CaneDog 2020

2020 is underway, so it's time to start the new season's glog!  Odd times though, as I'm still harvesting stragglers from last season while the earliest of my 2020 starts are already up.  Grow areas are a bit disorganized as a result 
 
This season's grow should be a little more balanced than last season, though I'll still have a ridiculous number of rocotos - many OW's plus a bunch of new varieties - and quite a few carry-over OW wilds, too.
 
A big "thanks" to all who shared seeds with me for this season.  I'm appreciative and excited to have lots of cool varieties in the mix, many of which I got to watch you grow last season and can now try myself.  I think I'm current with everyone, but if by any chance you were expecting seeds from me that may have slipped through the cracks just shoot me a PM.
 
As I mentioned, things aren't super organized right now, but here's a few pics anyway.
 
I planted a few seeds early, just because I couldn't hold off the extra few weeks without planting something.
 
Amarillo de Arequipa Rocoto just popped- Thanks CTB!

 
Ecuador Sweet Rocoto twins - and a big shout out to the two peeps who sent me seeds for these. Both sources germinated and I'm really happy to have them growing.  Disclaimer: they may look overly wet, but these just got sprayed (to avoid HH's) and it's a very porous medium.

 
Put another few rocotos in to soak today.

 
This is a galapagoense that popped a few days back, exactly 100 days after sowing.

 
And this pod contains Jalapeno Zapotec x Purple Jalapeno F1, one of a couple F1 JZ crosses I'll be growing out this season. The other is Tekne Dolmasi x JZ.

 
Finally, I got a solid recommendation on a new media mix I'll be trying out this season in a few variations. The mix is heavy in partially composted bark fines, a fir/hemlock mix as pine's hard to get locally. It's proving to be a veritable mycelium factory.  Bodes well for good symbiosis with the appropriate fungal species this year.

 

 
Heck, they're even fruiting out the drainage holes... 

 
 
That's it for now.  Good luck to all in 2020!
CD

 

[PtMD989]

Well hell, 'Dog. I'm a month away from sow and, but being as the Fatali is humming along I thought I'd do another viability test and stick one (just one) of your Brown Giant Roco's in a Root Riot plug about a week ago...

Damn you...

20200205_103018.jpg

A-a-a-a-a-nd now I can't kill it, can I....

Thanks a heap, CD. No, really!

And the fun begins [emoji106][emoji16]


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[CaneDog]

It's been rainy here, lately.  Here's a pic of some minor flooding near my place.  That's not a creek, by the way, just water running down a hill and collecting along pathways and such.  They had to put in a temporary bridge to get the sidewalk through the new swamp. Nothing like the real flooding many others in the PNW are dealing with, though, especially around certain local rivers.
 

 
Not just rains coming in, but some cool new seeds as well.  Heatmiser was really cool to share some of his tepin seeds from a variety he personally sourced on a trip to Texas.  I've been really looking forward to these.  Bushy little suckers - if you haven't seen them yet check them out in this post in his glog - http://thehotpepper.com/topic/73182-heatmisers-keeping-it-simple-with-old-seeds-2020-grow/?p=1671083 (pic#4)
 

 
Also, BDASPNY sent me a bunch of seeds to exacerbate my current conundrum of just how the heck am I going to be able to grow out all these cool varieties I'm planting?!  I supposed that's not a bad problem to have, however, and it's not today's problem either, so tomorrow me can deal with that one 
 

 
Everything's doing much better since the transplants.  Lots of pepper management to catch up on this weekend!

 

[PaulG]

You are going to be a busy boy, CD! Glad to
hear you are satisfied with the progress of
your transplants.
 
We are having serious flooding in our area,
as well. Pendleton, OR is pretty much under
water, and it may be there for awhile. A bunch
of snow followed by warmer temps and rain
will do it every time! Of course, there are creeks
in our area that flood every year.

 

[HeatMiser]

It's been rainy here, lately.  Here's a pic of some minor flooding near my place.  That's not a creek, by the way, just water running down a hill and collecting along pathways and such.  They had to put in a temporary bridge to get the sidewalk through the new swamp. Nothing like the real flooding many others in the PNW are dealing with, though, especially around certain local rivers.
 

20200206 Flooding.jpg
 
Not just rains coming in, but some cool new seeds as well.  Heatmiser was really cool to share some of his tepin seeds from a variety he personally sourced on a trip to Texas.  I've been really looking forward to these.  Bushy little suckers - if you haven't seen them yet check them out in this post in his glog - http://thehotpepper.com/topic/73182-heatmisers-keeping-it-simple-with-old-seeds-2020-grow/?p=1671083 (pic#4)
 

20200208 HMSeeds.jpg
 
Also, BDASPNY sent me a bunch of seeds to exacerbate my current conundrum of just how the heck am I going to be able to grow out all these cool varieties I'm planting?!  I supposed that's not a bad problem to have, however, and it's not today's problem either, so tomorrow me can deal with that one 
 

20200208 BDASPNY.jpg
 
Everything's doing much better since the transplants.  Lots of pepper management to catch up on this weekend!

 
Oh boy, those seed bags look a little crinkled CD. I didn't have anything to pad them with and most seed vendors don't do much to pad them either. Hopefully they germinate OK, and if not, I can always send some more. Can't wait to see your results.
 
And yes, weather's sucked big time. Only a tease of sun today and now rain.... oh well.

 

[CaneDog]

You are going to be a busy boy, CD! Glad to
hear you are satisfied with the progress of
your transplants.
 
We are having serious flooding in our area,
as well. Pendleton, OR is pretty much under
water, and it may be there for awhile. A bunch
of snow followed by warmer temps and rain
will do it every time! Of course, there are creeks
in our area that flood every year.

 
It's really bad in the foothills to the east of me and also down south, especially along the Nisqually.  No doubt it's much the same where you are.  All the green in the PNW comes at a cost!
 

 
Oh boy, those seed bags look a little crinkled CD. I didn't have anything to pad them with and most seed vendors don't do much to pad them either. Hopefully they germinate OK, and if not, I can always send some more. Can't wait to see your results.
 
And yes, weather's sucked big time. Only a tease of sun today and now rain.... oh well.

 
Those seeds should be just fine, HM - and they already went into a rockwool cube last night!   My experience has been that little seeds and seeds that aren't overly dry and brittle seem to survive the rollers reasonably well. These looked good.  Bigger and dried out seeds though I've seen arrived broken and damaged.

 

[stettoman]

I see that BDASPNY sent you Sulu Aldana seed...I was sent same 3 years ago (forget who sent it, I was young then, but it had a PepperLover's label in the pack). Be prepared for the thickest walled, wettest pod you'll ever pick. It's a sweet salad type, no heat to notice, but they grow huge FAST and ripen pretty early compared to any sweet I've ever grown.

 

[CaneDog]

I see that BDASPNY sent you Sulu Aldana seed...I was sent same 3 years ago (forget who sent it, I was young then, but it had a PepperLover's label in the pack). Be prepared for the thickest walled, wettest pod you'll ever pick. It's a sweet salad type, no heat to notice, but they grow huge FAST and ripen pretty early compared to any sweet I've ever grown.

 
Good to hear more positive things about it.  That one is definitely on my 'must grow' list for the season.

 

[lespaulde]

 
Good to hear more positive things about it.  That one is definitely on my 'must grow' list for the season.

It sounds good indeed, curious to see how productive it will be for ya CD! Good luck deciding who makes it for the next (not last ) round of seed dropping!

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[CaneDog]

It sounds good indeed, curious to see how productive it will be for ya CD! Good luck deciding who makes it for the next (not last ) round of seed dropping!

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Thanks LP.  I've pretty much accepted that I'm going to overplant and deal with the consequences.  Maybe some tough decisions down the road, but so be it.
 
I got good news Friday.  The community garden accepted my request to exchange my more poorly located plot (I have 2) to a better space.  The new spot is close to my other plot and a vast improvement over the prior one.  That should help some with me accommodating more peppers; I'll just need to keep my head above water until plant-out!

 

[PaulG]

 
Thanks LP.  I've pretty much accepted that I'm going to overplant and deal with the consequences.  Maybe some tough decisions down the road, but so be it.
I can relate to that, my friend! Dang    
 
I got good news Friday.  The community garden accepted my request to exchange my more poorly located plot (I have 2) to a better space.  The new spot is close to my other plot and a vast improvement over the prior one.  That should help some with me accommodating more peppers; I'll just need to keep my head above water until plant-out!

 
That is good news. I wish we had a community
garden close to where I live.
 
I'd like to know how you plan to keep your head
above water when the surplus plants start getting
larger 

 

[CaneDog]

That is good news. I wish we had a community
garden close to where I live.  and I wish I had a greenhouse!    Seriously though, it's too bad there isn't one close to you.  Without mine I'd be much more limited in what I could do.
 
I'd like to know how you plan to keep your head
above water when the surplus plants start getting
larger    So would I    especially when the annuums join the program. I have a list of people to share plants with locally this year, which will make culling easier, but that still means getting them through hardened-off before handed-off.  Unfortunately, getting to that point is what takes all the work and space. 

 

[PaulG]

That's what we get for living in god's country!
 
I am trying not to even think about the annuums, yet!

 

[PtMD989]

How big are the comm. plots?


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[CaneDog]

How big are the comm. plots?

 
They're 40' x 10' each.  It seems like a lot of space, until I start planting things. Then it goes fast.  One plot I can use all year and the other only from April - October, so in the year-around plot I have a few permanent raised beds and some local perennials like strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries.  The rest is a mix of food plants, with lots of peppers, of course.
 
My previous seasonal plot was at the far end of the gardens near the bottom of a slope. It was more shaded, wetter, on a slant, and had plenty of tree roots and mosquitoes.  It also was in a low pocket near the woods so it could be much colder than the rest of the gardens.  The new one will be sunnier, warmer, drier, and level.  I'll have to find out about the mosquitoes and tree roots, but at least tree roots I can dig out.    I expect the new plot to be 100% peppers, and you can be sure that some Haskorea plants will be occupying prime locations

 

[BDASPNY]

I see that BDASPNY sent you Sulu Aldana seed...I was sent same 3 years ago (forget who sent it, I was young then, but it had a PepperLover's label in the pack). Be prepared for the thickest walled, wettest pod you'll ever pick. It's a sweet salad type, no heat to notice, but they grow huge FAST and ripen pretty early compared to any sweet I've ever grown.

 
that's 100% accurate description. these were perfect for stuffing, salads, soups and anything else.   these were my fav all around pepper for anything that didn't need heat.  my only problem was when I shared them, people would keep asking for more.

 
Good to hear more positive things about it.  That one is definitely on my 'must grow' list for the season.

glad they all arrived safely.

 

[CaneDog]

Well, shoot.  I think I have the aphids wiped out in the main grow areas now, so I've set up my main grow room again.  With the change from the bark to nursery soil and the better environmentals of the main grow space things should start doing much better.  Not much picture-worthy at the moment, but maybe a few things.
 
Tri-cotyledon Pimenta de Neyde growing nicely and with good dark leaves.

 
A purple flowered chacoense

 
The purple thunder mystery cube is showing a lot of myco action.  I've been using a small computer screwdriver to stir myco into the planting holes when I transplant and also to manipulate the rock wool when planting into it.  The result has been some fortuitous inoculation of the cubes.  Hopefully that will help when I split these guys up and plant them, which it looks like I'd better do soon.

 
This rocoto (puno amarillo) didn't come up in great shape, but I'm still giving it a chance.  It has a buddy now, so maybe it will get a little help.

 

[Bookers]

Whoa! I didn't know you had company. (Aphids) Great clean up Cane...

I too saw a few familiar pests! I saw a few fungus gnats...I realized the water draining from my plants (clear trays under OW pots) was turning green. Didn't pay attention since I had the new babies to attend to. Uhhg. Cleaned up did a search couldn't find any fliers but thought I killed a crawler in the seedlings...
Fingers crossed I'll go hunting again before bed. Cheers to the good people in THP.

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[Bookers]

Whoa! I didn't know you had company. (Aphids) Great clean up Cane...

I too saw a few familiar pests! I saw a few fungus gnats...I realized the water draining from my plants (clear trays under OW pots) was turning green. Didn't pay attention since I had the new babies to attend to. Uhhg. Cleaned up did a search couldn't find any fliers but thought I killed a crawler in the seedlings...
Fingers crossed I'll go hunting again before bed. Cheers to the good people in THP.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[Bookers]

Whoa! I didn't know you had company. (Aphids) Great clean up Cane...

I too saw a few familiar pests! I saw a few fungus gnats...I realized the water draining from my plants (clear trays under OW pots) was turning green. Didn't pay attention since I had the new babies to attend to. Uhhg. Cleaned up did a search couldn't find any fliers but thought I killed a crawler in the seedlings...
Fingers crossed I'll go hunting again before bed. Cheers to the good people in THP.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[Bookers]

Whoa! I didn't know you had company. (Aphids) Great clean up Cane...

I too saw a few familiar pests! I saw a few fungus gnats...I realized the water draining from my plants (clear trays under OW pots) was turning green. Didn't pay attention since I had the new babies to attend to. Uhhg. Cleaned up did a search couldn't find any fliers but thought I killed a crawler in the seedlings...
Fingers crossed I'll go hunting again before bed. Cheers to the good people in THP.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk