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

 

[CaneDog]

Not sure how interesting this is, but I figured I'd at least record it.  I transplanted the reaper-x to it's own pot and rearranged the remaining 4 sprouts sharing the container into the 4 corners for spacing.  When I pulled out the two close-together sprouts to separate them I got a decent look at the root development into the myco I added.  This sprout germinated in scottex and was transplanted into soil with myco stirred into the hole on 1/22, so it's been in soil with the myco for 6 days. It re-sprouted in the soil on 1/25.
 
I can't tell if the myco is doing much of anything yet, but I can see good root hairs on at least a portion of the roots and it's definitely growing right into a mass of the myco medium, which hopefully contains plenty of spores.  
 

 

[Bookers]

Great shots and very informative observations... That blue looks cool. I have one seedling looks to have developed one of the second set of leaves is yellow. Let's see what it looks like in a couple days...

Have a great night...

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[Essegi]

Loving those photos!
Big props for detailed descritptions!

 

[CaneDog]

Loving those photos!
Big props for detailed descritptions!

 
Thanks, Essegi!  I can say the same about your recent pizza posts!

 

[CaneDog]

I've had a great season as far as helmet heads go with none until today, when one of my Eximium CAP 1491 x CGN Cardenasii F1 came up clamped. I have two of these that are sprouting in Grodan cubes, but no other seeds if these fail.  This one was a pain to cross, too (neutering/pollinating such a small flower), so I'd really like to get it growing.
 
It looked pretty rough at first, but when I flexed the seeds with the hemostats it was quite soggy.  I decided to just squeeze/flex it a few times to loosen it and then stick it back into the humidity of the germinator to hopefully sort itself out, but it seemed cooperative so I pulled a bit and it came out pretty easily.  The seed is so pale from being in the dark of the germinator and within the seed husk, that at first I thought I might have broken it off, but on closer inspection I can clearly see the seam between the cotyledons, so I know the growth tip is unaffected.  They make me a bit nervous when they come out this pale, though. Hopefully it will enjoy the light from the T5HO's and do just fine.  If not, well, there's still one last chance
 
Looked like it was clamped down pretty well

 
But the seed coat was saturated and came off surprisingly easily. Split of the coty's plainly visible, though the sprout is surprisingly pale.

 
All this white junk remaining in the seed contributed to me thinking for a moment that I'd broken something off.  Really made it easy though that the seed coat was so soaked that it quickly started to fall apart under pressure.

 

[Bookers]

Had to Google cotyledon, but enjoy the education. I had a helmet yesterday clamped so tight that... yes I broke the cotyledon removing it.

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[HeatMiser]

Way to go in recovering that sprout CD... This is also my preferred way of dealing with helmet head syndrome. Cover them and let moisture do the work! 
 
Although, I must admit I get antsy and can never seem to let the seedlings sort it out on their own and for better or worse, end up trying to pull it loose.
 
Hope you get to see the fruit of that cross...

 

[CaneDog]

Had to Google cotyledon, but enjoy the education. I had a helmet yesterday clamped so tight that... yes I broke the cotyledon removing it.

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That was an "I've been there" like. Not happy it went poorly.  Is the growth tip ok?  Breaking the cotyledons is fine as long as you leave enough of the seam between the coty's so the growth tip lives.
 

Way to go in recovering that sprout CD... This is also my preferred way of dealing with helmet head syndrome. Cover them and let moisture do the work! 
 
Although, I must admit I get antsy and can never seem to let the seedlings sort it out on their own and for better or worse, end up trying to pull it loose.
 
Hope you get to see the fruit of that cross...

 
Thanks HM.  I prefer a non-invasive method too, but also get antsy. In this case time was about up.  I'm hoping the cross is a good one. I just need a few good pods and I should be set with plenty for the F2 grow-out.  Hopefully this guy produces for me.

 

[Bookers]

Gotcha. Im really not sure. I believe the leaf got torn off but didn't notice any damage. I think it was one I put in the Kratky. I'll have to check on it.
Thank you.

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[Tybo]

Good job with removing the helmet!
 
I have had 3 so far this year and all of them were from the potting mix starts. I was able to remove them successfully though using tweezers and super sharp scissors if needed.  If I have to, I use the scissors to trim the tiniest little bit from the helmets edges so it will flex open easier and then pull a little with the tweezers.  So far they have come off with no damage to the cotys.   Zero helmet heads in the rockwool so far.
Of course, now that I said that I'll probably get a few. 

 

[PtMD989]

Had 1 HH on my Aji Limo seedling. It didn’t make it, I was too rough on the surgery part. Gotta remind myself that “ they ain’t pistachios I’m dealing with “. Luckily another Aji Limo sprouted a few days later with no HH. [emoji16]
Do you guys firmly pack down your seed starting mix when you plant your seeds?


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[Bookers]

Had 1 HH on my Aji Limo seedling. It didn’t make it, I was too rough on the surgery part. Gotta remind myself that “ they ain’t pistachios I’m dealing with “. Luckily another Aji Limo sprouted a few days later with no HH. [emoji16]
Do you guys firmly pack down your seed starting mix when you plant your seeds?


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I don't firmly pack them... Those fragile roots need to travel. I too, was not gentle enough on one today! I was putting it in a net cup collar and while checking for free movement, I snapped the stem...i put it in anyway hoping it didn't noticed... uhhg i heard a nice crisp snap... luckily i too had back ups...Cheers

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[CaneDog]

Ugh.  Definitely nice to have backups.  I don't pack down the soil much. Basically, I fill the cup with soil, tap it lightly on the table to settle it just a touch (Bookers' School about the roots), then level the surface with my finger.  Then I'll ether make a hole for the seed (digging not pressing) that I'll fill in from the sides or I'll drop multiple seeds on the surface and sprinkle more dirt over them.  When the seed's covered I'll lightly tap everything smooth with my finger, but quite lightly to not compress it too much. 
 
I used to believe that the soil grabbing and dragging the seed coat off played a bigger role than I now think it does.  Now I think it's far more related to humidity and the seed's growth pushing it out - most seeds will clear themselves just sitting on a coffee filter if it's sufficiently humid.  So for soil, planting a little deeper so it grows its way loose while it's still underneath the surface where it's humid might help.
 
On that subject of backups, I'm happy to see my second and last Eximium 1491 x USDA Cardenasii is coming up and looks safely past any potential HH issues.  Other notable additions over the last few days have been 7Pot Yellow, Big Apple Rocoto, Rocoto Montufar, and a Purple Chacoense sprouting in scottex.  Also, this morning a Pimenta de Neyde and a Chocolate "Gurny" Habanero have resprouted in soil after transplant from scottex.
 
A few snapshots:
 
PaulG's BJh-Mystery

 
CAP 1491 x USDA Card recovering from surgery and showing some color

 
CAP 1491 x USDA Card "backup" safely past HH risk

 
I was surprised by these c. 2011  7 Pot Chaguanas seeds.  I planted 10 because they're 9 years old, and previously 5 of the 10 had sprouted.  This morning is day 14 and with these final 5 sprouting, it went 10/10 overall.

 

[Uncle Eckley]

Wow, nine years old.  Not too shabby!

 

[CaneDog]

Wow, nine years old.  Not too shabby!

 
I was happily surprised!  The 7 Pot Yellow is also from that year and thankfully I've had a few of those pop now, too.  Hopefully I'll be able to recover these guys with fresh new ISO seeds. I used to have a really nice 7 Pot Barrackpore too, but that's lost to the ages.  I'll replace it in the 7 Pot lineup with Paul G's 7 Pot Burgundy Pecan, which he generously shared   Throw in the OG Red Brain Strain and I'm pretty happy with the state of the 7 Pots.
 
With February 1 breathing down our necks already, this weekend means another round of seeds.  I have 10 on the list, but I'm going to have to trim that back some - I say that as I'm about to hit up the HeatMiser for a couple seeds of his really cool wild Texas tepin    If I can limit it to a half-dozen, I'll probably be in better shape, because come March 1, Annuums...

 

[PaulG]

The Dog house is on fire! Great to see all
those stubborn seeds poppin' for ya, buddy!
 
Can't wait to see how the Pecan does this
season. I'm not growing it this year, so will
be watching with interest!

 

[CaneDog]

So... I'm not getting the bark mix to work the way I'd like and, since I put so many of my starts into it, I'm going to bulk transplant the majority into a proven media.  I just don't want to have so many young plants tied up in it while I dig deeper into what's not going right.  My initial suspicion is that the bark isn't composted enough and the bacteria are locking up the nitrogen, but there's indication of a broader deficiency than just N.  I'll continue trying to figure out what the issue is, just with fewer plants at stake.
 
My starts are now in the process of getting transplanted into mini nursery bags filled with a soil mix based on of Edna's Best potting soil, but with a few tweaks.  I looked at the bag dimensions carefully before selecting these - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BGF89WD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 in the 5" x 6" size.  Here's a picture showing a volume comparison to a standard solo cup.  I think they're closer in volume than the picture shows and I'm very happy with the dimensions on these.
 

 
What I'd seen early on was slow growth in the chinense and rocotos, but it's the more recently planted fast-growing annuums that are telling the story.  Here's a few examples of them mobilizing nutrients to support new growth.  These annuums were started earlier than normal because they're slated for indoor grow-out.
 
Tekne Dolmasi x Jalapeno Zapotec

 
Orange Spice Jalapeno

 
Piri Piri A.D.

 

[CaneDog]

I may do more work on this tonight, or finish tomorrow, but I ran out of mixed soil after 23 bags.  I figure I'll be able to fit 30 into the tub and I have a second tub somewhere, so 60 total.
 

 
In other news...
 
Really digging the BJh-Mystery

 
Tri-Cotyledon Pimente de Neyde looking good too

 
The roots are really taking off on the Jalapeno Zapotec x Purple Jalapeno in Kratky.

 
with the top just starting too.

 

[Tybo]

Looking good.
Why did you go to the bags?

 

[CaneDog]

Looking good.
Why did you go to the bags?

 
Thanks, a few things are, at least! 
 
I think with the bags I'll be able to get better root development through air-pruning, it'll be easier to bottom water, and I'll be able to keep them in smaller containers longer without setting them back.  Plus I figure I can get more plants into less space.  I'll just need to figure out how to separate the bags enough that the roots air-prune instead of growing into the neighboring bags, as they would packed as closely together as they are.  I'll probably separate them periodically with the fan turned up for good circulation so they air-prune, but keep them close together most of the time.