Canedog Offseason Season 2022/23

Well, shoot. I don't know that I should start a new glog with as poor as I was about updating my last one, but here it goes. My offseason season started late, with most of my plants being probably four to six weeks old now. I'll start by posting a few of the newer ones.

This guy is an Oxkutzcab/Oxkutzcabian Orange Habanero. I have three of these growing and a couple Caribbean Red Habanero that are smaller. The Oxkutzcab seem to be out-pacing the reds, but they've also been around a little longer. In this pic I particularly like the transition in the stem at the cotyledons.

@HeatMiser sent me some of his wild texas tepin seeds - what, a couple years ago now? - and I've been trying to grow the variety to production ever since. The seeds were collected off a wild-growing bush in 2014 and still sprout just fine. I have three of the plants growing that I've overwintered, but it's been a very long-season variety for me here in the pnw and between that and the impact of an aphid infestation last winter I haven't yet gotten any of them to ripe pods. I started this new one with the idea of getting it well-established inside and hopefully it will be mature enough to produce by next season. I may just keep it inside until it does.

Aji Guyana. I've grow this variety for a couple seasons now after Wiri Wiri shared seeds with me. I always end up topping it, so I got that out of the way early this time. I'm hoping once will be enough, but if it gets unruly it may end up seeing the scissors again. Great production out of these and pretty early for a baccatum.

This is a second generation (with me) ollantaytambo amarillo rocoto. I was hoping the parent's pods would be more pale that they were, but it produced great-looking yellow pods this summer, which I thought had great flavor. I'm curious whether this next generation's pods will be unchanged, plus it's likely getting crossed with one or two other rocotos I have growing now that are close to the same age.

Uvalde Pequin, from @CraftyFox - thanks man! It looked a little rough when it first came up, but it's looking much stronger now.

I'm working with several mexican culinary varieties, growing given varieties from multiple sources and in different variations to find out what I like best. Pasilla Oaxaca, Pasilla Negro Bahia, and Guajillo are among them. These guys are the most recent sprouts. The others have been growing a while and are more established.

Guajillo

Pasilla Oaxaca

Pasilla Negro Bahia

I'll close with this guy. I thought I'd run out of the orange arequipa rocoto seeds I'd acquired a couple years back, but I found one scraggly seed in the corner of a seed baggie and that scraggly seed has turned into this scraggly young plant. When it germinated I thought the roots might not be strong enough for it to survive, but I've tried to water it just right and it keeps getting stronger day-by-day. If it keeps improving like it has it might make a good match for the ollantaytambo amarillo rocoto.

 

[CaneDog]

Do you use a proper camera or another trick I don't know of, to get these great pictures?

Thanks Rata. Not long ago I hung a black backdrop over a bench to make it easier to get pictures - as Marc said. It's tough for me to get indoor pics in my current setup that separate the subject plant from the background plants, given the lighting and all the plants crowded together. As a result, I was taking fewer pictures. The backdrop makes this easy; I can just take a plant to the bench to get a clear picture, then return it. I can also use indirect lighting in this setup so it's not quite as harsh. I prefer having various looks and character to the pictures, but for now at least this is making things easier.

I think the black background is one of the tricks
I would like to know how exactly you keep the size of the plants down while having them look good and produce peppers...

I've generally had good luck with that. It seems to work especially well with certain chinense varieties, like habaneros and scotch bonnets. I'll I really do is keep the T5HO's low (but not overpowering, as I typically remove half the bulbs) and slow their progressions from their germination container to a solo size container and then into a terminal container of a size like the 5.5" squares or maybe a fabric n1. I think the key is keeping them on a short leash for root room early on and not letting them stretch for light. They aren't getting root bound though, just delayed, and by the time they reach production age they seem to focus on growing flowers and peppers rather than size.

 

[ahayastani]

Thanks Rata. Not long ago I hung a black backdrop over a bench to make it easier to get pictures - as Marc said. It's tough for me to get indoor pics in my current setup that separate the subject plant from the background plants, given the lighting and all the plants crowded together. As a result, I was taking fewer pictures. The backdrop makes this easy; I can just take a plant to the bench to get a clear picture, then return it. I can also use indirect lighting in this setup so it's not quite as harsh. I prefer having various looks and character to the pictures, but for now at least this is making things easier.

I admire you take the necessary time and dedicate yourself to execute it properly. I've just become too damn lazy

 

[CaneDog]

I admire you take the necessary time and dedicate yourself to execute it properly. I've just become too damn lazy

I'm sure I'll find my way back to lazy soon enough

 

[CaneDog]

The nursery tables are getting full and so is the south facing window table. Looks like I'll need to set up a fourth table as this won't be sustainable until plant-out.

Nursery Table 1

Closer View

Table 2

I was pleased to see this late addition to the transplanted Mazteco. Now I can grow a full-size plant outside in addition to keeping a smaller isolated one inside.

 

[ahayastani]

I was pleased to see this late addition to the transplanted Mazteco.

Hyper-fertility is typical Mexican problem. Lots of new life and growth, and nobody who knows where the seed came from

 

[CaneDog]

Hyper-fertility is typical Mexican problem. Lots of new life and growth, and nobody who knows where the seed came from

Well, I know where these seeds came from, so if these so-far just two sprouts turn into me raising a dozen someone might just get a letter for chile support!

 

[Downriver]

I see a few double-cups but a lot of singles. Are you just using single cups? Do they have drainage holes? And where the hell are the white cups? I see red and blue - no white!

 

[ChilliCrosser]

I see a few double-cups but a lot of singles. Are you just using single cups? Do they have drainage holes? And where the hell are the white cups? I see red and blue - no white!

He was pushing his luck using blue cups for recent grows when everyone knows only red solo cups work. Don't be leading him down some crazy path with white cups, this will cause a disturbance in the capsicum force.

 

[ChilliCrosser]

Table 2

I was pleased to see this late addition to the transplanted Mazteco. Now I can grow a full-size plant outside in addition to keeping a smaller isolated one inside.

Looks like the plants on my grow shelves, except mine are still sharing deep 28 cell trays, weather almost ok for me to release them! They'd love the luxury of a cup each.

 

[CaneDog]

I see a few double-cups but a lot of singles. Are you just using single cups? Do they have drainage holes? And where the hell are the white cups? I see red and blue - no white!

Shoot! maybe I can scrape some together in time to represent on the 4th!

I ran out of cups so I cut a bunch of the double-cups for new transplants. I took the cups from ones least likely to need watering right away, but I'll need to pick up some more cups soon.

 

[CaneDog]

Looks like the plants on my grow shelves, except mine are still sharing deep 28 cell trays, weather almost ok for me to release them! They'd love the luxury of a cup each.

It's all about fitting in as many as possible and sometimes a pepper has to make sacrifices for the benefit of the team. Can't wait to start getting these outside where they can have some room to really grow. Should be just another 4 weeks!

My T5 fixtures are a 48"x18" and a 48" x 12". The bigger one covers a full 48"x24" table ok, but the smaller one really isn't enough for the full table width. I'll get another table with an LED going by this weekend, but I'm sure once I do that one will be full-up, too.

 

[CaneDog]

Spotlight on Canoncito in this post.

I'm growing this variety for the first time this season. As I understand it, the pods/plant may be similar to Chimayo, but I'm not sure if or how similar. There's an article on the Canoncito here. I'm growing it along with a couple sources of Chimayo, so I should be able to side-by-side them.

Anyhow, part of what drew my attention to the Canoncito is that it's supposed to be a very early-producing, short-season pepper, which is grown at heights in New Mexico where it tolerates some pretty cool conditions. So far, the whole early/short season thing is bearing out.

Canoncito:
Sowed 3/5;
Sprouted 3/11 (6 days);
Transplanted to Solo 3/25;
Forked and budding now, just one month after sprouting.
I hope this guy's focused as much on growing as it is on producing, because it's going to be in a bad way if it doesn't get a lot bigger before the pods do.

 

[Tybo]

Nice looking grow CD and as always.......nice photos!

 

[ahayastani]

There's an article on the Canoncito here

Interesting read and variety.

 

[CaneDog]

Nice looking grow CD and as always.......nice photos!

Hey Tybo. Thanks! Hope things are good with you. I'm growing a couple of varieties this season that are originally from seeds you sent me, the Moz Piri Piri you got from ChilliChump's original seeds release and the Datil seeds you got from Pure Florida. Thanks again for hooking me up with those. It's sure been appreciated!

 

[CaneDog]

Interesting read and variety.

I thought so too. I can't replicate the soil and environment, but I'm hoping they'll still be winners growing here in the PNW.

 

[Ratatouille]

but I'll need to pick up some more cups soon.

Please contact @Simcows for solid advice on color and cups.

Making a nice mess out here. 21c and light breeze on the balcony so it’s babies first time out while I do some repotting. The cups stayed the same, repotted they annuums that erupted right before my trip in to the bigger black containers but honestly im not happy with them so I’ll probably repot again in to cups again because I want the colours. Why am I like this?

 

[CaneDog]

Please contact @Simcows for solid advice on color and cups.

Darn it! Those Canadian shops have all the cool cups

 

[Tybo]

Hey Tybo. Thanks! Hope things are good with you. I'm growing a couple of varieties this season that are originally from seeds you sent me, the Moz Piri Piri you got from ChilliChump's original seeds release and the Datil seeds you got from Pure Florida. Thanks again for hooking me up with those. It's sure been appreciated!

Thats cool CD! I don't have (cant find) the Moz Piri Piri seeds but I do have the PF Datils. I'm not growing them this season though. I've got almost all chocolate varieties started for this season. Habs and Bonnets mostly. I do have several San Isabel Island Hab seedlings and a few superhots started. The superhots are Judys Brown Moruga, 7 pot mad ball and a Reaper X. I wanted to try some powder for those.

Things are going ok here. Dealing with some health issues but hanging in there.

I keep telling myself I need to get on here and post more. I just don't seem to listen to myself!!!

Take care and good luck with your grow. I'm following along even if I don't post.

Edited to add: Forgot to mention a F4 grow of a Pablano x Scarletts Chili that I saved from a grow from seeds I got from PollenNut. I grew out several F2's and picked the prettiest best tasting and have been keeping it going. It's a variegated plant (and peppers) with whites and purples blended in the leaves. The seedlings are showing color already. I'll try to remember to post a pic.

 

[CaneDog]

Thats cool CD! I don't have (cant find) the Moz Piri Piri seeds but I do have the PF Datils. I'm not growing them this season though. I've got almost all chocolate varieties started for this season. Habs and Bonnets mostly. I do have several San Isabel Island Hab seedlings and a few superhots started. The superhots are Judys Brown Moruga, 7 pot mad ball and a Reaper X. I wanted to try some powder for those.

Edited to add: Forgot to mention a F4 grow of a Pablano x Scarletts Chili that I saved from a grow from seeds I got from PollenNut. I grew out several F2's and picked the prettiest best tasting and have been keeping it going. It's a variegated plant (and peppers) with whites and purples blended in the leaves. The seedlings are showing color already. I'll try to remember to post a pic.

That's some solid heat in your grow! I'd love to see the Poblano x Scarletts cross if you get a chance. Sounds like a cool one.