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!

 

[7Pod]

Good luck with your start this year.

 

[FireInTheHole]

This will get me through my off season. Looking forward to the new grow, I know you've done your homework so it should be a good one!

 

[SocalChilehead]

This awesome to see hope everything sprouts in short time and the glog thing don't essentially it your own decision on how you want to do it. I was and still considering starting a new thread, but it is easier for me to just keep it in one since my plants from 2012 are still producing. I try to keep from using ferts until the third true leaves show, but I have read some people using either superthrive, chili focus, light amount worm tea, or other market fertilizers it is by preference and what has worked for them. I personally like to keep safe and not take the chance of over fertilizing and starting again.
Good luck

 

[fishing4fun2]

If everything grows your going to have a forest of peppers for your yard, i have to follow this glog and view your progress as you continue.
Best of luck
vic

 

[standbyandfire]

Goodluck on the start of your 2013 season.

 

[Stefan_W]

Good luck! I love the look of the individually labeled starts, so I'm going to have to see if the store you mention sells online to Canada.

 

[DocNrock]

Good luck with your start this year.

Thanks for stopping in and for the well-wishes!

This will get me through my off season. Looking forward to the new grow, I know you've done your homework so it should be a good one!

Thanks! If you are in the High Desert, you're probably not far away from me. I think I've learned how not to kill any more with kindness, so hopefully mother nature will do the rest.

This awesome to see hope everything sprouts in short time and the glog thing don't essentially it your own decision on how you want to do it. I was and still considering starting a new thread, but it is easier for me to just keep it in one since my plants from 2012 are still producing. I try to keep from using ferts until the third true leaves show, but I have read some people using either superthrive, chili focus, light amount worm tea, or other market fertilizers it is by preference and what has worked for them. I personally like to keep safe and not take the chance of over fertilizing and starting again.
Good luck

Thanks, Fernando, and thanks for all the advice, the seeds, and the pods along the way! Your grow has definitely been an inspiration. Pretty much everything you sent me is being grown out. The amendments I added to the soil are really light, and were added primarily just to get mycorrhizae and other beneficial organisms growing, not for any NPK additions.

If everything grows your going to have a forest of peppers for your yard, i have to follow this glog and view your progress as you continue.
Best of luck
vic

Thanks for stopping in and for the wishes, Vic. I hope I can keep them going and growing. Indeed it might become a forest if I am lucky and manage to do it right.

Goodluck on the start of your 2013 season.

Thanks and thanks for stopping in.

Good luck! I love the look of the individually labeled starts, so I'm going to have to see if the store you mention sells online to Canada.

Thanks Stefan. When I saw how cheap the tags were, it was a no brainer to pick up two packs. www.discount-hydro.com If they ship to Canada, the postage might kill the deal. Hope not!

 

[Stefan_W]

Yup, it was a deal breaker. I put an extra pump and air stones in my cart as well, and the shipping alone ended up at just under 40 bucks, No thank you.

 

[DocNrock]

Yup, it was a deal breaker. I put an extra pump and air stones in my cart as well, and the shipping alone ended up at just under 40 bucks, No thank you.

Got a US PO Box?

 

[Stefan_W]

Got a US PO Box?

I was thinking of doing that, seeing as I am only an hour away from the US border. One of these days I'll get around to setting one up.

 

[Jeff H]

Gratz on getting started early. It is the best way to get peppers sooner next year. I started mine a few weeks ago and have a grow log with a few pics of what I am doing a couple of pages back. I certainly don't have anything like what you are putting together, just some fatallis, Bhuts, Butch Ts, Tobasco and a few others along with a few plants I brought inside. Your collection of seedlings is impressive considering you will have them in the house for 5-7 months. I'll be interested to see your lighting set up once they are more mature in a few months.

 

[PaulG]

Brent, you have jumped in with both feet, brother! You have an awesome
startup there; good luck getting that crowd through to Spring. There are a
lot of awesome varieties in those cups!

+1 Jeff - you are going to have a houseful! What are you using for light at the moment?

 

[nee]

Hey Doc!

It'll be interesting to see how you go with that lot indoors! I struggled with only 20 or so, but you've probably got a bit more room than I had? I don't blame you though, as i found that growing indoors really took away that winter boredom, and I'll deffo be doing it again next year!
When does spring hit over there?

Best of luck mate

 

[DocNrock]

Gratz on getting started early. It is the best way to get peppers sooner next year. I started mine a few weeks ago and have a grow log with a few pics of what I am doing a couple of pages back. I certainly don't have anything like what you are putting together, just some fatallis, Bhuts, Butch Ts, Tobasco and a few others along with a few plants I brought inside. Your collection of seedlings is impressive considering you will have them in the house for 5-7 months. I'll be interested to see your lighting set up once they are more mature in a few months.

Brent, you have jumped in with both feet, brother! You have an awesome
startup there; good luck getting that crowd through to Spring. There are a
lot of awesome varieties in those cups!

+1 Jeff - you are going to have a houseful! What are you using for light at the moment?

Hey Doc!

It'll be interesting to see how you go with that lot indoors! I struggled with only 20 or so, but you've probably got a bit more room than I had? I don't blame you though, as i found that growing indoors really took away that winter boredom, and I'll deffo be doing it again next year!
When does spring hit over there?

Best of luck mate

Thanks for checking in, guys! I'm kind of chuckling on this end regarding the 5 to 7 month thing. So Cal isn't Ohio (or Oregon, or Lara VIC Australia, apparently). But it's all good. I couldn't pull this off if our winters were like yours. Our last frost (if we get one), is mid February, so 4 months shielded from the occasional night-time frost is all I need. Daytime highs during our winter are usually 50's to 60's, with the occasional 40's. No need for an elaborate indoor lighting system or grow room. I'm thinking it's going to be a couple of months after they hook before they are even ready to be up-potted from the current trays. Hopefully even a bit longer. I have two 4' T8 fixtures, one with 4 bulbs and one with 2. This should be plenty to keep them alive indoors until time to go outdoors. The starts I have now are about 3 months old (seed to soil) and only about a foot tall, but they are starting to bud.

I'm actually thinking about building a small greenhouse to put outside and putting a space heater or two in it, only to run on nights where frosts *might* occur. I only plan to keep one plant of each variety, so worse case scenario, there would be 64 plants. I plan to keep them in pots no bigger than one gallon (even a half gallon if I can get away with it) until they are ready to go outdoors permanently. Once they are ready for their outdoor home, then they will get 5 gallon pots. I think a 10' wide and 5' deep greenhouse would be plenty big. I found some plans online that look relatively easy to build.

And Neil, you may have noticed that I have left myself no way to save the weaklings! They will have to be culled to keep the strong from being strangled.

Once again, thanks for checking in, guys. Best wishes on your respective grows. I'm really looking forward to checking them out, and especially to see what Paul comes up with for 2013!

Brent

 

[PaulG]

I still think you should use
Shane's Christmas light heating system!

 

[DocNrock]

I still think you should use
Shane's Christmas light heating system!

I forgot about that. I found it hilariously brilliant! (forgive the pun ) How about these? http://www.orientalt...did^16144836368

Here is my final grow list. The order doesn't make much sense, other than it's the order in the trays in case I lose my labels. I'll add in the missing sources when I can go through my seed packs again.

Sown seeds (64):

Trinidad Scorpion (Aji Joe)
HP22B (Pepper Joe)
Primo (Primo)
Billy Boy Jonah
7 Pot Congo Gigantic (Pepperlover)
7 Pot Barrackpore
Dorset Naga (Pepperlover - pods)
Naga Morich (Biscgolf - pods)
Bhut Jolokia
Red Rocoto (SocalChilihead)
Malawi Peppadew (Refiningfirechiles)
Trinidad PI281317 (Pepperlover)
Anaheim (Pepperlover - gift)
7 Pot Chiguanas (Silver Surfer via Coheed)
Red Devil's Tongue
Butch T
7 Pot Jonah (Pepperlover - pods)
7 Pot Burgundy (Silver Surfer via Coheed)
Infinity
Yellow Moruga (Pepperlover)
Yellow Brain (Pepperlover)
Yellow Bhut Jolokia
Fatalii (Refiningfirechiles)
7 Pot Yellow
Peach Bhut
Beni Highlands (Aji Joe)
Trinidad Morova (Pepperlover)
7 Pot Orange (Silver Surfer via Coheed)
Golden Cayenne (SocalChilehead)
Yellow Scotch Bonnet (Aji Joe)
7 Pot Brown
Douglah
Black Habanero (Refiningfirechiles)
Chocolate Scorpion
Douglah x Chocolate Scorpion F4 (Silver Surfer via Coheed)
Black Naga (Refiningfirechiles)
Pasilla Bajio
Long Chocolate Habanero (Aji Joe)
Chocolate Habanero
Black Stinger (Refiningfirechiles)
7 Pot White (Pepperlover)
Giant White Habanero (Aji Joe)
White Bullet Habanero (Aji Joe)
White Devil's Tongue
Serrano (Pepper Joe - free)
Jalapeno (Pepper Joe - free)
Red Bell (saved from HUGE red bell pepper from 99 cent store)
Andy F1 Gochu (Stickman via SocalChilehead)
Korean Winner Hybrid (Stickman via SocalChilehead)
Pimenta de Neyde (SocalChilehead)
Trinidad Scorpion Green (SocalChilehead)
Most Prolific C.chacoense (Pepperlover - gift)
Royal Black (Aji Joe)
Assam (SocalChilehead)
Trinidad Scorpion "FG" (Aji Joe)
Australian Lantern Habanero (Aji Joe)
Aji Yellow (Aji Joe)
Jamaican Hot Chocolate (KingDenniz)
Aji Omnicolor (Orozconleche)
Not-Trinidad Scorpion (long yellow pod from Arboretum, KingDenniz)
Mystery Chocolate Mix (Silver Surfer)
Red Congo (Aji Joe)
Peach Habanero (Aji Joe)
Yellow Hablokia (Aji Joe)

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!

 

[PaulG]

That, my friend, is an impressive list.

Those chili pepper lights are just the ticket!

 

[stickman]

Good luck with your starts Doc. I grew about 50 chiles this year and got about 5 quarts of powder, plus jellies, pickles and fresh salsa whenever we wanted it. With the length of your growing season, you'll probably be swimming in peppers if you keep most of yours alive to harvest. Cheers

 

[DocNrock]

Good luck with your starts Doc. I grew about 50 chiles this year and got about 5 quarts of powder, plus jellies, pickles and fresh salsa whenever we wanted it. With the length of your growing season, you'll probably be swimming in peppers if you keep most of yours alive to harvest. Cheers

Thanks Stickman! You may have noticed a couple of varieties that came from your way. Looking forward to growing out the Gochus.

One of the things that has been particularly difficult for a noobie was figuring out what to use for soil. Earlier this year, I just went with Miracle Grow Moisture Control, since the fear of God was struck into me about the evils of overwatering. I didn't like using a Monsanto product, but until I knew more, it seemed like the best way to go. My plants have done OK in it, but I don't believe it to be quality soil, and I wonder if it accomodates a soil microbial "ecosystem" as well as the plants would like, or at all.

The Kellogg Patio Plus seemed like it might be a good alternative. It is OMRI listed, and is stated to contain beneficial items like worm castings and bat guano. I tried that on a few plants. It seems to work OK for the annuums, but then again, they grow in anything! The chinenses didn't seem to care much for it in the 2 gallon pots. After a couple of them died, I did a "soil autopsy" and found the bottom half to 1/3 of the pots to be completely compacted, soaked, and sludgey. The top two inches of the soil was dry. All the perlite in it had migrated to the top of the pot. In smaller pots, it seems to be OK.

After reading that Jim Duffy of Refiningfirechiles.com uses Sungro Sunshine Mix #1, I did some research on that product. It is listed as a quality, pH adjusted general potting medium with broad applications, including use as a starter mix. I looked at their other mixes, as well. Mix #4 is similar, but made to be more rapid draining for water and salt sensitive plants...sounds like pepper plants, to me.

I did an experiment and mixed #1 and #4 1:1, and then amended it with Ancient Forest (Spongey's recommendation), worm castings, and 0-5-0 bat guano. The amendments were mixed about 4:4:1, and then the amendment mix added to the soil in a roughly 5:1 ratio, then added a sprinkle of kelp meal. I up-potted my Datil, Aji Dulce, and Chinese 5-color seedlings into 2 gallon pots using this mix in one set of pots, and the Kellogg Patio Plus in another set of pots. The Datils and Aji Dulces are much healthier and growing much faster in the Sungro concoction than in the Patio Plus. The Chi5s don't seem to care, although one of the ones in the Sungro already has four pods compared to the others which have buds but no flowers yet. So far, this seems to be the best soil mix for me, at least in my hands. All is stocked at Discount Hydroponics and prices better than I could find anywhere, and they're only about 15 minutes from my house.

So this is the potting mix I plan to use for my 2013 grow, the Sungro #1 and #4 with the above amendments.

And just thinking out loud, so to speak, but I ran across this DIY page for a small greenhouse. I was going to modify it to be 6' x 10'. We'll see. http://www.buildeazy...reenhouse2.html