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.

 

[georgej]

Off topic, here's the other one. He wasn't hiding for a change.

 

[Sanarda]

I really like your setup. Its very cool to have limited space and seems to have everything you need to germinate well. I wish you luck and am following your progress. This is my first year growing from seed too and I dunno. My germination on some have been horrible

 

[georgej]

Thanks very much!
Let's see if any actually sprout before congratulations

 

[kiddc]

whoa, mudkipz!

 

[georgej]

First out of the gate is the Dorset Naga \ ( ^_ ^) /

Closely followed by scotch bonnet

Proud father.

Should I leave the plastic wrap on the top to keep humidity in a little bit longer? So that seed cap stays soft?
Or get it off soon? Advice please.

 

[stickman]

Hi G
It looks like you need more soil on top of your seeds so they can scrub off the seed coat on their way to the surface. A little over 6 millimeters should do it...

 

[georgej]

Noted.

I buried them quarter inch but the soil is very loose.

Any thoughts re taking the wrap off or not?

Noted.

I buried them quarter inch but the soil is very loose.

Any thoughts re taking the wrap off or not?

 

[stickman]

I think the best policy is non-intervention at first because the seedlings are so delicate at this stage... keep the seed coat moist and see if the seedling can shed it by itself... it happens sometimes... and keeping the cups covered will help that. Misting them a couple of times a day will help too. If that doesn't work, take a pair of nail clippers and gently nibble the very edges of the seed coat. Try to be precise... trimming the cotyledons is survivable though it'll slow the growth a bit... cutting them off isn't. If you damage the primary node, it's game over right there.

 

[PIC 1]

Let nature take its coarse, as said keep the hull moist and it will bloat and slip off. In the most extreme cases rather than cutting I'll use a pair of needle nose pliers and apply pressure to the sides, making the oval shape into a circle. It usually slips right off.

 

[georgej]

It looks like it will probably slip off on its own from looking at the seed case. It's very open.
That literally has only come above the soil in the past 24 hours so I'm gonna make the call later if it hasn't worked itself out.

Will probably pack the soil a little tighter next seeds I do.

 

[georgej]

That naga sorted himself out. Good lad.

This was the scene this morning

Today there's a load more hooks.
2 x bhut jolokia, 2 x trinidad scorpion butch t, 1 x yellow habanero, 1 x scotch bonnet.

And one I really didn't expect - 1x peach ghost scorpion. Seeds from a dried pod, but I thought I'd give it a try.

Suprised to see the butch t waking up so early too!

Dead chuffed cause I really didn't expect any to germinate. Now I just have to keep them alive

 

[stc3248]

I do love a happy ending! Glad it figured it out and that you're hooking up all over buddy!

 

[georgej]

I just went and got some new nail clippers (ones I already have are blunt, and I didn't want to clip my seeds with things I've been trimming my gross toes with!) and a magnifying glass today just incase the rest don't spit the cap off so easily.

Yeah I was really surprised I got some action so quick. I hadn't inspected the seeds a mate bought in England (then they sat in a hot humid japanese apartment in summer) until I planted last week.

I'm no expert on seeds but my job requires me to see imperfections in malt and hops... I thought the seeds looked dogeared (apart from the butch t looked in great condition) so I wasn't expecting good germination.
Also the soil dried out alot in the first 24 hours, so really expected nothing.

 

[georgej]

Should I be worried about how much it's grown today?
It's looking a bit leggy (I forgot to switch the light timer on). It's about an inch tall now. Taken off the wrap..

 

[stickman]

I wouldn't worry too much at this stage G... When the rest of your babies have sprouted you might want to rig up a fan to help them grow sturdy stems. Right now it would cool things off too much for the ones that need the warmth to sprout.

 

[georgej]

I've got a fan hooked up already but not switched it on.

Got the light on, thermometer on top of one of the cups to check how warm it gets.

So far so good. Suprised at least one of each have popped within 24 hours of the first one.
Must be doing something right

 

[RocketMan]

Good on ya George, looks like they're coming right up. Now is there a plan for a Chili beer, just for the Brewer of course

That's great that the Peach Ghost Scorpion came up. I tried that last year with some dried pepper I had and got nothing.

Cheers,
Bill

 

[Capsicumexanthematicus]

I'm no expert on seeds but my job requires me to see imperfections in malt and hops...

You don't happen work in a well known Japanese brewery by any chance, do you?

 

[georgej]

You don't happen work in a well known Japanese brewery by any chance, do you?

I worked for hitachino nest for a year, worst year of my life!
Then worked for a new one in kawasaki.

Currently redundant/full time pepper father

Good on ya George, looks like they're coming right up. Now is there a plan for a Chili beer, just for the Brewer of course

That's great that the Peach Ghost Scorpion came up. I tried that last year with some dried pepper I had and got nothing.

Cheers,
Bill

Home brewing is illegal here, so afraid not!

Yeah I was surprised to see the ghost scorpion pop up. We'll see later on if it managed to pollinate with something else! It's gonna be hot regardless. It looks like the pods were cut before drying, perhaps helped.

 

[georgej]

New recruits today are a yellow habanero, Dorset naga and a scotch bonnet.

That brings me up to:
2x Dorset naga
2x bhut jolokia
2x butch t
2x yellow habanero
2x scotch bonnet

All the above are from chilli pepper petes in the UK. I've sown six of each.

The bonus plant is the peach ghost scorpion. I thought if I can throw enough shit at the wall, some of it is gonna stick.
I don't know how many seeds from dried pods I have sown, but I'm happy with one so far!