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GeorgeJ's 2013 Tokyo-a-grow-grow - finishing off this season

Hey all.

First time growing from seed.
Thought I would start off with the grow box I built.

My apartment is so cold that I've built this box to sit in the closet and using a heat mat To keep things warm throughout. Not enough space or money to do everything separate.

So I built this box from Styrofoam and aluminium insulation sheeting. Managed to get everything from the 100 yen shop (japans version of the dollar store).

Here's it from the outside, in the closet (no gay jokes please) :
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On the inside there's a 50w fluorescent strip light I got for free with my axolotl tank. It's suspended from bamboo canes on wires, so I can adjust the height of the light as well as hopefully flexing in an earthquake.
To the left hand side, a small fan (also from an aquarium) which is pretty gentle to help toughen up the seedlings and prevent damping off.

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It was alot brighter before putting the heat mat in, so I may put some thin aluminum foil over it. Thoughts?

I'm gonna prep the seeds and pots, so that's it for now.
 
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it's probably my best looking plant. which is good, cause it's the variety i'm probably looking forward to most.

It's been quite breezy today. it'll do them some good though i think, i want those stems to thicken up a bit.
The wind can kick up fast where i am, right next to the Tamagawa river, which is a channel up from Tokyo bay ending in the mountains.

Luckily whenever there's a typhoon, we know it's gonna hit 2 days in advance, they can even tell what time it is arriving. so that will mean bringing all the plants inside  until it's run it's course (we usually get 1 or 2 end of June, and then a few more in september-ish.
 
potting everything up this weekend.

First up are the ones i'm not gonna be hanging, so they are in cheaper flimsier pots.
Top 2 are White Habanero.
Bottom Left: Scotch Bonnet. Bottom Right: Jamaican Hot Chocolate Habanero.
 

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busy weekend.
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(out of shot is the 3 plants i'm gonna put in the ground, the butch t and the naga on the balcony as well as 2 red habanero over winters)

My Butch T is trying to flower. Pinchy Pinchy!
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Damn, those all look impressively big.

I'd think that once those plants start growing you're going to run out of room on the balcony; what's your pruning strategy?
 
Nice G! It looks like the babies have grown into teenagers and they're very happy with their location on your balcony. Wishing you continued success... Cheers
 
dokool said:
Damn, those all look impressively big.

I'd think that once those plants start growing you're going to run out of room on the balcony; what's your pruning strategy?
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They still have a way to go yet before i let them fruit etc. but it's about to get hot and humid and if my habaneros i had last year (which were only in 1.5L pots) are anything to go by, they will grow like weeds from now on.
 
stickman said:
Nice G! It looks like the babies have grown into teenagers and they're very happy with their location on your balcony. Wishing you continued success... Cheers
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Cheers! yeah that side in the pic is the entrance to my apartment. it's west facing and so doesn't get the harsh noon sun but gets morning and afternoon sun.
I've chosen to put all my 7 pots there cause i read that Trinidad varieties like a bit of shade. and you know what, they are loving it out there.
Everything else is hooked on the side of the house which is south facing, and my habaneros are staying on the bench (also south facing.

Going in the ground at the allotment is a Bhut, a Butch T and a Dorset Naga. i'm gonna out those in slightly bigger pots because they really need to be, but they can't go in the ground until rainy season goes.
and r.e. the babies growing up thing - it still blows my mind and i feel so proud to look at these plants. they started off as a tiny little seed that i dunked in peroxide and gave a bit of warmth in January. so awesome!
 
georgej said:
They still have a way to go yet before i let them fruit etc. but it's about to get hot and humid and if my habaneros i had last year (which were only in 1.5L pots) are anything to go by, they will grow like weeds from now on.
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Oddly enough, after repotting I found that my habaneros seem to be the 'weakest' of my plants after a day. I'm not sure if it's because I shook too much dirt off the root balls or what, but they don't seem as steady when I tap'm. I'm sure they'll be fine, though; none of my plants wilted today despite not watering them so I think they're all stretching their legs. Can't wait to see what a Tokyo summer does to them.
 
probably just transplant shock. they've been through alot recently, leaving their greenhouse, being couriered to you, being moved indoors, outdoors, different watering, re-potting. they'll settle down i think. they are living things after all. it's almost like they have emotions of their own
 
i'm sure i'll get a better chance at some point to get a decent photo..

You might not be able to see all of them (and a 7 pot brown is hid behind the washing machine).. but, 2 7 pot yellow, 2 x 7 pot brown, 2 x 7 pot Orange and 1 x 7 pot Burgundy.
Oh, and 2 tomato plants that are fruiting well here.

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*...and she's buying a stairway to heaven* :dance:
 
Cheers Rick!
Thanks for the seeds! i'll try my best to do ya proud!
all the 7s are from you, bar the yellows (which are from Nagachomper). for some reason they stopped growing and never got bigger and NC's yellows i planted grew like a rocket (despite the fact they got planted way late).
I'm especially lookin forward to the 7 pot browns! :)

Still stoked with how good all the plants are doing. 91% humidity at midnight tonight, rainy season is trying to burst!.
A typhoon was gonna hit tomorrow but it's done a u turn and the plants can stay outside there!
 
Way to be creative with the space you have available to you. The peppers look fantastic, and with the weather there you should have a bumper crop.
 
got home to find a couple of the 7 pots took a beating in the wind and rain today.

these pots were on the other side of the railing all day (i just moved them) so there was a fair bit of drizzle blowing in sideways.

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I think the leafs got a bit too heavy.
I've moved them a little more under cover and given them a little support with a chopstick and a garden tie.

The leaves on the 7 pots are enormous. i've got pretty big hands and look at the size of it.
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should i be pruning off a couple of these big leaves to encourage more smaller ones and branching?? it's a tough call given that the leaves are so beautiful
 
I think the plants will tell you when it's time to pinch off the larger leaves... they'll get yellow and may drop off by themselves depending on the variety. Good idea "staking" them up with a chopstick. Cheers!
 
cheers

yeah the other plants werent affected as much by the rain, just these big leaved 7 pots.
That dorset naga is gettin BIG. Butch T is trying to flower again too.
I think they are enjoying the fact it hasnt dropped much below 70% humidity this week, despite the fact it hasnt been all that sunny. im seeing new growth all over the place. ill get some photos during the daylight tomorrow
 
georgej said:
I think they are enjoying the fact it hasnt dropped much below 70% humidity this week, despite the fact it hasnt been all that sunny. im seeing new growth all over the place. ill get some photos during the daylight tomorrow
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I think you're right. My plants have looked pretty healthy (little to no drooping) but I feel like new growth has slowed down a bit. Can't wait for these clouds to clear up.
 
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