HeatMiser's 2021 Glog

ahayastani · May 9, 2021

HeatMiser said:
Finally, unrelated to my grow - we finally finished all those Jalafuegos we pickled back in January. I caved and bought 3 lbs at the grocery store - meant for pickling and poppers:

I must say these are the most bland tasting pickled Jalapenos we've had in a long while, even when using the same recipe as before. We've been spoiled by the Jalafuegos we grew last year and now these are just bleh. The poppers were also just ok. At least my wife agrees that we must grow our own

Same here... Jalapeños are at less than 1 U$/kg atm so I bought a few kg to pickle. Not bad, but not terrific either... Still way better than store-bought pickles though.

HeatMiser · May 10, 2021

CaneDog said:
It's great to see how well things are doing and especially that the Paquime was not lost. With the Zap I would sure consider removing the stubby pods and letting the plant put it's energy into these later bigger ones. I do think they're best red though, so depending on your taste you may not see them at their finest until then.

Thanks CD - I'm also happy with how things are progressing so far. Just need the chinenses to start setting pods. I removed a few stubby pods from the Zapotec, working my way up the plant. We had some tacos tonight and the little pods do pack some heat! We like our Jalapenos both green and red, so it wasn't a big deal for us that they were not ripe. The plant is starting to set some bullet-shaped pods, so I think it finally found its mojo.

HeatMiser · May 10, 2021

ahayastani said:
Same here... Jalapeños are at less than 1 U$/kg atm so I bought a few kg to pickle. Not bad, but not terrific either... Still way better than store-bought pickles though.

Yes, at least in our case we bought them just to keep us afloat until we get our first harvest of Jalapenos. But man, I surely was disappointed when I tried them... it just means we'll need to always include a Jalapeno in our grows.

HeatMiser · May 15, 2021

For today's update, I just have a few pod pictures. The plants that are outdoors are getting more used to their environment and are now growing more. Some of them have even started setting pods.

Here's a Khang Starr Lemon Starrburst. This is definitely off-pheno. We'll see how the rest of the pods turn out later in the season. The plant seems to be really productive, which is interesting because I've always had issues getting chinenses to set pods.

Bahamian Goat - also off-pheno:

The plants indoors are doing fine. The Chinenses are getting in the groove and now have formed a nice canopy under the HLG100. Pictured from left to right are Zapotec Jalapeno, Yum-Yum, Fatalii and Reaper - although it's hard to distinguish where one plant ends and the next one begins:

Finally, this one pod made my day today. It's the first pod on the Reaper. I had a lot of trouble getting last year's Trinidad Scorpion to set a single pod, so I was hesitant to grow Chinenses indoors this year. Hopefully there will be many more pods to come.

PaulG · May 17, 2021

Plants setting pods look just great!

I think that once the warmer PNW Summer
rolls in, you will get some more on-pheno
pods. My best pods usually set in July then
ripen up in September.

HeatMiser · May 23, 2021

I think my wall of green is pretty much complete. At this point, the chinenses are really close to catching up to the annuums in terms of height. All of the plants have pods with the exception of the Fatalii. Hopefully I'll get more pods setting on the chinenses soon.

Here's how things look when you first get into the grow room:

Side view. The Paquime is the first plant from the left, still hasn't rebounded completely from the de-leafing from a few weeks ago. It is putting its energy where it matters though - and that's on the pods.

Antep-Aci Dolma - about baseball-sized pods at this point. I can't wait to try them out

The only Reaper I've spotted. It's starting to get bumpy:

This is a Zapotec Jalapeno x Numex Twilight cross I attempted earlier this week, and it seems to be successful

Here are the outdoor plants getting a bit of sun. Even though they were planted at the same time as the ones indoors, we can see the difference in size:

Last, but not least - here's the TX Tepin. Doing great so far:

HeatMiser · May 24, 2021

Sad day today...

As I walked in to the grow room I saw the Antep Aci Dolma looking like this:

The leaves are all droopy. Bottom leaves are the most affected, with newer leaves up top looking a bit better, but still soft to the touch.

I just replaced the nutrients on Saturday with 2 gallons of fresh solution. I suspect an oxygen issue (overwatering) since this happened so suddenly, but I've always put the exact same amount of liquid to all my plants in the 5 gal containers. To try to mitigate this, I've added a big-ass air stone to see if it pops back to life. However, does anybody have any ideas if there might be something else at play here? Hopefully it's not too late to get this guy back in working order.

Thanks!

PaulG · May 24, 2021

Oh, boy, I hate to see your AAD looking so sad.
Those pods are amazing. Hope your airstone
does the trick - we're all pulling for ya!

Siv · May 24, 2021

This looks similar to what happened to me last year. I checked pH and it was a little high so I added some pH down but it didn't solve the problem.

When you replaced the nutes did you top up or do a full replacement?

HeatMiser · May 24, 2021

PaulG said:
Oh, boy, I hate to see your AZD looking so sad.
Those pods are amazing. Hope your airstone
does the trick - we're all pulling for ya!

Thanks for the good vibes Paul, yes, it's such a shame to see the plant like that after all this time. I really want to try those pods.

Siv said:
This looks similar to what happened to me last year. I checked pH and it was a little high so I added some pH down but it didn't solve the problem.

When you replaced the nutes did you top up or do a full replacement?

Thanks Siv, yes I remember you and Uncle E. had the droopies last year - I was going to ask you a few weeks ago if you had found what the issue was. Anyway, I always do a full nutrient replacement.

The plant room is also my office, so I get to see if the air stone is working or not, but it's like watching paint dry, haha. It must be an oxygen issue, so I have good hopes that the air stone will bring the plant back to life. So far it hasn't gotten any worse, so there's that. I'll reply back at the end of the day with hopefully some good news.

However, if anybody has any other ideas, please let me know!

CaneDog · May 24, 2021

That really sucks. Kratky's not my thing, but maybe decrease the water level in the bucket so more of the roots are exposed to the atmosphere? It would require more frequent maintenance going forward, but it's my only alternative to your B.A.A.S.

HeatMiser · May 24, 2021

CaneDog said:
That really sucks. Kratky's not my thing, but maybe decrease the water level in the bucket so more of the roots are exposed to the atmosphere? It would require more frequent maintenance going forward, but it's my only alternative to your B.A.A.S.

Thanks CD, just when I was comparing the pods to a baseball, I get thrown a curveball. It will be a good experiment to see if they can be brought back to life after suffering from this.

After about 3 hours with the air stone running I didn't see much of anything. The plant wasn't getting better nor worse. So I thought it was time to try other things to help it perk back up:

Ph was a little high - around 7.3, so I brought it back down to 6.0.
I removed a full gallon of nutrient solution to expose more of the roots to air. The roots look OK. No signs of rot, and no signs of air roots being submerged under water.
Removed a few of the lower leaves, which are the most affected and don't get that much light anyway, so that the plant can focus on the growth at the top.

Here's how the top of the plant looks like at the moment. From this picture you can't really tell there's anything wrong, but the leaves are a bit soft to the touch and the leaves below are all droopy:

And, just in case things go south, I have taken a few cuttings, added some rooting hormone and stuck them in rockwool. The leaves perked up a few minutes after putting them in the rockwool cubes, which tells me the diagnosis is most likely correct.

At this point I think it's just a waiting game. Hopefully the plant will push through.

Pepper Merchant · May 28, 2021

The buckets look like they are growing well.

HeatMiser · May 30, 2021

I think the Antep Aci Dolma is not going to make it. The leaves never recovered, and some pods are starting to get soft. Can't win them all I guess... Anyway, the cuttings I took seem to be doing fine - it will still take some time for roots to grow, and after that we'll see what we'll do with them if they make it that far. In the meantime I think I might shuffle things around once the plant is officially done. I think I'll move the Mystery/Thai Dragon plant to that 5 gallon bucket so that it can increase its production.

This is how the plant looks like right now - I think it's pretty much shot. It's weird because I've always added the exact same amount of liquid to my buckets.

The other side of the room looks a lot better. I won't have this happen again, so I added air stones to the Fatalii and Reaper just as I changed the nutrients today.

And now some pod reviews...

This is a green Antep Aci Dolma. I decided to pick a few since I don't think I'll get to try them ripe just yet. I was actually surprised with this one - they have a good zing that doesn't linger that much. I think they will be chopped up and added to Nachos next weekend:

Next up is Paquime. We grilled today so I thought it would be a good idea to try these as poppers. The pods have a good size, and the flavor is also good. However, they are on the mild side - at least the 2 pods we used. I don't think I'll be growing these again given my limited space.

Finally, some mini Zapotecs. The plant has been producing some smallish pods here and there. They might seem small, but they are the perfect size to minimize waste - just pick a couple and put them on eggs. They have a really awesome flavor and good heat for a Jalapeno. I would say they are really similar to the Jalafuegos we like to grow, with the added benefit that these are not hybrid. So this one is a winner - I can't wait to try the more regular sized pods on the plant.

CaneDog · May 30, 2021

Bummer about the Antep Aci Dolma, but hey, nachos! Hopefully the cuttings will make it to the finish line.

Great to have sunny days for the holiday weekend.

HeatMiser · May 31, 2021

CaneDog said:
Bummer about the Antep Aci Dolma, but hey, nachos! Hopefully the cuttings will make it to the finish line.

Great to have sunny days for the holiday weekend.

Haha, yeah I was pretty bummed out during the week. However, I kinda prepared for this scenario since I gave my MIL an AAD seedling a couple of months ago. Maybe that's how I'll get to try them before the cuttings are big enough to produce.

And yes! it's great to have good weather during the long weekend - already took the kayak out today.

Got any plans? How's the plot coming along CD?

CaneDog · May 31, 2021

HeatMiser said:
Haha, yeah I was pretty bummed out during the week. However, I kinda prepared for this scenario since I gave my MIL an AAD seedling a couple of months ago. Maybe that's how I'll get to try them before the cuttings are big enough to produce.

And yes! it's great to have good weather during the long weekend - already took the kayak out today.

Got any plans? How's the plot coming along CD?

Nice that you got out on the water. The lakes should be warming up with the longer and sunnier days. Should be pretty good fishing now too before we hit the hotter days of summer.

No too much going on for me this weekend, but a couple get-togethers happening that should be fun. The plots are coming along ok. One is close to finished, with rocotos, baccatum, and piri piri in the raised beds and annuums and tomatoes in the ground. I should post some pictures up, but the plants look pretty small now in all that space. With the other plot I'm treading water until a big roll of landscaping fabric/weed barrier I ordered arrives, hopefully before next weekend. That plot's been a bear to weed and I don't want to be stuck with that level of maintenance all summer.

You might have to try to swing a trade with your MIL to get a taste of ripe AAD's. How far along are hers? I'm thinking she's probably growing them in dirt so maybe not as far along as yours.

PaulG · Jun 2, 2021

Shame about the Antep, HM.
RIP…

HeatMiser · Jun 3, 2021

CaneDog said:
Nice that you got out on the water. The lakes should be warming up with the longer and sunnier days. Should be pretty good fishing now too before we hit the hotter days of summer.

No too much going on for me this weekend, but a couple get-togethers happening that should be fun. The plots are coming along ok. One is close to finished, with rocotos, baccatum, and piri piri in the raised beds and annuums and tomatoes in the ground. I should post some pictures up, but the plants look pretty small now in all that space. With the other plot I'm treading water until a big roll of landscaping fabric/weed barrier I ordered arrives, hopefully before next weekend. That plot's been a bear to weed and I don't want to be stuck with that level of maintenance all summer.

You might have to try to swing a trade with your MIL to get a taste of ripe AAD's. How far along are hers? I'm thinking she's probably growing them in dirt so maybe not as far along as yours.

You got it CD, fishing has been good recently. Just looking forward to more and longer trips during the summer.

We also had a get-together with the family. Feels good to finally be able to see people again. I think we're already reaching the end of the pandemic, at least locally. Would be great to see some pics of your plots - with this warm weather we are having I hope our outdoor plants take off soon. I feel like mine are lagging a bit behind compared to the ones I have indoors, but I really can't complain.

Yup, my MIL just put her AAD on the ground. It has some buds that are yet to open. It's really interesting to see how much faster things grow in hydro - my plant was already 2+ ft. tall.

HeatMiser · Jun 3, 2021

PaulG said:
Shame about the Antep, HM.
RIP…

I know Paul, it sucks, but this just tells me I have to adjust my approach to growing indoors so it doesn't happen again.

Besides, the plant is not gone gone

. Some parts of it are still very much alive - I'll hopefully be able to see those cuttings go to fruit later in the year. If not, well, there's always next season!