KingLeerUK 2018 GLOG

Hello again after a few years away!
 
I haven't grown peppers since late 2015 but made a decision a few weeks ago to dip my toe in to the pepper trade once again.  Between now and then I lost the use of my garden due to an overzealous exterminator deciding to dump the remainder (20 gallons) of his termiticide on my garden soil, rendering it unsafe for growing anything for human consumption for the next 10 years.  I was really gutted at the loss because I had been building up the soil for YEARS with infusions of mushroom compost, teas, powdered eggshell and other amendments to make the space produce like Florida sand just never can.  Because of this I decided to take a break from the hobby.  Well, 2018 is here and I'm getting a late start, but a start nonetheless.
 
I'm going to try and grow only those seeds that I already had in my collection, which is pretty substantial:
 

 
This random pile represents about 1/2 of what I've collected, traded or purchased back when I was previously growing.  For this year, I told myself I'd plant a maximum of 50 seed starters and then only keep a maximum of 25 if they sprouted; giving the others away to friends, family, etc.
 

 
Since I can't plant in the ground this year it's going to be fabric pots all around.  The reason for this is two-fold: one, due to the previously mentioned loss of garden plot, and two since I'm getting such a late start on the year, even with the extended Florida growing season, I can move the plants inside to overwinter and have a head start on next year.
 
I've got 20 7-gallon fabric pots and then another 5 10-gallon fabric pots.  For soil I'll be getting bagged soil from the garden center, adding in bulk vermiculite, perlite, Black Kow, and some other micronutrients as needed.
 
For each entry I planted 3-4 seeds in a cell, and I'll cull any extras that might start.  This is what I've got in the starter tray:
 
*C. annuum
Albanian Red Hot
Aleppo
Cherry Bomb
Cowhown
Çumra Cherry
Ethiopian Brown Berbere
Farmer's Jalapeño
Giant Jalapeño
Large Thick Cayenne
Matay
Negro Chilhuacle
Pasilla de Oaxaca
Sweet Cayenne
Turkish Sweet Bell
 
*C. baccatum
Aji Oro
Bishop's Crown
Brazilian Starfish
 
*C.chinense


Aji Jobito
Aji Llaneron
Aji Margariteño

Aji Pepon
Aji Rosita Rojo
Aji Rosita

Carolina Reaper HP22b
CGN 21500
Chocolate Bhut Jolokia
Dulce Marrón
Peach Bhut Jolokia
Red Bhut Jolokia
Shabu Shabu Jolokia
Trinidad Scorpion Moruga
Yellow Brain Strain
 
*C. frutescens/chinense
Aribibi Gusanito Orange
 
*C. pubescens
Giant Mexican Rocoto
Orange Rocoto
Pineapple Rocoto
 
Which of the above should get the 10-gallon treatment? (assuming they sprout and survive that long) What do you think my chances are of getting 3+ year old seeds to start? They have been kept in ziplock bags, inside of a storage box in an air conditioned space for the entire dormant period.
 
Thanks in advance for any comments or suggestions!

 

[BlackFatalii]

Welcome back and good luck with your grow! That is a pretty nice list there. Just FYI though, Aji Jobito, Aji Llaneron, Aji Margariteno, Aji Pepon, and the Aji Rositas are all milder chinenses, not baccatums. I got seeds for those from Lindberg and I was only able to get the Jobito, Margariteno and Rosita Red to germinate. But those three did well for me. 
 
As far as germinating old seeds, I think a lot depends on how well they were kept. I germinated some 3 year old CGN21500 seeds last year and had 7/8 pop right up. Then this year I tried with some 5 year old Peach Scorpion seeds I got off a seed train and only had about 1/12 pop. So it depends.
 
Who gets the 10 gallon pots? Well, that depends on what you like I guess. For me, I would give them to the Yellow Brain Strain and Brazilian Starfish for sure, and maybe the Aji Margariteno and Aji Rosita Rojo as well. But that is just because I really like the taste of all of those. YMMV.

 

[KingLeerUK]

Thanks for the response BlackFatalii.  For the fabric pot size, do any of the varieties on my list have a preference for a larger pot?  I know that Manzanos/Rocotos can get quite big.  In the past, my biggest plant was actually a Bishop's Crown that reached over 5 feet tall.  For the widest plant, I had a Moruga Scorpion that was over 4 feet across, but never got over 2 feet tall.  I never really looked in to how big the root balls of each plant ended up being.

 

[DontPanic]

Neat!  I like following Glogs from other people in hot, humid climates.
 
I can't offer any feedback on pot size, but I see several peppers that have me curious.
 
I've been wondering how Rocotos and Aleppo peppers would do in a hot, humid climate.
 
And I see you have several of the Lindberg peppers.  For some reason, I always like peppers with a story behind them.
 
Good Luck this year!  I'll be curious to follow along.
 

 

[KingLeerUK]

I just happened to find a bubble mailer with about 15 seed packs that I'd gotten in the last part of 2015 in trades/trains. I'm tempted now to start another set of seeds just to give them a chance...

And this is how the hobby makes you crazy/poor/obsessed.

 

[KingLeerUK]

I am so weak.
 
I went ahead and planted another 25 cells, a hedge against having so many old seeds that may result in low germ percentages.
 

 

[KingLeerUK]

So, about 2 weeks on and I've had a few of my starter cells hook.
 

 

 

 
 
SPROUT COUNT:
Aji Rosita Rojo
Trinidad Moruga Scorpion
Negro Chilhuacle
Turkish Sweet Bell
Sweet Cayenne
Çumra Cherry
Farmer's Jalapeño
 
Given that even the newest of my seed stock was nearly 4 years old I consider this a pretty decent outcome.  What was most surprising was that the Trinidad Moruga Scorpions popped so quickly.
 
The starter trays are out on the back screened in porch in the Florida toaster oven (~86'F' (30'C), 70-90% humidity) and they get indirect sunlight for most of the day.  

 

[KingLeerUK]

Just over 3 weeks since starting my (late) season and I've got about 20 seedlings going.
 
At this point, most of the seeds that have shown any signs of life have been C.annum and a couple of C.chinense and C.baccatum.  I'm really pleased that my Aleppos started, even with 4 year old seed stock.
 

 

 

 

 
This is  what has come up so far:
Aleppo
Çumra Cherry
Dedo de Moca
Ethiopian Brown Berbere
Farmer's Jalapeño
Kung Pao
Negro Chilhuacle
Pasilla de Oaxaca
Turkish Sweet Bell
Yukari Bakan
 
Aji Oro
Brazilian Starfish
Jamy
Orange Starfish
 
Aji Fantasy
Aji Jobito
Aji Rosita Rojo
Cream Fatali
Trinidad Scorpion Moruga
 
 
I haven't started any culling yet but have planted almost everything that came up in to 4" pots with some bagged potting soil, myco starter and and light sprinkle of azomite dust.  Some of the seedlings are a little leggy but I'm ok with that given I'm relying on indirect morning sun and don't have any artificial lighting available to me.
 
Still zero activity from any of the rocotos or manzanos which has me a little worried.  Four+ weeks for C.pubsecens?
 
I've been giving it some thought and what is the general consensus on thinning out seedlings? Is it really so terrible to have 2-3 plants in close proximity?  Isn't that how seed dispersal would work in nature? (pod drops to the ground or is eaten by a bird, seeds deposit all together)
 
 

 

[KingLeerUK]

So, it's been a while...
 
Summer was busy for me personally, but my little pepper porch held its own despite being mostly ignored apart from the occasional watering and obligatory potting up.
 
From my sowing over over 70 seed cells, only 1/3 germinated, but thankfully almost all of those made it out alive.  I gave a few young plants away, lost a couple of seedlings to damping off (notably the Negro Chilhuacle and the Aji Oro).  I didn't get a single Manzano/Rocoto from any of my various types to start.  This is a shame because I really wanted some Orange Manzanos this year.
 
I decided against culling so most of the pots have 2+ plants in them, some are braided loosely; I'm embracing the chaos.
 
LIST
Aji Fantasy (2)
Aji Jobito
Aji Rosita Rojo
Aji Verde
Aleppo (2)
Brazilian Starfish
Cream Fatali
Çumra Cherry
Dedo de Moca
Farmers Jalapeno
Hinkle Hatz
Jamy
Kung Pao
Orange Starfish
Pasilla de Oaxaca
Sweet Cayenne
Trinidad Scorpion Moruga
Turkish Sweet Bell
Yukari Bakan
 
PICS:

A very healthy Trinidad Moruga Scorpion
 

The porch formation, partial sun in the morning and filtered sun in the late afternoon.
 

Abundant flower nodes on the Farmer's Jalapeno
 

Braided stems on a few plants.
 
I've been pinching new growth every week or two and this has resulted in a LOT of new nodes and bushing.  In the next week or so I'll be potting up to the final size for all of these, which will be 7-gallon fabric pots.
 
I've decided to go "kitchen sink" mode with my soil recipe and will be including the following:
Vigoro Garden Soil

Black Kow composted cow manure
Earthworm Castings (Unco)
Coco Coir
Perlite
Vermiculite
 ...with amendments:

Azomite (Root Naturally)
Biochar (Green Texan Organic)
Myco (Plant Success)

Humic Acid (TeraVita)
Epsom Salts
Blood Meal
Bone Meal
Dolomitic Lime
 

I still haven't figured out the exact ratios, but after looking through some of the pinned posts on this site it doesn't seem like you can every really get it wrong, nor can you get it perfect.  Suggestions are always welcome!

 

[KingLeerUK]

Just a few quick pictures to document progress.
 

The Farmer's Jalapeno is actually quite fuzzy.  My plant has been putting on tons of flowers... and dropping most of them.  It's strange  because right next to it the Aleppo has set a few pods.
 

First pods of the season setting on the larger of my two Aleppo plants.
 

Time has been a serious constraint on my repotting but I have transplanted a few of my plants.  This is the Dedo de Moca which is branching and filling in nicely due to my constant pinching at the nodes.
 

The same treatment has been given to this Trinidad Scorpion Moruga which is displaying it's typically slow-and-low growing habit.  It still hasn't tried to put any flowers on, but that's in keeping with my goal to get it well established for overwintering.  In my previous years I had a Scorpion Moruga (in ground) that ended up being over 5 feet across, 3 feet high and put on hundreds of pods of the course of a season.

 

[KingLeerUK]

An update for post Labor Day on the current state of things in the "garden".
 
Everything has been potted up to 7 gallon fabric pots which now reside on the porch.  They receive indirect sun most of the day except for mid-afternoon when they get about 3 hours of direct sun.  They seem happy enough, and it lets me control their water instead of being at the mercy of our irregular afternoon downpours here in FL.
 

 
The first pods of the year have appeared on the Aleppo and the Hinkle Hatz.  Given that these two plants flowered at separate times (Aleppo was first, and set pods a few weeks ago) I can say that both should have relatively isolated seeds.
 

Hinkle Hatz
 

Aleppo
 
I was pinching nodes off all of my plants to try and encourage branching and size, but the Turkish Sweet Bell has shown the strangest reaction to this treatment by putting on TONS of leaves and nodes on the central stem:

 
My Farmer's Jalapeno continued to drop flowers and refused to set any pods.  It was also getting incredibly lanky and leaning so I ended up topping it.  I may not get any production out of it this year, but it should be massive by the end of the season and ready to overwinter.
 

 
As you can tell from some of the other pics, I've had to treat with BT powder because something was chewing on leaves.  I finally found a little bright green caterpillar so the culprit has been revealed.  Strangely I only found ONE despite a thorough search, but all of the plants have been dosed.  Given the amount of pest trouble I've had in the past I'm surprised it took this long to find my plants.  These plants have been out from screened porch cover for 12 days.  12. Days.  I guess that's Florida for you.
 

 
 

 

[KingLeerUK]

If any one is curious, my soil mix for these 7 gallon fabric pots ended up being:
 
1/8 organic bagged garden soil
1/8 black kow compost
1/8 coco coir
1/8 vermiculite
1/2 perlite
 
Amendments for each bag:
4 cups earthworm castings
4 cups biochar
2 cups dolomitic lime
2 cups greensand
1 cup kelp meal
1 cup Azomite
3 Tbsp blood meal
1 Tbsp bone meal
1 Tbsp myco granules
 
When doing the repotting, the bottom of each hole received about 2 Tbsp of myco granules (direct application).  Each plant was buried 2"-3" deeper than the parent pot since many of the plants were already sending out roots from the base of the stem.