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

Bike808 getting Dirty in Jersey

Well, it's that time of year where old fashioned folks are making resolutions, and I want to resolve to work on my GLOG consistently in 2019. 2018 was a great year, despite some considerable setbacks. I managed to grow far more chiles than I could ever hope to eat, so I gave tons away. In the end, a few disappointments aside, it was an overall successful season.

The same cannot be said for my GLOG. I neglected the fark out of my 2018 GLOG. This year, I want to post at least once a week, no matter what.

At this point, I don't want to post lists or anything because I have a herculean season ahead of me. See, I intend to overhaul my yard, build some beds, order up some topsoil and compost to fill then, amend the soil with all kinds of other Bullshit, and have all that done before it's time to plant out. Of course, before then, I'll need to have started all my plants and I'll need to know what I'm looking at in terms of density and (dis)organization. Hmmmph.

But, long story short, I'm learning from past mistakes. Only using the right kind seed starting soil. Going to be more diligent with my seeds as I sow them, to avoid leggy-azz seedlings. Harden off early but slowly, and methodically. Try to figure out fertilizers, and maybe develop and enact a strategy as far as that goes, rather than randomly dumping Alaska Fish Ferts on my plants whenever the whim hits me. In summary, take another step towards becoming a real gardener.

So, yeah, I plan on planting less densely this year, so I need to figure some shit out, but a GLOG ain't a GLOG if the first post doesn't include some name-dropping as far as intended varieties. This year will be my usual: far too many Yella Bonnets, a bit too many red, orange, and chocolate Bonnets, various Superhots of the Seven Pot and Ghost/Naga groups, some low heat Habs, many Jalapeños (strictly Zapotec this year), mild to mid Mexican kitchen staples, random other shit, and I have some baccatums to try out this year. (I bought a Bishop's Crown plant from CCN in 2018 and I'm stoked to try others now...)

Oh, and Fataliis. Plenty of those little yellow treasures. The best.

Thanks for reading. Oh, and if anyone wants to be my accountabili-buddy on this one, i'd appreciate it. Just making reminders in case I neglect my GLOG again, LOL...

-rob
 
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Yeah, they're seeds I saved from the pods I grew last year, so I guess that makes them f4, by my count. I only saved from the plants that produced caramel pods with a waist and a stinger... And I only saved from two pods total. I'm keeping it bush-league, lol...

My blog is awfully long-winded, and I am sorry appreciative to those who take the time to read it and/or comment. It's mostly meant to be a series of messages to my future self; when the 2020 version of Bike808 starts stressing, he can review these posts and (hopefully) cool the fuggout about whatever's vexing him...

But yeah, this year, I'm proving to myself that I can learn from past years' mistakes and, hopefully, learn new lessons as I make new mistakes this year...
 
PtMD989 said:
Dude, dont worry how long it takes to hump your plants outside. I learned from the Amish, a task takes as long as takes. Remember its not a race [emoji16]


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So true. I just got my plants out for fresh air. Normally, I have to put them in flats, hike them downstairs and outside. Then when done, back in and I have to replace every single plant to get it right. This year, I have a LITTLE more room. I can leave them in the flats!!! Woohoo!!!
 
PaulG said:
Looking great, Rob! I see what you mean about
outgrowing your shelves. And, I love your deck
furniture all decked out with peppers.

Looks like it is shaping up to be a great season
for you, my friend!
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Yeah, I never had plants this big inside before... And so many!!! I guess I'm a go-big-or-go-home kinds of guy, but I'd better scale back next year--or buy another set of shelves.

It felt good to get them out on the deck. They needed a chance to breathe a little. I had then out for two hours. They did good, but one of the taller Chinense just wilted, Steen and all... Bent right over, so I brought them in.

Yeah, si fat, it's been my best season yet, but I don't want to jinx it!!!


PtMD989 said:
Dude, dont worry how long it takes to hump your plants outside. I learned from the Amish, a task takes as long as takes. Remember its not a race [emoji16]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Yeah, not a race. I'm looking at it like it's a cardio workout. Poor on a total of like 35 minutes on the stairs, and sweated my shirt out. Lord knows, I need the exercise....

Thanks so much for reading and commenting, y'all. Your support helps keep me in the game...
 
I've heard that and seen footage of it, but I've yet to catch the m in the act. I have to admit, though, I think ants are awesome, even if they can present a nuisance from time to time.

I was moving/ constructing/ reconstructing beds in my back yard last week, and disrupted a big nest of the little orange "red" ants... The ones that smell like soap when disturbed? They're so rad.
 
Ok, I'm guilty of being a late arrival and I only went back a few pages...time is always an issue. Why does it speed up so as we age?
 
Anyways, super nice grow you got going on! And don't sweat the small stuff, once you bring em outside they get a bit rougher looking, some holes in the leaves and yeah Aphids...
 
I posted something a while back that I read; they go after the plants with a high nitrogen uptake. In my case they usually hit the Annuum's and the Pube's. A Neem product works really well and then I watch them. 
 
Just a note on hauling them. I had about 120 plants in #1 pots and it was taking me over an hour to haul them out and in, out and in. We bought one of those large wagons. I know you got stairs, but I got distance between A+B ;)  
 
 
Good luck this season and you're killin' it!
 
Devv said:
Ok, I'm guilty of being a late arrival and I only went back a few pages...time is always an issue. Why does it speed up so as we age?
 
Anyways, super nice grow you got going on! And don't sweat the small stuff, once you bring em outside they get a bit rougher looking, some holes in the leaves and yeah Aphids...
 
I posted something a while back that I read; they go after the plants with a high nitrogen uptake. In my case they usually hit the Annuum's and the Pube's. A Neem product works really well and then I watch them. 
 
Just a note on hauling them. I had about 120 plants in #1 pots and it was taking me over an hour to haul them out and in, out and in. We bought one of those large wagons. I know you got stairs, but I got distance between A+B ;)  
 
 
Good luck this season and you're killin' it!
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Yeah, no worries re being late to the party and not catching up on all this reading. . . A lot of it is tedious & boring, and it's not like there's gonna be a quiz later lol.

But you're right. Time is a frikkin thief, and it gets more brazen as time goes on.

I mixed neem oil with some h2o are a normal rate (whatever I saw on thp somewhere... Mild enough to do the plants aren't struggling, but strong enough that the neemstank is noticeable. It was 2tbl per gallon, which I scaled down to ½tbl/quart? I think that's what it was, haha... Hopefully, that'll be enough. I put the plants my deck rather than the yard bc I'm thinking (naively?) That there's more creepy crawlies in the grass. Every Aphid that ever tormented me was green and wingless... But like you said, the abyss night bring those things up to my plants. Uck.

I didn't mind the workout, really, but yeah I'd probably use a wagon it some such device ID not for all those stairs. But my bigass could use more stairs-time, anyway.

Thanks for the support. I do feel like, yeah, for the most part, I'm killing it. My annuums mostly fell flat and I'm having a full blown Yella Fatalii crisis, but otherwise things are going as planned... In many ways, better than I'd planned.
 
Just for my own notes, I hardened of again today, 11:15a to 2:10p. Close to the hours. I feel like the plants are in training, at the gym, like... Cardio day, abs day, legs day, etc for ppl, right? So yesterday was "wind day" for my peppers, and today was "sun day." Temp got up a bit, too. I brought all the plants in when a few got a bit wilty...

Looks like everything is gonna be OK; no sign of Aphids yet and they all look healthy. Last two years, Everytime I tried to harden off, is get worried that I burned a few beyond all recognition.

Also of note: one plant was way wilted before I even put them out today, so I watered him and kept him inside. I put an empty solo cup in its place, so the rest of the plants wouldn't fall... But yeah. One of these Yella NagaBrains was acting like a fuckin' P-word.... And I want that to go on record.
 
Bicycle808 said:
It was there when I bought the place. It don't do shit as far as keeping cats or, but it is a mild deterrent for wayward drunks, stray dogs, and the various orcs that prowl around my neighborhood
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I'd grow beans and cucumbers on the chain link, they would both love it.
 
No big updates right now. Weather, work, and an inconvenient car accident have stalled my progress a bit, but i gotta stay positive. Forward ever, backward never...

Plants are pretty much hardened off. Wanted to give then twelve hours outside today, but it's raining all day, at times pretty hard. I had then out for like twelve hours yesterday; they did awesomely, while I built a couple smaller raised beds... Still gotta build a few more, but I didn't want to put then together in the rain. (I did mill all the wood up yesterday, though. Just gotta put them together, level the land, and fill them... But I'm almost out of time!!!

I also made some cheesy signs for my beds at the Community Garden. I took on a fourth bed so... Dang.

Here a link to pictures of the empty beds, the signs, and some progress pics of my early SRP pods...
http://imgur.com/gallery/nkDBIM5

And here today's theme song:
Thanks for following along!
 
So, I left my plants out overnight and it rained unexpectedly and violently. The plants all held up well; maybe 3 out of 264 are all slumped over, but even those look likely to bounce back. But they aare all soaked. I'm thinking about planting out as many as I can this afternoon/evening, which might even be like 96 plants if I can jam on it hard... Might have to skip bowling though. The rest of them, I'm gonna have to wait till Saturday. I hope they aren't too incredibly wet. Probably going to get some yellow leaves and drop them...

I was just trying to maximize their time outside. Weather.com had been calling for rain when I checked yesterday morning, but switched it to 5% chance by the time I was gonna bring them in, so I decided is ride it out. Turned out the odds were against me, and that 5% chance became 100%, lol.

I know it's not ideal to plant-out in wet beds, but I figure the beds will dry out by tonight, whereas the solo cups will be soaked for days...
 
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