DocNrock's 2013 Glog - 7/11/13

My 2013 grow officially began 10/14/2012, when seeds hit soil. After seeing Fernando (SocalChilehead) growing in his greenhouse "sanctuary" and KiNGDeNNiZ continuing to start new growth in his AeroGarden, as well as the community HP22B grow thread already being 8 pages, I broke down and started my 2013 grow. I was going to limit it to 50 varieties, but that ended up being 64, 77 including the plants I want to save from 2012. If some varieties don't pop or I end up losing some along the way, I might still be down to 50 (or less!) in no time. The grow list with pop dates is at the bottom of this post.

Since I had plenty of seeds I wanted to try an experiment. Which is better for germination, soil or Rapid Rooters? I have two mini-greenhouses with 36 soil cups each, and one mini-greenhouse with a 72 cell insert loaded with Rapid Rooters. All seeds were soaked overnight in water that had been boiled and cooled and contained a dilution of brewed chamomile tea and H2O2. The Rapid Rooters and soil were both moistened with the same mix. The soil is Sungro Sunshine mix #1 amended lightly with Ancient Forest and worm castings. Wondering if the organisms in the amendments might help break down the seed coat. Each cell contains about five seeds. This will force me to cull the weaklings, as opposed to trying to save them, hahaha! At most I will end up with two seedlings for each variety. If both survive, I can try to gift one of the two. I am thinking that some varieties may germinate better in soil, some better in the Rapid Rooters, and for some it may not make a difference. I read somewhere that kelp solutions are rich in growth hormones. Has anyone added a light kelp solution dilution to their germination setup? I was thinking of adding a couple of drops to each Rapid Rooter cell. Fert-wise, the kelp solutions are very, very weak. I doubt it would do any harm. Has anyone ever tried the kelp? I have not, but might try it later on anything that seems stubborn to sprout.

I am hoping these guys are all budded up come springtime, and ready for an early harvest. Since my indoor space is limited, I am giving serious consideration to building a small greenhouse in the backyard and putting in a couple of space heaters for the night time. I decided against a raised bed, and will probably go with 5 gallon Root Pouches for the larger plants. Some of the annuums and plants I'm as yet unsure of I will grow in 2 gallon pots. If I end up liking them, I can always up-pot them.

Getting organized:

Man, I hope I didn't mix any of these up! 64 cups to keep straight is a far cry from 3. It will be 6 months until I know for sure!:

Rapid Rooters:

Soil:

Let the waiting game begin!:

Also, in case anyone is interested, the white plastic labelling tags are available at Discount Hydroponics, $2.95/100! Cheaper than popsickle sticks!

Regarding the plants I already have, I am going to try to start cuttings off most of them in the event the plants don't make it over the winter. I won't need to start those from seed, although there are four varieties (Douglah, Fatalii, Barrackpore and Yellow Bhut) I am starting from seed, as well.

Question: When we start a new grow season, is it typical to just add to one's glog thread, or is it appropriate to start a new thread for the new grow year?

Anyway, happy growing to you all and thanks for looking. I'm hoping all the lessons I learned this year will help me to make this grow much more successful!

GROW LIST: I will try to edit in pop dates for both soil and Rapid Rooters. The Rapid Rooters might get earlier pop dates since I can see the rootlets before hooks form.

Sown seeds (65):

Trinidad Scorpion (AJIJOE) 10/20/12 (RR)
HP22B (Pepper Joe) 10/19/12 (RR), 10/27/12 (soil)
Primo (Primo) 10/22/12 (RR), 10/26/12 (soil)
Billy Boy Jonah (Silver_Surfer via Coheed) 10/22/12 (RR)
7 Pot Congo Gigantic (Pepperlover) 10/23/12 (RR), 10/26/12 (soil)
7 Pot Barrackpore (Biscgolf) 10/27/12 (RR)
Dorset Naga (Pepperlover - pods) 10/24/12 (RR), 10/26/12 (soil)
Naga Morich (Biscgolf - pods) 10/22/12 (RR), 10/24/12 (soil)
Bhut Jolokia (JoynersHotPeppers)
Red Rocoto (SocalChilihead) 10/22/12 (RR)
Malawi Peppadew (Refiningfirechiles) 10/19/12 (RR), 10/24/12 (soil)
Trinidad PI281317 (Pepperlover) 10/19/12 (RR), 10/24/12 (soil)
Anaheim (Pepperlover - gift)
7 Pot Chiguanas (Silver Surfer via Coheed) 10/23/12 (RR)
Red Devil's Tongue (Pepperlover - gift) 10/28/12 (RR)
Butch T (Pepperlover - pods) 10/24/12 (RR)
7 Pot Jonah (Pepperlover - pods) 10/27/12 (RR)
7 Pot Burgundy (Silver_Surfer via Coheed) 10/23/12 (RR), 10/26/12 (soil)
Infinity 10/20/12 (soil), 10/22/12 (RR)
Yellow Moruga (Pepperlover) 10/23/12 (soil), 10/23/12 (RR)
Yellow Brain (Biscgolf) 10/24/12 (RR)
Yellow Bhut Jolokia (Biscgolf) 10/26/12 (soil)
Fatalii (AJIJOE) 10/22/12 (RR),10/28/12 (soil)
7 Pot Yellow (Biscgolf) 10/24/12 (RR)
Peach Bhut (AJIJOE) 10/28/12 (RR)
Beni Highland (AJIJOE) 10/19/12 (RR), 10/22/12 (soil)
Trinidad Morova (Pepperlover) 10/23/12 (soil), 10/28/12 (RR)
7 Pot Orange (Silver_Surfer via Coheed) 10/23/12 (soil), 10/28/12 (RR)
Golden Cayenne (SocalChilehead) 10/19/12 (RR), 10/20/12 (soil)
Yellow Scotch Bonnet (AJIJOE) 10/22/12 (soil), 10/22/12 (RR)
7 Pot Brown (Biscgolf) 10/24/12 (soil)
Douglah (Biscgolf) 10/27/12 (soil)
Black Habanero (Refiningfirechiles) 10/20/12 (RR), 10/26/12 (soil)
Chocolate Scorpion (KiNGDeNNiZ) 10/22/12 (RR), 10/23/12 (soil)
Douglah x Chocolate Scorpion F4 (Silver_Surfer via Coheed) 10/23/12 (RR), 10/24/12 (soil)
Black Naga (Refiningfirechiles) 10/20/12 (soil)
Pasilla Bajio (Refiningfirechiles) 10/22/12 (soil), 10/27/12 (RR)
Long Chocolate Habanero (AJIJOE) 10/24/12 (RR), 10/24/12 (soil)
Chocolate Habanero (AJIJOE) 10/23/12 (soil), 10/24/12 (RR)
Black Stinger (Refiningfirechiles) 10/22/12 (RR), 10/23/12 (soil)
7 Pot White (Pepperlover) 10/24/12 (RR), 10/27/12 (soil)
Giant White Habanero (AJIJOE) 10/22/12 (RR), 10/23/12 (soil)
White Bullet Habanero (AJIJOE) 10/22/12 (RR), 10/26/12 (soil)
White Devil's Tongue (Silver_Surfer via Coheed) 10/28/12 (RR)
Serrano (Pepper Joe - free) 10/19/12 (RR), 10/19/12 (soil) ***FIRST SOIL***
Jalapeno (Pepper Joe - free) 10/19/12 (RR), 10/20/12 (soil)
Red Bell (store bought pepper) 10/19/12 (RR), 10/26/12 (soil)
Andy F1 Gochu (Stickman via SocalChilehead) 10/17/12 (RR) ***TIED, FIRST OVERALL*** 10/23/12 (soil)
Korean Winner Hybrid (Stickman via SocalChilehead) 10/17/12 (RR) ***TIED, FIRST OVERALL***
Pimenta de Neyde (SocalChilehead) 10/28/12 (RR)
Trinidad Scorpion Green (SocalChilehead) 10/19/12 (RR)
Most Prolific C.chacoense (Pepperlover - gift) 10/23/12 (RR)
Royal Black (AJIJOE) 10/22/12 (RR), 10/26/12 (soil)
Assam (SocalChilehead) 10/19/12 (RR), 10/22/12 (soil)
Trinidad Scorpion "FG" (AJIJOE) 10/19/12 (RR), 10/24/12 (soil)
Australian Lantern Habanero (AJIJOE) 10/26/12 (RR), 10/26/12 (soil)
Aji Yellow (AJIJOE) 10/23/12 (RR)
Jamaican Hot Chocolate (KiNGDeNNiZ) 10/22/12 (RR)
Aji Omnicolor (OROZCONLECHE) 10/19/12 (RR)
Not-Trinidad Scorpion (long yellow pod from Arboretum, KiNGDeNNiZ) 10/22/12 (RR)
Mystery Chocolate Mix (Silver_Surfer) 10/23/12 (RR)
Red Congo (AJIJOE) 10/23/12 (RR)
Peach Habanero (AJIJOE) 10/19/12 (RR), 10/22/12 (soil)
Yellow Hablokia (AJIJOE) 10/20/12 (RR), 10/22/12 (soil)
Sown 10/20/12
Yellow Bell (store-bought pepper) 10/23/12 (RR)
Sown 10/28/12
Chocolate Bell (Refiningfirechiles)
Jay's Peach Ghost Scorpion (Refiningfirechiles)
Malaysian Goronong (Refiningfirechiles)
Douglah (Refiningfirechiles)
Peter (Refiningfirechiles)
Yellow Bhut (Refiningfirechiles)
Chocolate Bhut (Refiningfirechiles)
Aji Pineapple (Refiningfirechiles)
Aji Dulce 1 (Tradewinds)
Datil (Tradewinds)
Goat's Horn (Tradewinds)
NuMex Big Jim (Tradewinds)
Paprika (Tradewinds)
Brain Strain 7 (PepperRidge)


What I hope to save from my current grow, either whole plants or clones (13):

Carribean Red (local nursery)
Aji Panca (Refiningfirechiles)
Peter Pepper (Refiningfirechiles)
Jamaican Yellow Mushroom (Refiningfirechiles)
Moruga (Refiningfirechiles)
Malaysian Goronong (Refiningfirechiles)
Thai Dragon (North Park Produce)
Chenzo (North Park Produce)
Red Brain Strain (Baker's Peppers - pods)
Chinese 5-color (Orozconleche)
Aji Dulce (Orozconleche)
Datil (Orozconleche)
Bonnie "World's Hottest Hab" (Fatalii?) (Home Depot)

I'm going to do my best to keep one of each alive, but with 77 total, I might be lucky if a few croak!

 

[DocNrock]

This is the first time I culled seedlings. I feel like an axe murderer. I guess it is for the greater good. I put this pic in for Nee.

It seems to go along with the season. Happy Halloween! By the way, a jigsaw is the best Jack-O-Lantern cutting tool ever! Been using one for the past five years, the first time I thought of using one. Out of rubbing alcohol to get rid of the Sharpie marks. The ink will be gone tomorrow.

 

[3/5King]

Hahahahaha, I've got the same kind of pic in the beginning of my glog...lol it's a right of passage. Ya can't save them all..."But I can!!!! I cannnn!!!!!"

Nice kin' I've thought about using one of those myself.

 

[GA Growhead]

Damn doc,
I couldn't have done it. There's no way i could have.
I would have separated them and had double the plants.
Or let them get big enough to take the top of one or both as a cutting.
That picture hurt me. I try & try to save them all!
Im getting my indoor set up ready. Your fueling my fire!
I still got a few weeks left outside. Possible frost on early Monday.
If the garden survives that, i will be good. Still have a ton of green pods!
But ready to bring it indoor.
You are well on your way! Looking good!

 

[DocNrock]

Hahahahaha, I've got the same kind of pic in the beginning of my glog...lol it's a right of passage. Ya can't save them all..."But I can!!!! I cannnn!!!!!"

Nice kin' I've thought about using one of those myself.

Dood, you have to try the jigsaw! You will never go back to a knife or whatever you used before. I used a power drill for the pupils. Regarding the culls, it was soooo hard to say "die." I guess I "broke on through to the other side."

Damn doc,
I couldn't have done it. There's no way i could have.
I would have separated them and had double the plants.
Or let them get big enough to take the top of one or both as a cutting.
That picture hurt me. I try & try to save them all!
Im getting my indoor set up ready. Your fueling my fire!
I still got a few weeks left outside. Possible frost on early Monday.
If the garden survives that, i will be good. Still have a ton of green pods!
But ready to bring it indoor.
You are well on your way! Looking good!

It was hard to kill them. But I know I may not have room for every single variety, let alone more than one of each. Like I said, I felt like an axe murderer. It hurt me to do it. Hope your greenies go ripe! Looking forward to following your grow this coming year. I've learned a lot from you and many other master growers on here. Hopefully I can apply it to fruition this coming year!

 

[PaulG]

After a couple of years the bad memories of culling will disappear, Brent
But I can relate to your feelings. That's why I wound up with too many
plants this year!

Your seedlings are poppin' up great! A nice selection of varieties; your pic
of the new seeds had me rollin' You have no will power!

And congrats on your new greenhouse purchase! I hope you have as much
fun with yours as i've had with mine. Been one of the best garden investments
I've made, for sure. I'm looking forward to seeing pix of the greenhouse in its
new home and full of seedlings Did you pick up any of their shelves, as well?
When I got mine, they had the shelves on sale as well.

Have fun, brother!

 

[DocNrock]

After a couple of years the bad memories of culling will disappear, Brent
But I can relate to your feelings. That's why I wound up with too many
plants this year!

Your seedlings are poppin' up great! A nice selection of varieties; your pic
of the new seeds had me rollin' You have no will power!

And congrats on your new greenhouse purchase! I hope you have as much
fun with yours as i've had with mine. Been one of the best garden investments
I've made, for sure. I'm looking forward to seeing pix of the greenhouse in its
new home and full of seedlings Did you pick up any of their shelves, as well?
When I got mine, they had the shelves on sale as well.

Have fun, brother!

I have almost no will power, whatsoever! The only willpower I had was to kill off the weaklings. Poor things. Anyway, needed to be done.

I'm on the tail end of bronchitis right now. Sucked working all week and being on-call Thursday. Napped for about four hours today. Feeling better now. Hopefully can get the greenhouse up tomorrow. I didn't see the shelves there. Perhaps I might be able to pick some up tomorrow.

Thanks a lot, bro!

 

[JoynersHotPeppers]

Killing in the name of....

 

[DocNrock]

Killing in the name of....

Darwin.

 

[PaulG]

Hey, bro! Take it easy, my friend - the greenhouse will still be there
when you feel better! Hate to see a slip of the scalpel! On the chili
peppers, I mean

Wish i could be there to help you put it together. It goes so much better
with two people. Have you got a helper?

 

[DocNrock]

Hey, bro! Take it easy, my friend - the greenhouse will still be there
when you feel better! Hate to see a slip of the scalpel! On the chili
peppers, I mean

Wish i could be there to help you put it together. It goes so much better
with two people. Have you got a helper?

Thanks, man! I feel a lot better today. I'm thinking its gonna be a greenhouse kinda day! We'll see.

 

[DocNrock]

Well, I was going to assemble the greenhouse today. Got the box unpacked and read the instructions. It seems I need to make a wooden foundation even on a concrete slab given the way the base pieces of the frame are designed to overhang on 2x4s. So I need to pick up some lumber and various other items. Not enough time today, so a later weekend. Our nighttime lows are high 40's/low 50's, so I think I have a few weeks. One of the user reviews recommended caulking the edges of the panels once they are in place. Sounds like a good idea to me, so I need to pick up a caulking gun and a tube or two of caulk, as well.

Here is the site where it will go. The distance between the posts is about 8 1/2 feet. The distance from the brick to the edge of the dirt area where the wheelbarrow is sitting is 6 feet.

Yup, lots of pieces, waiting for another day:

I'd never heard of Harbor Freight before. Turns out there is one about 10 minutes from my house! Great store. Oh, and they had a 1500 watt space heater on sale for $27! Score! Says it's good for 800 square feet. I doubt that, but 48 square feet should be no problemo!

I think I have a few weeks before these guys outgrow their current home. But some first true leaves are starting to show. There are only two varieties that haven't popped as of today, Anaheim and Red Bhut.

Fernando (SocalChilehead) and I were talking about the next potting up of these guys. He had recommended some 6 1/2" square pots to get them through the next phase of growth when they are ready. He sent me a link for some that were about 75 cents each. I happened to be in the 99 Cents Only store recently and found some window boxes for 99 cents each with inside dimensions of 6" x 12 1/2". Should take three plants each. I can separate the roots with some cardboard inserts. 25 for $25, and room for 75 small plants.

I'm thinking I'm going to get rid of the established plants that I bought, except for the Aji Panca and Caribbean Red. The others just seem stunted compared to the ones I grew from seed. I sowed seeds today to replace them. Here is a Datil that I grew from seed, sown around early to mid August. Nice stocky plant and starting to bud up.

I mentioned earlier that my Anaheim seeds hadn't popped yet. My Anaheim plant I started from seed has three small pods on it. Still tiny, but here is the largest one.

That's it for now. Got the new seeds sown, 14 varieties, into both soil and Rapid Rooters.

Have a great week, everyone!

Brent

 

[SocalChilehead]

The new starts look great that is always tough, but atleast you will have room for your plants I am going to transfer plants next week into party up cups I am going to pick out the best. Great new additions with a combination of heat and flavor. The greenhouse looks awesome can not wait to see the finish product. Love the pumpkin carving hopefully you roasted the seeds.

 

[DocNrock]

The new starts look great that is always tough, but atleast you will have room for your plants I am going to transfer plants next week into party up cups I am going to pick out the best. Great new additions with a combination of heat and flavor. The greenhouse looks awesome can not wait to see the finish product. Love the pumpkin carving hopefully you roasted the seeds.

Thanks for stopping in, Fernando. Your plants and starts look awesome. Looking forward to seeing your starts reach for the sky! Regarding the new starts, I obviously like all of them, but given the aroma of fresh powders relative to the non-aroma of store-bought chile powder, I'm really looking forward to powdering up some pods off the Paprika! Can't wait to get the greenhouse up. The pumpkin seeds are saved, but not yet roasted.

 

[Spicytigger]

I hate the idea of culling also, that's why I put one seed per pot/rockwool. Then again I don't have the quantities you have. I just sowed 36 seeds this afternoon. 7 diff varieties. hoping I at least get some ghosts out of them (6). Harbor Frieghts is great. I have one just around the corner from my house. My hubbie frequents it at least once a week. Pics look great, good luck.

Angie

 

[stickman]

Regarding the new starts, I obviously like all of them, but given the aroma of fresh powders relative to the non-aroma of store-bought chile powder, I'm really looking forward to powdering up some pods off the Paprika

HI Doc
What kind of paprika do you have planted? I didn't see any in your grow list.

 

[DocNrock]

I hate the idea of culling also, that's why I put one seed per pot/rockwool. Then again I don't have the quantities you have. I just sowed 36 seeds this afternoon. 7 diff varieties. hoping I at least get some ghosts out of them (6). Harbor Frieghts is great. I have one just around the corner from my house. My hubbie frequents it at least once a week. Pics look great, good luck.

Angie

Thank you Angie and thanks for stopping in. Good luck with your Ghosts.

HI Doc
What kind of paprika do you have planted? I didn't see any in your grow list.

I just put down seeds for a few more varieties yesterday. This is the Paprika that I got: http://www.tradewindsfruitstore.com/servlet/the-378/Paprika-Pepper-Seeds--dsh-/Detail

 

[stickman]

Cool! We'll have to compare notes when the paprika peppers start to ripen. I'll be growing one of the almapaprika varieties and the long, tapered sweet paprika varieties in my garden, and starting one of the sweet white varieties to share with my Mom. Cheers

 

[DocNrock]

Cool! We'll have to compare notes when the paprika peppers start to ripen. I'll be growing one of the almapaprika varieties and the long, tapered sweet paprika varieties in my garden, and starting one of the sweet white varieties to share with my Mom. Cheers

Most definitely. I'm really looking forward to drying and powdering these. The paprika in the stores has nice color, but not a lot of aroma or flavor. Do you use the Alma Paprika the same way?

 

[stickman]

Most definitely. I'm really looking forward to drying and powdering these. The paprika in the stores has nice color, but not a lot of aroma or flavor. Do you use the Alma Paprika the same way?

The only variety I've grown up to now is the Chimayo. It's from northern New Mexico, but qualifies as a paprika pepper. When dried, it has a mild heat and flavor, and is very aromatic.I haven't grown any other type of Paprika yet, but from what Balázs says, the almapaprika is mostly for stuffing and/or pickling. The variety he grew for paprika powder was pretty close to the variety called Kalocsa that looked like this...

Tthis spring, I'll be growing three varieties of Hungarian peppers for the first time. One will be the peppers pictured above, one will be one of the three varieties of almapaprika and I'll also be planting a white stuffing pepper called Taltos, that looks like the picture on the left below...

I understand there's another variety that can be cut up and dried... it's called a "cheese pepper" here in the states. The Hungarians call it a "tomato pepper" because it looks as much like a big beefsteak tomato as anything. I have some seeds for one of those as well, but no room to grow it this coming season. It looks like the left pic below.

Cheers

 

[DocNrock]

I'll be growing three varieties of Hungarian peppers for the first time. One will be the peppers pictured above, one will be one of the three varieties of almapaprika and I'll also be planting a white stuffing pepper called TaltosCheers

Those look like some great exotic varieties. I'd love to hear how the Alma Paprikas turn out for you. For a pickling pepper, I'm growing the Malawi Peppadew. If our grows are both successful, maybe we can trade pickling pods when we have ripe ones?