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.

 

[stc3248]

I really like your spread sheet! Nice record keeping, and it will pay off in following seasons!  You got tons of stuff popping!!! You're gonna have a rocking season! Where are you going to put them all??? Crowd them in the the strong will survive!!!

 

[maximumcapsicum]

I really like your spread sheet! Nice record keeping, and it will pay off in following seasons!  You got tons of stuff popping!!! You're gonna have a rocking season! Where are you going to put them all??? Crowd them in the the strong will survive!!!

 
Thanks man! I'm hoping so. Plus keeping data is always good practice. Fodder for analyses. Love the day counts, it really demystifies certain parts of the process.
 
Got an Aji Chunco into the dirt for the growdown competition. He'll be getting slightly special treatment.
 
Okay, so I changed my watering regimen. Instead of rotating everyone I watered each plant in situ. The result: gnats, brown spots on leaves, and speckles on leaves. So, every two days I am going to resume rotating all the cups and making sure each one drains well.
 
First, a question. Fungus gnats are gross, but do they actively harm plants?  I positioned the plants to make sure the ones where gnats appeared are closest to the fans on each level. Maybe that will nip it in the bud.
 
Next, diagnosis time:
 

 
These speckles appeared today. Never seen this before, but looks an awful lot like a virus. Any ideas?
 

 
Leaf curled. I think this is underwatering. These bigger guys are thirsty fellows, and his pot was dry as a bone. Hopefully that'll clear up tomorrow.
 

 
Small brown patch where leaves were rubbing against each other. I think it's that simple: leaves were rubbing against each other.
 
Roots are really pushing through the bottoms of the cups, but they're still not nearly as big as the starts I see in Scott's and Paul's solo cups, so I think I'm safe to let them go awhile longer. The Chiletepin X Barrackpore cross is starting to grow pretty close to the lights though.
 
On the upside:
 

 
Giant White Hab is looking fantastic.
 

 
Brown egg is definitely the best looking start so far!
 
A peak at the annuum and Tomato chamber:
 

 
And the whole chinense family:
 

 
I think most of my problems were caused by not rotating the cups two days ago. This meant that the cups dried very unevenly, some stayed wet too long and some dried out too fast. Additionally, some of the plants spent four days right next to the fans, which while on low is still a lot of motion.
 
Next week is looking nice and warm. May start rotating some of the plants onto the balcony during the day if I am confident enough.
 
Enlighten me with your capsicum wisdom, THP!

 

[Devv]

Adam,
 
This is what I do, right or wrong, but I'm pleased with my results so far. I tend to wait until a few plants show the first signs of needing water. Why? I had a bout with edema; this is when the plant can't get rid of the moisture fast enough. Google it. Once you have Edema, the tissue dies, and the brown spots are there. Bringing them outside where things get natural helped. The natural transpiration of the moisture they take up and having them outside corrects the imbalance of keeping them inside. So this is why when inside I almost starve them water wise. Not that I really starve them, I just keep them as dry possible without letting them suffer.
 
Gnats: my first year dealing with them. From what I read the larvae will chew on the roots. They need to go away! Jeff H recommended using Mosquito Dunk. I mixed half a "donut" to 2 gals of water. Let it sit 2 days in the sun, shook it up and top watered my plants really good. Now don't forget my gals are on a sunny 7 day vacation sunbathing in the Tejas sun. I hope that turns into a few weeks!

 

[HillBilly Jeff]

The brown egg is looking nice.  First time I seen one of those.  No help on the issues...sorry.

 

[stc3248]

Looking good...that doesn't look like a virus to me, but could be I suppose??? Scott may be onto something with edema. Check the underside of the leaves for white patchy scabs or buildup. If you see that it's edema. If so...more airflow and less water will prevent future problems with it. I always recommend separating suspect plants until you get it figured out. Looks otherwise healthy though...

 

[maximumcapsicum]

Adam,
 
This is what I do, right or wrong, but I'm pleased with my results so far. I tend to wait until a few plants show the first signs of needing water. Why? I had a bout with edema; this is when the plant can't get rid of the moisture fast enough. Google it. Once you have Edema, the tissue dies, and the brown spots are there. Bringing them outside where things get natural helped. The natural transpiration of the moisture they take up and having them outside corrects the imbalance of keeping them inside. So this is why when inside I almost starve them water wise. Not that I really starve them, I just keep them as dry possible without letting them suffer.
 
Gnats: my first year dealing with them. From what I read the larvae will chew on the roots. They need to go away! Jeff H recommended using Mosquito Dunk. I mixed half a "donut" to 2 gals of water. Let it sit 2 days in the sun, shook it up and top watered my plants really good. Now don't forget my gals are on a sunny 7 day vacation sunbathing in the Tejas sun. I hope that turns into a few weeks!

 
I think you're almost definitely right. Something to do with air flow. The cups absolutely have to rotate every two days or so. I am considering letting them go longer without a full watering. My general scheme is to water each plant, let it drain for about twenty minutes, then dump the excess water. This prevents the roots from sitting in water, which causes leaves to yellow. I do this when the cup is about 75% dried out. Problem is everything doesn't dry out at the same rate, but its easy to do the watering all at once. Will have to work around the issues.
 
Some of the brown spots are caused by leaves rubbing against each other. I am going to space the larger plants out a little more to prevent it. Also, kind of a bizarre problem, some of the plants are too squat. Th opposite of leggy, but it means their leaves touch the soil and touch cups, which seems to be stressing them a little bit.
 
Haven't seen any gnats today, and have the fan up a little stronger. I am hoping that helps wipe them out. If not, I am going to try stick traps to get a count of where the gnats are etc. If all else fails I will use the mosquito dunks, but don't like having any pesticide-related stuff inside around the baby so that is an absolute last resort.
 

The brown egg is looking nice.  First time I seen one of those.  No help on the issues...sorry.

 
Very neat looking plant. It's been a fun surprise.
 

Looking good...that doesn't look like a virus to me, but could be I suppose??? Scott may be onto something with edema. Check the underside of the leaves for white patchy scabs or buildup. If you see that it's edema. If so...more airflow and less water will prevent future problems with it. I always recommend separating suspect plants until you get it figured out. Looks otherwise healthy though...

 
Glad it doesn't look like a virus. I am fairly sure its airflow related, because that plant was closest to the fan and was wobbling a little bit for a couple of days. Rotating will probably help it out. Sadly I don't have a lot of space to separate things out, but I am definitely going to be keeping an eye on everything.
 
I think the root of the problem is watering... for practical purposes I have to keep everything on the same watering schedule, but some plants are drinking more than others and some plants dry out faster due to proximity to fans/lights. This is why the rotation is key. The plants are growing faster than I anticipated also, so its getting crowded faster than I thought it would. Kind of a happy problem to have I suppose, but I don't want neighbors damaging each other.
 
Thanks for readin!

 

[Devv]

Adam,
 
Mosquito dunks are organic, they use BT a naturally occurring bacteria that kills worms and larvae.
 
When my plants are in solo cups they get really small sips of water. I just read the plants and try to give them just enough to survive. Another reason I started early this season. No need to push the plants.

 

[Jeff H]

 
I have a couple doubles on the cull list. Tonight I scratched the helmet head tiepin. 
 

 
 

culling a couple that had helmet issues, 

 
 
 
Blasphemy!!         

 

[Spicegeist]

I'll bet a lot of your issues will clear up once they get out into natural conditions, wind, daylight, etc.

 

[Nick08*]

"slow cooker chicken avocado soup"
 
Sounds heavenly, Is this a secret recipe? Or is it basically just home-made chicken noodle, without the noodles and add in Avo??

 

[Sawyer]

Sounds heavenly,

 
Doesn't it, though?

 

[JJJessee]

Lookin' good, MaxCap.
 
By chance, are you using chlorinated water to water with?
Even if it doesn't show up as mystery spots on the leaves, I'm wondering if chlorine compounds could effect the soil biology enough to interfere with nutrient uptake. Not in a major way, just a little headwind.
 
Careful with the babies and their first dose of real sun.
My moma took me fishin' when I was 2 weeks old in early May. 'Got my little bald head sun-burned and ya see how I turned out.  
 
Seriously,  10-15 minutes on their first sun bath is plenty. Should be plenty. Scorching the leaves a little nothing to worry about, but it'll leave a scar and they won't be as pretty.
 
Can't wait to see these babes in the ground.

 

[maximumcapsicum]

Adam,
 
Mosquito dunks are organic, they use BT a naturally occurring bacteria that kills worms and larvae.
 
When my plants are in solo cups they get really small sips of water. I just read the plants and try to give them just enough to survive. Another reason I started early this season. No need to push the plants.

 
Interesting. I actually have some BT in concentrate form for killin' moths. Only works if they eat it right? Kind of like herbivore insect e coli. Still dubious about using that stuff indoors near the baby. Keep in mind we're in a 1 bedroom apartment.
 

 
 
 
 
 
Blasphemy!!         

 
The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Their sacrifice will not be forgotten.
 

I'll bet a lot of your issues will clear up once they get out into natural conditions, wind, daylight, etc.

 
Hope so. Plan is actually to move a couple of the bigger guys onto the balcony tomorrow to soak up those 70° temperatures. Problem is the balcony is so shady I'm actually worried they won't have enough light. Spinach/broc got very leggy when I started them on the balcony because of lack of light.
 

"slow cooker chicken avocado soup"
 
Sounds heavenly, Is this a secret recipe? Or is it basically just home-made chicken noodle, without the noodles and add in Avo??

 
I'll ask the little lady about it. She's actually the cook. I just try to supply ingredients and eat a lot of peppers.
 

 
Doesn't it, though?

 
Yup.
 

Lookin' good, MaxCap.
 
By chance, are you using chlorinated water to water with?
Even if it doesn't show up as mystery spots on the leaves, I'm wondering if chlorine compounds could effect the soil biology enough to interfere with nutrient uptake. Not in a major way, just a little headwind.
 
Careful with the babies and their first dose of real sun.
My moma took me fishin' when I was 2 weeks old in early May. 'Got my little bald head sun-burned and ya see how I turned out.
 
Seriously,  10-15 minutes on their first sun bath is plenty. Should be plenty. Scorching the leaves a little nothing to worry about, but it'll leave a scar and they won't be as pretty.
 
Can't wait to see these babes in the ground.

 
Yeah its possible. Our water is pretty good so I wasn't too worried. Couldn't hurt to let it sit out though. I am thinking its probably edema issues like Scott suggested. Now I'm rotating the cups as they dry out instead of a flat bidaily watering. "Reading the plants" so to speak. Can't figure out why the Chiletepin X Barrackpore got a folded leaf though. The brown spots are definitely mechanical.

 

[maximumcapsicum]

Oh my goodness another care package today:
 

 
Just what I need to get through the new chapter doldrums! Jeez, I need to finish this thing already. 
 
Seriously though, Jeff H volunteered some Naga Mararch seeds to make up for my only failed superhot seeds. Being generous and giving, he also decided to set my food on fire with a bag full of delicious smoked scorpion powder. I got to get back to cooking... been a little too busy the past week, leaving it all to the wife. But I think I am going to season some salsas with some of the superhot powders and see how I like each one. And I'll continue putting it in chile/on pizza to my heart's content.
 
Long story short, THANKS JEFF! I just cross my fingers and hope that I produce enough pods to spread the heat back into this amazing community. And seeds. What is the Indian Carbon like? It's a chinense no?
 
Currently basking in the glow of the chinense shelf:
 

 
It's warm in there. Plants are looking great. No new ailments and those I reported last time appear to have worked themselves out. I think a couple are going to need pot ups soon, and the bigger fellas are going to spend some time on the balcony tomorrow. Think it's fine even if it only gets shade and no direct sunlight? I am thinking just a couple of hours. 
 
I was definitely over watering for the bottom shelf. I've cut way back and haven't seen a gnat in two days. The top shelf has the better fan (VORNADO) and the cups dry out faster, so dry pots get a sip or so each night. Kind of following Scott's advice as best I can here.
 
Check out the Datil from Jason:
 

 
Now I got to figure out where I am going to put all this overflow!

 

[Pinoy83]

looking good my friend. ....sent the powders to day, mail was closed yestrday, so hopefully it arrives there this week

 

[maximumcapsicum]

And yet more THP love! I can't wait to return the favor. Hoping the vibes carry my grow through to success so I have something to send back out!
 
Can't wait to try the powders Jericson! The production processes were fascinating.

 

[Pinoy83]

And yet more THP love! I can't wait to return the favor. Hoping the vibes carry my grow through to success so I have something to send back out!
 
Can't wait to try the powders Jericson! The production processes were fascinating.

hopefully youll like it, theyre almost gone, been using it at work lol

 

[Jeff H]

Enjoy the powder Adam.

 

[maximumcapsicum]

Weather was close to the 70's today. as such I decided to give the 8 biggest guys a little taste of fresh air:
 

 
Balcony is completely shaded, so I don't think it hurt 'em at all. Only thing that surprised me was a bug paid one a visit. Small green hopper. Not a grasshopper but a relative. Didn't do any damage, and didn't see any sign of eggs, probably just scoping the joint. 
 

 
Bonchis went out too for some sorely needed fresh air/light. It's pretty dim on the balcony but it can't take much light to outweigh a couple of CFL bulbs right? 
 
I left the starts out for about 2 hours. If the weather is good I'll leave them out longer the next warm day. I can tell some are starting to itch for pot ups, but the roots look good... nothing is growing around the bottom of the cup or anything, just poking out and getting hairy.

 

[HillBilly Jeff]

Looking good.  Hit 50 here today, forecast called for high of 40, but still can't take plants out lol.
 
Won't be long.