HabaneroHead's 2014 Glog - Nuclear Destruction

Devv · Feb 4, 2014

Looking good my friend!

Keep up the good work!

maximumcapsicum · Feb 4, 2014

Sounds like a great plan! I do something similar, taking all the plants out every two days to water... Yields excellent moisture control and allows me to even out access to light.

JoeFish · Feb 4, 2014

Wow... looking good!

How high do you keep your lights off the plants and this stage?

When is your very first fertilize on seedling? Also what kind of fertilizer?

Thanks man I just new and trying to learn.

MisterNo · Feb 5, 2014

Great glog Balasz, your growth is awesome.

Will be watching this

HabaneroHead · Feb 5, 2014

Devv said:
Looking good my friend!

Keep up the good work!

Thank you, Scott! :-)

maximumcapsicum said:
Sounds like a great plan! I do something similar, taking all the plants out every two days to water... Yields excellent moisture control and allows me to even out access to light.

I am now taking them out from the box for every night. Some fresh air won't harm them at all, also they need to spend some time in the dark. It is not that visible as with the cucumber, but I believe they are growing during the night. :-)

JoeFish said:
Wow... looking good!

How high do you keep your lights off the plants and this stage?

When is your very first fertilize on seedling? Also what kind of fertilizer?

Thanks man I just new and trying to learn.

Thanks for stopping by! I keep the lights pretty close, around 1.5-2 inch far from the top of the seedlings. Luckily my T8 lamp does not generate too much heat. I just started fertilizing them after almost 3 weeks after they popped out. It depends on what soil you are using. I used special seedling mix, which is pretty light in nutritients. At the first stage of the plant lifecycle I use a complex fertilizer, which has hight P content. It is a NPK 15-30-15. P is good for the roots, and the bigger root system means healthier plants, and bigger yields. I am always adding Epsom salt to my fertilizer, as peppers love Mg. There is another very important nutritient, the Calcium... I use calcium nitrate on my plants. They need it in every stage, since it makes the wall of their cells strong. There are some important rules with peppers, what I follow:
- I always check what dose the manufacturer offers the fertilizer to be used, and I divide it by 2, to make sure, I won't burn my plants
- Fertilizers with ammonium content are easily available, but peppers do not like them, therefore they should be avoided
- I fertilize them quite often, but it is certainly one thing you should not overdo, since you can hurt them more than if you leave them alone

If you have more questions, just ask.
THP is also a good source of information, and these topics were discussed a hundred times on it. Don't hesitate to use the search function on the forum, it is pretty helpful. :-)

MisterNo said:
Great glog Balasz, your growth is awesome.

Will be watching this

Thanks, Robert! I am going to follow yours, too! You have a nice selection of peppers! :-)
I went to the grow shop today, and scored this beauty. It is 25 liter (6.6 gallons), and originally it cost 4300 Forint (22 USD...I know, our currency is pretty weak), but today it was discounted by 30%, so I obtained it for 3000 Forint (15 USD).
Considering to buy another one...

stickman · Feb 5, 2014

Wow! that's a big bag of worm castings my friend! How far do you think it'll go? Babies look great too. Keep 'em green Balasz...

maximumcapsicum · Feb 5, 2014

Lots of worm poo...

Devv · Feb 5, 2014

Nice score on the worm castings!

I wish I knew of a place a round here I could get some from. Hmmm maybe if I actually looked?

I do exactly the same thing with the ferts, 1/2 doses or less. Can't take it back once they hurt the plants. I'm also a fan of seaweed extract and molasses.

Do you do anything regarding PH? I know mines high, and I want to work on it.

HabaneroHead · Feb 6, 2014

Hi Rick!

I am just trying to figure it out... Actually it is a good question. If 15% of the soil mix is worm castings, that means 166 liter (44 gallon) soil. According to my calculation, for approx 100 pla, nts at the first pot-up, I will use 40 liter (10.56 gallon). Still plenty, but far from enough... I think I will be in trouble in the following round. I have mixed sized pots (0.75 l ->0.2 gal, 1.4 l -> 0.37 gal, 4 l -> 1.05 gal), which are just eating a lot of potting mix... Probably I will score another. bag...question is how I can get a budget from that from my Honey:-) It gets harder to justify the stuff I am buying...:-) I can sell some dried pods, pickles, but that covers only the 30% of my costs...I need to open a new division...sauce making :-))))

stickman · Feb 6, 2014

HabaneroHead said:
Hi Rick!

I am just trying to figure it out... Actually it is a good question. If 15% of the soil mix is worm castings, that means 166 liter (44 gallon) soil. According to my calculation, for approx 100 pla, nts at the first pot-up, I will use 40 liter (10.56 gallon). Still plenty, but far from enough... I think I will be in trouble in the following round. I have mixed sized pots (0.75 l ->0.2 gal, 1.4 l -> 0.37 gal, 4 l -> 1.05 gal), which are just eating a lot of potting mix... Probably I will score another. bag...question is how I can get a budget from that from my Honey:-) It gets harder to justify the stuff I am buying...:-) I can sell some dried pods, pickles, but that covers only the 30% of my costs...I need to open a new division...sauce making :-))))

I hear ya brother... money is tight here too, and my wife provides reality checks as needed...

Do you and your folks do any composting? Just from the yard waste and kitchen scraps from 2 people we get about 6 big wheelbarrow loads of compost a year. It's never enough, but it's free and as effective as anything you could buy. We didn't purchase a composter either... I made one with 2 bays out of shipping pallets and keep the sides upright by pounding in metal fence posts through the slots for the fork lift. Eventually the pallets will rot, but I'll just replace them by sliding the old ones off the fence posts and sliding on new ones. Used pallets for free aren't hard to find, I just have to keep my eyes open as I travel around during the day.

HabaneroHead · Feb 7, 2014

Devv said:
Nice score on the worm castings!

I wish I knew of a place a round here I could get some from. Hmmm maybe if I actually looked?

I do exactly the same thing with the ferts, 1/2 doses or less. Can't take it back once they hurt the plants. I'm also a fan of seaweed extract and molasses.

Do you do anything regarding PH? I know mines high, and I want to work on it.

Hi Scott,
I have never had to adjust pH. I just keep chlorine away from my plants, preboiling the water or I just let it sit overnight. I do this only when the plants are small. Adjusting pH is possible, grow shops offer many solution for that, but I am sure experienced THP members can provide you cheaper and better solution :-)
I have heard about seaweed, but it is almost impossible to find here.(I guess because of the lack of seas :-))))

stickman said:
I hear ya brother... money is tight here too, and my wife provides reality checks as needed...

Do you and your folks do any composting? Just from the yard waste and kitchen scraps from 2 people we get about 6 big wheelbarrow loads of compost a year. It's never enough, but it's free and as effective as anything you could buy. We didn't purchase a composter either... I made one with 2 bays out of shipping pallets and keep the sides upright by pounding in metal fence posts through the slots for the fork lift. Eventually the pallets will rot, but I'll just replace them by sliding the old ones off the fence posts and sliding on new ones. Used pallets for free aren't hard to find, I just have to keep my eyes open as I travel around during the day.

Composting is getting popular here, but not really on individual level. In the small town we just moved to, there is a company, which collects the garden waste during autumn for free. They are composting it, then sell it.1 cubic meter (35 cubic feet) costs 15 USD, which I believe is quite cheap. I am planning to order some, as I would like to change and enrich the soil in my garden. Composting kitchen waste (vegetable peels etc) is another topic. In the countryside they are just giving it to the chickens or to the pork (it is also some form of composting :-), but in the cities it is going into the bins. I am considering to build a worm farm for this waste, but probably I won't have time/power for that (child is on the way, building the garden, peppers....work).
Do you maybe have a pic about your composter? (or is it covered with snow?)

Balázs

Devv · Feb 7, 2014

Hi Balázs,

Being we live in the country, we just pile out kitchen scraps in the garden and when they're ready till them in.

Our water is from a well and has high PH, I was thinking about adjusting it. I use rain water when I have it to water the plants while in the house. But am out now.

HillBilly Jeff · Feb 8, 2014

I like composting my own junk too. A lot of maple leaves from the yard help. Your mulch will also help the garden.

stickman · Feb 10, 2014

Hi Balázs,
I finally went outside when there was still some light and got some pics of my cheapjack composter made of pallets and fenceposts.

It's a 2-bay construction so I fill one bay at a time, and while that one's filling up, I'm allowing the other to rot down for compost.

Construction is just used wooden pallets... one with closely spaced slats laid on the ground and some stood up on edge on four sides and held upright by pounding metal fence posts through the slots endwise.

I cover the material being composted with a piece of old carpet to divert excess moisture and hold in warmth so the process goes faster.

And I put a cone of black plastic over that for the same reasons, but also because it collects the sun's heat and warms the compost pile even more.

This being winter, it's too cold to do any composting, but I use the covers to keep the snow off the top of the pile so when it finally thaws, the pile won't be too wet. The material being rotted does so quickest if it's only damp... like a wrung-out dish cloth. The bacteria that help break down the compost need nitrogen so they can reproduce themselves... it's all explained here... http://eartheasy.com/grow_compost.html
I find that if I mix in about a 5 gallon pail of green chicken or horse manure in the spring when the pile thaws out it will "light" the pile and get the process jump-started. You'll know it has when it produces enough heat to make the pile noticeably warm and steamy on a cool morning when you turn it over. When I'm ready to "light" another pile in the next bay, I add a bucket full of innoculated compost from the old pile and mix it in to get things started. Then I screen the old compost to remove stones, bits of woody material that need to rot down more, or bits of metal and plastic that somehow seem to find their way in there. The screened compost is black and crumbly matter with just an earthy smell that'll tell you it's ready for the garden. You'll need to turn over the pile at least once a week to let in air so the pile doesn't start to stink, and keep it uniformly damp in hot dry weather.

Hope that answers your questions... let me know if you have any others. Cheers!

HabaneroHead · Feb 14, 2014

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the info! It is very useful. Not being a native speaker it is always good to have pictures...online dictionaries can be pretty misleading

Balázs

I did 'some' repotting this week... Labelling the pots took one evening...then filling the pots with my soil mix another...then I was able to repot them only by entertaining myself on two evenings... 111 plants in total...

Labels...no not laminated...hand made :-)

Pots waiting for their destiny..

Closeup

All of the pots...

After repotting

In the process...I was using a small spoon to take them out from the tray

Inside the grow-box

A supplementary setup :-)

Babies are having sunbath (at least some artificial)

Thanks for watching,

Balázs

stickman · Feb 14, 2014

Alright Balázs! Your plants look like they're gonna be bruisers this year... nice growth! Keep up the good work!

Devv · Feb 14, 2014

+1 on 116!

You got it going there!

This season is going to rock for you!

HabaneroHead · Feb 15, 2014

stickman said:
Alright Balázs! Your plants look like they're gonna be bruisers this year... nice growth! Keep up the good work!

Devv said:
+1 on 116!

You got it going there!

This season is going to rock for you!

Thank you, Guys!

I still do not know what the heck I am going to do with all of these peppers. My son is going to arrive in July, when the peppers will become to ripen here. Obviously my Mom has to run the pepper business, since I won't have time to travel to my parents... Anyways, we will manage it somehow.
I would like to apologize, guys...I did not have any time to check your glogs in the past weeks... Hopefully I will have more time in the coming weeks.

I am spending the weekend at my parents, so I took the peppers upstairs, in front of the window. The weather forecast said sunny weekend...natural sunlight is a hundred times better than any artificial.

Overall shot of peppers (OW and this year's ones)

OW (Red Hab, Orange Hab, Bhut Indian Carbon, Naga Morich, TS CARDI Yellow)

I did not cut them back, neither the foliage, nor the roots. They were loosing their leaves, now they have flowers...no artificial light...no nutritient...
Do you see the flowers? :-)

stickman · Feb 15, 2014

I'm really liking the green plants in your new place Balázs... way to break it in and make it feel like home!

I'm really loving these Horticubes for starting seeds... last year I wasn't able to get any of the "Pointed Hot" peppers germinated even though I planted all of one packet of seeds and half of another. I planted a few of the remaining seeds in the Horticubes and have Rapires F1 hooks after 8 days. All the "Coloring Pepper" and Almapaprika seeds I planted are germinated too... I'm just waiting on the Tomato Peppers to hook up now.

Devv · Feb 15, 2014

Very nice Balázs! Everything is looking splendid!

Those older plants just want to do what they're supposed to