maxcaps 2014 grow: avoiding the freeze!

Hello All,
 
New here, but feeling right at home. I figured I'd go ahead and get my glog started, though I may wait a few weeks yet before starting anything.
 
I'm pretty new, not totally new. I had a small grow last year, mostly in containers, bringing up plants that I hoped would make cool overwinter bonsai's (bonchi's). I ordered a handful of different varieties from http://fataliiseeds.net, all  95% of which sprouted nicely, though something must have gone wrong because many never grew true leaves. I think my house was too cold... I've moved now and now have an excellent heating system. I also kept the seeds by a window that I think got too drafty. 
 
I did have a handful of chinenses survive, including a wonderful Red Habanero from fataliiseeds, and some chiero roxa plants that produced a handful of tasty purple pods. I purchased some local Scotch Bonnett starts from a small scale nursery, and grew jalapeños and serrano starts from a local nursery. It's safe to say I am now addicted, as all these fire worked its way into my family's weekly diet. I have a 12'X8' plot begging for plants, and I may do some extra in containers...
 
Enough background. Here's the plan. As jalapeños (salsa, roasted, and canned) are not a staple, I want to grow a handful of varieties. The chinenses have amazing flavors, so I'm going to branch out with two or three new varieties (though sadly I did not save any scotch bonnet seeds from the last season... what is wrong with me?). Last year I tried some super hot varieties... none lived. I am going to try again! I actually ordered most of these seeds before stumbling upon this wonderful community. In any event, here is the lineup:
 
Chinenses:
 
Red Habanero (seeds kept and OW bonchi (thanks fatalii)
Chiero Roxa (seeds kept, may use OW bonchi, haven't decided)
Scotch Bonnett (forgot to keep seeds, but I can replant OW bonchi)
White Habanero (seeds from Pepper Joe, should arrive soon...)
Chocolate Habanero (seeds from Pepper Joe, should also arrive soon)
Fatali (from pepperlover.com)
Big Sun Habernero (from pepperlover)
 
Superhot Chinenses:
 
Carolina Reaper (seeds from PuckerButt)
Naga Morich (seeds from PuckerButt)
Bhut Jolokia (seeds from PuckerButt)
Dorset Naga (seeds from PuckerButt)
7 pod (from pepperlover.com)
 
Other Superhot:
 
Tiepin (seeds from PuckerButt)
 
Annuums:
 
Poblanos (from Pepper Joe... growing to Acho's to use as powder base)
Giant Jalapeño (from Pepper Joe)
Early Jalapeño (from Pepper Joe)
Black Jalapeño (from Pepper Joe)
Purple Jalapeño (from Pepper Joe)
Fresno Pepper (from Pepper Joe)
 
Wish I had found you guys sooner, I'd have added some douglah's to the list. I am also on the fence about adding a couple more chinense varieties. 
 
Also growing some companions. Planning on putting in a couple tomato plants, garlic, cilantro, and carrots (had a lot of luck with tasty fat purple carrots... atomic purple I think they were called)
 
Will post some picks of my OW bonchi's tomorrow, and start going into techniques. On the fence about coffee-filter germination versus sowing in a tray.

 

[HillBilly Jeff]

Looking good and I am loving those OW plants.  Why are you surprised that a non soaked seed came up?  I never soak any of my seeds and they pop up well.  
 
One thing I noticed this season is the roots growing through the bottom of the netting on the plugs are a pain to thread back out.  A few years ago I forgot to remove the netting off a serrano and it would wilt, I would water and it would pick back up, but then wilt the next day.  So I remove all netting and now I cut the netting on the bottom of the pellet to aid in the removal without damaging/breaking main root.
 
Good luck on your!!!

 

[maximumcapsicum]

Looking great!!! Here is a link to some cheap plastic Bonsai pots...I also found some on ebay. 
http://www.bonsaioutlet.com/6-inch-bonsai-pots-with-trays-3-pack/?gclid=COPu5KrRkLwCFYhbfgodTDAAog
 
I think they'll all start popping if they're gonna now. They are pretty picky about that too hot or too cool thing. 

 
I am hoping. You know how it goes; they'll appear when I give up hope. Not that I have given up hope, but I suspect some of the pellets got cooked.
 
Tomorrow I am going to plant another plug of about half the varieties, starting with "high" priority plants. Basically keeping the germination box full, but not giving up on anything. Worse case scenario is ending up with too many plants, and I've lined up potential adopters already.
 
Thanks for the link! Will have to pick up some pots!
 

I think I had some over overheating issues that once correct brought on some pops, but I also re-sowed the ones that didn't pop after a few days.
Interesting work with the bonchis.
 
My last year's germ in an outbuilding with minimal heat except the mat and lights was easier than this year's in a heated basement.
 
Look's like you got it the right groove 

 
Yeah I'm 90% sure I cooked a coupe of the pellets. Not giving up hope but replanting when I get space.
 
Let's hope!
 

Great work on the bonchis and congrats on the hooks! 
 
Is it easy to wire them up? I have a few OWs that would be cool bonchis.

 
Hey CS! It's a little trickier with the bonchis than with ficus trees... before they have bark they're much more tender than other bonsai material I've worked with, and after they have bark I haven't really been able to affect alot of change. I kind of use the wire as a scaffold, pushing the branches down rather than as a skeleton like you'd do for ficus trees. Will post some pics when I wire shorty!
 
The wire I have now is too thick, but I had it left over so I'm gonna use it up before getting proper bonsai-ing wire.
 

 
 
Alright!  Looking great.
 
Here's what your Yellow Bhuts should look like if they make it... this pic is from 2012, and they looked nearly identical in 2013:

 
AWESOME! I can't wait. They look absolutely wicked, and if the flavor is what everyone says, how can I go wrong! Glad I have a little guy popped! Maybe his buddies will come up before I move the pellet out of the germ box.
 

Looking good and I am loving those OW plants.  Why are you surprised that a non soaked seed came up?  I never soak any of my seeds and they pop up well.  
 
One thing I noticed this season is the roots growing through the bottom of the netting on the plugs are a pain to thread back out.  A few years ago I forgot to remove the netting off a serrano and it would wilt, I would water and it would pick back up, but then wilt the next day.  So I remove all netting and now I cut the netting on the bottom of the pellet to aid in the removal without damaging/breaking main root.
 
Good luck on your!!!

 
Thanks Jeff! Just saw a ton of people did the soaking, and was recommended in a couple books I thumbed through. I guess the idea is they soak up water a break dormancy faster. 
 
I actually suspect that *not* soaking Charles' seeds explains why they came up and so many of the soaked seeds did not. If temps were indeed too high, the embryos in the soaked seeds may have had less protection and gotten cooked. The longer dormancy helped the embryos acclimate. This is, of course, nigh-baseless hypothesizing.
 
Going ahead and soaking round two just to control for temps (temps are now between 80 and 86° day and night).

 

[capsidadburn]

Glad to hear you got some of those yellow bhuts up Adam!  I got a couple up too.  They are nice looking pods!
 
Continued success to you!
 
Mike

 

[Devv]

Glad to see the babies poking their heads out!
 
As Shane said, now that they started...
 
I'm not one to soak the seeds either and when temps are correct I see good rates. Interesting what your doing with the OW's, I have a Thai I want as a desk plant.
 

 
Continuing with the hijack, did you eat the rattlers?  I hear they are good but never tried em.  Skin would also make a good hat band.

 
Jeff these were babies, around 18"s. I killed a lot bigger in the yard, was never inclined to eat one. I skinned the first 6' one I killed and couldn't help but think a snake was an intestine with a head...LOL

 

[MeatHead1313]

Looking good MC! Congrats on the new sprouts! If you haven't tried the yellow bhuts I'd be glad to send you some to try when my plants start producing and ripening.

 

[stc3248]

I soak less for germ rates and more to prevent seed helmets. If you plant deep enough you don't really need to worry about it.

 

[Jeff H]

All you might need to do is pit a towel between the heat mat and the tray to control temps. Play with it. I have an old school heating pad without the stupid auto cutoff. When I leave it on low, the bottom of the germination chamber is 85ish. That is about right, but a single layer of a towel will lower it several degrees.
 
I don't soak seeds by the way. Germination rate seems consistent with the quality of the seeds. Good seeds (like from Ramon), nearly everything pops, bad seeds, not much pops.

 

[maximumcapsicum]

Glad to hear you got some of those yellow bhuts up Adam!  I got a couple up too.  They are nice looking pods!
 
Continued success to you!
 
Mike

 
Thanks Mike! Very excited for the bhuts... the little I have tasted have been out of this world, and they are a fantastic looking pepper. 
 

Glad to see the babies poking their heads out!
 
As Shane said, now that they started...
 
I'm not one to soak the seeds either and when temps are correct I see good rates. Interesting what your doing with the OW's, I have a Thai I want as a desk plant.
 
 
Jeff these were babies, around 18"s. I killed a lot bigger in the yard, was never inclined to eat one. I skinned the first 6' one I killed and couldn't help but think a snake was an intestine with a head...LOL

 
Yes finally! More hooks today! See below.
 

Looking good MC! Congrats on the new sprouts! If you haven't tried the yellow bhuts I'd be glad to send you some to try when my plants start producing and ripening.

 
Thanks! The Yellow Bhut stood up faster than the other seedlings too. I already transferred it out of the dome.
 

I soak less for germ rates and more to prevent seed helmets. If you plant deep enough you don't really need to worry about it.

 
Weird. I read that it boosted germ rates, but it hasn't really helped with helmets. About a third of my little guys have come up with helmets. Interestingly keeping a bead of water on the helmet seems to knock it off. More below.
 

All you might need to do is pit a towel between the heat mat and the tray to control temps. Play with it. I have an old school heating pad without the stupid auto cutoff. When I leave it on low, the bottom of the germination chamber is 85ish. That is about right, but a single layer of a towel will lower it several degrees.
 
I don't soak seeds by the way. Germination rate seems consistent with the quality of the seeds. Good seeds (like from Ramon), nearly everything pops, bad seeds, not much pops.

 
I *think* I got all my temp issues worked out. When the lights are on it's unnecessary, and at night it keeps the temp stable. So I'm just turning it off and on when I get up and go to bed. This has kept the temp between 86° and 90°.
 
SEEDS ARE POPPING. The Yellow Bhut stood up lickity split so I moved it out of the dome, and today I was greeted by a new wave of babies:
 

 

 

 

 
That's right, number of hooks doubled today! Looks like I'll have some peppers this season after all!
 
As per Scott's advice, I moved anyone with coty's out of the damp dome:
 

 
And now a question: when do you guys recommend snipping the weaklings? I am building up the resolve to do the culling. Last year I separated every single successful sprout, but that ran me out of space fast, and space is even more limited this year (no sunny windows...). So I need to snip one seedling per pellet. Do you think waiting for true leaves is too long? I was planning on waiting for trues before potting up, but now I am actually thinking about snipping the weaker sprouts and going ahead and potting up into solo cups, maybe this weekend if I can find some time.
 
So culling has to happen. Pains me to kill baby peppers.
 

 
I seeded another round of chinenses that hadn't sprouted, concerned I cooked some of them. These plugs filled in the gaps. Wanted to make absolutely sure I got one of each of these varieties, so I started another pellet.
 
Here are the germers:
 

 
One last note... I had a couple of helmets. Someone mentioned keeping them moist helps get rid of the helmet. As such I sprayed them lightly, forming a water drop on the seed case. On two of the helmets, the case had fallen off within a day. Seems like the water kept it moist AND worked with gravity to pull off the helmet. Seems like a good technique.
 
Happy growing!

 

[stc3248]

Yup...works on most of them. You can also leave them under the dome to make sure they stay moist. If you're getting more than a few (which is expected) try planting slightly deeper next time. Between the pre-soak (which helps) and planting deeper I have really cut down on the helmet heads the past few years.
 
Looking really good! A ton of new sprouts!

 

[Spicegeist]

Very exciting to see things moving along, good luck on the transitions as they start to leaf out...

 

[Penny]

I agree, exciting to see how things are going....good luck.

 

[Devv]

Congrats on all the new hooks!
 
And like Shane mentioned I leave the helmet heads under the cover for added moisture, but not for too long. If they don't progress the cotys will rot. I give them 2 days.
 
As for snipping, I wait to see which is stronger...and I hate snipping too!
 
Watch those ones that have the cotys and aren't under the dome. In my rig they dry out in 1 day, which is why I put them in the cups the day they come out of the dome.
 
Wishing you continued success!

 

[HillBilly Jeff]

Congrats on all the success popping up.
 
I'm not one to ask about culling.....I can't do it lol
 
I too pot up as soon as they leave the dome.

 

[Jeff H]

Congrats on the new sprouts.
 
I'm not a good one to ask about culling either. I'd rather build a bigger garden. You could always get a 3rd plot.

 

[maximumcapsicum]

Holy crap, already seeing the beginnings of true leaves on the 7 Chilitepin. Way faster than last year... must be the temps in the grow room. Maybe the jhugar CFL lights are helping too. Going to have to snip its pellet mate soon. Also gonna have to pick up some Ocean Forest and Solo Cups this weekend...
 

Congrats on the new sprouts.
 
I'm not a good one to ask about culling either. I'd rather build a bigger garden. You could always get a 3rd plot.

 
Haha, maybe I should ask. 
 
No. I shoulnd't.
 
But maybe I should...
 

Congrats on all the success popping up.
 
I'm not one to ask about culling.....I can't do it lol
 
I too pot up as soon as they leave the dome.

 
Yeah, it must be done. Cycle of life. This, actually, is what I'm finding to be the hardest part about gardening.
 

Congrats on all the new hooks!
 
And like Shane mentioned I leave the helmet heads under the cover for added moisture, but not for too long. If they don't progress the cotys will rot. I give them 2 days.
 
As for snipping, I wait to see which is stronger...and I hate snipping too!
 
Watch those ones that have the cotys and aren't under the dome. In my rig they dry out in 1 day, which is why I put them in the cups the day they come out of the dome.
 
Wishing you continued success!

 
Yeah I actually have to give them water about 2 times a day. Need to get them potted up because that's a slim margin of error. That's on the todo list this weekend, especially since one of them already has the beginnings of trues.
 

I agree, exciting to see how things are going....good luck.

 
Thanks! I am going to need it...
 

Very exciting to see things moving along, good luck on the transitions as they start to leaf out...

 
Yeah, hopefully I don't kill 'em off too quick. I only got a handful out of the seedling stage last year, but I know very well what my mistakes were.
 

Yup...works on most of them. You can also leave them under the dome to make sure they stay moist. If you're getting more than a few (which is expected) try planting slightly deeper next time. Between the pre-soak (which helps) and planting deeper I have really cut down on the helmet heads the past few years.
 
Looking really good! A ton of new sprouts!

 
Yeah, successfully de-helmeted most of them. Sadly I am going to have to snip some of the ones I saved. De helmeted just to meat the scissor!
 
Okay, almost time...

 

[Spicegeist]

Yeah, hopefully I don't kill 'em off too quick. I only got a handful out of the seedling stage last year, but I know very well what my mistakes were.
 
 

 
Best way to learn... each year I get a little better...

 

[HillBilly Jeff]

Actually culling is not the cycle of life.  That would be like hitting for the cycle with just a single.  Where's your plant out, flowering, pods, and then dying in the fall....now that's the cycle of life
 
I think you meant to say Survival of the Fittest!!!!  Of course, that would mean one plant would have to overpower and kill the other plant, sort of what cowbird chicks do. 
 
Survival of the initially prettiest or strongest.  Never know how many ugly ducklings you've had that never had the chance to grow into a swan.
 
So, have I convinced you to start another plot

 

[maximumcapsicum]

Cycle of agriculture then. Survival of the seedling-that-most-impresses me. 
 
Problem with keeping all the uglies... which I did last year... is that I end up crowding more than I should and they ALL DIE. I've made this mistake before. 
 
I should probably get another plot though. Or should I? No. Yes. No.

 

[HillBilly Jeff]

more garden space = less yard = less mowing =       

 

[Devv]

Heck yeah if you can. If they have open spots it doesn't hurt to ask...
 
Mines 48x67', plenty for what I need, actually more then plenty. I usually never plant the last 15' on the north end. My pocket never has been deep enough to amend it unless it was freebee stuff.
 
 

more garden space = less yard = less mowing =       

Too true Jeff!
 
I strive not to mow, even let the cattle in once in a while..but they leave "presents" LOL