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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  :rolleyes:
 
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!
20200102 Amarillo de Arequipa.jpg

 
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.
20200103 ESRs.jpg

 
Put another few rocotos in to soak today.
20200104 R3S.jpg

 
This is a galapagoense that popped a few days back, exactly 100 days after sowing.
20200103 Galap100#2.jpg

 
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.
20200101 JZ x PJ #1.jpg

 
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.
20200101 Fungi#1.jpg

 
20200103 Froot2.jpg

 
Heck, they're even fruiting out the drainage holes...  :)
20200101 Fungi#2.jpg

 
 
That's it for now.  Good luck to all in 2020!
CD
 
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PaulG said:
Those bags should work great, CD.
I like the air pruning effect of them.
Will you plant-out directly in the bags?
 
The BJh-Mystery seedlings look nice
and strong. 
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Thanks, Paul.  I've never used the little cloth nursery bags before, so there'll be a learning process.  I'm optimistic about them, though, and it seems that others have done well with them.  I really like the idea of the breathability of the media in fabric and hopefully it will stay loose rather than settling down too much.
 
Going straight to plant-out is my current plan for the annuums I'll plant later, but with the earlier varieties I'm anticipating an intermediate step.  I have a large supply of small-medium (1g - 3g)  fabric bags, so I'm hoping I can get two rounds of air-pruning for the bigger plants before they hit their final home for the season.
 
Tray 1 is done.
20200202 Tray1.jpg
 
Bookers said:
Busy busy busy! Nice work CaneDog... This week I'll prepare about 10 double solo cups and try to get some rocoto seeds going...
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That's great, Bookers!  You're going to have a full house soon the way things are going.  You should be able to get those rocotos outside early, though, which will help with space when the rest are getting big.  What's you're double-cup method/setup going to be like?  
 
Are those little bags supposed to be disposable i.e. you cut the plant out?
 
I bought a bunch of 1l Boxer Brown grow bags last year and put some plants in them. Getting them out of the bag was way more effort than I liked and cutting the bags was not an option because they're meant to be reusable. It may be because I was bottom watering them and didn't let them dry out completely before trying to remove them. Good luck!
 
Siv said:
Are those little bags supposed to be disposable i.e. you cut the plant out?
 
I bought a bunch of 1l Boxer Brown grow bags last year and put some plants in them. Getting them out of the bag was way more effort than I liked and cutting the bags was not an option because they're meant to be reusable. It may be because I was bottom watering them and didn't let them dry out completely before trying to remove them. Good luck!
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Hey Siv.  These bags are advertised as bio-degradable, so supposedly you can just leave them in place when you step up or plant out.  I generally prefer not to do that, though, so I'll probably consider cutting them off if the root ball appears solid enough to hold up to that without falling apart.  At 100 bags for $5, I'm not too worried about cutting them up.
 
I have a ton of those small 1g boxer browns and many of these will likely get stepped up to those.  I found a good way to get plants out of the bags, but it might be hard to explain.  I grab the bags on each edge/corner of the bottom with my palms on the sides and my fingers underneath and then I squeeze and roll my fingers up against the bottom while I force the heels of my palms down.  This results in the side peeling/stripping down and I just use my fingers to push the root ball up through the center and out.  Sometimes I have to work fully around the bottom by rotating the bag before I push the root ball up and out, but once I got that general method down it worked really well.
 
CaneDog said:
 
That's great, Bookers!  You're going to have a full house soon the way things are going.  You should be able to get those rocotos outside early, though, which will help with space when the rest are getting big.  What's you're double-cup method/setup going to be like?  
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I saw a you tube vid Khang Starr did. First solo cup cut slits on bottom. Fill with dirt/ plant second cup put a couple of stones on the bottom to raise it. Fill with your favorite nut.... works best when roots are bottom feeding... ive done it quite a few times. I like it.

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Bookers said:
I saw a you tube vid Khang Starr did. First solo cup cut slits on bottom. Fill with dirt/ plant second cup put a couple of stones on the bottom to raise it. Fill with your favorite nut.... works best when roots are bottom feeding... ive done it quite a few times. I like it.

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https://youtu.be/9sVLxVnpIZk

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Bookers said:
I saw a you tube vid Khang Starr did. First solo cup cut slits on bottom. Fill with dirt/ plant second cup put a couple of stones on the bottom to raise it. Fill with your favorite nut.... works best when roots are bottom feeding... ive done it quite a few times. I like it.
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When I've done it that way the plants grew great, but I wasn't as happy with dealing with the hydro root mass when it was time to transplant.  Do you move them along fairly soon or do you let a lot of roots develop, or?  I like the "root-pruning" double-cup alternative method as well.
 
Depends on the strain... I've left pepper plants in there all year before. If it's something I like I'll move as soon I can. I find they get a nice start in the cups. Im liking the biodegradable/ cost effective solution you have too...

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Siv said:
Are those little bags supposed to be disposable i.e. you cut the plant out?
 
I bought a bunch of 1l Boxer Brown grow bags last year and put some plants in them. Getting them out of the bag was way more effort than I liked and cutting the bags was not an option because they're meant to be reusable.
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CaneDog said:
I grab the bags on each edge/corner of the bottom with my palms on the sides and my fingers underneath and then I squeeze and roll my fingers up against the bottom while I force the heels of my palms down.  This results in the side peeling/stripping down and I just use my fingers to push the root ball up through the center and out.
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I had the same problems when I used the 1-gallon root pouches.
I set them on an upside-down 1-gallon nursery pot and pushed
down on the sides of the cloth bag like CD says. I used a hacksaw
blade to separate the roots from the sides of the pouch. The 1-gallon
nursery pot acts like a ram to push on the bottom of the bag.
DSCN5372.JPG
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CaneDog said:
 
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.
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Very interesting with the bags method, I've heard about it before but never seen it, looking forward to hear your feedback on the bags. Also I think its an intersting theory with humidity issues being the cause of helmet heads, I've always figured it was due to bad genetics, but humidity seems like a good explanation aswell. 
 
Its a pleasure to follow the glog with the quality of your photographs. Looks like the start of a great year!
 
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!
 
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stettoman said:
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...
attachicon.gif
20200205_103018.jpg

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

Thanks a heap, CD. No, really!
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Well shoot, looks like the fresh seeds from 2019's pods are doing a whole lot better than the original pack seeds.  IIRC, PaulG had good germ results on this one too.  Yours looks like a solid healthy sprout!  The plant those seeds came from had very nice looking pods last season, so hopefully more of the same.
 
Yep, I feel the same.  Once they're going it's tough not to give them their chance.
 
Will you be able to keep it safe from aphids for a while 'til it packs on a little size?
 
PaulG said:
I wonder if those would work in an AeroGarden basket?
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I dunno, they're half the size of Root Riots, and they come DRY. You won't get away with one-seed-per-corner stunts, that's for sure...

CaneDog said:
Well shoot, looks like the fresh seeds from 2019's pods are doing a whole lot better than the original pack...

Will you be able to keep it safe from aphids for a while 'til it packs on a little size?
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I'm hoping all my seed from last year is as viable.

These sprouts are isolated and under lights for now. Cross her fingers...
 
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