Lespaulde's 2020

Good day to all my fellow pepperheads out there. Given that 2020 is well underway, I figured it's time to get my new glog going. I'm hoping this year's will be full of delicious peppers, learning moments, new things to try out and last but not least, a lot of fun growing these tasty little devils together with the awesome community that makes THP the mecca it is.
 
I'm almost exclusively growing new varieties this year, which is not due to the fact that I didn't like last year's peppers, but rather taking the opportunity to create the illusion of making a dent in trying the many cultivars that have found their way onto my bucket list. I've sourced seeds from various places including Semillas and South Lincs Chili boys, and am forever grateful for the awesome trades I got to do with PaulG and Dr. Cane McDog, which have shaped this and even next year's grow already.
 
So now to the good stuff, the peppers. The list (thus far, after lots and lots of back and forth in Google sheets) looks as follows:
 
Autopot
Sugar Rush Peach
Numex Pumpkin Spice
Numex Lemon Spice
Numex vaquero
Jalapeño Zapotec (CaneDog)
Jay's Peach Ghost Scorpion
Paper lantern
Dorset Naga Orange

Fabric bags
Rocoto Cristobal
Jamaican yellow hot
Hyper Pube (CaneDog)

Buckets
BJ hybrid-2 (PaulG)
7 pot burgundy (PaulG)
Aji Amarillo (PaulG)

Indoor / Tent
BJ Purple x Aji Mango
Aji Lemon x BJ Purple
B. O. C. crosses
Early Jalapeño
Bahamian goat
Rocoto Oculto
 

For those of you that remember my glog from last year, Sugar Rush Peach is the only cultivar I'm repeating, which is because it was a huge hit at home, with both me and the missus enjoying it on lots of different dishes. Sweet, but still with a nice kick, especially when added to a hot meal. Other than that, there are lots of Jalapeno varieties as this must still be my favorite type, and I took a "why not try them all" approach, which I hope to continue over the years. Seeds will be planted in 2 batches, with the first batch having been put in the rockwool just before New Year's:
 
Jay's Peach Ghost Scorpion
Paper lantern
Dorset Naga Orange
Rocoto Cristobal
Jamaican yellow hot
Hyper Pube (CaneDog)
PaulG's BJ hybrid-2
7 pot burgundy (PaulG)

I'm extremely excited to be able to grow some Rocotos this year, so thanks for edging me on to that, CaneDog and others in the forums. I have a feeling they will like the Danish climate which tends to have cool nights even during the summer, and will be grown fully outside, not in the greenhouse (space limitations).
 
I had already started a small winter indoors grow consisting of my own Aji Lemon x BJ Purple cross (F1), which has been making good progress.

Oct 11th:

Nov 14th:

December 5th:

Today (bear in mind it was on a non-sunny windowsill for 3 weeks during the holidays in order to not let it dry out under the intense lights, where it also aborted its recently set first fruit):

Once the other seedlings made their way outdoors, I will expand the indoor grow according to the plan above (yeah, right! xD) and keep that going too, simply just to get as many peppers sampled this year as possible. 

So at the start, the tent looked as follows:

Soon after, I moved the bulk of the seed starter rockwool cubes into a heated dome, and am transferring the cubes to the tent as the seeds pop. Currently, the JPGS, Jamaican Yellow and PaulG's BJ hybrid have already popped, so let's see how quickly the others follow. From seed to seedling in basically a week is as good as I could have ever asked for.

As always, thanks for reading and any input/criticism/feedback you may have, and I will try to keep it saucy in terms of pictures and taste reviews etc.... Happy 2020!

 

[CaneDog]

Wow!  Those are destined to become beasts with that setup!  Your sky looks clear, blue, and sunny.  Good stuff.  So nice to be getting better weather.

 

[PtMD989]

Your plants are looking great [emoji106][emoji16]. From the looks of them, you are going to need those cages [emoji106][emoji16].


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[lespaulde]

Wow LP!
 
Great work, resulting in great looking plants. Pictures are well done as well.
Funny how much really good info comes from the 4-20 sites.
Perhaps it's motivation? For a grow that inhibits motivation??
 
I'm not familiar with any of the tomato varieties you're growing. But, we live so far away and have such dis-similar climates.
Mine are chosen for short hot seasons. Handball sized toms that taste good for the wife

 
Thanks Devv, so far I'm very happy and I just hope we don't get any more freezing nights as I will then have to panic a little...  
 
And yes, for sure many of my key grow aspects (LED light, autopots) stem from the 4-20 sites who have gone at great lengths to explore these things. Funny how much it's money that is driving those investigations, and I happily borrow what I can for my much-more-innocent hobby... I definitely lol'd at your "motivation to grow to inhibit motivation" joke, only too true! xD 
 
I am still very new to the tomato scene, and am just trying out a whole bunch of different ones to see which ones do well in our climate and which ones we like. You're probably totally right that what works well on your end might not work well here and vice versa. I'll post a taste update later in the season nevertheless, but from what I gather, the F1 seeds one buys for tomatoes cannot simply be harvested again from fruit and replanted, right?
 

Wow!  Those are destined to become beasts with that setup!  Your sky looks clear, blue, and sunny.  Good stuff.  So nice to be getting better weather.

 
Thanks CD! I can only keep my fingers crossed they didn't mind being thrown out into the cold like that. But indeed, all the sunshine lately has gotten me impatient to get them into the greenhouse where they get at least double the number of sunlight hours. We'll know within a couple of days if it went wrong I suppose, and I'm counting on the warm days (30C/90F) within the greenhouse to offset the cold nights... 
 

Your plants are looking great [emoji106][emoji16]. From the looks of them, you are going to need those cages [emoji106][emoji16].


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Thanks Bryan! Only plant missing is the Haskorea no?   I'm hoping to get my hands on some seed for next season as I'm loving the hype around it!

 

[lespaulde]

Also proceeded with converting my kratkies to DWC, now that I have some extra room by the windows...

Rocoto Oculto:

Early Jalapeño:

If the Rocoto is not going to set flowers while indoors, I'll promote it to an outdoor Kratky or DWC (using a solar air pump I already spotted on Amazon) by mid season to see how well that works. Will be an interesting ride no matter what I reckon...

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[PtMD989]

 
Thanks Devv, so far I'm very happy and I just hope we don't get any more freezing nights as I will then have to panic a little...  
 
And yes, for sure many of my key grow aspects (LED light, autopots) stem from the 4-20 sites who have gone at great lengths to explore these things. Funny how much it's money that is driving those investigations, and I happily borrow what I can for my much-more-innocent hobby... I definitely lol'd at your "motivation to grow to inhibit motivation" joke, only too true! xD 
 
I am still very new to the tomato scene, and am just trying out a whole bunch of different ones to see which ones do well in our climate and which ones we like. You're probably totally right that what works well on your end might not work well here and vice versa. I'll post a taste update later in the season nevertheless, but from what I gather, the F1 seeds one buys for tomatoes cannot simply be harvested again from fruit and replanted, right?
 
 
Thanks CD! I can only keep my fingers crossed they didn't mind being thrown out into the cold like that. But indeed, all the sunshine lately has gotten me impatient to get them into the greenhouse where they get at least double the number of sunlight hours. We'll know within a couple of days if it went wrong I suppose, and I'm counting on the warm days (30C/90F) within the greenhouse to offset the cold nights... 
 
 
Thanks Bryan! Only plant missing is the Haskorea no?   I'm hoping to get my hands on some seed for next season as I'm loving the hype around it!

Hey Mr Lespaulde, I just happen to know a guy that can hook ya up [emoji16]. Hell yeah let’s take this intercontinental [emoji16][emoji106]. PM me we’ll get this rolling [emoji16]


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[Devv]

Also took the time to 'plant out' the first 3 plants into 60L/16gal fabric containers. I gloriously copied Skullbiker and Uncle E's setup with wire fence inside the pots, as these will end up outside the green house 24/7 in a few weeks and I hope them to get m.a.s.s.i.v.e. This way they should be protected from wind and manage to keep a large crop growing without branches breaking.

Plants are:

Jamaican Hot Yellow

Rocoto hyperpube (CaneDog's)

Rocoto San Cristobal

And all of them getting ready for their first night in the wild... xD

Let's see how they do, as the next few nights are still predicted down to 4C/39F but the greenhouse adds 2-3 degrees on top of that, meaning they should be safe. Fingers crossed anyways, and tomorrow I'm moving out the autopots too so they can savour some more hours of sun per day than they've been getting in the windows.



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Looking good!
 
They will handle the temps just fine. No frost in that greenhouse
 

 
from what I gather, the F1 seeds one buys for tomatoes cannot simply be harvested again from fruit and replanted, right?

 
True for the hybrids, the heirlooms will grow true as they are stable. For some reason the heirlooms hate me, but I still grow the German Pink for LB.
She loves them and I need her happy

 

[Mildfruit]

Haha sorry for taking up so much of your time! I also couldn't believe it at first, but was sold after the first season. Indeed going 100% perlite should make media recycling a breeze, and even with coco it's just a matter of adding ~30% fresh every time. The only challenge is disentangling the leca pebbles from the insane rootball at the bottom at the end of a season, but I suppose you don't have seasons so problem solved!

This is my 3rd year using them and so far have been very pleased. However, do be careful (if you try them) not to use too big a reservoir tank as I've heard a story from the 4-20 scene where one of the autovalves got blocked by a fallen leaf or what not and was then set to always open. That flooded their floor and while outside that isn't an issue, inside a house it would be. I think given your automatic watering system, that you could set something similar up but without the flood 'risk' (although it's never happened to me and the valve is in a sealed compartment). Just put the pots in some kind of reservoir, put a layer of leca pebbles in the bottom of the pot and just let your watering system fill it up every few days.

Nice! Happy to hear you're going for the Orange spice! I'm giving it a miss this year due to wanting to try lots of new ones, but it truly is a good Jalapeño. It'll probably get nice and big fast in your setup!

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No worries! It sparked a joy back into this hobby for me to sit and read up on all the things I didn't know about coco coir. I remember when I first got interested in hydroponics I sat up night long reading about different systems and I really enjoyed that. This did the same thing for me I think my next grow will be using the autopots and coco coir. I feel like the grodan and the system in general is running on autopilot, it works, but where's the fun in that? Thanks for your recommendation! 

 

[Bhuter]

Looking good!
 
They will handle the temps just fine. No frost in that greenhouse
 

 
True for the hybrids, the heirlooms will grow true as they are stable. For some reason the heirlooms hate me, but I still grow the German Pink for LB.
She loves them and I need her happy

Wow, Scott! LB DOES like the German Pink? That's great! Tonie is that way, also. If she has to only have one tomato, German Pink would be her choice. Lol

I'm so glad that the Syrian Haskorea is still making the rounds and you are interested, Erv! Thanks again, Bryan, for getting it out there! I should be heading to that same greenhouse within the next couple weeks, so I may find another diamond in the rough. That's where I found the no-heat bishops crown, too. Many oddball varieties show up there because the owners brother works at a main greenhouse in Toledo......about an hour from here. And their Reapers are usually spot-on, (except last year) so I don't start one. Lol

Fantastic-looking plants, Erv! I too had Rocoto Oculto difficulties. Also had a helmet head, but when removed, it had tri-cotyledon. So it was too big had to be Caesarian-born. Lmao!


-Adam

 

[PtMD989]

The offer is still open [emoji16].


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[Bhuter]

The offer is still open [emoji16].


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Wow, Bryan! I didn't even check the date!!!

How's the thumb of the mitten? I think tonight starts the "go ahead and leave them out overnight" trial. 50's on up at night.

 

[PtMD989]

Wow, Bryan! I didn't even check the date!!!

How's the thumb of the mitten? I think tonight starts the "go ahead and leave them out overnight" trial. 50's on up at night.

You Sir are correct[emoji106][emoji16] frost/ freezing should be done now [emoji16]. I’m hoping to plant out within a day or two. [emoji16]. Waiting for the rain to subside.


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[Devv]

 
Wow, Scott! LB DOES like the German Pink? That's great! Tonie is that way, also. If she has to only have one tomato, German Pink would be her choice. Lol

 
 Oh Yeah! They get huge here, but the season is a bit short for them. But , she does get enough to make her happy. I have 3 this year going.
 
I could never manage the size of the garden, and still get any rest if it wasn't for her. Over the years she's really gotten hooked on the grows.
She even mixes powder from the supers into the BBQ sauces we use..

 

[Bhuter]

Oh Yeah! They get huge here, but the season is a bit short for them. But , she does get enough to make her happy. I have 3 this year going.
 
I could never manage the size of the garden, and still get any rest if it wasn't for her. Over the years she's really gotten hooked on the grows.
She even mixes powder from the supers into the BBQ sauces we use..

It all sounds very flippin' delish!!!! When does round 2 go in? Do you have time to start another? I got a fantastic one from LuckyLuke in the Czech Republic: Primora: a BROWN BEEFSTEAK.....I have a great orange, toooooooo, from somebody else.....

Sorry, Erv! Hi jacking galore on my part. Very sorry.

 

[lespaulde]

Wow everybody, thanks for all the activity over the past week here while I was busy meeting deadlines at work etc. xD I will get some updates going over the next few days, and start by responding to the latest replies first.
 

Hey Mr Lespaulde, I just happen to know a guy that can hook ya up [emoji16]. Hell yeah let’s take this intercontinental [emoji16][emoji106]. PM me we’ll get this rolling [emoji16]


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Thanks a lot for the offer, I will be sure to take you up on it! Now I've heard too much about it that I simply have to try it next year. Hopefully we can set up a nice swap in case you are interested in some of my stock.
 

Looking good!
 
They will handle the temps just fine. No frost in that greenhouse
 
 
True for the hybrids, the heirlooms will grow true as they are stable. For some reason the heirlooms hate me, but I still grow the German Pink for LB.
She loves them and I need her happy

 
Thanks Devv, indeed so far so good. While I've had to scrape my car windows in the morning on several occasions, the green house managed to stay above 35F and the plants are looking good. There is a lot of sunshine during the day where the greenhouse heats up good, so I'm guessing that balances out the cold nights at least to some extent... 
 
Thanks also for the details, now to find out whether tiny tim and Gartenperle are heirloom or hybrid; I'm guessing the latter but perhaps I will just try to germinate a couple seeds during the season to see if they're worth keeping or I have to re-order next year.
 

 
No worries! It sparked a joy back into this hobby for me to sit and read up on all the things I didn't know about coco coir. I remember when I first got interested in hydroponics I sat up night long reading about different systems and I really enjoyed that. This did the same thing for me I think my next grow will be using the autopots and coco coir. I feel like the grodan and the system in general is running on autopilot, it works, but where's the fun in that? Thanks for your recommendation! 

 
LOL, to be really honest I wasn't actually sorry as I also love dabbling in that kind of research and checking out new optoins. Super cool that you're now seriously considering autopots and coir, I don't think you'll be disappointed. Although, given that the name 'auto' is in the name autopot, you probably will still be running on autopilot but perhaps a little cheaper in the long run without the Grodan blocks. I'll for sure keep an eye on your glog and can recommend the 4-pot starter kit to begin with. 
 

Wow, Scott! LB DOES like the German Pink? That's great! Tonie is that way, also. If she has to only have one tomato, German Pink would be her choice. Lol

I'm so glad that the Syrian Haskorea is still making the rounds and you are interested, Erv! Thanks again, Bryan, for getting it out there! I should be heading to that same greenhouse within the next couple weeks, so I may find another diamond in the rough. That's where I found the no-heat bishops crown, too. Many oddball varieties show up there because the owners brother works at a main greenhouse in Toledo......about an hour from here. And their Reapers are usually spot-on, (except last year) so I don't start one. Lol

Fantastic-looking plants, Erv! I too had Rocoto Oculto difficulties. Also had a helmet head, but when removed, it had tri-cotyledon. So it was too big had to be Caesarian-born. Lmao!


-Adam

 
Adam, nice to have you around here! Thanks for sharing the seeds to begin with as the variety sounds super nice and I can't wait to try it myself. Cool to hear how you got them in the first place and that sounds like quite the magical place. I found your glog and do let us know if there's any new varieties you found out about as I'm guessing not many people's growlists are set in stone yet for 2021 hahaha...
 
Thanks for the compliments and joint pain with the Rocoto Oculto; it seems happy now in DWC and is growing rapidly, but I am doubtful it will set pods indoors but we'll find out. My other 2 rocotos flowered heavily while indoors but didn't set, but as soon as I put them outside, they have been fruiting nicely with 3-4 pods underway. I'll post pics this weekend. And lol, nice justification for the surgery, a tri-cotyledon must mean you're in for a massive plant! 
 

The offer is still open [emoji16].


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 I'll hit you up on PM for sure, and send you my current seed stock etc. Thanks again!
 

You Sir are correct[emoji106][emoji16] frost/ freezing should be done now [emoji16]. I’m hoping to plant out within a day or two. [emoji16]. Waiting for the rain to subside.


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Awesome news, hopefully no more snow and frost on your end and that plant out is near!
 

It all sounds very flippin' delish!!!! When does round 2 go in? Do you have time to start another? I got a fantastic one from LuckyLuke in the Czech Republic: Primora: a BROWN BEEFSTEAK.....I have a great orange, toooooooo, from somebody else.....

Sorry, Erv! Hi jacking galore on my part. Very sorry.

 
Haha no worries, it was all fun reading and relevant too, and might as well have others keep the glog going while I was away being busy with life 

 

[Devv]

It all sounds very flippin' delish!!!! When does round 2 go in? Do you have time to start another? I got a fantastic one from LuckyLuke in the Czech Republic: Primora: a BROWN BEEFSTEAK.....I have a great orange, toooooooo, from somebody else.....

Sorry, Erv! Hi jacking galore on my part. Very sorry.

The Hi Jacking continues...
 
We have 80 tomato plants in the ground, so no round 2. We could, but need to finish painting the house, which will be in year 2...LOL

 

[Bhuter]

The Hi Jacking continues...
 
We have 80 tomato plants in the ground, so no round 2. We could, but need to finish painting the house, which will be in year 2...LOL

That's a lot o' maters!
Man, me as a bee, I work in your garden. Lmao!

 

[lespaulde]

As promised, a little update of the various things that have happened, and things seem to be going pretty smoothly despite the weather having turned for the worse a week ago.

First of, thanks for the tip regarding dehydrating at lower temps PaulG, the colors remain so much nicer when you do that! Aji Lemon dried over night at 40C/104F and actually remained yellow:

Made some powder too, combining Aji Lemon, Aji Mango, Sri Lanka Red and Sugar Rush Peach:

Also turns out that frozen peppers dehydrate extremely well still, which takes a lot of pressure off during the height of the season... Throw em in the freezer, and dehydrate at will...

The Rocotos are loving the northern European climate it seems, as both plants refused to set fruit indoors, but 3 days after moving outside (day and night, as low as 4C/39F, the first pods set, woohoo!

Currently have about 3 on the hyperpube and 1 on the Cristobal, and there are more flowers on the way so let's see how they do. They will move out of the greenhouse later this week once the current storm passes and I can harden them off safely.

Dorset Naga Orange is having the first very tiny flowers opening, and even they are setting despite the cold nights. First picture to give a clue as to how tiny the flowers are, second picture is of the first set pod:

Greenhouse is pretty full, but with the 3x 60L fabric pots moving out soon, plus the Aji Amarillo, things can be put in their final place and the autopot watering tank hooked up. Then it's just about grabbing a beer, sitting back, and hopefully watching the pods popping up left right and centre...

Indoor tent is getting pretty empty, with mainly some tomatoes and the starts to 2x DWC plants: a revisit to the Bhut J. Chocolate that failed last year (was down to the last 4 seeds and given they were very old, I figured I had to try and at least get some more seed stock for the future. Another one I ended up buying when I bought tomato seeds was the Jaloro, apparently a nice Jalapeño variant. I'm a sucker for Jalapeños and could foresee myself having a Jalapeño only grow one year to really find the best ones. #onecanonlydream

The remaining extra chili plants are being handed out to friends and family when time allows due to COVID-19.

Indoor Early Jalapeño is growing rather large, but flowers are not setting for whatever reason. I will give it some time and hope it will soon change its mind about it. Find it very weird as Jalapeños always seem to self pollinate so easily that I did not expect any issues whatsoever...

First tomato and cucumber has been planted too, the other 2 tomatoes will be planted later this week, again due to a delay with hardening off given the current storm

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[CaneDog]

Great update, LP.  It's really cool the see the greenhouse all set up and filled with plants.  All your hard work is now paying dividends.  Hope you have a monster grow this season. You look in great shape for it!

 

[Inoks]

Nice going!
I do like to dehydrate Frozen peppers too, makes it easy to get good amount of spice at the end of season, throwing all frozen into dehydrator. Probably not as usefull for those who drown in peppers.

 

[Mildfruit]

The Rocotos are loving the northern European climate it seems, as both plants refused to set fruit indoors, but 3 days after moving outside (day and night, as low as 4C/39F, the first pods set, woohoo!
Interesting, I was afraid of leaving my plant outside these days, as I feared 3-4C might was too low. Perhaps I should start leaving it outside?


Currently have about 3 on the hyperpube and 1 on the Cristobal, and there are more flowers on the way so let's see how they do. They will move out of the greenhouse later this week once the current storm passes and I can harden them off safely.

Dorset Naga Orange is having the first very tiny flowers opening, and even they are setting despite the cold nights. First picture to give a clue as to how tiny the flowers are, second picture is of the first set pod:



Greenhouse is pretty full, but with the 3x 60L fabric pots moving out soon, plus the Aji Amarillo, things can be put in their final place and the autopot watering tank hooked up. Then it's just about grabbing a beer, sitting back, and hopefully watching the pods popping up left right and centre...
 
You are living my dream right there! Sounds perfect 

Indoor tent is getting pretty empty, with mainly some tomatoes and the starts to 2x DWC plants: a revisit to the Bhut J. Chocolate that failed last year (was down to the last 4 seeds and given they were very old, I figured I had to try and at least get some more seed stock for the future. Another one I ended up buying when I bought tomato seeds was the Jaloro, apparently a nice Jalapeño variant. I'm a sucker for Jalapeños and could foresee myself having a Jalapeño only grow one year to really find the best ones. #onecanonlydream
 
A Jalapeno only grow sounds exciting, with all colors available with different hairloom varieties to find the very best. You have my vote for such a glog! 

The remaining extra chili plants are being handed out to friends and family when time allows due to COVID-19.

Indoor Early Jalapeño is growing rather large, but flowers are not setting for whatever reason. I will give it some time and hope it will soon change its mind about it. Find it very weird as Jalapeños always seem to self pollinate so easily that I did not expect any issues whatsoever...

Hmm thats strange, mine always sets right away, but idk if the DWC have anything to do with it? I would imagen that pH change would affect the plant quicker, but im reaching here - Perhaps time is really all it needs