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) :

]

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.

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.

 

[stickman]

Good job G! How much longer before you can get plants in-ground at your MIL's allotment?

 

[georgej]

We've been given the all clear that rainy season finished on Saturday. But then yesterday (Sunday) had a torrential downpour which was actually flooding the pavement outside the place I was judging a brewing competition.

I'm gonna put them in the ground next Saturday provisionally.

 

[georgej]

here's an insight into the kind of weather we are having right now.

 
it must have been hot today, i have never seen my 7 pots wilt. i usually water them once a week - watered these last on saturday evening.
 

 

[stickman]

Considering the forecast you posted said it was supposed to get to 102 degrees today, I'm not surprised. Maybe you'll need to water them twice to three times a week for the duration of the heat wave. Except for dehydration your plants look great... they must love the current conditions.

 

[georgej]

about a dozen of these on my red habanero OW. that plant is absolutely riddled with flowers and fruit. 

 
first flowers off the Thai. nice looking flowers

 
gonna do a youtube video update in a bit.

south side

West side

Rick, i'm basically having to water once a day at the moment. not a full drench but if i don't they just dehydrate - can't class that as over watering, right?
we've had a few cooler days, i'm hoping a few pods can set - it's just been far too hot for them right now so flowers are falling off. i might get some ferts that are more PK heavy just to give them all the help they can get. epsom salts are getting sprayed once a week too to help out.

 

[georgej]

new video glog

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cRCVzVV4r0&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]

 

[stickman]

Hi G... nice flower action going on with the majority of your chiles! Are you doing the "finger flick" with the flowers on the chiles you have inside?

 

[georgej]

i'm rubbing them with cotton buds. sadly i'm not at home at optimal time 5 or 6 days a week so i miss out and i think my wife despite the fact she isn't working, will do the job. i barely trust her with watering
 
actually, the flowers present on the white hab haven't opened up (you know, where the male parts aren't just in the centre) much. i'm hoping that the first wave of flowers that drop is over soon.

awful photo i know

dorset naga, peach ghost scorpion, bhut. 
put them in the ground today. i know it's crowded, but everything is in that allotment, but it's growing like nuts!!
 

 

[georgej]

bought something a little more bloom friendly today to help ease up my blossom drop. (it's not been that hot recently)

 

[georgej]

found one of these on my 7 pot Burgundy earlier

 
it's a Karabun. a Japanese drone beetle.
It's basically a scarab. and despite being actually quite a beautiful colour in the daylight, will eat just about anything. 
I saw 2 dozen of them digging their head into a single tomato at my mother in laws allotment the other day, i was asked to cut eat bug in half with scissors which i obliged.

oh, and yes, they fly!

the beetle pictured is currently somewhere in the greater Tokyo sewerage system after i flushed it.

luckily, they are big, easy to spot and slow moving so easy to control as long as you check semi regularly

 

[georgej]

Butch T pods are beginning to get gnarly
 

 

[georgej]

newest line of pest defence

i've spotted two of these on the side of my building for the past few days. witnessed one of them munching a scarab beetle near one of my plants. pretty cool! and cute.

 

[stickman]

Pretty cool that you're mobilizing a lizard defensive perimeter for your chiles! Drive on dude!

 

[georgej]

Pretty cool that you're mobilizing a lizard defensive perimeter for your chiles! Drive on dude!

as soon as i can manage get my piranhas to walk on dry land, my plan for world domination will be complete!

 

[Sawyer]

as soon as i can manage get my piranhas to walk on dry land, my plan for world domination will be complete!

Just give them some Red Bull and they'll fly.

 

[georgej]

Just give them some Red Bull and they'll fly.

we have something similar - the black and white mosquitoes that eat you alive in Japan.

 

[stickman]

as soon as i can manage get my piranhas to walk on dry land, my plan for world domination will be complete!

BWA-HA-HA-HA!!!

 

[georgej]

BWA-HA-HA-HA!!!

i think pirahnas will soon become non plural. the big one is slowly biting chunks out of the smaller one. i might go buy a bigger tank tomorrow and hope that they both stay alive long enough to kill at least one spy
*lifts pinky to corner of mouth*

 

[stickman]

i think pirahnas will soon become non plural. the big one is slowly biting chunks out of the smaller one. i might go buy a bigger tank tomorrow and hope that they both stay alive long enough to kill at least one spy

*lifts pinky to corner of mouth*

If only they came with IFF transponders...

 

[georgej]

ah, and i wasn't exaggerating. here's a pic of the 2 red bellies i recently got