Hottoddy 2014 - Some Ripe Pepper Pics

stc3248 · Jan 23, 2014

Woot first post! Look at that list!!!

JoynersHotPeppers · Jan 23, 2014

Nice list, best of luck.

hottoddy · Jan 30, 2014

Thank you!

. . . and it's BAHAMIAN GOAT (pictured below) by a nose followed closely by two 7 Pot Jonahs and a Beni Highland!

Seeds were sown on 1/24 and the first popped on 1/29. This year I'm using seedling soil instead of Jiffy plugs and did not soak the seeds. So far, so good.

JoynersHotPeppers · Jan 30, 2014

Too funny, exactly the same result for me.

Nick08* · Feb 2, 2014

Another soon to be Idahoan! You will love Treasure Valley, been here all my life. I am quite confident you will find it an excellent area to grow. Hot dry summers, with cool evenings. Keeps most the pests in check, and let's the plants thrive! There's a reason some of the world's largest seed companies have huge production facilities based through the valley. If you need any suggestions on things to do, ask away! What part of the valley may I ask?

Quite the list as well, best of luck on the move, and getting everything here alive! Looking forward to see what you think of Idaho!!
Also thought you might enjoy this video, shows a little of what we're all about here in the Treasure Valley (specifically Boise) everything in this video can be done with 45min or less from my front door!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRhGeau8RlE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

ThePepperManiac · Feb 2, 2014

Nice list! Good luck.

hottoddy · Feb 2, 2014

Nick08* said:
Another soon to be Idahoan! You will love Treasure Valley, been here all my life. I am quite confident you will find it an excellent area to grow. Hot dry summers, with cool evenings. Keeps most the pests in check, and let's the plants thrive! There's a reason some of the world's largest seed companies have huge production facilities based through the valley. If you need any suggestions on things to do, ask away! What part of the valley may I ask?

Quite the list as well, best of luck on the move, and getting everything here alive! Looking forward to see what you think of Idaho!!
Also thought you might enjoy this video, shows a little of what we're all about here in the Treasure Valley (specifically Boise) everything in this video can be done with 45min or less from my front door!

Thank you for that! I showed my wife the video. It's nice to hear good things. She will be working in downtown Boise. I work mostly from home. As we need to sell our current house we will be renting for a while. Schools are really important - we have two elementary age daughters. So far, we really like (1) Northend/Hyde Park area (close to work, but more expensive), Northwest Meridian (great family but maybe too many kids?), Eagle (nice balance). One of my criteria is to find a house with a nice-sized lot, or maybe there's farms that will rent out space? We've also heard that west facing back yards can get quite hot in the summer unless there's lots of shade trees. We're coming from 11 years in the Portland area, where we typically have only a handful of days in the 90s.

Devv · Feb 2, 2014

Nice grow list you have!

And good luck with the move. I sure made a few back when the kids were young!

Nick08* · Feb 3, 2014

hottoddy said:
Thank you for that! I showed my wife the video. It's nice to hear good things. She will be working in downtown Boise. I work mostly from home. As we need to sell our current house we will be renting for a while. Schools are really important - we have two elementary age daughters. So far, we really like (1) Northend/Hyde Park area (close to work, but more expensive), Northwest Meridian (great family but maybe too many kids?), Eagle (nice balance). One of my criteria is to find a house with a nice-sized lot, or maybe there's farms that will rent out space? We've also heard that west facing back yards can get quite hot in the summer unless there's lots of shade trees. We're coming from 11 years in the Portland area, where we typically have only a handful of days in the 90s.

Hope you arent having to move today... its ugly out there!

I'm not hugely informed about schools (as I dont have any kids) but my girlfriend is a Kindergarten teacher at Morley Nelson Elementary on the bench. If you need more info about the best schools (at least in the Boise district) I could ask her.

1) North End/ Hyde Park is VERY AWESOME. Gorgeous old homes, parks, mature landscaping/trees, foothills for trails, and close to downtown. The atmosphere over there is pretty granola (which could be great for a grower). But you're right, its expensive, lots are fairly small, and most houses are old.

2) Northwest Meridian is a completely different feel than Hyde that's for sure. Its much more of a newish, suburban, cookie-cutter kind of area. Generally not alot of mature landscaping. Still nice, and generally the further west you go, the better prices you get and the bigger the lots can be. Commuting can become a real pain depending on where you are (its all relative, a 30 - 45 min commute for me would be a nightmare... for some a god-send). Depending on where you are in NW Meridian your wife would most likely be coming into downtown on either Chinden, or State St. which can be disasters around rush hour (especially if there are any accidents). If I was going to live out west, I'd make sure I had easy access to the freeway (i-84), so I could come into downtown on the connector (1-84). Still gets very busy, but flows much better.

3) Eagle is really nice. I think you put it well with "a good balance". However Eagle can get very ritzy, so prices there can be quite high as well depending on where you end up. And again, lots can be much bigger out there. But your wife will most likely have to come into town on State St. if you're in Eagle... not something I would particularly enjoy every day. But some VERY beautiful country, and estates out there. That, and the foothills are where I go to spot dream homes.

I have never heard of any farms that rent out space... but that definitely doesn't mean there aren't any.

Without shade, a west facing backyard will be somewhat similar to the surface of the sun compared to what you are used to.

When summer really gets going, prepare for most days to be at least 90. Many more days to be warmer. We had a few weeks last year with temps in the triple digits, and the highest I remember was 109 I think? (it was a very hot year last year). Its a very dry heat though, which is nice compared to humid. But it could be quite the change for you.

If you have any more questions about the area, please don't hesitate to ask! And when you get some time after settling in, pics of the new grow would be cool to see!

Cheers.

hottoddy · Feb 26, 2014

Here's a quick update.The first picture is from the first batch germinating. I did not soak seeds this year and used soil instead of Jiffy pellets. Last year I got about 90%; this year was about 85% - too close to call.

Next is a picture from today, all potted up (plus some clones).

Lastly, here's one of my clones with a rainbow loom pepper (all the kids around here love the rainbow loom). Nigel reviewed this hybrid last fall - Fatalii (mother) x TSMB (father) F1. It was started at beginning of December. It was a bit touch-and-go at the beginning, but they seem to be doing well . This one has tiny little flower buds and lots of new growth! I'm growing out some of the F2s as well.

Thanks for looking!

hottoddy · Mar 31, 2014

Good news - all the peppers survived the move to Boise (about 450 miles in the back of a Penske)! Here is a quick shot of one of four of the trays out for watering.

Here is a picture of the clones from last year's hybrid.

Things are starting to get too big for their containers. I'm not sure if I'll pot up, or just hold off another month and put them straight into my #5s. Yesterday, I just started some Cracked Jalapenos and Pasilla Bajios. My hope is to put them straight outside in about a month.

(edited to fix broken picture links)

hottoddy · May 7, 2014

Here are most of the seedlings out in the mini-greenhouse with some overwinters from the garage. So far, it looks like I'll be lucky to have 1/2 the overwinters come back but I still have hope. Can it take weeks to see life? We are still dipping into the 30s, so it may be another week until I start potting up outside.

hottoddy · May 11, 2014

Tonight should be the last of the 30s here, so I picked up some potting-up supplies. My local Home Depot had 3 cubic foot bales of soil (soil compost blend) for $8.50. They seemed to be popular among the locals, so I decided to give it a shot. That will cut down on my mixing. I also could resist picking up a Dragon Cayenne hybrid

hottoddy · Jun 30, 2014

Here's the current layout at our new home. Most of my plants are a bit smaller than last year at this time. I think that's because I kept them in smaller 4 inch pots for an easier move (last year was solo cups). Hopefully, our longer growing season allows them to catch up and more.

I'm also growing some Walla Walla onions in some of the bigger pots.

I have about 90 total, 9 are these larger pots (clones of my hybrids, Jigsaw and bhuts).

Some Jigsaws with onions.

I didn't have much time this year, but through up a hasty garden plot in this space (tomatoes, a few jalapenos, strawberries and more onions in the distance). The Early Girl on the left, true to it's name, took off early.

I'd like to run some drip irrigation through the main section. I can hook it into a sprinkler head. Any thoughts?

hottoddy · Jul 13, 2014

The sun seemed to be stressing the plants a bit - wrinkled leaves and slower growth - so, I installed a sunshade (20x10, 40%) over my main section of peppers. It doesn't cover all the peppers, but the plants on the sides get a break from the fence and house. Also, the way the sun tracks also gives coverage to the exposed edges in the morning and late afternoon. I can also squeeze in lots more plants under the screen if needed. There are a few other sections that remain in the direct sun. If I see an improvement, I'll expand the sunshade next year.

<W----sun tracks this way-----E

Can I get an Amen?

dlsolo · Jul 13, 2014

Amen! Absolutely dig the setup. Is that sunshade pre-grommeted?

hottoddy · Jul 13, 2014

dlsolo said:
Amen! Absolutely dig the setup. Is that sunshade pre-grommeted?

Thanks! No, those seem to cost quite a bit more. I picked up a pack of these which seem to grab the fabric well (I also folded the edge) and have a few options for securing.

dlsolo · Jul 13, 2014

hottoddy said:
Thanks! No, those seem to cost quite a bit more. I picked up a pack of these which seem to grab the fabric well (I also folded the edge) and have a few options for securing.

Now that's pretty cool. I'll have to look into those.

Thanks.

hottoddy · Sep 11, 2014

This year is turning out to be slow. I hope we get a nice remaining September and October - lots of green pods.

A standout so far this season is CARDI Yellow Trinidad Scorpion. The were the earliest chinense to ripen and are nice sized! They definitely made the cut for next year.