CaneDog 2019 Hirsute Pursuit – Rocotos, Wilds & Moar

So, here's the new glog for the coming season.  With the indoor grow culled pretty hard now I can focus more on getting ready for what's ahead.  Hoping for a great year, but I’m already a bit behind - the germinators are packed right now and I've still got a round of annuum seeds waiting for their turn.  I guess it wouldn’t feel much like pepper growing though if everything were going perfect.
 
My focus was going to be rocotos with a side of bonnets and some other stuff, but I found I kept planting more and more wilds. Eventually I just kinda went all-in with them and they took on co-main event status. 
 
I’ll start things off with some pics of some of the earlier pube’s.  There’s not too many at this point. Unfortunately, the vast majority just went into germination.
 
First off, Costa Rica Red.  This is the CRR with flattened triangular pods.  I also have an OW CRR that’s a 3-4 lobed “boxy” variety.  I didn't get true seeds off this one last summer, so I have a few of these growing and crossing my fingers they grow true.

 
Rocoto DeSeda.  These guys were from a bush I’d OW’d a few years in a row, but it didn’t make it through this winter

 
 
Rocoto San Camillo

 
 
Gelbe Reisen Variant.  These are from true seeds off a plant I’ve been growing for a few years that was supposed to be Gelbe Riesen, but the pods are more orange vs yellow, rounder/less boxy, and just a touch smaller. I don’t know if it’s a natural variation or it might have crossed with a Costa Rica Orange, but it's a great plant. I have a few of these started and am curious what comes of them.

 
 
Giant Yellow Rocoto.  Suppose I should pinch that bud off.

 
 
Recently hatched Gelbe Riesen sprouts (the parent plant has been a beast for me for a while now) and CAP 217 Hyper-Pube.

 
That’s it for the rocotos for now.  Will try to post up some pics of the early wilds in a little bit. 
 
CD

 

[stc3248]

That aphid picture is cool...I have found many pests on my glog photos.

 

[PaulG]

 
 
Which then caused you to like every post in my glog and propel me into rock star and then on to guru status almost overnight :-)
 
I'm sure @TheHotPepper is doing everything he can to get the problem solved. Running a huge forum such as this is not easy, especially when you get to huge numbers of posts and uploads.
 
Hopefully it gets worked out soon.

 
Yes, THP is working on it. There is a new software roll out
in the near future. Pookie says that the older software has
some difficulties with the new, updated systems running
on our computers and so needs to be updated as well.
 
I think something has been done judging by the behavior
of my browser when I post, and I haven't had the problem
for a few days now.
 
Boo. Hiss. Aphids.

 

[CaneDog]

Just a few quick midday snapshots.
 
Bonchi BBG Red getting ready to start podding up.  Was going to plant this into a raised bed to bulk up the stem, but not sure anymore. I like the form on this one and especially the visible rootwork and don't want to mess it up.  Seems happy enough in the outdoor sun as is.

 
Bonchi Mahala. Similarly still deciding whether to bulk this one up or not. I also have a bonchi 7P Yellow and Peach Ghost WM,which are responding more aggressively to the natural sun and I'll likely just grow out now.

 
Praetermissums, CAP  1141 and CAP 1478
 
One isolated and laying on some pods.

 
The other getting ready to.  

 
 

 

[dragonsfire]

Nice Bonchi, looks like lots of fruit coming.

 

[BigCedar]

Hey CD all caught up. I'm sure I've told you this before but again, your photography skills are always noticed when I visit. The aphid shot as much as I hate those creatures was really cool. Glad to hear things are moving along well, looks like we finally have some nice weather for the foreseeable future! I vote go big with the BBG and Mahala   those things are gonna explode if you do! They look really cool in their current state either way. Raised beds look good, those walla wallas are making my mouth water    Nothing like homegrown onions, especially wallas. Keep up the good work neighbor 

 

[CaneDog]

Nice Bonchi, looks like lots of fruit coming.

Thanks DF.  They won't be big, but they always seem to be bigger than a plant that size should produce and hopefully there will be a good few of them!
 

Hey CD all caught up. I'm sure I've told you this before but again, your photography skills are always noticed when I visit. The aphid shot as much as I hate those creatures was really cool. Glad to hear things are moving along well, looks like we finally have some nice weather for the foreseeable future! I vote go big with the BBG and Mahala   those things are gonna explode if you do! They look really cool in their current state either way. Raised beds look good, those walla wallas are making my mouth water    Nothing like homegrown onions, especially wallas. Keep up the good work neighbor 

Hey neighbor.  Missed you and your updates there for a bit there.  Hope things are trucking right along.  Just seems to be so much work about now it's hard to keep up with everything.
 
The heat is definitely turning on now - at least our mild PNW version of it - and I keep hearing how this is going to be a hot dry one.  Lots of watering maybe, but that's okay I suppose as long as the plants are growing.  We've been getting the new Canadian export already this year locally with some haze coming down from the fires in Alberta - not nearly what it's been previously though when the summer really heats up.  Hopefully for everyone's sake they won't be too bad this season.
 
Hmmm...  maybe I should go big with the Bonchi after all.

 

[BigCedar]

That's really cool of you to notice CD  missed this place these last couple weeks. Been a weird couple of weeks on my end, seems to be normalizing now thankfully. I woke up this morning and thought to myself I HAVE to make some time for THP today. Things are good in the world of plants just too much shit going on elsewhere as always lol.  I'll try to get an update out tomorrow, wanna check up on as many glogs as I can today and hopefully tomorrow.
 
I know I'm with you, I heard allllll winter how this was gonna be such a hot and dry one, I guess by now we should know not to listen to those weather guys    Been the weirdest spring we've had in a good 5+ years if you ask me. The last 3 years that I didn't grow I was pissed every summer thinking to my self, "man... what a year it would have been to grow peppers" and then I get back into it just for the hotter abnormal weather we've been getting in years past to fizzle out lol..  I guess we'll see right? I haven't noticed the Canadian haze yet, that's crazy I had no idea. Hopefully that's not a preview of whats to come, like you said, for everyone's sake!
 
Ok ok I'll level with you... Maybe go big with one Bonchi?   

 

[CaneDog]

A few more pictures.  These is the extent of what remains indoors now.
 
Team picture

 
Lanceolatum #1. Definitely a favorite plant this year and a much richer green when not under the LEDs.

 
Lance #2, blooming.

 
A couple Flexuosum, with the left blooming without any sign of purple influence. The purple seems to cross in on these guys as a dominant trait.

 
And the current most likely prospects of the cuttings, Cardenasii PI on the left and Tovarii on the right.  The Cardenasii seems to have just started to root a little, but not strongly yet, and the Tovarii just won't seem to.  I carefully removed it the other day to give it a dose of hormone and then put it into a lighter / higher perlite mix.  Hopefully that help.  This guy was a stump and essentially all the growth is new, but no roots at all.

 

[CaneDog]

Thanks to DWB posting about Calcium Acetate today, I finally got around to mixing up a Calcium Acetate solution with Magnesium Sulfate, which I'll apply as a foliar treatment and then water into my beds.  Figured I'd post the process I used. If anyone has any pointers or their own method, feel free to comment.  I'm disappointed that my pH meter probe finally seized as I would have liked to check the pH of this, but it should be within or close enough to an acceptable range not to matter.
 
I have just over a kilo of eggshells from this winter. I rinsed them well as I collected them, then baked them at 200F for about a half hour before crushing them down for longer term storage. Now I'm ready to go.
 
Step 1 - Gathered my ingredients and gear.

 
Step 2 - Ground a few tablespoons of shells for a bit over 15 seconds in my old grinder, designated for such tasks. I hesitate to post this pic, because it's more powdered than it looks.  The powder just sinks under the bigger pieces where it's not very visible.

 
Step 3 - A tablespoon at this grind level is 16g. That's what I'll use for 1 gallon of concentrate, which I'll dilute 1:4 before using.

 
Step 4 - I mixed the 16g ground eggshells with 1 tablespoon 5% distilled white vinegar and it foamed up immediately. Stirred for a minute then periodically over the next half-hour or so, mixing well and crushing it with the bottom of a spoon.

 
Step 5 - Weighed out 35g Magnesium Sulfate, which is equal to 2 tablespoons of Epsom Salts. This went into a 1g milk container mostly full of water, which will become the 1 gallon of concentrate. It's not a high concentration of MgSO4 and could probably be doubled without any concern. I like to error on the light side and my plants aren't showing any deficiencies.

 
Step 6 - After > 30 minutes the bubbling has long stopped, so I pour the Ca Acetate solution into the 1 gallon container with the MgSO4. Remember not to properly focus the camera for this step (very important).

 
Step 7 - Swirled some water in the Tupperware to get all the residue and poured through to clean out the funnel.

 
Step 8 - Screwed on the lid and shook.  Done.

 
My plan is to dilute this 1:4, then foliar feed my plants, probably this evening after the risk of sun burn is over.  I'll strain out the remaining eggshell particles to avoid clogging the sprayer, but leave them in for now to get out all the goodness.  Then I'll water with this tomorrow.  I'll also "side-dress" some of the crushed or powdered eggshells into the raised beds, which should become available to plants by next season. 
 
EDIT:  I usually use CalMag+, but I'm almost out and except for lacking the "+" this should be a good substitute.

 

[Uncle Eckley]

Homemade Cal-Mag! It must cost a tiny fraction of what they get for the fancy formulated stuff.

 

[Devv]

Well done CD!
 
My 6 year old jug of calmag is aboot toast now. Great idea!

 

[CaneDog]

I wonder sometimes what the gross margin is on some of these products. They're often very concentrated, but still.

 

[DWB]

Thanks to DWB posting about Calcium Acetate today, I finally got around to mixing up a Calcium Acetate solution with Magnesium Sulfate, which I'll apply as a foliar treatment and then water into my beds.  Figured I'd post the process I used. If anyone has any pointers or their own method, feel free to comment.  I'm disappointed that my pH meter probe finally seized as I would have liked to check the pH of this, but it should be within or close enough to an acceptable range not to matter.
 
I have just over a kilo of eggshells from this winter. I rinsed them well as I collected them, then baked them at 200F for about a half hour before crushing them down for longer term storage. Now I'm ready to go.
 
Step 1 - Gathered my ingredients and gear.
 
 
Step 2 - Ground a few tablespoons of shells for a bit over 15 seconds in my old grinder, designated for such tasks. I hesitate to post this pic, because it's more powdered than it looks.  The powder just sinks under the bigger pieces where it's not very visible.
 
 
Step 3 - A tablespoon at this grind level is 16g. That's what I'll use for 1 gallon of concentrate, which I'll dilute 1:4 before using.
 
 
Step 4 - I mixed the 16g ground eggshells with 1 tablespoon 5% distilled white vinegar and it foamed up immediately. Stirred for a minute then periodically over the next half-hour or so, mixing well and crushing it with the bottom of a spoon.
 
 
Step 5 - Weighed out 35g Magnesium Sulfate, which is equal to 2 tablespoons of Epsom Salts. This went into a 1g milk container mostly full of water, which will become the 1 gallon of concentrate. It's not a high concentration of MgSO4 and could probably be doubled without any concern. I like to error on the light side and my plants aren't showing any deficiencies.
 
 
Step 6 - After > 30 minutes the bubbling has long stopped, so I pour the Ca Acetate solution into the 1 gallon container with the MgSO4. Remember not to properly focus the camera for this step (very important).
 
 
Step 7 - Swirled some water in the Tupperware to get all the residue and poured through to clean out the funnel.
 
 
Step 8 - Screwed on the lid and shook.  Done.
 
 
My plan is to dilute this 1:4, then foliar feed my plants, probably this evening after the risk of sun burn is over.  I'll strain out the remaining eggshell particles to avoid clogging the sprayer, but leave them in for now to get out all the goodness.  Then I'll water with this tomorrow.  I'll also "side-dress" some of the crushed or powdered eggshells into the raised beds, which should become available to plants by next season. 
 
EDIT:  I usually use CalMag+, but I'm almost out and except for lacking the "+" this should be a good substitute.

 
Very good tutorial CD. Thank you.
 
I guess I did mine similarly but on a different scale and without good measurements. I used around 200 g of clean shells saved from peeling the pup's hard boiled eggs. They get 6 to 8 eggs per day. The girl who's always on a diet gets the pure protein whites and the boy eats the yolks.
 
I crunched them in a plastic bag and then toasted for a while in an old cast iron @ 500° F on an outside gas burner. I completely powdered them in a 2500 watt grain mill and dumped them in a 54 oz coconut oil jar. I mean I powdered them to dust way finer than 40 mesh. I had to use a respirator mask to unload the grinder or choke.
 
I used the same type of vinegar and covered the powder by an inch and left it sit until I could get no more CO² out of it, then poured off through a fine strainer. Lather rinse and repeat until I used around a liter of vinegar and couldn't get any more gas out of it. It needed around 5 washes before all the bubbles were finally finished. After that I filtered it a few times through coffee filters and stored it in a  heavy duty plastic jar. The pH of this calcium acetate solution is 4.9 and I have something over 40 ounces of it.
 
From there I mix in the magnesium sulfate and k-mag as desired. For example, 100 ml of calcium acetate, 60 grams of magnesium sulfate and 30 grams of k-mag to make 15 gallons of foliar spray.
 

 

[CaneDog]

Good stuff DWB.  Thanks for posting up the info on your method and also your pH.  I've read good things about toasting the shells like you did to get a better/more complete conversion, but mine got only a short trip through the oven to kill germs and at a low enough heat to not stink up the house.  Seems like you might have pulled more acetate per eggshell gram than me as well, which I'll want to pay attention too so I don't end up too diluted when it's all said and done.  I suppose I'd feel more gutsy about using more vinegar with a new probe in my pH meter.
 
Hope you get great results in the bale patch.

 

[CaneDog]

Saw this guy out on patrol today. Was super windy out so hard to get a good picture.  These turned out ok though.  Was really hoping to get shots of him eating an aphid, but I'm also glad he didn't find any on the plant.
 
Click to enbiggen...

 

 

 

 

[stc3248]

Those ladybug larvae are cool little critters! I love to watch them work.

 

[CaneDog]

Those ladybug larvae are cool little critters! I love to watch them work.

 
Yep. It was definitely cool to watch how meticulously he'd go up a branch splitting off at each petiole to inspect the leaf and then returning to the main branch to continue onward.  I really would have liked to have seen him find an aphid. I was even inspecting the leaves myself with a twig at the ready to transfer him if I'd seen one, but no.

 

[PaulG]

Wow, your grow log has it all, CD! Botany, chemistry,
and prehistoric creatures marauding your plants!
 
Plants look just great, CD.  The lanceolatum
and flexuosum are way cool specimens.
 
Keep up the good work, brother!

 

[CaneDog]

Wow, your grow log has it all, CD! Botany, chemistry,
and prehistoric creatures marauding your plants!
 
Plants look just great, CD.  The lanceolatum
and flexuosum are way cool specimens.
 
Keep up the good work, brother!

 
Thanks Paul!  Perhaps I should have named the Glog "CD, whatever the heck I happen to be up to today."
 
Really been enjoying your glogs. It's a bit of a bummer to see your plants - which look so perfect - go out into the real world where they'll get some bumps and bruises, but you're so poised for a fantastic season.  And pulling ripe pods already in the PNW!  Well done!
 
Cheers 

 

[Uncle Eckley]

 
Thanks Paul!  Perhaps I should have named the Glog "CD, whatever the heck I happen to be up to today."

 
It does say, "...& Moar."