Capehog 2013 I have no idea what these peppers are

This year will be my first attempt at the Super Hots aside from the Red Savina a few years back. I have at my disposal this online university and my 85 yr old Sensei Master mother who has had a garden in one form or another for over 75 years of her life. Old school meets new school and I welcome any and all comments and ideas to further my season.

I ordered seeds from pepperlover and from New Mexico State University with the following is my grow list so far. I'm sure I'll add in some sweets to go with the hots.

Pepperlover order placed on Thursday Dec 27th with arrival on Monday Dec 31st

Red yellow Moruga
Trinidad scorpion original strain
Large red 7 pod
Naga Morich
Trinidad Moruga blend red
Datil
Bih jolokia
Tobasco
Bradleys Bahama
Amish blush
Wild Tepin
Most prolific
Blue Mystery

MMSU seeds not arrived as not shipping until next week

Bhut Jolokia
NuMex Conquistador
Jupiter

Seeds on hand
Red savina from last year. I'm curious to see what I actually get from these seeds I saved from the plants.
Jumbo jalapeno, cayenne I think from seeds of change or another vender.

Lowes had the Miracle grow seed mix in today. I have the full spectrum grow light above the sink. This is where we have always started the seeds. Due to arrive tomorrow is a Hydrofarm hot house with heat mat that I will start another 72 seeds in. I used egg shells for 24 seeds and regular plastic start cells for the balance today. As you all know the eggs you purchase at Kroger or Walmart are a much weaker product than those you buy from a farmer. I have both in my experiment today and we will see if it makes any difference later on.

Our last frost date is late March but we always have a few cold snap days in April. I got caught a few years back when it was in the 70s in March for a few weeks planted a full crop and lost the majority so I will have a full house of pots if everything comes to form this spring. Plan on setting up a ghetto green house when the time comes.

All for now time to watch New Years Day football. Hope you all have a very good 2013.

 

[HopsNBarley]

Right on Cape...
Looks like you have a nice selection of plants to grow out.
I've never heard of the eggshell thing but sounds like a great idea.
Will be looking forwad to seeing your progress for 2013.
Good luck!

BTW.... I hope you put those eggs to good use

 

[brownb4]

the eggshell thing is interesting, i wonder if Scovie does this? i'm sure he has a plentiful supply of eggshells

good luck with your grow this year

 

[capehog]

Right on Cape...
Looks like you have a nice selection of plants to grow out.
I've never heard of the eggshell thing but sounds like a great idea.
Will be looking forwad to seeing your progress for 2013.
Good luck!

BTW.... I hope you put those eggs to good use

Thanks for the kind words. I'm not sure where she came up with the egg shell thing probably out of not having enough starter packs and saw some empty shells ready to place round her plants.

the eggshell thing is interesting, i wonder if Scovie does this? i'm sure he has a plentiful supply of eggshells

good luck with your grow this year

Thanks I hope to have plenty of plants pods and seeds to share come summer. I have seen some other people here using the egg shells as seed starters but maybe it is just a Southern thing.

 

[ThePepperManiac]

yeah that eggshell thing is interesting.. but anyways good luck with the grow and nice list of seeds you have

 

[capehog]

Well it has been too long since I updated this effort but life happens. I want to share some things that many of you will get a good laugh from but perhaps might just help the one person that had not thought of doing before. As I go through the photos I will pose questions of you experienced growers and would appreciate any help.

The eggshell experience did not go too well so it will not be repeated again.

This was/is my current setup with new lights added as you will see below. I bought the greenhouses at Tractor Supply for $20 each. They come with the cover but I doubt that I actually take them outside as we have several other setups to use. The greenouse is actually very steady and large enough to hold 4 of the peat pellet trays. A 48 inch 2 lamp shop light works great and you can put 2 of these units side by side on each shelf.

Some of the first had sprouted and been transferred to the coffee cups. I have the heat mats under each of the trays and had very good results on the first go around. I used Miracle grow seed starting mix which turned out to be very bad and Jiffy Mix organic seed starting mix which turned out to do fine. The Miracle grow was the first bag available in Jan at Lowes. The Jiffy Mix didn't hit the stores for several weeks later. I have purchased 3 bags of jiffy mix that I put back and will probably get a few more to hold for next years grow.

Here is the major mistake that I hope at least one person will never ever repeat. I made the excel sheet grid of everything I planted but neglected to actually label the corners of the seed tray so after it was moved there was no way to tell what was in position 1 vs 72. I of course like a kid watching for snowfall had to open the lid every day and take the tray out to show the family the little sprouts so when I put it back on the mat there was no way to tell where position 1 was. Lesson learned.

This photo was from February and the plants are looking very good. Now for my first question:

How to you bottom water in the coffee cups?

I planted about 300 seeds and at last count I have 165 plants that are ready to go to the garden. Some of them have blooms so here is another question:

do I need to pull the blooms off before I set these out in the actual soil?

These 2 photos from February after I transferred to the red solo cups.

The same question applies here how to I bottom water with the red solo cups.

The soil seems to dry quickly under the lights I watered about every 4th day a few tablespoons at a time when they were in the white coffee cups and a little more in the red cups. Now I use a turkey baster and drop about 1/2 in each cup. The soil I used in the transfer cups is regular Miracle Grow potting mix.

The above photos were taken last week. I have my little fan going for a few hours at a time it is going to be near 70 on Sunday so I may take the trays out to the porch. No direct sunlight but at least some fresh air.

I hope to build a wooden frame where I can raise and lower the light fixures on a chain instead of the way the current setup is made but that will be a project for this fall. I started first of January and hope to be able to actually get these in the ground in a few weeks. Thanks for looking and as always all comments and suggestions are appreciated. Good luck with all of your grows.

 

[Sawyer]

Looks like you've got the hang of it. Always good to see another Arkansawyer on here.

 

[capsidadburn]

Looks great so far Cape. If you haven't already you will need to poke some holes in the bottom of those cups for watering. Maybe with an exacto blade with two strikes making a plus sign shape or twist the blade slightly.

I spent a lot of my childhood just west of Jonesboro. Walnut Ridge, Powhatan, Lynn, Strawberry, and Black Rock.

Good luck with your season

Mike

 

[capehog]

Looks like you've got the hang of it. Always good to see another Arkansawyer on here.

Hopefully the weather will change soon. I'm ready to get the tiller fired up and set some of these in dirt.

Looks great so far Cape. If you haven't already you will need to poke some holes in the bottom of those cups for watering. Maybe with an exacto blade with two strikes making a plus sign shape or twist the blade slightly.

I spent a lot of my childhood just west of Jonesboro. Walnut Ridge, Powhatan, Lynn, Strawberry, and Black Rock.

Good luck with your season

Mike

They all have the holes in the bottom I've just never bottom watered. I'm sure the areas you mentioned have not changed too much since you were here aside from the occasional new highway. Good luck with your grow as well.

 

[capehog]

Just found this plant in the back of the area. What is this and how do I fix it?

Two plants that seem to have a problem:

These are reaching for the stars and can anyone identify this for me please:

This one is cool

 

[millworkman]

Great pictures. That unknown one is most definitely not a pepper. Peas?

 

[Sawyer]

Can't help you with the sick plant. The crinkly rosette looks like a mustard to me. The one with the white flowers looks like buckwheat. Where did you get the seeds/plants?

 

[capehog]

Great pictures. That unknown one is most definitely not a pepper. Peas?

Can't help you with the sick plant. The crinkly rosette looks like a mustard to me. The one with the white flowers looks like buckwheat. Where did you get the seeds/plants?

90% of the seeds came from reputable vendors and from friends on this site but some came from my 85 year old mother and while she is a master gardener that has forgotten more than I will ever know about plants soil pests and everything else seems to have lost a step or two over the last few years. Perhaps she mixed some seeds she was saving and we will see what actually comes along once these go in the ground. I will of course post photos of what ever comes from these plants.

Thanks for the look and thoughts as to what these plants may be.

 

[Sawyer]

FWIW, buckwheat is a really quick way to add organic matter to your soil. Broadcast it as a cover crop, then till it in as a green manure before it goes to seed.

 

[capehog]

The big yellow ball in the sky appeared for the first time in many days so I took all the little ones outside for a little fresh air. Now if it will stay sunny all week and we get into the 60's/70's I will fire up the tiller.

 

[Sawyer]

The big yellow ball in the sky appeared for the first time in many days so I took all the little ones outside for a little fresh air. Now if it will stay sunny all week and we get into the 60's/70's I will fire up the tiller.

Plants are looking good. Sadly, the forecast in this corner of the state is for rain and lows in the 30s for most of the week. I imagine your weather will be similar. Enjoy today's sun while it's here. I've had my OWs out for the last three days and two nights. The BJs are looking very happy and even the Naga Morich is definitely showing signs of life.

 

[capsidadburn]

Very nice Capehog!

 

[capehog]

Well I burned some calories today the guys at the gym would be proud since I've been pretty lax at showing up lately. But I digress. Guard dog and I tilled the two garden spots today. The fences are up because she at 117lbs likes to chase the squirrels and birds out of her space so plants rarely survive her gallops through the garden. My tiller and the Briggs and Stratton engine is still working like a boss bought in the early 90's. I changed the oil today put some regular gas pulled the rope about 8 times and it fired up. Soon as I get everything little more hardened off into the ground we will go.

35x30 pepper patch with cut worm sticks

Guard Dog and the tiller I'll be very sore tonight and tomorrow that old tiller works but man it wears me out. She of course has to dig a spot in the fresh dirt.

Veggie patch for everything not hot peppers

Thanks for looking hope you all made as much progress as I did today.

 

[Sawyer]

I'd recommend alcohol-free gas for that tiller. Maybe that's what you mean by regular. I've had to replace lines and rebuild the carbs on every small engine I've ever run 10% ethanol through.

What's the deal with "cut worm sticks"? That's a new one on me.

 

[capehog]

I'd recommend alcohol-free gas for that tiller. Maybe that's what you mean by regular. I've had to replace lines and rebuild the carbs on every small engine I've ever run 10% ethanol through.

What's the deal with "cut worm sticks"? That's a new one on me.

Guess I just have always called gas regular even though it is all unleaded now. The ethanol really is destroying our cars and small engines but the powers that be that are making more money off of it than the alternative so we will keep using it.

The cut worm sticks are branches I cut from the overhanging tree and burned off most of them. I kept these to make about an 8-10 inch length to place next to each plant. We have always done this to keep the cut worms from killing the seedlings til they get a month or so old and the cut worms cant get around the tap root. We dont have too much trouble each year with pests but I've walked out to check on things to see a small pepper or tomato laying down and I know a cut worm had dinner. There probably is a pesticide that will kill the cut worms but I rarely use anything on the garden and probably wont even use any seven dust this year on the peppers.