this year lol, with my space issue I couldn't just go buy shelving.. none of them fit right with the weird dimensions of the closet, So I had to take a little bit of that.. little bit of this.. mess with that.. and 'walla!' made it happen

Thanks for the reply man, I'll be headin over to your glog tonight

PaulG said:
Really looks great, Brandon.
You've got serious production going on!
Thanks for taking the time to document
your new set-up and the super progress your
seedlings are making!

Thanks Paul! No worries, I'm glad people enjoy following

I just need them to hold off on too much progress under the new lights and in the new pots until I bring them outside lol. Something tells me I might have some serious root bound plants come mid march. Hope all is well with you dude

Brandon

PaulG · Feb 3, 2012

We need outdoor, heated and ventilated 16x20 greenhouses!

SocalChilehead · Feb 3, 2012

Just awesome Brandon that was alot of potting up I was going to ask about soil mixture but I saw you already answered it, but will you just use that mixture to the next pot up or will add anything else. Hope everything continues to go great with you and the weather improves no more critizing mother nature lol.

stc3248 · Feb 3, 2012

WOW!!! Looking really good man!Pods already, I'm jealous...I have a few blooming, but they dropped them when I moved them into the Greenhouse, but it won't be long! A month to plant out in Washington really??? I am thinking a little over a month to be safe here in San Diego but I am inland a bit. I read that AJ has his on a 12 hr on/off light cycle to keep them from getting too big. Don't know what your current cycle is, but that could be an option to keep them under control. Can't imaging 200+ plants...I have a hard time talking my wife into each bag of soil I go through, she just doesn't get it.

meatfreak · Feb 4, 2012

Great update Brandon, :clap:

for all of your hard work with re-potting. I know how much work it is

Plants are looking good and healthy. Continue this and it can't go wrong I guess, your gonna be loaded with pods this summer

BigCedar · Feb 4, 2012

PaulG said:
We need outdoor, heated and ventilated 16x20 greenhouses!

Yes.. Yes we do. If I ever won the lottery.. Most people are thinkin a new hot car, big screen, new house, but me? BIg ol F'n Greenhouse. :cool:

SocalChilehead said:
Just awesome Brandon that was alot of potting up I was going to ask about soil mixture but I saw you already answered it, but will you just use that mixture to the next pot up or will add anything else. Hope everything continues to go great with you and the weather improves no more critizing mother nature lol.

Thank you thank you Fernando! I was planning on just doing a flat at a time but once I was knee deep in potting soil I decided to just get it done and not have to worry about it. I thought the soil might be popular question being asked so... http://www.carpinito.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=71&Itemid=54 It's the premium all purpose potting soil, It sorta lists the ingredients, to get a full list of what they put in it I'll have to contact them. I get it from my work. And to your second question, yes, I'll be potting up with the same soil, I normally add some bone meal but that was back when I was only growing 20-30 plants.. So this year I'll be skipping that and just using cal mag if they need some calcium. Mixing bone meal into 200 plant containers just doesn't sound fun at all lol. Thanks for the kind words, I too hope the weather stays warm, currently 60 n sunny

stc3248 said:
WOW!!! Looking really good man!Pods already, I'm jealous...I have a few blooming, but they dropped them when I moved them into the Greenhouse, but it won't be long! A month to plant out in Washington really??? I am thinking a little over a month to be safe here in San Diego but I am inland a bit. I read that AJ has his on a 12 hr on/off light cycle to keep them from getting too big. Don't know what your current cycle is, but that could be an option to keep them under control. Can't imaging 200+ plants...I have a hard time talking my wife into each bag of soil I go through, she just doesn't get it.

Thank you Stc! Your plants look great too dude. Don't get too jealous with the pods, they're not getting too big with the lack of light but they are fun to look at

As for plant out, I'm sure alot of people think I'm on crack when I say 1 month lol, Normally I'd plant out in April but I have a greenhouse so I'll be using that for the first month or 2

I'd like to get everything hardened off if anything in march, on the nice days I'll treat them to some real sunshine, get em used to the breeze n such. If I have to bring them in at night thats fine with me. The seedling/start part of growing is my uncomfortable zone if you will, so the sooner I get em outside (My comfy zone lol) the better I'll feel. I was thinking about the lighting cut back too, I'm keeping a close eye on them now that they're in the new pots, if they explode I'll be cutting back the lighting for sure. My wife doesn't get it either lol, I'm trying to turn her over to the darkside though, she wants to try to grow some veggies this year (first time ever she's wanted to grow anything!) So even though it'll be a cucumber I'm excited lol.

meatfreak said:
Great update Brandon, for all of your hard work with re-potting. I know how much work it is Plants are looking good and healthy. Continue this and it can't go wrong I guess, your gonna be loaded with pods this summer

Thank you my friend

Yeah I had no clue it would take that long until I was an hour in still staring at 170 plants or so lol.. It was fun, can't wait till next pot up because it'll be the last one

Can't believe it's already february.. I feel like I just started. Thanks for the kind words. I sure hope your right about being loaded this summer. If I am I'll be sharing the wealth trust me! pods and seeds

Thanks for the replies everyone, off to work!
Brandon

romy6 · Feb 4, 2012

At the rate your plants are growing you may need to pot up one more time mi amigo :crazy:

BigCedar · Feb 5, 2012

romy6 said:
At the rate your plants are growing you may need to pot up one more time mi amigo

Hey Romy, Yeah.. aware of that, as stated above I'll be keeping a close eye, if things are getting too out of hand I'll cut the lighting back, no ferts unless needed, If I do have to pot up it should be a few weeks away from the big move outside, I have plenty of shelving I'm planning on having set up by my south facing windows if I have to pot up to gallon sized pots.. They won't be fitting in the grow closet if that's the case lol.. Thanks for lookin out.

Brandon

3/5King · Feb 6, 2012

Lookin' good BC. Way to make it happen through the storm. You have a nice lookin' set up and I'm sure you will be tending to some beaut's this summer.

Question though, how you get the roots out of your trays without ripping the roots that grew through? Scissors?

PIC 1 · Feb 6, 2012

BigCedar said:
Hey Romy, Yeah.. aware of that, as stated above I'll be keeping a close eye, if things are getting too out of hand I'll cut the lighting back, no ferts unless needed, If I do have to pot up it should be a few weeks away from the big move outside, I have plenty of shelving I'm planning on having set up by my south facing windows if I have to pot up to gallon sized pots.. They won't be fitting in the grow closet if that's the case lol.. Thanks for lookin out.

Brandon

South facing window will work, it'll help them get acclimated to the sun, sooner!
You could always snip off the growing tips on the longest branches.....that puts the brakes on them.....before the next ravish of growth sets in.

More photos please...

Greg

BigCedar · Feb 11, 2012

3/5King said:
Lookin' good BC. Way to make it happen through the storm. You have a nice lookin' set up and I'm sure you will be tending to some beaut's this summer.
Question though, how you get the roots out of your trays without ripping the roots that grew through? Scissors?

Thanks alot 3/5! I hope your right about some beauts this summer. As for those long roots, carefully pulling them out of the cells worked or the most part with little damage, and even if I chopped them off instead it wouldn't have made a difference.. as long as they have a good root ball they're good to go and won't suffer from a few bottom roots getting ripped off, just like all perrenials. hope that helps, again, good luck with your grow!

PIC 1 said:
South facing window will work, it'll help them get acclimated to the sun, sooner!
You could always snip off the growing tips on the longest branches.....that puts the brakes on them.....before the next ravish of growth sets in.
More photos please...
Greg

Thats what I was thinkin my friend.. It'd be nice to get them mostly hardened off to direct light inside. I'll have you know I wasn't gonna update til next week but you convinced me.. you got your more photo request lol..

Weekend update!

Firstoff, I'd like to throw out another big thank you to Jamie(romy6) shortly after admiring his yellow CARDI pods he had posted on his glog he asked me if I'd shoot him my addy and he'd send some fresh cardi pods from his garden my way.. I offered to pay and being the nice guy he is he wouldn't except and wanted to send a gift my way

so anyway... being the guy that hasn't had a fresh pepper in months I was already doing cartwheels over the excitement of being able to eat a fresh pod or 2.. Sure enough, my first day off I got the package. I walked my almost 2 year old daughter to the mail box and when I saw the package I said.. "Saydee! do you know whats in the package?? Daddy's very excited to open this up!" and she touched it and said.. "pepppaaa?" lol. I guess you had to be there, but my daughter loving my hobby sure makes me smile. So I opened the package and... :shocked:

Jamie sent me a freaking goodie bag from heaven! 7pods, bhuts, yellow cardis, choc bhuts, wayrights house fav, hotsalt, and choc powders! I couldn't believe it.. the generosity from people on THP never seizes to amaze me.. people like Jamie, and many others, is the reason why THP is the only social website I'm a member of. You couldn't pay me to join FB after being a member here lol. Anyway Jamie, Thank you, thank you, and thank you again

I can't wait to try them all!

side note: add Jamie to my pepper christmas list :lol:

Here's whats goin on with my mini superhot start forest... Everything has been changing from the purple to green slowly but surely now that they are under the blue lights.. Pretty crazy to see them up close, there's so many different tones of greens and purple lol.. I'm going to try some starts once I have room in the closet this spring/summer and see how fast the growth rate is under the blues.. I truly do think by not paying attention to the bulbs I cut the growth rate in half if not more by having them under the reds for a month. I think it also put the brakes on them a bit.. between being transplanted and being thrown under new lights they have slowed down a bit, which I'm happy with because I would really, really like to not have to pot up to gallon containers before plant out. I figured out the growth rate visually.. I get a full grown new set of leaves each week.

Anyway, Mini Super Forest, you can see all the colors changing.

Close up of the TS cardi Y X Bhut f3

As much as looking at different starts that look exactly like my picture above is fun(kidding) I thought this week I'd post an "overwinter segment" if you will.. So to give you an idea, I've been fighting aphids since October.. yes, it has been 4 months.. I've won some battles, they've won some battles. The one time I didn't see any for a good 3 weeks was when I used Bonide fruit citrus and nut orchard spray in october.. So I ordered a stock pile of it online.. It arrived on wednesday and I was ready to nuke the SOB's once and for all, thank god they haven't found my seedlings that are 9ft away. If anyone hasn't used this stuff, it's awesome, for any insect or disease. Pepper Guru told me about it. Thanks again.

So to give you an idea after I ran out of the bonide spray in the early weeks of October I've used soapy water, sprays from homedepot/lowes, I even filled a new trash can with soapy water and submerged every one of them, yes I know, I'm crazy lol.. The last thing I tried, was 70% Isopropyl alcohol which was recommended to me by a member here that I still need to pm back and thank for the idea

and you know what, it's cheap and it worked pretty well, I think I would dilute it a bit more than have it straight but every plant handled it fine except.. My 2 fataliis. It burnt the absolute shit out of them for some reason. Every leaf dropped and the plants are brown/black on one half (that half was facing the sun) I sprayed the night before and they still got the IPA ass kicking of a life time. I'm sure you'll notice.

Whats even crazier than that? after chopping off half of the branches due to them being dead from the burn, a week later.. the plants coming back.. I can't believe how hardy these plants are.

So in conclusion... As much as I didn't wanna do it. After getting my bonide package I chopped off every single leaf on every single plant but my serrano and yellow bhut plant that had been recovering from a burn from soapy spray and they came back better than they looked before the burn. I figured that I would have a better chance spraying every square inch of each plant without any leaves present. So thats what I did.. I covered the plants and soil in the bonide spray.. I'll post a picture next week showing the growth, as of right now I can see growth in less than 24 hours of chopping so I think I made the right call, and! no more aphids

(that I can see..)

Yellow bhut growth 1 week after losing every leaf from soap burn

Serrano a week after losing every leaf.

Also, I wanted to fertilize with alot more than just fish ferts but didn't wanna wait 2 weeks in between feeding each.. So, I stole Gregs idea with the diluted ferts every watering.. and Greg, it freaking works.. I've been doing it for 2 days now and I can already tell the difference.. plants that were starting to yellow are green now and the leaves are growing by the day. Thanks again for the great idea.

I hope all is well with everyone.
Brandon

PIC 1 · Feb 11, 2012

Excellent review Brandon,

Kudos to Jamie for sending you some super-hots! There's alot of different color schemes with your "Enchanted Forest" its pretty cool to see the variations from plant to plant.
I've got some 9 1/2 week old plants that are still dark purple with green under sides. I curious to see how much if any they'll change when under sunlight.

I'm glad to (not see) the aphids. I had those one year, after an attack of "white flies" ....I couldn't beat those with a stick! I finally used a product from "Ortho" that claimed you could it up to a day of harvest and it lasts for 30 days, It worked and it did last for the duration, by that time my plants were being brought out side to harden off.

Nice recovery with the OW's.....I guess you can't beat those with a stick either. I;ll post my updates tomorrow morning, I had to cut back a "Butch T and Chocolate Bhut" they were already 3 ft and I really did.t want to raise the lighting for just 2 plants.

The gallon bottles work for me also,
I was fortunate enough to find 4 ten lb bags of "Osmocote" at a close-out price at Loews. I'll also add that to the mix and pull back from the "Fish, Pro Grow and Karma". when I start to pot up to 2 gal containers just prior to bringing out, The way its starting to look that will be sooner for some plants. .I'll scatter a small amount on top of the soil. Its slow release and will help fertilize outdoors with our spring rains. When the plants settle into the beds or large containers I'll switch to a 10-10-10. I'll still spray once a week with epsom salts and top off the perimeter of the plants with an occasional shovel of compost, but thats about it......................wait a second this is your glog not mine................. :eek:

thanks for your photo update!
It will be amaxing at the end of the season to look back at the first post compared to the last.

later,
Greg

stc3248 · Feb 11, 2012

Looking Great man! Sometimes setbacks are blessings! I'll bet they really thicken up with the new growth...

SocalChilehead · Feb 11, 2012

Awesome update going strong I see preparation is key with those SOB I suffered as well that why I stay packing with some Azomax at all times but only if I knew how to get lady bugs to come on command then it would be perfect. Nice job Brandon look forward to the next update.

PaulG · Feb 11, 2012

Really fine work, Brandon; do you just mix all your different ferts together, or just water with them separately? The overwintering idea really has me intrigued. Those plants should be really thick and bushy with all that new growth coming out!

chileaddict · Feb 11, 2012

Excellent update Brandon. Keep up the good work!

romy6 · Feb 11, 2012

Glad to see you are enjoying your package :cool:

Your babies look like they are receiving the perfect amount of love. Might need to borrow some of the neighbors yard. Thanks for sharing your OW process as well(Not that I need it) . It should help allot of you snow birds

I am going to get me some of that Ortho this year. I always have trouble with aphids and spider mites .
Thanks
Jamie

Siliman · Feb 11, 2012

BigCedar said:
.....I'd like to throw out another big thank you to Jamie(romy6) shortly after admiring his yellow CARDI pods he had posted on his glog he asked me if I'd shoot him my addy and he'd send some fresh cardi pods from his garden my way.. I offered to pay and being the nice guy he is he wouldn't except and wanted to send a gift my way so anyway... being the guy that hasn't had a fresh pepper in months I was already doing cartwheels over the excitement of being able to eat a fresh pod or 2.. Sure enough, my first day off I got the package. I walked my almost 2 year old daughter to the mail box and when I saw the package I said.. "Saydee! do you know whats in the package?? Daddy's very excited to open this up!" and she touched it and said.. "pepppaaa?"

That's a great (mental) image right there. You might consider starting a college fund right now to send her to the Chile Pepper Institute at New Mexico State... :cool: