juanitos 2019 grow log

[SIZE=11pt]Welcome to the JuanitosPeppers 2019 glog[/SIZE]
 
[SIZE=11pt]Thanks to all the long time readers and people who followed last year. I hope to make this glog a little bit better![/SIZE]
 
[SIZE=11pt]I’ll try to do weekend update format with photos and captions. I’ll be happy to answer questions or discuss growing during the week too. [/SIZE]
 
 
[SIZE=11pt]Last year was pretty successful. [/SIZE]

 
[SIZE=11pt]Saved lots of seeds[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=11pt]I spent all winter break thinking about what varieties i wanted to grow. I want to keep a good balance of flavor, heat, color, species, cost, size. Looking to expand my seed stock so i’m growing a couple collections (brainstrain, ghost) also trying a couple wilds for fun, a few mild peppers for normal people, and the best medium peppers (moa, bahamian goat). Can follow along to see everything[/SIZE]
 
[SIZE=11pt]I like doing bulk starting in medium(soilmix). It means i only plant the successful seeds, no volunteers or weak seedlings, no wasting extra seeds, no culling. Medium is a bit easier to manage as it will separate easier than a paper towel. Also you can leave them in the medium for a bit longer. [/SIZE]Just keep them in a warm 75-85 temp range for a week or so and we’re ready to transplant into pots.

 
[SIZE=11pt]While those are resting got the growing space ready.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Made sure the led strips are still running from last year, had to repair a few[/SIZE]

 
[SIZE=11pt]Cleaned up the trays and reservoir and ordered pots / trays, started putting soil in[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=11pt]More to come… Thanks for following![/SIZE]
 

 

[juanitos]

lots of rain, tornados, flooding. but nothing too bad happened to my garden. just some hail roughing up some plants. 
 
the minirocotos are liking the cloudy days more though i think!

 

 
the thai hot peppers are flowering / fruiting in the small 2in pot lol
 

 

[Hawkins]

Are you planting the same amount of plants as previous years since you switched to grow bags? Also how long have you had that weed barrier?

 

[juanitos]

Are you planting the same amount of plants as previous years since you switched to grow bags? Also how long have you had that weed barrier?

 
installed weed barrier in 2016, dewitt 5 oz
 
less plants, i'm hoping for larger plants though.
in coco slabs i was running double rows and 2 per bag so they were kinda crammed.

 

[PaulG]

Rocotos look great, John! And that Thai Pepper in
the dime-sized pot is ridiculous! Never seen such a
nice plant in a tiny pot. Maybe you are onto something
there, my friend!

 

[juanitos]

short video showing the drip / nutrients setup

also i love this plant is putting out buds like crazy!

 

[BigCedar]

Lookin good Juanitos! Loving the mini rocoto shots, that thai is pretty insane   Paul started a 3 gal glog after seeing that we need a 3.5 in glog! lol. Nice plant you got there throwing out buds like crazy, what kind?

 

[juanitos]

Lookin good Juanitos! Loving the mini rocoto shots, that thai is pretty insane   Paul started a 3 gal glog after seeing that we need a 3.5 in glog! lol. Nice plant you got there throwing out buds like crazy, what kind?

 
lol the thai is actually in a 2in pot,
btw anyone considering 2 inch pots reading this. Don't do it lol, they have a ton less volume than the standard 3.5 inch pot or solo cup. 7 fl oz vs 16 fl oz! 
normal sized plants (like non ornamentals) max out at like 10-12 inches and start getting stunted / root decay if you leave them in there 3+ months. 
 
i forgot didn't take a picture of the tag lol. i think its one of the brainstrains.

 

[juanitos]

bonus: blackberries soon

 

[DWB]

Looks good. Are they wild or cultivated? We have a lot of wild blackberries here. I go walk with the pups and eat blackberries. They're too scarce to bother with picking to bring in the house but they're great for walking around snacks.

 

[juanitos]

cultivated, we have a local blackberry farm, The Owasso Tree and Berry Farm , i got clones from.
 
our native flora is prairie so lots of grass / wildflowers and now its just lots of hay fields / cows. 
 
i was thinking i should take clones and guerrilla plant them all along our public walking trails for fun.

 

[PaulG]

cultivated, we have a local blackberry farm, The Owasso Tree and Berry Farm , i got clones from.
 
our native flora is prairie so lots of grass / wildflowers and now its just lots of hay fields / cows. 
 
i was thinking i should take clones and guerrilla plant them all along our public walking trails for fun.

Right. We'll just call you 'Johnny Berry Seed'.
 
Sounds like a great plan to me!

 

[juanitos]

went on vacation, have done 0 maintenance really since transplant. automated watering/feeding setup is nice.
I need to start getting trellis or cages, maybe isolating fabric, setup and clear the little bit of weeds that got through the fabric after 3 years.
 
the brazilian starfish were first to get full size fruits
 

 
but now lots of other plants are catching up

 
the mini rocotos are exploding with growth and flowers, but not a lot of pods set yet.

 

[juanitos]

found out my injector stopped working 2 weeks ago. so plants have had no nitrogen or calcium lol whoops. 
it is pretty easy to service the injector, just pop out 3 o rings and throw some new ones in with silicone to lube it up.
nutrients are back on track now.
 
But that's literally all ive done. i have done 0 maintenance. 
after 3 years of doing nothing looks like the grass is finally making it through my weed barrier.
looks like i'll spend a few hours pulling grass next week. 
I also need to get started on trellis and iso netting for some of these.
 
 
the aji brazilian starfish are looking really good. probably my biggest plant... to think this guy still has 4 more months to grow, i can only imagine.

 

 
biquinho are sexy as always, tons of pods. i snacked on a few ripe ones. 
this is the yellow, his red brother hasn't ripened any yet but looks similarly loaded with pods.

 
i've even got a few mini rocoto pods, and lots of flowers. 
these plants new growth was pretty affected by the lack of calcium, new growth is pretty shriveled.
but it should recover soon enough, i'm not too worried. 
 

 

 
This goes to show the mini rocoto is maybe the variety everyone can start out with growing pubescense. they seem to fruit easier / quicker than the larger varieties.
 
and to end this update... watch out for snails! 

 

[DWB]

 
 
the aji brazilian starfish are looking really good. probably my biggest plant... to think this guy still has 4 more months to grow, i can only imagine.

 

 

 
Everything is looking great.
 
The thought of four more months to grow is horrifying when I apply it to my plants in jungle land.
 

 

[Walchit]

Id buy a blackberry clone or 2 off of ya if you do take some. My raspberries finally made some fruit this year, or I finally noticed it. Planted like 3-4 years ago.

 

[juanitos]

growing about 5?6? different brainstrain genetics. some interesting stuff going on.
 
these ones don't look very bumpy but have decent shape

 
these ones look good

 

[BigCedar]

Lookin really good Juanitos! Loving the pod shots! Crazy that little snail can just sit there and chow down on supers and go about his day. You'd think they'd explode like a pop-it firework after a meal like that.

 

[juanitos]

eh found my timer gave up and hasn't been watering for another week. 
seems like these watering valve / timers always fail after a year or two no matter the brand.
i kinda want to pony up for the 80-100$ higher quality dig but oh well, guess i'll just buy another cheap timer.
 
red and yellow biquinho now
 

 

 

[Devv]

Plants looking really good!
 
The timers, look into a rainbird 6 station timer. I'm on my 3rd or 4th year now. Those cheapo hose timers were 1 season if that. In the long run the Rainbird system is way cheaper, like in year 2.

 

[juanitos]

so i found pork butt 1.19$ lb at the store and couldn't help but pick some up. I can eat this all week!

 
i did a test of salt+pepper vs memphis dust (dry rub) for reddit.com/r/smoking

 

 

 

 
eating with salt and pepper tastes better to me. it has more potent flavor. really brings out the flavor in the meat / smoke.
eating with dry rub the flavor is more complex and sweeter. But the sweetness/other flavors makes the smoke flavor less potent.
 
concluding the test i'll probably just do salt and pepper, because its cheaper / easier and has stronger smoke flavor.
If i want complex flavors i will just add it afterwards with bbq or hot sauce or garnish.
 
i used some Brazilian starfish i got from the garden today, not overbearingly spicy yum.