First Time Gardener, Mishaps & Exploits

First time gardener here, 9b in Southern California, have around 550-600 square feet of space to use.  Starting a garden this year, because its the first time I've had room for more than one or two plants in the last 6 years and I have hated vegetables outside of a small range since I was a kid.  I'm hoping I can help kick my issue with vegetables this year by growing them.  This all started with a drunken night celebrating and ordering some mystery "Super hot, Pepper Seed mix" off of Ebay.  No clue if the seeds will actually be true to their labels, Reaper, Red and Peach Ghost, Trinidad Scorpion and Orange Habanero.  Since I made this mistake, and didn't realize it until the item had shipped, I figured I would give it a go anyways.  My girlfriend was down (not for the peppers) to grow other assorted veggies and has since become annoyed with all of my pepper stuff that is growing.  I ordered a few types of seeds from White Hot Peppers, Bahamian Beast Peach F3, Sugar Rush Red, Purple UFO, Swamp Thing, Fatalii Chocolate, Bahamian Goat, Satan's Kiss and Aji Pineapple.  I will probably have to ninja those seeds straight into potting mix outside in my garden, because I might be murdered if my girlfriend sees me setting up a mini-greenhouse inside our house again.  I also picked up a few peppers at Cal Poly Pomona's Pepperzania about a month ago, a Carolina Reaper, Chocolate 7-pot, Himo Togarashi and one I am drawing a complete blank on.  Garden also includes your typical garden veggies, tomatoes (few different types), cucumbers, sweet corn, squash (no clue what type), carrots, beets or radishes (drawing a blank) and I am pretty sure I am forgetting something.
 
Most plants are in cloth planter bags (is that what they're called?) and all the seeds will be ninja'ed into 2 gallon cloth bags and put out of direct line of sight from my overseer.  I will take some pictures and post them up when I have time, currently at work and had a few extra minutes to type this up.  I will be enlisting help via pictures of issues I know I will have, currently fighting off a bug infestation of earwigs, neem oil should be at my place tomorrow (diatomaceous earth hasn't helped much).
 
Pepper List:
 
Cal Poly Pomona Plants:
Reaper
Chocolate 7-Pot
Himo Togarashi
One I am going blank on
 
Mystery Seeds:
Reaper
Red and Peach Ghost
Trinidad Scorpion
Orange Habanero
 
Actual Seeds from White Hot Pepper:
Bahamian Beast Peach F3 
Sugar Rush Red 
Purple UFO 
Swamp Thing
Fatalii Chocolate 
Bahamian Goat 
Satan's Kiss 
Aji Pineapple

 

[Mr.joe]

I should definitely do that too, Im wondering if my little kitchen scale would be sensitive enough to weigh them. Tomato worm throw down 2019!
Too late in the season now.... need to start it in 2020. I've definitely had some big enough to weigh


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[DWB]

The only pest I usually have is tomato hornworm. This year I've had just about everything but those ugly bastards.

 

[Mr.joe]

The only pest I usually have is tomato hornworm. This year I've had just about everything but those ugly bastards.

I have been fairly lucky I think. I've seen a few grasshoppers and a few misc posts. Some of my plants have extra holes in their leaves from something, but nothing major yet. Those damn worms tho, there is no end to them. I find 4+ just about every day.

 

[simp3204]

I’ve only found 4 or 5 grasshoppers in my garden and haven’t even bothered to dispose of them, but, any plant I find those damn worms on has severe damage.




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[Mr.joe]

They took a couple leaves off my serano plants, but no real damage. My tomato plants are so large I can't even see damage... but I still hate them

 

[simp3204]

Just found my first tomato worm with the uv light, they really do glow pretty good.

Also, found this unknown pepper on one of my eBay (drunken buy) specials. I apologize for the shit pictures, didn’t have an actual flashlight on me.

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[Mr.joe]

Yea once you get tube hang of the uv light those worms are easy pickings.

No idea what kind of pepper it is. But might turn into something good.

 

[simp3204]

Here are some more pictures of the plant and flower of the mystery pepper cross.

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[PaulG]

]

Smashed it with my little garden tool and didnt expect this:

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[simp3204]

So I’ve decided to up-pot a few of my peppers into 10 gallon cloth grow bags. I’ve realized the potting mix I used for my earlier plants is garbage.

I’m going to try out a locally sourced mix I found at a small local nursery. According to the owner they love the mix and use it when they don’t have time to mix their own.

I’ll take some pics of the bag and what it contains and post it up later today and you guys can way in on what you think (be brutally honest).

Most of my mystery seed plants seem to be loving the potting mix I put together, so, if I wasn’t being super lazy I would mix up more for the up-potting.


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[simp3204]

Just finished potting up a handful of my pepper plants. Just realized I forgot to take a pic of my Serrano plant, which is by far my best looking plant so far.

I used E.B. Stone organic potting soil for the pot-up, which is supposed to be locally sourced (I need to dig up exactly where).

Random pic of the potting soil in the bag.

Chocolate 7 pot pulled out of its 5 gallon bag.

Carolina Reaper going in the 10 gallon, if you zoom in you can see a little swirly-boy root.

Close up of the swirly-boy. I think I’m lucky it didn’t choke the plant out and kill it.

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[Mr.joe]

It looks good to me, but I actually know nothing about potting soil. What's tube price like per bag?

 

[simp3204]

It looks good to me, but I actually know nothing about potting soil. What's tube price like per bag?

For the E.B. Stone I used it ran me $9.95 per 1.5 cubic foot bag. The 10 gallon cloth bags needed around 80% of a bag of the potting soil.


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[CaneDog]

I've used that same potting mix a fair amount.  Easy because they carry it at the nursery right down the road from me. 
They charge me more than $9.95 a bag though

 

[simp3204]

Damn, Canedog, sorry they’re doing you dirty! Are the bags 1.5 cubic foot?


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[Mr.joe]

$10 seems reasonable. Since it seems to be a California product there is no surprise the others may find it more expensive.

 

[CaneDog]

I think $9.95 is a great price.  I want to say they charged me only $12.95 was all for 1.5 cf last time I got some, which was last summer.  Seems reasonable considering shipping, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't take the $9.99 instead   I've used it for smaller containers indoors quite a bit and it's done fine for me.  I haven't used it much for bigger containers though because like you say it goes so fast. 
 
Looking forward to seeing those guys take off after they sink their roots into the new soil.  How long do you expect your growing season to last?

 

[podz]

I should definitely do that too, I’m wondering if my little kitchen scale would be sensitive enough to weigh them. Tomato worm throw down 2019!


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There you go:
 
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00IN63S5C

 

[simp3204]

If this year is similar to last year Canedog, it was hitting 90’s until December and then abruptly dropped around mid-January to 60’s. I’m still deciding if I want to put up a diy hoop house to fend of the handful of frosts we get in my area. I have room for either the hoop house or even some sort of greenhouse (funds permitting).

That scale is ridiculous podz, lmao!


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[podz]

That scale is ridiculous podz, lmao!

 
She don't lie, she don't lie, she don't lie - that scale :-)
 
It's about to be shipped to my house.