First Glog - 2015

Hello world:
 
My name is Nick.  I am from Indiana, about half way between Ft. Wayne and South Bend.
 
My screen name stems from my background in automotive hobbies.  I am married with cats and am lucky enough to have a wife that loves hot peppers.  I am a mechanical engineer by degree and own a photography business on the side.
 
I spent last year stalking this forum and decided to post my grow this year.
 
Last year we grew:
 
Ancho
Long slim red cayenne
Hungarian wax
Caribbean red hot
Ghosts
Reapers
 
Our favorites were the red hots and the reapers.  They seemed to have the most fruity pepper flavor to compliment the heat.   
 
On 02.22.15 we planted a Burpee 72 count starter tray we found on sale.  Here is the layout with the cover removed.  Top of the table is the back row.
 

 
 

 
The bold entries were saved form last year.  I left the seeds in a east facing window too long, hopefully the sun didn't cook them. 
 
I had reapers, red hots, scorpions, ghosts, habeneros and jalapenos drying in separate containers when the cat decided to make a harvest mix for us.  I might need help identifying any sprouts.
 
The mix consists of anaheim, ancho, long slim red cayenne, jalapeno and hungarian wax.
 
The planter is in a south facing window.  The temperature averages 65 degrees in that part of my poorly insulated house.  I think I should invest in a heating mat.  Suggestions?  Should I keep it on 24-7 or put it on a timer?
 
Many thanks for all of the info. on this forum!

 

[NeedsWork]

 
You can grow some monster plants in 15 gallon containers.  The largest I've ever used is 5 gallon grow bags from HD and I've had nearly full-sized plants in those.  (Compared to my usual in-ground plants.)  A lot of growers use 5-gallon buckets.  I've also used #3 and #5 nursery pots with success.  The #3s are roughly 3 gal and the #5s are less than 5 gal.  I've even used #1 nursery pots (~3 quarts) to successfully produce full-sized pods.  As the pot size gets smaller, nutrition and watering become more critical.

 
I don't think my growing season is long enough to get monster plants.  It sounds like I'm better off using 5 gallon bags.  I'm considering raised beds as well.
 
Most of the contenders went outside today.
 

 

[NeedsWork]

Less than one month to planting! 
 
My aggressive pruning and topping backfired.  Most of my plants have bushed out like hastas and have 3-4 main splits.  Some of the habs and jalapenos keep wanting to flower.
EDIT: Most of these were started March 9th per #22.  That makes them ~7 weeks old.  I gave away most of the plants from the first tray,,, or stuck them in the window.

 
Future garden area.  I had to move 4+ yards of compacted gravel and lava rock by hand to expand the garden where the driveway used to be.  Tons of work left to do.  

 
I planted eight green giant arborvitaes to block some of the neighbors.  Hopefully I can keep them alive.

 

[Sawyer]

Your plants are looking healthy.  That's not the only garden space you have for peppers, is it?  If so, yeah, you've got a ton of work to do yet.
 
BTW, I haven't gotten around to analyzing the spectral data I have from the T8 bulbs.  I'll let you know when I do.

 

[NeedsWork]

Your plants are looking healthy.  That's not the only garden space you have for peppers, is it?  If so, yeah, you've got a ton of work to do yet.
 
BTW, I haven't gotten around to analyzing the spectral data I have from the T8 bulbs.  I'll let you know when I do.

 
Working up a 12' x 12' area and fencing it in.  Thank goodness the gravel was only part of it, the remainder is decent soil.  I imagine it will still be rather cramped come fall.
 
I thought about your analysis the other day.  Even without data, your lighting suggestions seem to have worked wonders compared to the window.

 

[Dot Com]

you came to the right place and good luck w/ your season

 

[NeedsWork]

you came to the right place and good luck w/ your season

 
Thanks!
 
 
A little teaser shot of the garden construction.  Went with cedar rather than treated pine.  Plants are hardened off and outside 24/7.  

 

[Sawyer]

Looking good.  Did you use anything special to stretch the fence or just do it by hand?

 

[NeedsWork]

Everyone seems to have survived their first night in the dirt.

 
 

Looking good.  Did you use anything special to stretch the fence or just do it by hand?

 
 
By hand using tips from YouTube.   

 

[NeedsWork]

It's been raining on and off for two days now.  I'm happy that the peppers seem to like their new home.  All of the cups in the garden will be going to new homes in the area.  I still have chocolate habs and carribean reds inside under the lights. 
 

 

 
If you turn left and face the driveway:

 
If you turn right and face the house:

 

[NeedsWork]

Worked on the (pepper) garden today.  Still need to decide on what the gate should look like. 
 

 

[NeedsWork]

Picked up several baby versions of this crab apple over Mother's Day Weekend.
 

 
Last night I had a very tasty hab and mango cider from Blake's Orchard in Armada, MI.  Great heat / fruit combo imho.

 
Currently eating a leftover turkey burger I spiced up with some dried ghost pods.  I cannot wait for fresh ones!

 
... and the garden is full.

 
Cheers and happy growing!

 

[Sawyer]

Looking good.

 

[Trident chilli]

A very neat project ... any news on the gate ... earlier picture looked like you had a bunch of marigolds in with your peppers ... If you get plagued with aphids bring the marigolds back to your patch. I don't know why it is but aphids don't mix with marigolds and it quite common to see a plant in a UK Green House with chilli plants

 

[NeedsWork]

 ... any news on the gate 

 
Nothing fancy but made out of the cedar scraps I had left over.  Thanks for the marigolds tip!

 
A Baltimore Oriole visited our feeders while finishing up the garden

 

[NeedsWork]

... bring the marigolds back to your patch. 

 
Stuck some Marigolds in the ground for good measure.  They were on the wilted rack... had to save them.  
 
A Sapporo was the first to flower.  Cayenne is close.  Debating weather to let them fruit or clip them back until later in the season.  

 
The larger leaves that developed under the lights do not like our weather.  Sunburn, hail holes... oh well, the new growth looks good.

 

[NeedsWork]

Sapporo and Cayenne both have pods starting!  Lots of flowers on several varieties.   
 
Had some low temps in the high 30's but the plants did not seem to mind.
 
I found a pack of fat aphids on my trumpet vine so I rinsed all of the garden with a weak soap solution.  I purchased a Miracle Grow faucet adapter.  I watered all of my non edibles with the liquid fertilizer that came with it.  Then I filled the bottle up with a Dawn/water solution and rinsed my garden.  I rinsed the soap off with water a few minutes later.  Two days and no signs of aphids... knock on wood.  I will probably use this for future feedings provided I can get the hose in the garden.  I need one of those DIY car wash overhead hose fixtures.    
 
Provided they pass pest inspection, several plants will be making the journey to my parents house four hours away.
 
The usual photo dump:

 

[NeedsWork]

Cayenne

 
Jalapenos

 
Sapporo

 
Jamaican Hab (The first hab to fruit and it is loaded.  I hope I like them.)

 
Cleome / 'wildflower' patch

 
And here is a link to my electric fence wrapped bird feeder post in action.
 
https://instagram.com/p/3fTnefptRc/
 
 
 

 

[ribbedturtleneck]

Looking nice and healthy. Keep it up!

 

[NeedsWork]

Looking nice and healthy. Keep it up!

 
Thanks!
 
A couple more shots of the garden now that it is weeded. 

 

[NeedsWork]

Almost two months since my last update... I've been eating peppers with almost every meal.  I almost lost a bunch of plants to mold due to the rain.  Neem oil saved my plants but that is why some look rough.   
 
I try to eat at least a portion of each pod in its raw form, plain, to understand the flavor.
 
Jamaican Habs:

Cayenne:

 
A few of the Jalapenos:

 
Garden:

 
Red Moruga Scorpions are finally ripe... these are for dinner tonight!

 
I like a few peppers:

 
Gold Habs, Sapporo and Jalapenos:

 
Gate view of garden:

 
 
Romas (I don't like them on the ground but they are not rotting...knock on wood)

 
Aaaaaand my car blew up a few weeks ago so I picked up a little A3 2.0T quattro.  Didn't really wan't to spend the money... but getting a ride from my wife was getting old.