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Dragon49's 2019 Grow Log

I started to sow a month ago and finally have something to show for it.  Here is the story before I get to the pictures:
 
Back in 2014, I got to enjoy the exquisite flavor and perfect heat of a Pimenta de Neyde x Bhut Jolokia - F6 Open Pollinated. I saved some seeds and grew it out the following year.  I only grew one plant, but it grew true and produced 220 pods in a 5 gallon bucket.  I had some pods tested and they came in at 158,400 SHU.   Excellent heat, but far from deadly and a perfect compliment to the sweetness.  I saved those seeds, but took a four-year break from growing from seeds.  The cool thing about that plant is that it grew literally right next to a Yellow 7 Pot and I'm welcoming a cross.  I labeled seeds from different pods with different batch numbers, so I can keep track of what grows true and what crosses.  
 
I neither have a lot of room to grow, nor resources to isolate, so I'm only growing one plant this year.  Worried about the viability of my four-old seeds (stored well, except for climate control) I initially tried to sprout 14 - 9 in soil and 5 with the wet paper towel method.  After nearly three weeks - almost nothing!  Some tails popped up, but I planted them prematurely and the baby roots shriveled up and died.  I took some forum advice and soaked these and some other seeds in a (1/9) hydrogen peroxide to water solution for twenty-four hours, before returning them to a wet paper towel.  I checked nine days later and only one had sprouted, but it was a big, healthy root:
 
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After the initial transplant:
 
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I got excited this morning when I saw evidence of phototropism and knew the transplant took:
 
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The plant now:
 
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When I came home from work, I found this had finally popped out after sitting in soil for along time:
 
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I'm giving this one away, but will post pics while it remains in my possession.
 
 
 
 
Finally, this slow grower is evolving.  The second cotyledon leaf fell off and it appears that the second set of true leaves is finally starting to come in.  I feel like manually adjusting the leaves to undo the slight wrap over to make it easier for them to push through, but it’s probably best to let nature do her job.
 
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Finally, a new outdoor home.  I have no idea how many gallons this container holds, but it currently weighs 54.5 pounds!
I didn’t listen to Canedog’s advice and went with a mix heavy in composted manure:
 
75% composted manure – 25% potting soil:
 
Composted Manure – NPK: Not listed.
Ingredients – A composted blend of horse manure, cow manure, stable bedding, and plant materials.
 
Potting Soil – NPK:  0.13 – 0.04 – 0.13
 
Ingredients:  Canadian Sphagnium peat moss, composted or aged softwood bark, (and one or more of the following: compost, composted rice hulls, composted peanut hulls, perlite, composted worm castings, and a controlled released fertilizer.
 
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CaneDog said:
That's a lot of elbow (and root) room right there!  Hope that guy really takes off.
Ty - I could have gone with something smaller.  It was a long day - I had to start planting the rest of the family garden - Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Lettuce, and various herbs.  I was dead in the middle of the day and just found the container in the yard.  I'm OK with the size, but the weight's a bit of a burden and discourages one from moving it to follow the sun.  The problem is that the composted manure is very dense and the weight by volume is much more than ordinary soil, which if why I mis-guessed the final weight.  Not a big deal - this will sit right next to the raised bed of tomatoes which gets enough sun for great harvests.
 
Hey, Mark. Thought you would like a look at the little PdNxBJ.
Has only been getting Gen. Hydroponics Rapid Start (1.0 - .5 - 1.0).
Will start with my regular fertilizer when there are 2-3 decent sized
leaves:
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Two days ago, I thought I saw the second set of true leaves coming in; now I'm not so sure.  It spent the second day (fist full day) outside with good sun, but I don't see any progress.  The first set of true leaves is healthy, but it's time to move on. The plant sprouted 29 days ago and I think it should be more developed by now.
 
Gvi6uRM.jpg
 
I just left the family garden and won't be back until late June or sometime in July, so no more daily updates for a while.  I will be posting, but am not going to expect family members to be as obsessed about the plant as I am and send me pictures every day.  Maybe if I forget about it for a week, it will grow better.  Still disappointed with the lack of growth:
 
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Bad news:
 
There was a very bad storm this past Wednesday which damaged the plant.  It has recovered a little with some new growth:
 
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Can somebody confirm that these are weeds (clovers I suspect) and not some odd offshoot of the plant:
 
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I'm still hoping for the best, but with the slow progress and my zone's crappy growing season, I'm not confident I'll get any pods this year.
 
 
 
 
 
CaneDog said:
That's really crappy,especially with not being there in person.
 
Look like non-peppers to me. Maybe they'll at least help suck some of that storm water out of the pot - ugh.
 
Wow - weeds will actually serve a purpose.  I'll tell family members not to pull them.
 
Now I am getting very worried about the rest of the plant's life.  The storm (winds?) clearly killed one of the first set of true leaves.  I do see one other leaf coming in, but not the other.  If the storm also killed one of the next set of leaves, is it scientifically dead?  Will the set after this one not come in?
 
dragon49 said:
 
Wow - weeds will actually serve a purpose.  I'll tell family members not to pull them.
 
Now I am getting very worried about the rest of the plant's life.  The storm (winds?) clearly killed one of the first set of true leaves.  I do see one other leaf coming in, but not the other.  If the storm also killed one of the next set of leaves, is it scientifically dead?  Will the set after this one not come in?
 
I was kidding a bit about the weeds, although in some situations they can regulate water somewhat, acting as mulch in high heat and removing water when saturated, but they can also cause problems too.  Here they're pretty much a non-issue as small as they are.
 
Leaf drop in this situation is most likely due to to much water in the container media.  Can the plant be pushed under some sort of cover to be protected from rain?  Dropping the leaf will not prevent the plant from growing from the growth tip and/or laterals if it's otherwise in ok shape.
 
:cheers:
 
CaneDog said:
 
Can the plant be pushed under some sort of cover to be protected from rain?
:cheers:
 
Unfortunately, there are no permanent covered areas on the deck. It can be brought inside, but the container was 54.5 pounds when the soil was much drier, so I'm sure it's even heavier now.  It was hard for me to move it around and I'm not expecting or asking anybody else to, so it will stay in place and I'll be praying for the best.
 
A pop bottle with the bottom cut off might
make a good cloche to keep the rain off your
plant. CD is right, I think - it just needs to dry
out a bit.

Dont leave the cloche on in sunny weather,
though, it will bake your seedling.

On the bright side, its twin is doing well. I will
get a pic up soon. I will send you pods from it
if it has a successful season!
 
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