Devv's 2014- Stick a fork in me, I'm done....

Devv · Feb 5, 2014

maximumcapsicum said:
Nice update Scott! Is the second hoop house going next to the first?

Thanks Adam!

Yes, but with enough room between them to walk and have access to both.

Sawyer said:
Looking good, Scott. Sprouts, OWs, hoop house. And the food... I had to take a break from getting caught up here when I saw that food pic.

Thanks John!

So far so good. I've had 2 plants come down with Aphids, they're isolated and have been treated. Hoping they stay clean.

Been monitoring the hoop house temps, tomorrow it's supposed to be 29° in the AM. I'll be interested to see where it's at. I wanted to put some black plastic down but the well driller showed up today.

JoeFish said:
Looking good... Im taking notes too!

Anyone got a good picture of these funky reapers I've been seeing.

Thanks Joe!

Jeff H said:
Devv's glog last year should have a few pics.

Sawyer said:
I posted a picture of my version in my 2013 glog, look here. We don't know yet how similar Scott's and my plants are, but we're each growing both this year.

JoeFish said:
I checked them out and they look great!

Here's a pic for size reference. I think Sawyers are larger.

So the guy that's drilling our new well came out today. He had me worried because he couldn't find a level place to drill, and when he did there were too many rocks. He finally found a place, set up his rig, and started digging the pit for the mud they use to lube and clean the bit they send down. Well he hit rocks down at 18"s, and said we need to get a bigger backhoe. That's another $375.00 to hire the backhoe guy :tear:

I was going to post a pic but my FTP servers not playing at the moment..

maximumcapsicum · Feb 5, 2014

I got some comin up too! Can't wait to see what I get!

Thanks for the update Scott missed it till now. Funky reapers look exciting. Any idea how stable the strain is or are we finding that out now?

Devv · Feb 5, 2014

maximumcapsicum said:
I got some comin up too! Can't wait to see what I get!

Thanks for the update Scott missed it till now. Funky reapers look exciting. Any idea how stable the strain is or are we finding that out now?

We'll be finding out as they grow I guess. They were supposed to be true Reapers. Bottom line they were tasty peppers with great heat!

I understand many who purchased the seeds from both Pepper Joe and Puckerbutt had mixed results as far as trueness. <----new word

There was a Reaper Community grow glog going all last year, you can browse through it and see the results.

Jeff H · Feb 5, 2014

Sorry to hear about the well and rock debacle. You would think their drills could go through rocks. What happens if they hit rock at 50 feet???

Backhoe for rock at 18"? Must be a big rock.

stc3248 · Feb 5, 2014

Jeff H said:
Sorry to hear about the well and rock debacle. You would think their drills could go through rocks. What happens if they hit rock at 50 feet???

Backhoe for rock at 18"? Must be a big rock.

Yeah Jeff...when they say rock in south Texas it means bedrock. Sorry to hear about the extra $$$ brotha. Maybe at least you'll get a nice pile of Caliche out of the deal.

Sawyer · Feb 6, 2014

Aphids... boo, hiss. I've had a low-grade infestation all winter. Keep hitting them with dilute sulfur/pyrethrin. Interestingly enough, they only go for the peppers. I have several other plants OWing (or just house plants) and no issues with aphids on any of them. What's with the aphid attraction to peppers?

Did you dowse before deciding where to drill? I don't get the driller's issue with finding a level spot to drill. If you're bringing in a backhoe, seems like any spot can be made level.

stickman · Feb 6, 2014

Devv said:
So the guy that's drilling our new well came out today. He had me worried because he couldn't find a level place to drill, and when he did there were too many rocks. He finally found a place, set up his rig, and started digging the pit for the mud they use to lube and clean the bit they send down. Well he hit rocks down at 18"s, and said we need to get a bigger backhoe. That's another $375.00 to hire the backhoe guy

I was going to post a pic but my FTP servers not playing at the moment..

D&#@ Scott... 18 inches to bedrock makes for some really shallow soil... no wonder you're putting all that humus into it. Sorry to hear of the additional expenses in drilling ... What kind of rock are they drilling into? Funny that Buzz mentions dowsing... my Dad was a dowser, and seemed to have good luck finding water, but I'm not convinced... we lived in a karst area with blue shale clay over Dolomitic Limestone, and water gathered in the (many) cracks in the limestone. Maybe it works, but I'm skeptical of anything I can't explain and repeat...

Devv · Feb 6, 2014

Jeff H said:
Sorry to hear about the well and rock debacle. You would think their drills could go through rocks. What happens if they hit rock at 50 feet???

Backhoe for rock at 18"? Must be a big rock.

Jeff,

We live on a ridge, so rock is close to the surface on the high points, which is where they built the house back in the 70's. They need a pit for the mud they use the keep the bit clean and lube everything as it goes down in to the Earth. They have no problem drilling through the rock.

Here's my $375.00 pit. 5' deep and just as wide, maybe 6' wide, by 16-18' long.
He said the big backhoe had a hard time too, so they just made it wider.

Here's the drill rig, I've yet to see a new one in 25 years here..LOL

stc3248 said:
Yeah Jeff...when they say rock in south Texas it means bedrock. Sorry to hear about the extra $$$ brotha. Maybe at least you'll get a nice pile of Caliche out of the deal.

Not even, just limestone rocks. It's all good, we've had no water or sewage bill for 25 years, time to pay the piper!

Sawyer said:
Aphids... boo, hiss. I've had a low-grade infestation all winter. Keep hitting them with dilute sulfur/pyrethrin. Interestingly enough, they only go for the peppers. I have several other plants OWing (or just house plants) and no issues with aphids on any of them. What's with the aphid attraction to peppers?

Did you dowse before deciding where to drill? I don't get the driller's issue with finding a level spot to drill. If you're bringing in a backhoe, seems like any spot can be made level.

John,

I simply hate Aphids, never saw one in my life until late fall.

You would have to be here, pics really don't show the slope like you can see through your eyes. Another thing he was trying to do was find a place to dig the pit. First level choice had huge rocks at the surface, I would say we have a 15-20% grade off the top of my head. In the pic above he wants the rig level so the derrick won't topple, then behind the truck he needs 30' for the pipe rack. You can see the grade there, and that's a flat spot compared to the overall layout. No dowsing, he's within 100' of the old well. The place where the old well is, is choice, but I built a 32x32' shop there...whoops. So I have to trench 100' for the electric and water line...mo fun

stickman said:
D&#@ Scott... 18 inches to bedrock makes for some really shallow soil... no wonder you're putting all that humus into it. Sorry to hear of the additional expenses in drilling ... What kind of rock are they drilling into? Funny that Buzz mentions dowsing... my Dad was a dowser, and seemed to have good luck finding water, but I'm not convinced... we lived in a karst area with blue shale clay over Dolomitic Limestone, and water gathered in the (many) cracks in the limestone. Maybe it works, but I'm skeptical of anything I can't explain and repeat...

The garden has about 2' until we hit clay, then rock.

The rock is lime stone, no problem drilling through it. I know a guy who drills for oil around here, he said the water is very plentiful here. I'm sure we'll be OK. Praying though!

So I came home at 10, did a half day. Expecting the them to be drilling, but they split because of the weather. The good thing is they're ready to go, and I'll get the new well. Got some work done. Tilled in the rye that keeps coming back, just a light 3-4" till to kill it. Was 31°, dug out my hunting coveralls, they were too warm once I got going.

The temps so far in the hoop house this week:

45 was 56 cloudy 2-2
46 was 70 sun out for just a bit 2-3
45 was 60 clouded up 2-3
64 and 70 at 4:30 sunny 2-4
47 and 80 at 3:30 sunny 2-5
31 and 52 at 1:00 cloudy 2-6

Mucho impressed and plants will hit it this weekend.

I sold a few plants at work, 4 bucks a piece for some of the doubles, just trying to free up some space. Took the $$$ and bought a few T8 x2 fixtures. I have bulbs, and used a gorilla shelf unit I had in the shop. Sure cleaned up the room some.

Tomorrow is supposed to be another bad start with ice, San Antonio had a lot of issues this morning although we had none here.

'Yall stay warm and safe!

Sawyer · Feb 6, 2014

Oh, yeah, that makes more sense now, about the flat space. I've watched drillers from afar before, but never paid attention to the mud pit.

stickman · Feb 6, 2014

Devv said:
The temps so far in the hoop house this week:

45 was 56 cloudy 2-2
46 was 70 sun out for just a bit 2-3
45 was 60 clouded up 2-3
64 and 70 at 4:30 sunny 2-4
47 and 80 at 3:30 sunny 2-5
31 and 52 at 1:00 cloudy 2-6

Mucho impressed and plants will hit it this weekend.

Yeah, those temps look good for during the day when the sun's out, but the sticking point is how low it gets in the wee hours of the morning before sunup. That's why I recommended a min/max thermometer inside the low row cover. The plants will survive overnight lows in the 40s or even upper 30s once in a while... it just slows them down a little... but no lower than that or you risk the new growth at the nodes getting burned by the cold.

meatfreak · Feb 7, 2014

Looks like an good investment on the T8 x2 fixtures, Scott! Have a good weekend.

PIC 1 · Feb 7, 2014

Scott I'm glad to read that the drilling is ready to go. Hope the weather changes in the next day for the good, there's always a hitch to a major project.

Aphids seem to nest on healthy Nitrogen driven plants...I'm always checking under the leaves of the established plants. I do foliar feed for the faster boost, but intern there's also a chance for a faster outbreak.

I have a list of folks that want to purchase plants every year...I start getting calls from people early in the spring to see if I'm still growing. Another garden grower I know wanted to start up an indoor grow for his own plants but when I told him the all around cost.....well let's just say his wife would rather have him buy plants from me......ha

Your bottom shelve of plants reminds me of what mine will look like, space wise in 2 months, Heck, if you remove them from the boxes you could stagger the pots and make room for a few more...I see you've purchased more T8's, like Stefan says it's not a bad investment. Your lights are only on for a short period of time before the plants hit the outdoor dirt...Are there ever too many lights...probably not. I see Home Depot carries 4ft close spaced T5/ 4 bulb fixtures for around 90 bucks...not a bad move for someone that only needs a fixture or two.
I can get the contractors price at the electrical supplies but even at that the cost of the T5 bulbs would be a bit much for the larger indoor start that I have. T8's are great for plants up to 1 ft tall....by that time they should be outdoors.

Have a great weekend, warmer weather is just around the corner.

Devv · Feb 7, 2014

Sawyer said:
Oh, yeah, that makes more sense now, about the flat space. I've watched drillers from afar before, but never paid attention to the mud pit.

I got off 4 hours early, mainly because I had the days, I wanted too, and I was hoping they would start today. It was 30° until after 1PM today, but they showed. I learned a ton, the driller is really nice and likes to talk. They had a little fire going for some relief from the cold, I fired up the tractor and brought them a load of wood to stoke up the fire. I learned they pump water through the bit, and it comes back up out of the hole, and drains into the pit. They added a real fine clay to the water in the pit, which they ultimately draw from, because water was being lost in the hole, this helped seal it some. The first 27' was rock, and more rock. Then all was good until 85' and more rock after running through some shale. I was amazed the drill rig was made in 1958. Was a most interesting but cold afternoon.

The guy who dug the pit pulled up a 15' or more piece of 3/8" chain with hooks on each end, looks exactly like the piece I use to move round bales. It was @ 2' deep, no rust, looks identical to the piece I use and keep in the dry shop. I was amazed it could be buried over 25 years and come up looking so pristine. I wonder how it got there?

stickman said:
Yeah, those temps look good for during the day when the sun's out, but the sticking point is how low it gets in the wee hours of the morning before sunup. That's why I recommended a min/max thermometer inside the low row cover. The plants will survive overnight lows in the 40s or even upper 30s once in a while... it just slows them down a little... but no lower than that or you risk the new growth at the nodes getting burned by the cold.

Rick,

I'm home in the morning, so I can check the temps. I'm going to SA in the morning so I can look for the thermometer. Thanks for the info!

meatfreak said:
Looks like an good investment on the T8 x2 fixtures, Scott! Have a good weekend.

Thanks Stefan,

I had the green in my wallet and the shelf in the shop, they have to be better than doing the rotation I've been dealing with!

BTW, all but one seed I planted from the one's I put in dirt popped, just amazing germ rates!

PIC 1 said:
Scott I'm glad to read that the drilling is ready to go. Hope the weather changes in the next day for the good, there's always a hitch to a major project.

Aphids seem to nest on healthy Nitrogen driven plants...I'm always checking under the leaves of the established plants. I do foliar feed for the faster boost, but intern there's also a chance for a faster outbreak.

I have a list of folks that want to purchase plants every year...I start getting calls from people early in the spring to see if I'm still growing. Another garden grower I know wanted to start up an indoor grow for his own plants but when I told him the all around cost.....well let's just say his wife would rather have him buy plants from me......ha

Your bottom shelve of plants reminds me of what mine will look like, space wise in 2 months, Heck, if you remove them from the boxes you could stagger the pots and make room for a few more...I see you've purchased more T8's, like Stefan says it's not a bad investment. Your lights are only on for a short period of time before the plants hit the outdoor dirt...Are there ever too many lights...probably not. I see Home Depot carries 4ft close spaced T5/ 4 bulb fixtures for around 90 bucks...not a bad move for someone that only needs a fixture or two.
I can get the contractors price at the electrical supplies but even at that the cost of the T5 bulbs would be a bit much for the larger indoor start that I have. T8's are great for plants up to 1 ft tall....by that time they should be outdoors.

Have a great weekend, warmer weather is just around the corner.

Thanks Greg!

I'm really glad they're working the well, no telling how long the other will last, glad we didn't find out the hard way, no city water here. Unless I want to drop 40K!

Now that I've seen the first Aphids I'm checking very closely, hate them and mites!

It's nice to have people want your plants, these two gentlemen were tickled. They got plants that really are dirt ready for a buck more than what the nursery sells, and the nursery just has 4 week old Habs (second true leaves). I didn't start out my grow to sell, it just wound up that I had too many. Now they want to place orders for next year

I really wanted T5's, the one I have is great. But this helps and I had the extra bulbs. I'm way over budget for this season already, and I still want more shade cloth. Next year I give the grow 30 days more before I plant, still learning the timing. I do want spring pods!

And I can't wait for the warmer!

stc3248 · Feb 7, 2014

Ha...glad the well is getting done! Selling plants is a sore spot for me...I always end up with extras because we start more than we need to ensure we get them to germ. I sold a couple last year that were already setting pods and folks wanted to haggle the (very fair) price with me...I told one particular guy to forget it when he started getting pushy...he then decided to pay what I was asking. Nope...I kept it. Folks don't understand the cost of growing indoors. I posted them on CL and said the price was firm. Blah...never again. I will give them to folks from THP from now on, at least I know they understand what they're getting. My local nursery carries some supers in the spring and they charge $8 each for some of the sorriest looking starts I have ever seen! Crazy...

JJJessee · Feb 7, 2014

That seems like a long way for a chain to sink just from gravity in just 25 years, especially since you're not prone to lots of rain or freeze/thaw cycles -especially that deep.
Curious indeed.

maximumcapsicum · Feb 8, 2014

Love your grow Scott!

Out of curiosity, when do you plant up from solo cups? I see pics here where the plants have largish leaves and are fairly well established, but mine have roots coming out of the bottom after a very short (week or two...) time. Don't have space for a major pot up yet so I am a tad worried.

Sawyer · Feb 8, 2014

Very, very cool, Scott, about the drilling. Thanks for sharing the info. When/at what depth do they expect to hit water?

It's always good to have a little (or big) fire going when working outside in the cold. Don't know what to think about the chain.

stc3248 said:
Ha...glad the well is getting done! Selling plants is a sore spot for me...I always end up with extras because we start more than we need to ensure we get them to germ. I sold a couple last year that were already setting pods and folks wanted to haggle the (very fair) price with me...I told one particular guy to forget it when he started getting pushy...he then decided to pay what I was asking. Nope...I kept it. Folks don't understand the cost of growing indoors. I posted them on CL and said the price was firm. Blah...never again. I will give them to folks from THP from now on, at least I know they understand what they're getting. My local nursery carries some supers in the spring and they charge $8 each for some of the sorriest looking starts I have ever seen! Crazy...

Some folks just seem to want to haggle over everything. I plan to offer some plants on CL, but you have me rethinking that now.

JJJessee said:
That seems like a long way for a chain to sink just from gravity in just 25 years, especially since you're not prone to lots of rain or freeze/thaw cycles -especially that deep.
Curious indeed.

What he said.

maximumcapsicum said:
Love your grow Scott!

Out of curiosity, when do you plant up from solo cups? I see pics here where the plants have largish leaves and are fairly well established, but mine have roots coming out of the bottom after a very short (week or two...) time. Don't have space for a major pot up yet so I am a tad worried.

Roots go where the nutrient-rich moisture is. Sounds like you're bottom watering. If you want to keep the roots in the upper soil zone, try switching to top watering. And pepper plants are a lot more hardy than most people realize. They can take some pretty severe root pruning when being transplanted and still thrive.

But this is Scott's thread, so I'll shut up now.

HillBilly Jeff · Feb 8, 2014

It is great you are able to move some plants to get some things you need. Not too bothered with bugs here (knock on wood)

I am thinking about waiting until March 1st to start my peppers next year. Will cut down two months of lights and heat in the grow room and save a whole lot of space and pot up troubles. Still gives me 10 weeks to plant out. Perhaps the chinense two weeks sooner.

Good luck on your grow!!!

Devv · Feb 8, 2014

stc3248 said:
Ha...glad the well is getting done! Selling plants is a sore spot for me...I always end up with extras because we start more than we need to ensure we get them to germ. I sold a couple last year that were already setting pods and folks wanted to haggle the (very fair) price with me...I told one particular guy to forget it when he started getting pushy...he then decided to pay what I was asking. Nope...I kept it. Folks don't understand the cost of growing indoors. I posted them on CL and said the price was firm. Blah...never again. I will give them to folks from THP from now on, at least I know they understand what they're getting. My local nursery carries some supers in the spring and they charge $8 each for some of the sorriest looking starts I have ever seen! Crazy...

They went down to 300' before the driller was happy, hope it doesn't cost anymore. We'll see. The guy knows his stuff, we talked a lot and he also consulted with an oil well driller who drills around here, and they say I'm in good water. He said the well will last until after I'm in my 80's. I'll be right proud to be walking this Earth someday with an 8 as a first digit! I spent $350 on wire and conduit this afternoon. Looks like I need to lay the wire out for the next stage. Gonna bury it after they leave. Still beats the 40k to get on city water.

My selling plants was a request from these two guys, same thing as you, I plant more seeds than I need so I can make sure I have the plants. I invited them for trying out the supers quite a bit, and gave them a bottle of Reaper Puree. Been showing them my progress and they asked me about the plants. I told them I would see where I was down the road; then things got nuts. They want more and I have 3 others that want plants; I won't have enough to make them all happy. Next year they want to place orders. So I guess I'm lucky with this so far. And yes the plants they have for sale at the stores are really poor, they're not getting the love. One guy told the other, and this got back to me, he said "it must have been hard for him to part with them after all that work". Yes and no. I know these two appreciate the plants and will do their best to make them productive. That's all I can ask for.

JJJessee said:
That seems like a long way for a chain to sink just from gravity in just 25 years, especially since you're not prone to lots of rain or freeze/thaw cycles -especially that deep.
Curious indeed.

I'm thinking it got lost when they graded the area for the house build. They had to level the land to lay the slab. Our place is on a slope like yours, but I don't think it's as steep. What amazes me is the condition of it after all these years.

maximumcapsicum said:
Love your grow Scott!

Out of curiosity, when do you plant up from solo cups? I see pics here where the plants have largish leaves and are fairly well established, but mine have roots coming out of the bottom after a very short (week or two...) time. Don't have space for a major pot up yet so I am a tad worried.

Thanks Adam!

I need to do an update but so much going on, I've been intrigued with the well digging process. I learned enough from this guy to drill one on my own. Never gonna happen but that's how informative it's been.

I guess I up-pot when they are 3.5-4"s tall, I like the roots to hold the dirt when I up-pot.

Sawyer said:
Very, very cool, Scott, about the drilling. Thanks for sharing the info. When/at what depth do they expect to hit water?

They hit sand at 250' and went to 300'; he wanted the well to be a good producer, and so did I. The water is in the sand, after they went through rock and shale, next typically is the sand. They drilled 200' today. They dropped the casing and the gravel that that fills the space between the hole and casing.

It's always good to have a little (or big) fire going when working outside in the cold. Don't know what to think about the chain.

I agree, especially when you can't walk into a house to warm up! The chain thing just blows my mind, how did it not rust up? Tomorrow I'll take a pic, it looks like any chain that's used but kept inside.

Some folks just seem to want to haggle over everything. I plan to offer some plants on CL, but you have me rethinking that now.

Friends are the best to share with, I wouldn't bother with the general public. I didn't try to sell, they asked to buy. I do work with 300 people, so that makes it easy.

What he said.

Roots go where the nutrient-rich moisture is. Sounds like you're bottom watering. If you want to keep the roots in the upper soil zone, try switching to top watering. And pepper plants are a lot more hardy than most people realize. They can take some pretty severe root pruning when being transplanted and still thrive.

I agree 100%. And you don't have to flood them when top watering, a small drink is all that's needed. I top water until they go in the big pots. AND I feel the bottom watering made them suffer in the wind. They don't have the structure at the top that they would develop with some top watering, so some would almost fall over after a day in the wind. This prompted me to shorten the ones that did that.

But this is Scott's thread, so I'll shut up now.

No problem here on my end, your thoughts and input are always welcome!

HillBilly Jeff said:
It is great you are able to move some plants to get some things you need. Not too bothered with bugs here (knock on wood)

I am thinking about waiting until March 1st to start my peppers next year. Will cut down two months of lights and heat in the grow room and save a whole lot of space and pot up troubles. Still gives me 10 weeks to plant out. Perhaps the chinense two weeks sooner.

Good luck on your grow!!!

Thanks Jeff!

I will too start later next year; first year with lights and that was a learning experience.

So I've been slacking with pics this week. A lot going on. Monday the neighbors dogs dug under our fence and attacked my dogs. A Pit Bull and a Doberman tore Otis up pretty good. He's a 56lb Pit Bull, Bull Mastiff mix. He has a head as wide as a football and is super muscular. He's a gentle dog, he's been down by their house many times and had no interest in fighting. But he's also not to be messed with, don't know happened to the two dogs but Otis went to the vet. He was bit a lot in the hind quarters, telling me was dealing with one and the other was chomping from the rear while he was engaged. I feel had the commotion not woke us up that they would have killed him. He was breathing hard for 30 minutes after he came inside. One of the two Rat Terriers had been bitten, and she's what woke us up, dang she can make some noise! So tomorrow the neighbors get the vet bill, hope they pay. Not gonna post what may happen :shh:

Of course the other thing has been workers on my place all week, it's been a real treat for me to watch them drill that well. The bad part is I have to write a check :tear:

Enjoy Saturday!

stc3248 · Feb 8, 2014

That sucks about the dogs...I would have killed them both. I am a dog lover, but I love MY DOGS more.