Fatalii Llama 2020

Fatalii_Llama · Feb 18, 2020

Mistake #1
All the red solo cups on the right side of this picture are survivors from my noobie mistake....... I purchased a large 2x4 heat mat, planted all my seeds and anxiously waited. Only 7 days later MANY of my seeds sprouted! At first I thought my heat mat was faulty because it really didnt do anything the first 2 solid days. Not sure what was up with the heating element.... Then day 3 hit and this sucker was cooking!! The mix of temp must have somehow led to ideal germination. Being a noob, I decided I would leave the heat mat on to "help the peppers" because they like warmth. 3 days later almost every sprout was dead. I had literally baked my seedlings.

Mistake #2
All I can do is laugh about this one because its so dumb! I see the humor in it, its ok to think it as well

I planted the survivors noted above in solo cups. I transferred the number to them that correlated to their spot in the original germination tray. Cool no issue......except.......... I updated my excel sheet on the computer as I replanted in trial 2. No issue because I kept the paper copy as a cheat sheet for the survivors. Until I accidentally left it on a table instead of my grow tent and my 3 year old spilled milk all over it and turned it to a bloody inked mess of paper pulp! So, every survivor is a complete mystery! LOL

Mistake #3
I replanted and ended up getting almost Zero germination! I had a heat mat on and this time I used Peat Pellets. What went wrong? I have read of many people using peat pellets with success. I can tell you that regardless, I will never personally use them again. Just not for me! That wasnt the sole problem. My heat mat was way too hot and I think I once again killed my seeds before they could even sprout this time.

Fatalii_Llama · Feb 18, 2020

My grow tent with some overwintered peppers, hydroponic lettuce system, and seedlings.

Try #3 shown on upper left! I was finally successful! Almost every type has now sprouted in the 72 spot container. Still waiting on solo cups, but they were started later.

I finally smartened up! I purchased a thermostat for my heat mat, went back to starting mix, and bottom "fed" the medium. I set my thermostat to 74 degrees. Still learning, but I finally got successful sprouts! I need to thin/transplant very soon.

Solo cups on heating mat (just started these)

luvmesump3pp3rz · Feb 18, 2020

you can also have a towel between the heat mat and the tray to buffer back the heat a little.

Fatalii_Llama · Feb 18, 2020

that makes sense! thanks !

luvmesump3pp3rz said:
you can also have a towel between the heat mat and the tray to buffer back the heat a little.

Mr.joe · Feb 18, 2020

Very ambitious start you have going there. The thermostat for the heatmat is a good idea. If you remember all the choices on your original set of seeds write them down so that later there is less options to try and ID them... just a thought.

Tybo · Feb 18, 2020

Wow that is one heck of a grow list. You have some good ones on there!
Good luck this season.

Fatalii_Llama · Feb 18, 2020

Thanks Tybo! You contributed to my exploration year my friend!!

PaulG · Feb 18, 2020

That is an expansive list, FL. Moving
all those will be a thrill, I’m sure.

Don’t worry about using the 3-gallon pots.
You can grow pretty decent plants in them.
Certainly enough for some pods and seeds.

Good luck deciding on your favorites!

Fatalii_Llama · Feb 18, 2020

agreed. I have a detailed multi tab excel file going to document everything. That way I dont forget anything. I will rate everything as well so after the season I can truly see what I loved and then stick more to that kind of stuff so I can grow more of less variety to focus more on sauce production (another fun part of the hobby)

Mr.joe said:
Very ambitious start you have going there. The thermostat for the heatmat is a good idea. If you remember all the choices on your original set of seeds write them down so that later there is less options to try and ID them... just a thought.

Fatalii_Llama · Feb 18, 2020

Thanks PaulG! Ya i definitely over did it and it will make for quite the chore this year! My wife thinks I am completely nuts. It will probably take 2-3 loads just to move the plants alone! Glad to hear about the 3 gallon pots. My local supermarket sells really nice heavy duty plastic ones for $0.25 each!! Cant beat it! just gotta drill drain holes. They get all their bouquet flowers in them, but they put them in cutesy bouquet plastic wrap instead so the pots just sit around. They always have 100+. Super awesome.

PaulG said:
That is an expansive list, FL. Moving
all those will be a thrill, I’m sure.

Don’t worry about using the 3-gallon pots.
You can grow pretty decent plants in them.
Certainly enough for some pods and seeds.

Good luck deciding on your favorites!

Downriver · Feb 19, 2020

Looks like your off to a good start FL. I counted over 70 varieties on your list. That's a lotta pots lol.

Best of luck with your grow.

Chorizo857_62J · Feb 19, 2020

Them's a lot of peppers to tend to. Good Luck.

Fatalii_Llama · Feb 20, 2020

thanks everyone. we will see! Might have bitten off more than I can chew

Fatalii_Llama · May 29, 2020

well I have bitten off more than I can chew, but whatever happens happens. I had a total of 14 varieties not survive. Rabbits came up on the porch and scarfed them prior to me getting them up potted :/ not happy about it. I have plenty so it is what it is. My garden not shown is full of veggies this year so I decided to only grow peppers in pots since its an exploration year. Nothing very big yet, but here it is! (wife not happy with our deck view now......)

internationalfish · May 30, 2020

Haha, WOW! What a collection of pots! That's really impressive. And a really nice deck.

You're going to have a freaking jungle in a month or two.

Fatalii_Llama · May 30, 2020

hahah thanks. Yes it will be and I am excited!

PaulG · May 30, 2020

That will be some kind of green hedge
on your deck in a few weeks, FM!

Those look like about 4 to 6 gallon pots?

Siv · May 31, 2020

Wow - that's a massive number of pots. Love it!

Raputin · Jun 1, 2020

Fatalii_Llama said:
(wife not happy with our deck view now......)

I can't imagine how my wife would react if I had the same amount of pots outside.
But looks very cool from my point of view!