Highalt's 2012 Grow Log

highalt · Feb 11, 2012

Okay, that took FOREVER!!! I finally have sprouts!

First place goes to Aji Yellow (sorry about the blurry picture):

Here are the runner ups - Aji Picante, and Aji Angelo

That only took 18 days!!!! I realize that a heat mat would have sped things up considerably, but I have mainly grown annums in the past, and they have always come up in 10-14 days even without heat. Glad I started the chinense and baccatums as early as I did.

This week is looking really busy with the kid's Valentine's Day school parties, and a school play, but maybe by the end of the week I can sow the rest of this year's crop.

romy6 · Feb 11, 2012

Glad to see some sprouts Bonnie! Happy V-Day.

highalt · Feb 14, 2012

Today, I sowed 34 types of annums. That brings the total number of pepper varieties up to 56 so far!

Here's all of them:

A couple more have sprouted now - Cachucha, Cajamarca, and Rain Forest.

Cachucha baby

... and a better shot of this year's winner of the first to sprout race, Aji Yellow

So here's my final growlist:
(Sown 1-24-12)
Aji Angelo
Aji Chinchi Amarillo
Aji de la Tierra
Aji Picante
Aji Yellow
Belize Sweet
Cachucha
Cheiro Recife
Cajamarca
Grenada Seasoning
Habanero Chocolate
Habanero Peach
Inca Red Drop
~~Lemon Drop~~
Pequin
Pimenta Barro do Robiero
Rain Forest
Rocotillo
Tobago Seasoning
Trinidad Perfume
Zavory
(Sown 2-14-12)
Alma Paprika
Ancho San Luis
~~Barker~~
Biker Billy Hyb.
Black Hungarian
Bulgarian Carrot
Chile de Arbol
Chile Hidalgo
Chilhaucle Amarillo
Chilhaucle Rojo
Chimayo
~~Cochiti~~
Cosa Arrugada
Costeno Amarillo
Fish
Fresno
Guajillo
Habanero Chocolate (long pod)
Hawaiian Sweet Hot
Jaloro
Japone
Melrose
~~Mulato Isleno~~
Piment d'Espelette
~~NuMex Pinata~~
Pusztagold
Sandia
~~Santa Fe Grande~~
Sucette de Provence
~~Tollie's Sweet Italian~~
Jimmy Nardello
Espanola Improved
Big Jim
Patio Red Marconi

Sown 2-23-12
Joe's Long (Whippet's Tail)

Sown 3-8-12
Aci Sivri

Pr0digal_son · Feb 14, 2012

Great varieties. Do you think the rapid rooters leave a lot of seed caps? I stayed away from then for that specific reason. Maybe it is too early for you to tell but I will keep watching to see. Good luck.

highalt · Feb 15, 2012

Pr0digal_son said:
Great varieties. Do you think the rapid rooters leave a lot of seed caps? I stayed away from then for that specific reason. Maybe it is too early for you to tell but I will keep watching to see. Good luck.

So far, it doesn't seem to be a problem, but I have been misting the tray with water each day, which I think helps a little by keeping the seed coat soft.

This is my first year to use the Rapid Rooters, so the jury's still out, but it sure made quick work of the seed sowing process, and was a lot less messy!

highalt · Feb 19, 2012

Here is where germination stands. None of the seeds sown on 2/14 are up yet, but of the ones sown 1/24, here's what's up as of 2-23-12:

Aji Angelo 1/2
Aji Chinchi Amarillo 2/2
Aji de la Tierra 0/2
Aji Picante 1/2
Aji Yellow 1/2
Belize Sweet 2/2
Cachucha 2/2
Cheiro Recife 2/2
Cajamarca 2/2
Grenada Seasoning 0/2
Habanero Chocolate 0/2, sowed a couple of Long Pod Choc. Habs. on 2/14
Habanero Peach 0/2 , resowed 4 more on 2/14
Inca Red Drop - 1/2
Lemon Drop 1 almost up /2
Pequin 2/2
Pimenta Barro do Robiero 1/2
Rain Forest 2/2
Rocotillo 2/2
Tobago Seasoning 2/2
Trinidad Perfume 1/2
Zavory 1/2

Those Habs are hurting my germination percentage!!! I think I see a tail on one of the Chocolates, but I had hoped to be a little further by now.

A heat mat would definitely have sped things up! I'm hoping the annums will sprout much quicker though.

highalt · Feb 25, 2012

Well, not a lot to show yet. Even though I have a lot of sprouts up now, they are taking forever to get their first set of true leaves.

This is my first sprout with 3 cotyledons. It's a Zavory baby.

The tray that was sown on Valentine's is finally starting to sprout. It looks like Chilhuacle Amarillo will be the first one up.

I had to purchase a new light fixture, since the old one was on its way out. This one uses two T8's. The old one used one T12. Hoping to see more progress now. My spouse actually works in the lighting industry, but all of my hints at a replacement fixture fell on deaf ears, so I bought a cheap shop light at Walmart. Didn't even mention it to him. I think he's lost interest in fueling my addiction.

megahot · Feb 26, 2012

Nice looking glog!!! But where's all the super hots??? lol

PaulG · Feb 26, 2012

Your germination/sprouting is making good progress, and the
little guys look like they're off to a good start. It can never happen fast enough!

stickman · Feb 26, 2012

highalt said:
Those Habs are hurting my germination percentage!!! I think I see a tail on one of the Chocolates, but I had hoped to be a little further by now.

A heat mat would definitely have sped things up! I'm hoping the annums will sprout much quicker though.

Even using the heat mat, my Habs were the last thing that sprouted, and they germinated over a two week stretch.

highalt · Feb 26, 2012

megahot said:
Nice looking glog!!! But where's all the super hots??? lol

Okay, I admit I'm a big chicken! Romy, even sent me a couple of bhut pods, and I'm too scared to even eat them. A regular orange hab. is the hottest thing I've eaten raw, but I have tried a couple of powders that have some supers in them. Hey, I'm making progress. A couple of years ago, I thought Jalapenos were hot, LOL!

stickman said:
Even using the heat mat, my Habs were the last thing that sprouted, and they germinated over a two week stretch.

Yay, my first Chocolate Habanero is up!!! Still waiting on the Peach ones.

Thanks for letting me know that they are slow germinators. Otherwise, I'd be tempted to throw some more seeds in the dirt.

jmj1459 · Feb 27, 2012

Nice grow log! My Chocolate Habs were the slowest germinators for me as well. Good luck with this season! Thanks for hosting the swap too!

stickman · Feb 27, 2012

So, quick question, two actually... What are "Rapid Rooter" plugs and where did you find them?

highalt · Feb 27, 2012

stickman said:
So, quick question, two actually... What are "Rapid Rooter" plugs and where did you find them?

Here is a link with information about them:

http://generalhydroponics.com/site/index.php/products/media/rapid_rooter/plugs/

They don't have the mesh around them like the jiffy plugs do.

I found them at the local hydroponics store.

highalt · Mar 7, 2012

I have been completely preoccupied hosting the Pick-A-Peck of Peppers Seed Swap, so I haven't spent much time with my pepper babies. Lots of annuums sprouting now though, so I thought I'd post a current germination record.

(Sown 1-24-12)
Aji Angelo (1/2)
Aji Chinchi Amarillo (2/2)
Aji de la Tierra (1 is finally starting to sprout /2)
Aji Picante (1/2)
Aji Rojo (1/2)
Aji Yellow (1/2)
Belize Sweet (2/2)
Cachucha (2/2)
Cheiro Recife (2/2)
Cajamarca (2/2)
Grenada Seasoning (1/2)
Habanero Chocolate (1/2)
Habanero, Long Pod Choc. (2 out of 2 have tails)
Habanero Peach (2 are up, 2 have tails, out of 6 sown)
Inca Red Drop (2/2)
Lemon Drop (0/2, one germinated, then appeared to rot before it lost its seed coat? That's never happened to me before.)
Pequin (2/2)
Pimenta Barro do Robiero (1/2)
Rain Forest (2/2)
Rocotillo (2/2)
Tobago Seasoning (2/2)
Trinidad Perfume (2/2)
Zavory (2/2)
(Sown 2-14-12)
Alma Paprika (2/2, but one can't seem to break through the seed coat)
Ancho San Luis (2/2)
Barker (0/2)
Biker Billy Hyb. (2/2)
Black Hungarian (2/2)
Bulgarian Carrot (2/2)
Chile de Arbol (1/2)
Chile Hidalgo (1/2)
Chilhaucle Amarillo (2/2)
Chilhaucle Rojo (2/2)
Chimayo (2/2)
Cochiti (0/2 - Suspect the seeds may have rotted)
Cosa Arrugada (1/2)
Costeno Amarillo (1 up, and 1 tail showing out of 2 sown)
Fish (2/2)
Fresno (1 up, and 1 tail showing out of 2 sown)
Guajillo (2/2)
Hawaiian Sweet Hot (2/2)
Jaloro (2 tails showing/2)
Japone (1/2)
Melrose (2/2)
Mulato Isleno (0/2)
Piment d'Espelette (1 up, 1 tail / 2 sown)
NuMex Pinata (0/2) * bummed about this, since I got 0 germination last year, from a different seed source
Pusztagold (0/2)
Sandia (2/2)
Santa Fe Grande (0/2)
Sucette de Provence (0/2)
Tollie's Sweet Italian (0/2) Seed from '08, so I'm not giving up yet.
Jimmy Nardello (2 tails / 2)
Espanola Improved (0/2)
Big Jim (1/2)
Patio Red Marconi (2 tails / 2)
Joe's Long (aka Whippet's Tail) (0/2) Sown a few days after everything else.

Overall, I'm pretty pleased with germination. It does seem like the annuums were quicker last year. Not sure if that a reflection on the Rapid Rooters or not. What's amazing to me, is that even though the chinense and baccatums were planted three weeks earlier than the annuums, they are already passing them up.

I'll try and get some photos and post them.

highalt · Mar 8, 2012

Well, I attempted to take some pictures this morning, but most of them were too blurry to post. Man I wish I had the money for a decent camera, but all I have is a cheap point and shoot.

Anyway, here is a picture of some of my annuum babies:

Here is my Big Jim sprout, a contender in the longest chile competition:

... and finally, an Aji Rojo sprout:

So, is it time to pot this baby up? The Rapid Rooters are drying out really fast now that the cover has been removed from the tray, but as you can see, the sprouts have found a water source.

jmj1459 · Mar 8, 2012

Looks like you have some nice, healthy seedlings there! I'd start potting up, but a few more days in the tray won't hurt them either. I just like to get a jump start on things.

highalt · Mar 8, 2012

Well, since you gave me the green light, John, I potted up 36 seedlings today.

Here is Aji Rojo (the sprout in the picture with the roots showing) in its new home:

Houston, we have a problem!!!

There are 72 cells in the tray on the left. That equals 4 of the trays on the right. I need another table and another light - FAST!

Not sure if you can tell in the picture or not, but I had to prop the new trays up a couple of inches, so that I could utilize the windowsill. The problem is only half the sprouts are under the light. Not a big deal on a sunny day, but on a cloudy one, I'll have to rotate the trays, so that everybody gets some light.

There were a few seeds left in that tray that were in the process of germinating. Those went into the leftover spaces in the other 72 cell tray. I did throw out about 10 plugs that had no sign of a tail, and looked unhealthy/rotted. So I ended up with 38 out of 48 seeds germinating, which gives me a 79% germination rate on the chinense and baccatums. I think the annuum rate will be higher.

xcphantom · Mar 9, 2012

head over to the flee market im sure theres a few tables big enough there

the light u should be able to get at the pet store. i dont use heat mats or lights though and i get great success and usualy sprouts in 2-4 days

highalt · Mar 9, 2012

xcsports said:
head over to the flee market im sure theres a few tables big enough there the light u should be able to get at the pet store. i dont use heat mats or lights though and i get great success and usualy sprouts in 2-4 days

Sprouts in 2 - 4 days? That's insane! I've never had pepper sprouts up in less than 10.

Shhhh ... don't tell my spouse, but I picked up another shoplight at Wally world today. He never goes in the guest room though, so it might be weeks before he notices, LOL! My ghetto solution is to hang it underneath the existing table, and set the trays on the floor. Maybe I can rotate which trays get the sweet spot in front of the window.