Dragon49's 2013 Grow Log

2013 Chile Pepper Grow Log:

My normal season begins in the middle of March, as I sprout 2 months before planting out in the garden. I’m dying to grow a superhot, but I have had 0% success in growing Capsicum chinense outside. A number of other factors prevent me from growing superhots in the garden.

I’ve decided on a small indoor only grow. A co-worker beekeeper jokingly offered to bring some bees into my apartment to pollinate, but I declined. If this works, I’ll have to expand my gardening skill set and figure out how to hand pollinate. I’ll also have to upgrade my lighting, as I’ve been told that my 54 watt T-3 florescent, while good enough to start seedlings, is not strong enough to get the plants to produce fruit.

Here we go. I’ve decided to sprout a Red Moruga Scorpion:

 

[dragon49]

Ghetto grow setup time!

I unpacked my 4 Bulb, 4 feet T5 Fluorescent light. It comes with 2 small wires attached to the back, and instructions on how to attach it to my ceiling. I dreaded the prospect of getting this done in such a way as to allow the unit to be height adjustable, as the plant will get taller. I figured out a better setup. I have 2 wooden pieces of furniture that until now, have not served a purpose. I simply placed the light on top of both pieces, and pulled them apart as much as I could. I then just had to put 4 books under the bucket to raise it. This setup shouldn't be too hard to keep kludging up as the plant grows taller. Check it out:

 

[dragon49]

 

[Sawyer]

Looks like you've got room there for three more buckets.

 

[dragon49]

Looks like you've got room there for three more buckets.

And so it begins. I was thinking about trying to sprout a Chocolate Bhut or 2!

 

[dragon49]

I'm now starting to try and sprout Peppers that will go in the garden at the end of May. This season, I'm not going to be experimenting much. I'm mostly going to grow what I know does well in my garden.

I just put two Open Pollinated F4 (with F1 Characteristics) Superchile seeds, and 1 Open Pollinated Aji Cereza seed, all from my 2012 saved seed stock, in soil.

I don't feel like taking pictures of Clay pots and soil. I'll only post pics if they sprout.

 

[dragon49]

I put another of my Open Pollinated F4 (with F1 Characteristics) Superchile seeds in soil.

The New light saturation is doing wonders for the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion. I see a lot of new leaf growth, not at the top.

 

[dragon49]

The Trinidad Moruga Scorpion continues to grow. I don't however like the paleness (yellowing?) of the top leaves. Not sure what's going in.

 

[Portuge]

Looks like its only new growth... If your worried then pull back the light an inch or two....

 

[dragon49]

I put 3 more seeds in soil:

One more Open Pollinated F4 (with F1 Characteristics) Superchile and 2 more Open Pollinated Aji Cereza's.

 

[dragon49]

I put one more One more Open Pollinated F4 (with F1 Characteristics) Superchile seed in soil.

 

[Sawyer]

"One more" doesn't necessarily mean "last one".

 

[dragon49]

"One more" doesn't necessarily mean "last one".

Correct. So far, I have 8 unsprouted (I gave up on the superhots that haven't sprouted since January, and re-cycled the soil and pots) seeds in soil. My goal is to have between 15 and 20 plants ready to transplant in the garden by the end of May. I'm assuming excellent germination rates from my own saved seeds from last season, so I will put between 10 and 15 more seeds in soil.

 

[dragon49]

With geeme's help, I was able to diagnose the yellowing of my Trinidad Moruga Scorpion - Bleaching. When I upgrading the lighting, I quadrupled the lumens and the plant has yet to adjust. I hope it does soon, as the last 2 sets of leaves have come in pale. The good news is that it continues to grow and the leaves not directly in the path of the light are a healthy dark green. This is the best internodal spacing that I have achieved with one of my peppers. Notice the almost full sized leaves in the middle of the plant. They grew after the higher ones.

The top of the soil is dusty dry, but I'm not watering again yet, as the leaves show no sign of wilting, and it is growing well. I'm surprised how long it is lasting between waterings. It has been at least 6 days since the last (2 cups) watering.

I just put a Chocolate Bhut in soil. If it sprouts, I'm keeping it for an indoor bucket grow. It will sit right next to the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion. I don't care if they cross - I welcome it, and we'll see what next season's seeds produce.

I also put an Open Pollinated Aji Cereza and 3 more of my Open Pollinated F4 (with F1 Characteristics) Superchile seeds into soil.

Here are some pics of the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion that I just took:

 

[dragon49]

I just sowed 8 more seeds: One more Open Pollinated Aji Cereza and 7 more of my Open Pollinated F4 (with F1 Characteristics) Superchiles.

 

[dragon49]

The top leaves of the Trinidad Moruga weren't just bleached, they were burnt to a crisp! I touched one and it crumbled. I cut off the unhealthy leaves. Take a look at how bad they were:

Now take a look at the after pictures:

The internodal spacing is so tight, that there is overcrowding of leaves. I hope this isn't a problem.


I moved the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion a few more inches away from the top of the light. I don't want to burn any more leaves. I've never before had any issues with leaves almost touching the top of fluorescent lights. The problem with this plant, is that I started it under 1 light, and later moved it under 4 lights, quadrupling the intensity. Also, floruscents are supposed to run cooler than other grow lights, but directly under the light, I measured the temperature at >90f. I need to be careful with the spacing. If I keep the plant too far away from the light, the internodal spacing will get bad and the plant will get leggy—both things that I do not want.

I get that bad internodal spacing and legginess are the same thing.

 

[dragon49]

I forgot to mention that last night, I finally watered the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion again. I thought that some of the leaves might have been drooping. iI may have misdiagnosed the situation as is possible that they were not upright, because of overcriowding, or they were crushed by the weight of the leaves on top of them. I increased slightly, the Cal-Mag dosage, giving it 3/8th of a teaspoon per gallon of water. The other nutes were kept at the same 1/4 teaspoon per gallon ratio.

 

[dragon49]

I put another six seeds in soil. Four more of my Open Pollinated F4 (with F1 Characteristics) Superchiles, one more Open Pollinated Aji Cereza, and 1 more Chocolate Bhut. I usually don't sow this many seeds, but I am getting worried about germination rates, as so far, nothing else has sprouted.

 

[dragon49]

Not a good year for sprouting so far:

Click on the Picture - A video will open.

 

[dragon49]

I finally have another sprout! One of my Open Pollinated F4 (with F1 Characteristics) Superchiles that I put in soil on March 23rd, just sprouted:

 

[dragon49]

I just moved the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion a little farther away from the light. It looks like some of the top leaves were starting to curl away to protect themselves form the light.

It is looking good: