Kramer Grew a Pepper (Maybe)

Hell, here goes nothing.
 
January 6: Sow chinense varieties.  I ended up covering with soil but it wasn't deep enough, so quick germination but too many helmet heads.  Reaper, Bhut J, Bih J, Carbonero, Scotch Bonnet, and a couple Cayenne for topping experiment later.
 

 
January 12: First germinations.
 

 
January 20: First true leaves.  Some turned purple or got crunchy because I read it is good to have lights close up to the seedlings.  Well..it was too much.  Read the mfg instructions and they recommend 40% power 24 inches away for seedlings for 14-16 hours a day.  Oops.
 

 
January 26: Potted up some of the leggy ones.
 

 
February 6: Potted the rest up last weekend.  No new growth since transplant except a couple of cayenne in the same batch which are doing great.  One reaper abandoned all leaves so I just tossed it.  Tried poking some holes deep down with a straw to help aerate.  Just seem small for being 30 days in but hanging in there.  The fan is on and feeding with diluted kelp once a week, bottom watering every 2-3 days.
 

 

[cone9]

Here they are after a nice rest.  Love how these plants look.  Think I might even put some out front as "ornamentals".
 
Bih Jolokia
 

bih jolokia.jpg
 
Safi/African Scotch Bonnet
 

scotch bonnet.jpg

You got the touch, Kramer!   
 
My plants are embarrassingly behind yours!   (mine range from 2" and one set of true leaves down to waiting to germinate)
But I'll get there.

 

[Downriver]

...Think I might even put some out front as "ornamentals".
 

That's a great idea!
 
Um.....what was that address again?

 

[Kramer]

That's a great idea!
 
Um.....what was that address again?

Haha! Sure man, come on over. Take route 7 pot until you pass Jolokia Place, I'm right there on the corner of Bhut Way and Naga Lane. ;-)

 

[Kramer]

Starting to see some of cool results from topping experiments.  I definitely like what I'm seeing and think I'll be topping most all of my plants next year.
 
Here is a bhut that wasn't topped and just got really tall.  Just nothing between those two established sets of leaves but 1 tall stem.  Cut off the top about a week ago and now there are shoots aplenty.  Will probably take off those older leaves in another week and let all the new stuff come out.
 

 
Here's a cayenne that I actually didn't top, but accidentally let dry out when it was really young and the top leaves withered and died, basically topping itself.  It then forked really low down, and grew a nice third leg as well.  Maybe 6-8" tall now and has 15 buds on it!
 

 
Do you guys top and if so when?  I've topped some of my other cayenne plants once they began to fork, but actually, those ones weren't the greatest, they more or less just set up a new fork right below where I cut.  I'm thinking topping even earlier, like even pinching the 4th or even 3rd set of true leaves might work better.  What do you guys usually do, if you're toppers?

 

[PaulG]

I agree, it's best to top low if you are going to,
otherwise you just end up with a tall bush. Seems
like the fourth node is a good compromise, yielding
4-6 new branches. You can trim to the most desirable
shape-wise.
 
I have topped lots of plants, but this season with more 
headroom under the lights, I'm letting them grow,
especially the wilds. Chinenses and Rocotos have
never needed much topping, but the wilds and
baccatums more so. I agree with Pepper Guru,
as well -  plants grow best when they grow naturally.
He never tops his plants and they are huge bushy
monsters!

 

[Kramer]

Just a short update today.  Everything is going well in the peppermania world.
 
Nothing new, they've become pretty low maintenance besides rotating once a day over my lunch break and watering every 2-3 days.
 
Getting a bit crowded though, and we're having some unusually warm days here in Pittsburgh this week.  If that trend continues, I think I might start hardening off outside later this month.  We shall see.
 

 

 

[PaulG]

Is that last pic a jalapeño? You will have to
stake it up if all those flowers set pods!

 

[Kramer]

Is that last pic a jalapeño? You will have to
stake it up if all those flowers set pods!

Close! You've got the right species, but that one's a NuMex Cayenne, Las Cruces I think they call it. For buffalo sauce!

 

[Kramer]

With about 50 plants, watering has become a chore.  I saw a YouTube video that inspired me to put together a bit of a watering rig, and I thought I would share because I love it so far.
 
It's just a 5 gallon bucket, a Vivosun pump, an interconnect, a short garden hose, and a wand.
 
First I get water from the sink.  Pittsburgh water sucks, so I run it through this RV filter...
 

 
...and into the bucket.  You can also mix nutes in here and run it through the pump no problem.  The pump has suction feet which stick to the bottom.  The water bandit slides onto the largest vivosun adapter, and you can clamp it with a hose clamp (I just used a really tight zip tie).  Hose attaches to that, and then also drill a couple holes into the bucket and secure the hose with another zip tie to act as a strain relief.
 

 
On the other end, a watering wand with adjustable flow control.  I removed the head since I just need a gentle stream, and it's more easy to maneuver around the plants.
 

 
Super easy and really handy.  Could use a longer power chord, but luckily I've got one spare outlet in my rack, so the apparatus just sits next to it and I plug 'er in.
 
Total cost at time of purchase (not including old bucket or zip ties) $62, but could be done for less with cheaper/shorter hose and wand and perhaps a smaller pump, but the 800gph and longer hose will come in handy later when the plants are in 5 gallon bags.  The Boogie Blue as well is not included and rather pricey, but rated for 45,000 gallons so should last a good long time.
 
Pump https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07L54HB83/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 
Hose https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OHRTQ3Y/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
 
Water Bandit https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EDOSKG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 
Wand https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FP5MLKK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Kramer]

In typical Pittsburgh fashion, we had some 80 degree days earlier this month and now might see snow flurries Wednesday this week.  Meh..
 
Most plants have really slowed down, on the verge of being root bound.  So, I gave them a haircut and potted up to squeeze out a last bit more growth before they go out.  Also made my first "harvest" of the year.
 
 

 

[Kramer]

So about those tomatoes..
 
Never grown tomatoes before, but figured lots of you do.  These things keep dropping their lower branches.  At first they get kind of bubbly, and I figured, hell that's just like the edema I've got on some of my peppers.  No big deal.  But, then the leaves dry out, curl, and the whole branch drops.  From bottom of the plant up.  Pretty soon I'll have plants that are two foot tall sticks with a couple leaves just on top lol.
 
Thinking about it more, I was thinking it could be a fungal infection of the sort, but I'm just not sure.  These were soaked in peroxide and planted in the same medium as my peppers, which have no issue.  Actually, they're growing right next to peppers, and the peppers aren't exhibiting this at all.
 
Which leads me to question..is this normal?  They're San Marzano btw.  Thanks in advance to any advice you may have to share.
 

 

 

 

[PaulG]

Wish I had a good answer for you, Kramer.
 
It does look kinda like edema, but I have never
seen that on my tomatoes. Maybe the problem
will straighten out when they are potted up. 

 

[Kramer]

Thanks PaulG, even for the moral support.
 
I know, sometimes there just aren't any obvious answers.  Such is life when you're growing plants in places and under conditions they were never truly meant to grow.
 
I'll just keep on keeping on and hopefully when they go outside next month they'll snap out of it.

 

[Downriver]

...some food for thought. See if any of this info helps.
 
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/environmental/treating-edema-in-plants.htm
 
Hang in there. Tomatoes are tough. Things will work out.

 

[Kramer]

Well, it's been about a month since I documented the pepper progress.
 
They've been very happy, so happy actually that I've had to move some outside since there's just no more room inside.
 

 
Pittsburgh weather: Looking typically lame for early May.  I'll probably have to move some of these in when it starts dipping past mid 40's. 
 

But enough of that doom and gloom, summer is coming.  Let's see some pepper plants. 
Bih Jolokia
 

 
Carbonero
 

 
Scotch Bonnet
 

 

[Kramer]

Well friends, the weatherman was in fact right about the past week and a half.  Always gray, pretty cold, and mostly raining.  Meh.  But, I've been watching for the window to open up, and I felt today was the day...
 

 
...to move everybody out for some fresh air.  They won't be installed into their permanent homes until the end of the month in case we take another dive in temps (unlikely but far from impossible), but so far, it looks like nature wants to cooperate.  Right now they're on the porch which is mostly shaded, but I'll be moving them out after tomorrow onto the deck under 50% shade cloth and try to let them harden up that way instead of moving them all back and forth.  Here's a family portrait.
 

 
I've also been planning my soil mix, and well..frankly got kind of carried away with it.  I really liked Fox Farm's stuff, but wanted to do it cheaper since I'm basically a continent away and it is pricey.  So I researched some of the ingredients and planned my own pseudo copy cat mix.
 

 

[PaulG]

That looks like an awesome soil mix. Will be watching
closely to see how it does for you. How did the price
finally compare to just buying the FF?

 

[Kramer]

That looks like an awesome soil mix. Will be watching
closely to see how it does for you. How did the price
finally compare to just buying the FF?

 
Well, PaulG.  I had good intentions man, but I don't think we saved any money here   I think we just broke even 
 
But a lot of this stuff was one time buy and I'll have plenty left over, like the garden lime, fish meal and azomite.  Also had to get 1/4" galvanized mesh to build the sifter.  Most amendments came from Amazon though, so there's also the Jeffy Bezos' prime tax to contend with.
 
Oh well, you win some you lose some I think the saying goes.  As long as it's fun and results in lots of pods, it's all good.

 

[Kramer]

Well, today was a lot sunnier than expected.  Was counting on the full blown overcast for hardening off, but it broke up and gave full sun by noon.  So, I went out and installed the shade cloth over lunch.
 

 
I'll probably leave this on for next day, then start pulling it off half the day a couple days, then just let it ride full naked by the end of the week.  Not an expert, just gauging it by how they respond.  They really haven't seemed to mind yet, actually, some got kinda limp branches under my weak workshop light before moving out and are starting to sturdy up and point their leaves towards the sun.  Nice.
 

 
And...I've planted more seeds for the cooking.  Basils, thyme, cilantro, rosemary, marjoram, chives, dill, and 3 more I can't remember and can't see since it's fogged up.  The basil will go out into partial shade, but I'm thinking I might want to keep the rest inside indefinitely this summer.  Admittedly I kind of like the idea of going downstairs to pick completely clean and unbolted fresh herbs to cook with, and maybe even drying some to make awesome dried stuff.  We'll see.
 

 

[PaulG]

Plants look like they are enjoying the
shady deck space! Some of them look
pretty tall!
 
Rock on, bro!