FireEater101 2013 Glog

Hello friends and fellow chiliheads! My name is Mike and 2013 is my third year to grow a garden. I am a chili pepper fanatic and last year my interest in gardening blossomed immensely. I have been on this board now for one full year reading and learning from all the experience and knowledge that many of you hold. I decided as much as I love gardening and peppers that there is no way I will get locally as plants any superhots or peppers that I really wanna grow. This year will be my first year to grow superhots. I decided for 2013 to adopt the motto of "Go big or go home" so for this year having received a grow light (T5) setup for Christmas I am going to start my entire garden from seeds. Yes I do grow other veggies but this glog will be about the chilis that I grow this year. I am not an expert gardener just a microbiologist who has become passionate about gardening due to my love of chilis over many many years. I decided since I am starting from seed and just beginning here this weekend for the season to start a glog to share pics, obtain advice if needed and share my progress for the year. I hope to make this a success and for you all to enjoy seeing what I have going on here.

My growlist this year for Chilis was obtained from two vendors of Pepperlover.com and Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Here are the peppers I have just planted.

1. Red Bhut Jolokia
2. Trinidad Scorpion Original strain
3. Large Red 7 Pod
4. Fatali
5. Early Jalapeno
6. Scotch Bonnet
7. Caribbean Red Habanero
8. Tabasco
9. Cayenne
10. Serrano Tampequino
11. Blue Mystery (extra from pepperlover)
12. Dedo de Moca (extra from pepperlover)
13. Cap Chacoense (extra from pepperlover)

I started a 24 hour soak on all of my seeds yesterday 1/26/13 in some tap water

This morning was planting day 1/27/13

The endpoint for the day my Germination Station is completely full, heatpad turned on, little water on the bottom of the tray and there she will reside. I plan to leave the shades cracked so some light gets in and hopefully I will at least get 50% germination rate as I wanna plant 5-6 plants of each pepper and 4 of the extras I got too. Hopefully I will have an update soon and thanks for following along this year chiliheads!!

Mike

 

[FireEater101]

Stems look a little thicker...you running the fan now? If so good on ya! Hey remember when you transplant to bury them almost all the way up to the Coty's. I would leave maybe 1/2-3/4" of stem and bury the rest. Roots will form over that entire portion of the stem below the Coty's. Post some pot up pics when done! What soil you gonna get?

Yes I got the fan running about 14-16 hours each day. They seem to have thickened this week. I will definitely bury them as you suggested hopefully separating two seedlings won't be too bad. Soil wise I was gonna try for promix or fox farm the garden store has some other brand too here http://mcenroeorganicfarm.com/composting/products/potting Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks Shane! Pics for sure!

 

[stc3248]

Both prime soils! You will do well with either one. The FF will be more nutrient rich and they will require fewer feedings, but the Promix allows you to feed as you wish. You will do very well with either one. Just didn't want you to be like me last year and think I could get by with half a$$ed soil...and pay for it in the long run...then still by the good stuff in the end.

 

[FireEater101]

I totally get what you mean on the soils! I have at least a quarter bag of Sta-Green Potting soil I used last year for the potted peppers I had and I am not planning to touch that other than maybe spreading it in the yard. One thing i have learned from hanging out around here is soil makes a big difference and so FF and Pro seem to be prime suggestions so I am planning this year to spend the $$ where it counts the most and soil definitely is at the top of that list. I am going to have to hit you up for some suggestions on how to build my soil for three raised 4x8ft beds I built for this year. I learned my lesson last year since I watered way too much and my potting soil sucked I just about killed my Habs I had planted.

 

[annie57]

Mike, what did you decide on for potting up? FFOF is set'n forget, has nutes, but not totally forget. I have Promix, so that's what's happening and controlling nutes, likely with with combos of dilute Neptune's Harvest, and dilute kelp for bottom watering and dilute fish for foliar spraying.

Also, what size are you going up to? I have 2.5 x 2.5 x 3.5 deep. And I have 6 cell deep, same size, almost same size, 6 packs. I'm thinking on THE SERRANOS to go to deep 6's since I got easily 6 each of healthiest of two kinds Serrano. Tabasco same deal. Hey, are they calling for a little snow in "Rallie" tomorrow? (I asked cell carrier for itemized list of calls/texts; she addressed it, "Rallie, NC." smh) Peace. Annie

 

[FireEater101]

Mike, what did you decide on for potting up? FFOF is set'n forget, has nutes, but not totally forget. I have Promix, so that's what's happening and controlling nutes, likely with with combos of dilute Neptune's Harvest, and dilute kelp for bottom watering and dilute fish for foliar spraying.

Also, what size are you going up to? I have 2.5 x 2.5 x 3.5 deep. And I have 6 cell deep, same size, almost same size, 6 packs. I'm thinking on THE SERRANOS to go to deep 6's since I got easily 6 each of healthiest of two kinds Serrano. Tabasco same deal. Hey, are they calling for a little snow in "Rallie" tomorrow? (I asked cell carrier for itemized list of calls/texts; she addressed it, "Rallie, NC." smh) Peace. Annie

Annie, I am leaning towards going with the PM and then just adding in some nutes on my own. I also like the idea of the PM mix having myco in it as well since I wanted to include that at plant out but the PM BX mix lists that as part of the soil. The store has a 3.8 cuft brick of PM for $40 but they also carry FF as well. I am still leaning towards the PM. I am also planning to feed my peppers and other veggies in the garden this year using AACT compost tea so I am thinking I will pick up those ingredients tonight as well. My thoughts this year is fill the garden with good soil and feed the peppers and veggies with AACT which is way better than I did last year. I will need to figure out how to build the soil to fill 3 4x8ft raised beds that I built but I figure that will have to be going to the landscaping company and getting a few scoops of topsoil and adding in compost and such not buying 20 bags of soil from the garden store.

Containerwise I was thinking I would pick up some 9oz Solo cups to pot up to from the 72 cell tray the sprouts are in currently. I was thinking I could grow them up further in the 9 oz cups and then hopefully by April move them outside in the garden. I don't really wanna pot up like 2-3 times before I plant them out. As of right now I planted about 160 seeds and there are about 100 that have sprouted, 11 of them are THE SERRANOS. I am thinking 20-30 of them have first true leaves coming in and are ready to move up in container size so tonight I will pot up as many as I figure are ready and continue others as those first true leaves keep coming in. My supers are a bit slower of course but the 11 Red Bhut sprouts I have are starting to get first leave buds too.

As for the weather yes they are calling for the possibility of some snow flurries in "Rally" yes. They don't seem to be making "too big" a deal about it like they normally do so I am hoping and figuring it is still being overexagerated. Snow will get not get us any closer to spring which is what we need right now anyways!! I hope your weather holds up well and keep those babies of yours coming they are looking sharp!!

Mike

 

[stc3248]

That's the way to go with setting up your raised beds. Get the TS tested then add what it recommends. Compost, manure, worm castings etc to get it right...I may add a bail or two of peat moss and some perlite as well to help it stay fluffy and light. That's basically it. Add your AACT at plant out watering it in deeply to boost the soils beneficials and give the roots a head start.

 

[annie57]

Mike,

I built 3 RB's last year 4 x 8's and a small 4 x 4 (for garlic). Are you going to get some vermiculite? Otherwise top soil compacts horribly. Are you using the PM for RB's or potting up?

Last years mix to fill them was: Peat 3.8 cubic ft., 3 bales, topsoil (I got it in bags just because no place around here looked like TS was clean around March--got started late and not filling beds with rolly pollys or sow bugs), 2 gonzo humongo bags vermiculite from local hardware, feed-seed, 3 bags of Black Kow per bed and 1 bag mushroom compost per bed, Osmocote 14-14-14 CRF, powdered and pelletized lime to balance pH of peat, kelp meal and greensand for potassium, and Azomite.

2 cups bone meal per LARGE wheelbarrow mix, 2 cups powdered, mixed with pelletized, lime, 2 cups blood meal, 2 cup kelp, 1 cup greensand, 1 cup Azomite per wheelbarrow mix of topsoil. And a touch of Great White mycorrhizae: and yep, wet it all down with bacterial based AACTea. And even bacterial based has fungi. But ya want bacterial initially to prep for the vegetative cycle. OH YEAH: Epsom salts. I just did it by handfuls, gestimating, because I always put it in planting hole in in-ground garden, but my planting holes are a different topic: I amend them to no end! Also, might want to go easy on lime because the topsoil they'll sell in Raleigh is going to be sandier, maybe because topsoil down there is sandier. Up here, is more clay. If you want more control, over "the type" of TS, which I did, I'd say buy it in bags, and truck with wheelbarrow to bed sites, off-load. Really.

When was in undergrad at UNC, friend's father had huge HUGE tobacco farm--have known lots of small "backer" farmers--couldn't believe the sandiness of some topsoil her dad had delivered. I'm from clay-ville, not Clayton, lol, CLAY country. If you can find a place where you can specify that you want the soil to come from say, North Wake, that soil isn't as sandy as say, Raleigh central or east of. Heck, I ran every day over near Athens High and found a dang sand lot, cutting across school property. Abandoned old ball field or something. Blew my mind but then so did the pine pollen, which is indicative of the soil there: black pine loves sandy soil. How ya like that pine pollen looming? lol, whew: stuff is ruff! You didn't ask for my help and everything is JUST a suggestion, okiedokie? Peace, Annie.

 

[FireEater101]

Hey Annie, Well I just got done potting up and I did end up getting the Pro Mix BX mix too. I am not planning to use the Promix in the RB's but rather do as you suggested above and fill them up. You must be a mind reader as i was gonna ask you for some soil input so thank you very much. i gotta research the pricing next at the landscape place but if I have more questions i will shoot them over to you too. Oh and yes it is snowing pretty good here we almost have a half inch on the raised surfaces and the yard. Crazy a** weather around here yesterday afternoon when I got off work and went to the gardening store it was beautiful blue skies and sunny like 62 degrees. Come on Spring!! Ok next post shortly will be potting up pics.

Mike

So Potted up 50 plants yesterday from the seed tray. I got a 3.8cuft cube of Promix BX with Myco at the gardening store and wow this stuff is awesome. I can't wait to see what it delivers on the growth it is some awesome soil to work with I do say!! Ok I will leave this post mostly for pics but in addition to potting up I had to make Mama Bear happy so I planted seeds for 3 tomatoes Chadwick Cherry, Floradade and Beefsteak along with replanting some Trini Scorps and Red 7 Pods. They are in the germination tray on the heat pad. I also picked up a few of the ingredients I will use to make Compost Tea AACT this year too. Ok enjoy the pics I sure enjoyed moving these sprouts up. I still have another 40 to pot up but I ran out of cups. Normally I would fill a Solo cup with homebrewed beer but this time it was pepper plants..

Fatali

Fatali

Early Jalapeno

Cayenne

Cayenne

Serrano

Trini Scorp Red and Red 7 Pod

Three Supers Trini Scorp, Bhut Red, Red 7 Pod

Current setup in my South Facing window..I think I might need to upgrade on the light to cover more area and more intensity

 

[annie57]

Totally crazy weather. Got off work, and I'm thin, so I get cold easily. But shucked off the "pro" gig and got in shorts, went to grocery store, loving that heat and sunshine, not a bit cold, and got this downstairs in grow room right now:

Never would have thought that I'd need to fire it yesterday! Yep: spring weather. As long as we get no March 1993 redux, we good. I'd just moved back from Austin and was in total shock on that one. Heck, I no longer had a really warm coat. 2' snow in March?

So glad you got potted up! Might do some of that today in cells that aren't moist-soil, but I had 4 more Naga's hook last night, Moruga Blend too, and if I mess with what's already up, without letting soil really dry, gonna lose some. So, might have to wait until soil is super dry, but those cells that are, gonna go for it. Since such a nice day for potting up, snow and all weather!

 

[FireEater101]

So I had to post another update since today i figured out a good solution I believe to having so many potted up peppers vs how much light I was able to give them only having a 2ft T5 light. So today I racked my brain for awhile trying to figure out how I could hang the shop light I have in the garage that I don't use much out there inside over a coffee table we keep upstairs. Thinking....Thinking...then wah lah it dawned on my I could use the frames from both of my kids previous toddler beds that I had in the garage and hang the shop light with the attached chain. Now I have the T5 light and I have a two light fixture with Sylvania Cool White 40W approximately 3300K lightbulbs to light up the show. My coverage is way better now I do believe and I have more room to pot up more of the peppers that i still have left in the germination tray and I am ready for these peppers to start putting out bigger leaves and taking off. I vacated our dinning room and moved upstairs to our bonus room and i think Mama Bear was happy about that too. Ok so now i have 65 plants potted up, wow this is an addiction my garden only had 10 plants last year. In addition I forgot I had saved seeds of a Maya Red Pepper my father in law bought me last summer that I deseeded and saved...well 8 seeds went into the germination tray with the tomatoes so lets see how that turns out. All in all another fun and awesome sunday filled with indoor gardening fun fun fun. Thanks for stopping in chili dogs!!

Oh and I decided the pics I have posted here suck so I played with settings on my phone and turned on HDR so the pics below all have that feature enabled and hopefully look better. Enjoy and cheers!! Thanks for stopping in!

Mike

Fatali

7 Pot Red

New Lighting Setup

Who does not do a bit of Sunday gardening without a cold adult beverage? My homebrewed American Amber.

 

[stc3248]

Nice...lights are a more is better proposition. May need more yet. Is that window sill south facing? Love the beverage...made me get off my a$$ to go get one just to come back and sit on my a$$ again!

 

[FireEater101]

So it has been another week and today marks exactly 1 month since i started seeds in my germination tray. It has also been one week since i potted up most of my seedlings into Promix BX and after yesterday i have finally moved all of my germinated seeds out of my germination tray and currently have 104 plants growing under my light set up. Thanks to Stc3248 I buried the seedlings up to the cotys and the legginess has gotten way better this past week. All of the seedlings keep growing and the first set of true leaves are now getting just as big or a bit bigger than the cotys that are there too. Yesterday i got all of the seedlings double cupped and added water to make sure the bottom watering continues. This morning as well i made up a dilute 25% strength solution of Neptune's Harvest Fish and Seaweed fert and added a splash to each seedling with their first set of leaves to get the nutes going lightly. (Thanks Annie57 on the guidance) I will be excited to see what this coming week brings along with these babies. I am still planning to get another Flourescent light and put in place of the smaller T5 which I may use since I got lots of sweet peppers and tomatoes that have sprouted up as well too. Thanks for stopping in today!! Posted a few pics of the supers mostly the annums are a bit further along too.

Mike

Trinidad Scorpion Red

7 Pot Red

Bhut Jolokia Red (I got the most Ghost Peppers to germinate 11/12 but they seem to be progressing slower than the TS and the 7 Pots)

Caribbean Red Habanero

Fatali Pepper

 

[stc3248]

Good lookin little plants! They're moving right along...when is plant out in Raleigh? I'm a few weeks out and counting down.

 

[Sawyer]

Just found this. Great glog and grow list and good looking plants. Look forward to following through year.

 

[FireEater101]

Good lookin little plants! They're moving right along...when is plant out in Raleigh? I'm a few weeks out and counting down.

Well thank you I am having an awesome time starting all of this indoors...seed starting is awesome and I am happy and excited to be having some good success. Plant out time around Raleigh according to the Farmer's Almanac the last frost date is at April 4th so 5 weeks from now. The weather here will go from "winter" to "warm springtime" like switching on a light switch...aka season change around here is never gradual it seems. I suspect March will get more springlike and I am planning to finish getting soil ready for these plants this month. Having another 5 weeks should get these to a good size. I hit them with the dilute nutes this week and they are taking off even more with many getting second set of true leaves. I will have time to do gardening tasks tomorrow so I will get up another update then.

Just found this. Great glog and grow list and good looking plants. Look forward to following through year.

Thanks Sawyer!! I am happy to hear someone is enjoying looking at my glog since I am having an awesome time indoor growing and putting up my updates. Thanks for wanting to follow along and I appreciate any insights you have along the way.

 

[annie57]

Mike, MIKE! Don't buy that frost date, man. Seriously! Farmer's Almanac that farmers don't follow: play safe and go to April 20. I knew a ton of farmers around there and further east and none of them went with stuff that could like, die? until after April 20. If in doubt run down to Burke Bros. on Hillsborough and one of those older fellas in there lives around Clayton and has HUGE "field." And a great "nose" for weather. Told me to bring my plants in one day--forgot why I was in there--nothing on weather: we had a frost that morning and . . . man. I didn't listen to him. Man . Plants looking great! Please don't feed them to a frost Annie

 

[Sanarda]

That is a terrific setup. Should put it in the Grow Tech thread. Im sure someone can use that technique. The seedlings look really healthy. Good luck. Hopefully no hiccups along the way to plant out

 

[FireEater101]

Mike, MIKE! Don't buy that frost date, man. Seriously! Farmer's Almanac that farmers don't follow: play safe and go to April 20. I knew a ton of farmers around there and further east and none of them went with stuff that could like, die? until after April 20. If in doubt run down to Burke Bros. on Hillsborough and one of those older fellas in there lives around Clayton and has HUGE "field." And a great "nose" for weather. Told me to bring my plants in one day--forgot why I was in there--nothing on weather: we had a frost that morning and . . . man. I didn't listen to him. Man . Plants looking great! Please don't feed them to a frost Annie

Annie!! No worries I was merely quoting the stated date. I am not planning my plant out on that date. I agree with you 100% I have worked too hard to lose these babies to Mr Frosty. April 20th sounds about where I had in mind!

That is a terrific setup. Should put it in the Grow Tech thread. Im sure someone can use that technique. The seedlings look really healthy. Good luck. Hopefully no hiccups along the way to plant out

Hi Pia! Well thank you I will give Grow Tech some consideration. Yesterday i just added in a T8 fixture with fluorescents rated at 6500k a bulb along with the T12 you see that setup is shining bright. I will post another pic of the setup in my update. Thanks again!!

 

[Sanarda]

I Think I could use another T8 or T5 also. I have more shelf space than my one 4 bulb T8 will cover adequately.

 

[FireEater101]

I Think I could use another T8 or T5 also. I have more shelf space than my one 4 bulb T8 will cover adequately.

I understand how you feel. I started with a 2 ft Hydrofarm T5 grow light (post #30) and quickly realized when I potted up to Solo cups that it won't cut it anymore. My current setup should get me through. It cost me $24 yesterday for a T8 fluorescent set up at Lowes yesterday. I hope you can add more light!