• Blog your pepper progress. The first image in your first post will be used to represent your Glog.

HM's Second Attempt for 2020

OK,
 
Last grow was decimated by broad mites. It's been 3 weeks since I got rid of all the plants, so that should have been long enough to kill any remaining stragglers that might have fallen off the plants in the grow room. Now, since I'm WAY behind in 2020, I'm starting plants that are good producers - nothing fancy, nor too ambitious - I just want a decent harvest to get some redemption.
 
Here's the list:
 
Lemon Drop (superhotchiles.com) - always been interested in this one, never had a chance to grow it.
Jalafuego (tomatogrowers.com) - our favorite Jalapeno. We only tried a sample of pickled jalapenos earlier this year, we want more.
Pepperoncini (tomatogrowers.com) - Another one for pickling
Chichimeca Jalapeno (tomatogrowers.com) - I've had these seeds for a while and never grew them. Wanted to compare these to the Jalafuego.
 
My wife also wanted some tomatoes, so I'm going to be growing a determinate variety in a 5 gal kratky, along with some basil. We'll see how that goes.
 
All seeds were pre-soaked for 24 hours in a 0.15% H2O2 solution.
O9JqDA6.jpg

 
 
They are now in rockwool cubes on the heating mat.
Yx3zdu1.jpg

 
Now the waiting game begins...
 
 
Click to expand...
PaulG said:
Those are some healthy looking plants, HM!
 
The light box looks like it's really doing the job.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks Paul,
 
Those T5s have served me well for a few years. That's the reason I've hung on to them, despite having more modern and efficient LED lights that don't need bulb replacements. For some reason I find the LEDs harder on the eyes, and I'm in the process of trying to grow something successfully under them. 
 
6fuWfrn.jpg
 
Holy sh!t. I'm impressed HM.
 
I've been meaning to ask....I see you "change the nutes" regularly. What do you do with the old nutes? Is there a value there? Can it be used to water plants in dirt, for example? Just curious.
 
DownRiver said:
Holy sh!t. I'm impressed HM.
 
I've been meaning to ask....I see you "change the nutes" regularly. What do you do with the old nutes? Is there a value there? Can it be used to water plants in dirt, for example? Just curious.
Click to expand...
 
Hey DR!
 
Yes, I completely replace the nutrients every 2 weeks, or whenever there's only 1 gallon left in the bucket. It might be overkill, but the cost of the nutrients pales in comparison with the time we put into our hobby.
 
At this point I don't have much to do with the leftover nutrients, so they go down the drain. However, they can totally be used to water plants in dirt, as you mention. Next year I'll give containers one more try and see if I can get something from my small north-facing backyard. The plan is to use some of the leftover nutrients from my Kratkys.
 
It can totally be done - the only drawback though, is that you won't know exactly what the nutrient composition is, since plants uptake it at different rates, but it will definitely help as a supplement for plants in dirt.
 
HeatMiser said:
 
Hey DR!
 
Yes, I completely replace the nutrients every 2 weeks, or whenever there's only 1 gallon left in the bucket. It might be overkill, but the cost of the nutrients pales in comparison with the time we put into our hobby.
 
At this point I don't have much to do with the leftover nutrients, so they go down the drain. However, they can totally be used to water plants in dirt, as you mention. Next year I'll give containers one more try and see if I can get something from my small north-facing backyard. The plan is to use some of the leftover nutrients from my Kratkys.
 
It can totally be done - the only drawback though, is that you won't know exactly what the nutrient composition is, since plants uptake it at different rates, but it will definitely help as a supplement for plants in dirt.
Click to expand...
 
I do the same thing HM.  Im no hydroponic expert but have read , like you mentioned in the second highlighted part, that plants take up whatever nutrients they need so what's left in the mix is all out of balance.  Rather than add fresh nutes to the unknown mix, I just mix up and replace with new.
I have been disposing the leftover nutes on plants in the yard and haven't noticed any harm.
 
Nice looking root system on that jalafuego in the above pic!
 
Time for another weekly update...
 
Lemon Drop and Pepperoncini
The Lemon drop is now in a cage. The thing just likes growing tall, and as a result, there are a lot of really long branches that needed support. It is now a bit over 2ft tall, and that's the height I'll keep it at, at least until the pepperoncini catches up and decides to grow taller instead of wider. The nute solution is now at 14ml/gal or 1.8 EC. There are also a few pods now on the Lemon Drop, which I am really excited for as I've never tried this pepper. I did some pruning on the pepperoncini since it was growing really wide. The plant looks better now and is responding by growing taller, which is what I wanted.
 
Group shot. The Pepperoncini is not as wide anymore, and is reaching up towards the light. Hopefully more growth will follow and with some pruning, it will grow more dense.
kbFjR90.jpg

 
The Mother Lode. I was super excited to see this cluster of ~7 flower buds on the Lemon Drop
eCr6cZ4.jpg

 
We now have pods on the Lemon Drop!
5Wqa3QH.jpg

 
Jalafuegos
These two plants got a haircut too. They seem to be happy growing their pods at this point
 
tLWAhln.jpg

 
Plenty of pods on these plants. They are growing fast.
hWqCRMj.jpg
 
Another weekly update...
 
Lemon Drop and Pepperoncini
I've been pruning the lemon drop whenever it reaches the light fixture. It seems to be getting the hint and is growing a bit bushier. There are now a number of little pods on the plant. The Pepperoncini is a little interesting now. Even though it still has a bunch of flowers, it hasn't put out as many pods as I originally thought it would. Perhaps this is due to not getting as much light since the fixture is a bit high thanks to the Lemon Drop. Who knows...
 
Group Shot - the Pepperoncini is now trying to reach for the light. It's getting there, but it's going to take a bit of time. Next time I should grow Baccatums in pairs
yUCuFBt.jpg

 
Pods on the Lemon Drop. There are a few scattered throughout the plant. I'm really excited to try these for the first time
cVdSOVB.jpg

 
Pods on the Pepperoncini. These are the same pods I've posted previously - they are now bigger. However, the plant hasn't produced barely any more pods, despite all the flowers still on the plant. Any idea what might cause this?
aXLTVqZ.jpg

 
Jalafuegos
The Jalafuegos seem more intent on developing the fruit, since they haven't grown much. The pods are now much bigger, and these plants seem to be thriving in their Kratky containers.
 
Group Shot
DabiOzj.jpg

 
Pods on one plant
ger9DAf.jpg

 
Pods on the second plant
ZkGDLSu.jpg
 
CaneDog said:
Looking good, HM. Have you considered blocking up the pepperoncini to get it closer to the lights?
Click to expand...
 
Thanks CD - yes, I've been considering putting stilts on the short guy. I found a couple of bricks in my backyard, so the plant is now about 3 inches taller. The good thing is that the inverse square law tells us that this plant is now going to be getting a lot more light than the 3 inches would suggest. Hopefully that helps in getting more pods to set - I haven't noticed much flower drop on the plant, so that's why I found it interesting...
 
5kjlFBP.jpg

 
For some reason the picture doesn't do it justice, but they are a lot more even now. However, you can tell these two plants are not meant to be sitting together. As a result, neither of them are growing to their full potential. If I happen to get another HLG light for Thanksgiving I think I will move the Lemon Drop under it and let it do its thing. 
 
vejrpD4.jpg

 
PaulG said:
Really nice plants, HM!
 
You can also hang the light in a skew position
so the end above the Pepperoncini is closer
to the plant.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks Paul! I tried that but it would mean trimming the Lemon Drop a bit more. If this doesn't do the trick, I still have a Sansi LED that I could probably jury-rig somehow in this setup for additional light while the plant catches up vertically.
 
Thanks a lot for the suggestion guys.
 
Excellent progress HM!
 
Plants look great and setting fruit nicely.
 
Keep after it!
 
Here's just a quick update regarding my most recent seedlings. I haven't posted about them because they were just sitting there in their rockwool cubes getting their roots air-pruned. Today they were finally transferred to their 1 gal kratky containers.
 
Top - Numex Twilight.
Bottom - Mystery Asian Market Pepper.
WGPMWYm.jpg
 
CaneDog said:
I'm looking forward to seeing what comes of the AMP.
 
How did you like your results with the air pruning?
Click to expand...
 
Me too CD, this one was just starting to flower earlier this year when it got attacked by mites.
 
Air-pruning didn't work as well on these two plants compared to the ones I currently have in the 5 gallon buckets. I think part of the problem is the fact that we've had cooler temps recently and these have been kept in the coldest room in the house. So heat does seem to affect the outcome of this process. I did however, get better germination rates from these seeds than my current plants. 
 
I'm excited for these plants since I want to see how well I can grow peppers in these containers. I also have a basil growing in one of those 1 gal buckets that we are going to turn into pesto soon. That bucket will then be reserved for another TX Tepin  :party:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top