How would you plant 100,000

AJ Drew

AJ Drew

Just read an article where Puckerbutt Pepper Company says they will be growing 100,000 Carolina Reaper plants this year.  I am thinking that is about 10 acres or so.  So speculating, how would a person approach something that size?  I am thinking the same way tobacco is grown.  In my case, the hill jack way.

Dig trench, line with black plastic, fill with nutrient / compost tea, float tobacco trays with pepper seeds in them, cover with clear plastic.

Till the living crap out the field, use tobacco setter.  The thing spreads the ground, sets the plant, closes the ground, and shoots water / nutrient in there to get it started.

Your thoughts?
 
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There is a machine IIRC that tills the soil, and sticks a set amount of seeds in a series of holes a predetermined distance apart. In the north, they have to stick them an inch deep, and then scrape an inch of soil off.

I forget who was telling about this, may have been good ol pepper joe. when I was looking at growing for him.
 
D3monic, was it really so funny as to become a signature line?  I am honored.

On the tobacco setter, yep that is the one.  I would insist on cup holders

JSS, I do not thinks starting peppers by seed in the ground would work very well.  Not on such a scale.  If nothing else, keeping them damp enough to germinate would be a royal pain.
 
I believe several growers would be contracted by Puckerbutt to do the growing.  The McDermott's grew some Reapers for Puckerbutt last season.  I've seen the tractor-type machine they used to plant 13,000 plants, . As it rolls along, it punches out holes in the ground, spaced for planting. Two people sit on the back end dropping the plants in the holes as they're moving along. It was more sophisticated than what you see posted above.  They had some YouTube videos showing it all. It was amazing. Tough way to make a living, though.
 
ajdrew said:
D3monic, was it really so funny as to become a signature line?  I am honored.

On the tobacco setter, yep that is the one.  I would insist on cup holders

JSS, I do not thinks starting peppers by seed in the ground would work very well.  Not on such a scale.  If nothing else, keeping them damp enough to germinate would be a royal pain.
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*shrug* the guy I was talking to had something like 40 or 50 acres to plant.
 
GB4 - Excellent, thank you.  Have seen and worked with tobacco setters but more along the lines of the first picture posted here.  Never seen one that did that many rows.  But it still needs cup holders.
 
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