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JJJ Glog 2014.....in summary

Whew!
2013 Swirling down the Drain of Time.
 
Washing the 10x20s for a New Year.
 

 
 
By last October I was so peppered out  -40 some superhot plants and over twice that many mild and sweets. Didn't think I'd ever see the end of it. But, an early surprise freeze caught me off guard and I lost several mild and sweeties. I did get almost the entire superhot crop, dried, smoked, fermented, frozen or pickled. so I should have no dearth of heat to see me through to 2014 harvest.
 
I owe most of my pepper success in 2013 to YOU.
All the folks here at THP helped me from seed, to advice, to encouragement, to inspiration.  Couldn't have done it without y'all.
 
Some changes for 2014:
 

 
I'm moving my Cappy 1000 Pepper Incubator into my  basement utility room. Last year I had it in a minimally heated out building and the night times often dipped into the 50s or lower. And come to find out, baby peppers don't much care for that. They survived, they were just slow growers.
 
 
Dirt:
 
Fox Farms Ocean Forest will be my potting mix. It's organic and hopefully will be as good as the Miracle Grow Moisture Control and it can't be any worse than my home-brew last year which wasn't horrible but coulda been better.
 
Timing:
 
Instead of putting most of my seed in the ground in early February, I'm going to hold off until later on the Annums. The Chinensis at least some in early - mid January and some Manzano seeds earlier than that if I can find them. :rolleyes:
 
How Many for Plant Out?:
 
Not 140.
I'm devoting 2 raised beds -a 4x30 and a 4x16 to Sweet Peppers -Jimmy Nardello, King of the North, Gaint Marconis, Aji Dulce. About 26 plants. 
100' in my row garden. Probably 40 plant's. Haven't decided on the balance, Bhuts, 7 pot, Habs, Bonnets, Jalas, the usual suspects and a few odd balls.
66 plants +/- total. I totally neglected my maters last year(which given the season didn't make much difference), but this year I vow to do better by tomatoes. I hope to do 50 or so -all heirlooms, mostly paste.
I'll start several more of both than needed for selling and give-aways.
 
 
 
In related news....
 
My buddy up in Richmond grew a lot of peppers last year. He has a geodesic dome greenhouse. At the end of season he just dug up several of his pepper plants and moved them in inside.
 

 
They're looking pretty good for late December.
 
My last "harvest" of 2013 was 12/22/13; some Thai Chilis that I'd pulled the whole plants in October and just laid up on a table outside. Most had dried leather-hard.
 
I pulled, cooked, seasoned, ground and strained them into a sauce for Pad Thai for this winter.
 

 
 
Everything subject to change without notice.
(But I'll keep you posted)
 
Thanks for reading,
JJJ
 
 
 
Click to expand...
Love the updates JJJ! Wish I had your garden space. Looks amazing. What did you sink in the ground to feed the worms?
 
Plants are looking great. Looks like most are in 4" containers? How long do you leave 'em in those before potting up? Trying to figure out my pottings on this end.
 
Keep the pics coming. You got a nice operation running!
 
Everything looking good JJJ!
 
Glad you have worms, they seem to be nonexistant here. But you have inspired me. Now I just need the time!
 
That grave you've been digging looks like hard work. I like the idea of putting materials at the bottom to decay and absorb moisture.
 
Have a great week!
 
FireEater101 said:
Great update JJ!! Love the plants you got in post 235!! Looking great!! Love the sloped garden area you got too, Very nice you got lots of space!! Hope things continue to progress well for you!!
 
Thanks, Fire. A slope is good exercise too. Keeps me young. :)
Click to expand...
 
 
Jeff H said:
JJJ, plants look nice. Getting pretty big. How long until plant out?
Without a row cover anything before May 10 is asking for a set back. Last year I started the main wave on May 17. 
The warmer the ground the better. I'm about to the conclusion of "why fight it, just wait a week" 
But I'll probably sacrifice a few virgins in late April.
 
+2 on your comment about winter wearing out it's welcome. We have another blast coming in today.
Yeap, We're getting a bit too.
 
 
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Devv said:
Everything looking good JJJ!
 
Glad you have worms, they seem to be nonexistant here. But you have inspired me. Now I just need the time!
I've got a few red wigglers in a box in the grow room I'm building back up after last fall's neglect.
But I'm researching those Alabama Jumpers right now. They are a field worm capable of burrowing deep into clay and that;s what I need.
They are a tropical worm so they may actually work better for you. If they can get deep enough into moist soil in your summer.
 
That grave you've been digging looks like hard work. I like the idea of putting materials at the bottom to decay and absorb moisture.
 
Grave! What grave! :shocked:   I admit the thought crossed my mind. :D
I shoveled almost a yard of wood chips today. They looked to be a year or two old with some fungus showing, so I put a couple inches in the bottom before I start looking for big wood.
 
Have a great week!
 Thanks, you too.
 
Click to expand...
 
 
maximumcapsicum said:
Love the updates JJJ! Wish I had your garden space. Looks amazing. What did you sink in the ground to feed the worms?
Nothing yet, I meant to drop in in some alfalfa pellets but forgot. I may end up buying Purina Worm Chow. Worms are the best farmer you can hire and all they ask is good food and a little shelter. 
 
Plants are looking great. Looks like most are in 4" containers? How long do you leave 'em in those before potting up? Trying to figure out my pottings on this end.
They are 3.5" deep squares and I'm smitten by them. I haven't potted up any thing yet and was hoping not to. Most of them are showing some bottom root at about one month. I need to start using Cannazym more regularly in hopes of delaying root binding at least. But I think a few one gallon pots are in my future.
 
Keep the pics coming. You got a nice operation running!
Will do, thanks!
 
Click to expand...
 
 
Durham Bull said:
JJJ
nice update, chiles are looking ready for the field (too bad it's only February)
love the Asian veggies!
 
Sy
 
 

It's a good thing February only has 28 days most of the time.
A good public relations move by calendar makers I'd say
Yeah, I'll take an Asian brassica  any day to a head of cabbage..
Click to expand...
 
Today started cool and cloudy, but we ended with some sun that felt good until the wind picked up.
I built a little hoop house to get my onions through March and peppers through late April and early May.
Scooped up some abandon wood chips from a pile along the road mainly for pathway mulch, but I threw a few inches in "The HugelGrave" 
 
Finally got a Jay's Peach hook to go with it's older sister.
 

 
I think heat may have been my issue. I set the cup directly on the heat and got results in 8 hours. I've got plants on the mat that I don't want to cook. It's a balancing act.  Even with the thermostat I've had a lot of hit and miss with temps this year.
 
Laters alleygators
 
Thanks, guys. 
 
A retraction on the Jay's Peach birth announcement yesterday. It was a Carolina Reaper from Ocho Cinco. It now has 3 siblings :D
 
May be trouble in LED land.
 
Two Birgit's in coir, the same height, one was put under LED. It outgrew it's sister by a long shoot in about one week.
 

 
but.....
 

 
its leaves are getting pale freckles. The other LED plant's don't seem to be outpacing their control brethren, nor are they freckling. Temps are likely a little cooler in the LED tent. No sign of a pest.
I gave them about a 4" riser to get them a little closer to the LED and even more wouldn't hurt.
???
 
 
**************************************
 
32° at 3:15 today vacillating between partly sunny to mostly cloudy with a little breeze.
 
Inside the new unoccupied mini-hoop 
 

 
a pleasant 58°.
 
Wasn't expecting so little sunshine to make such a dramatic difference. I did double layer the plastic.
We've got 2 more cold nights (<20°) before I attempt to use it.
 
************************************
 
Monthly updates
 
Manzanos(SmokeMaster)
 

 
2 on right in coir, the runt on the left has had a week of LED.
None of these have forked, one of three earlier ones has.
They were put on a low shelf purposely, but I think there are tending toward too lanky, so I'm putting them on a riser.
 
7 Pot Barrackpore (Romy1)
 

 
Neither are growing like weeds but they are fine I guess.
 
 
2 singletons
 

 
On the right, a Fatalii from 2012 seed stock that produced the  parent of my Fataliis this year.
I grew 4 plants last year and they all seemed true to type.
 
On the left, an  Aji Dulce from non-isolated seeds I saved. It is having a growth spurt.
 
Thanks for reading
 
Congrats on the hoop house, it amazes me how well the temps go up during the day. We're holding at 39° here, but this will blow out by tomorrow.
 
The plant with the speckles: What does the underside of the leaf look like? Wondering if that's Edema.
 
Plants look to be really healthy and well fed!
 
I really hate the box that pops up and says: "You have reached your quota of positive votes for the day"
 
Warmer weather is on the way!
 
Hoop house looks good. Amazing that it maintains heat as well as it does.
 
Plants all look healthy and happy. Regarding the monzano runt, isn't it amazing how some will just fail to thrive while others are treated the same grow twice as fast? I wish I could understand why.
 
Devv said:
Congrats on the hoop house, it amazes me how well the temps go up during the day. We're holding at 39° here, but this will blow out by tomorrow.
 
The plant with the speckles: What does the underside of the leaf look like? Wondering if that's Edema.
 
Plants look to be really healthy and well fed!
 
I really hate the box that pops up and says: "You have reached your quota of positive votes for the day"
 
Warmer weather is on the way!
Click to expand...
 Thanks, Scott, tonight is going below 20° hopefully for the last time this year. It doesn't mean we couldn't still get a 2' snow. :shocked:  Historically, we are overdue on a big one.
Edema. That could be. Conditions are there; moved it to a cooler area, lighting may not be as intense as it needs, that and the fact that it's in hydro culture could very well provoke edema. The underside does not have the little edema blisters. Instead it looks like little pock marks, no bugs, just little smooth craters behind the spots. 
 
Jeff H said:
Hoop house looks good. Amazing that it maintains heat as well as it does.
 
Plants all look healthy and happy. Regarding the monzano runt, isn't it amazing how some will just fail to thrive while others are treated the same grow twice as fast? I wish I could understand why.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that runt I think was maybe a premie I moved before it had actually broken ground in the germ pot. If I find one in transplants, I give it a chance usually.
He could still surprise us.
 
maximumcapsicum said:
Amazing update JJJ! Love the group shots.

+1 on edema. It looks almost the exact same as on a couple of mine. A bit more air flow should clear it up!
Click to expand...
Thanks, Adam, I'm also leaning toward edema after some research. It's not a clear cut case, but some air and some warm would hurt I think.
 
Nick08* said:
Thats some pretty crazy growth on that LED plant... weird on the spots though. Hopefully it will grow out of it!
Click to expand...
I was surprised at the difference, though it is a little spindly. My light intensity could be low and causing it to get "Adolescent Onset Legginess".
 
 
Terravesti, that dark green is definitely coming from the Ocean Forest soil. Nothing I grew last year had this good of a color.
 
 
I went to the farm store looking for some 1/2" mesh to build a compost screener for some wood chips at the house that are looking righteous.
While I was there I scoured their seed rack. Got some beets and kale, and sifted though last year's packets at 10 cents each. I won't be without mustard for a while. :D. They had Promix w/ mycs for 25 bucks a bale, which I thought was a good price, though I've never used it. That thread on the monster Naga has me thinking I may try some more container peppers this year.
 
I'm calling Wave One all but done.
 

 
After potting up the last 3 Jigsaw cotys today, all that remains is potting up those 5 little C. Reapers. Probably Saturday.
 
Wave Two  
 
Will start real soon, probably Saturday, with a few Poblanos and the Bolivian Rainbows. Some early tomatoes on 3/14, the main annum sow on  3/25, and the rest of the tomatoes and eggplant on 4/08 or there aboutz. I trimmed my numbers  to only end with 6 additional  trays of 32 at plant-out. I've got  all my germ pots labeled and numbered to keep me on target and not over plant at the last minute.
It could happen.
 
 
Not likely.
 
About 3pm today it was 36° outside, bright and sunny with a brisk wind. The mini hoop hit 72°. It's gonna be tricky.
 
thanks for reading
 
+1 on 257
 
Hoop houses are cool eh?
 
I also like the old time feed stores. Seeds are way cheap for more than we can plant!
 
Thanks guys,
 
I try to check out old farm or hardware stores when I run across one and deal with the local ones as much as I can.
 
My first career was a seed salesman. All seeds were about 10 cents a packet -vegetables and flowers, or maybe it was a quarter a pack.
I sold them on consignment -door to door. Everybody use to grow a garden. I was 5 or 6; the elderly ladies loved me. :D and earning a net profit of a dollar was a big thrill for a 6 year old.
 
Yesterday I moved the hugelgrave a little further down the road...
 

 

 

 

 

 
I gathered a little of this and that. Poplar, oak, privet mostly, but a little locust and pine too. Some good soil, bad soil, and wood chips with fungus showing too.
Just a big, future nutrient sandwich.
 
Ground was still a little too frozen to drive stakes for side walls. It's suppose to rain Monday and maybe it will wash some of that dirt in before I fill it on up.
 
Did some bed repairs and sowed a container of kale real thick to maybe get some early greens.
 

 
I used that mesh to sift the seed covering on them.
 
This morning, I potted up my 5 Reapers and started WAVE TWO  un-soaked with 8 Poblano seeds and 4 Bolivian Rainbows from Sandia Seed Co.
 
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