• Blog your pepper progress. The first image in your first post will be used to represent your Glog.

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.
 
Last row!
 
j24MFrF.jpg

 
Baby Brown Moruga... 48 days. This looks to be the ideal size for the solo grow... think I'm gonna aim to have 'em in solos no more than 50 days next year.
 
Q1T61Pu.jpg

 
7 pot brainstrain from Judy. 69 days.
 
hEzThGX.jpg

 
Beautiful little 7 pot yellow from Jamison. 51 days.
 
j8HlqSw.jpg

 
7 pot primo got a little burn from a light. Also from Jamison. 49 days.
 
3Zp1Jrt.jpg

 
7 pot bubblegum itchin' for a strippin'. From Jason. 63 days.
 
LhqTdKX.jpg

 
Stripped Funky Reaper from Scott. Looking good. 64 days.
 
Dmjub41.jpg

 
Ed's Reaper. Also looking good. 66 days.
 
9Q399Pr.jpg

 
Last but certainly not least, the Not Yellow Cardi from Jason. 69 days. Looking good despite the time in solo confinement.
 
Reserved a spot for the Aji Chuncho from Kevin and Indian Carbone from Jeff. That said, I still have 1 spot for a chinense and 4 or 5 pots ready for plants. Here are the potential plants for the 6 spots:
 
2 MoAs
1 JA Hab 
1 Funky Reaper (stripped... why did I plant the unstripped one?)
1 Ed's Reaper
1 Goat's Weed
1 7 pot bubblegum
1 Yellow Bhut
 
Thinking about doing an MoA on my porch since I had a surplus... couldn't hurt to see how they perform in the low light. JA Hab is an amazingly healthy, gnarly looking plant... it forked an inch from the base so it's gonna be a beast. Funky reaper is also dirt ready. Ed's reaper is a little listless and yellow... I think these gobble a ton of nitrogen. Goat's weed is gonna be necessary just to match my current rate of consumption. Bubblegum is healthy, and Yellow Bhuts are beautiful supers with fantastic looking pods.
 
So, decisions have to be made soon. I'll put the surplus up for adoption in the community plots. Whoever doesn't make it into my beds or pots will probably be in a neighboring bed anyway.
 
Thanks for reading guys! And as always I love your thoughts and feedback!!!
 
uqPp373.jpg
 
Great to see those healthy gals in the dirt Adam!
 
The JA Habs certainly know how to grow, I think I have 5 or 6. The wife likes to cook with them, now for me that's a big deal as Jal's were her limit before last season.
 
Grow on!
 
Thanks for all the good vibes guys! Very stoked.
 
stickman said:
Good job Adam, you're poised for a great season! If you like Jalapenos but are limited in space, you might want to give a few Serrano chiles a try. I always grow a couple of them for salsas, and I use the red-ripe ones to make Peach-Serrano jam. Continued success brother!
 
Yeah I neglected the serranos this season. Had two plants last year... the variety I grew last yaer didn't produce that much. It wasn't that I didn't like them, they just didn't hold up to the jalapenos. I can eat my weight in jals. I'll add them back to the list next season for sure. Never tried a red ripe one.
 
Jeff H said:
HOOT. Dirt day down in Atlanta.
 
Plants look good in their new home. Were the ones that you were wanting to put up very rootbound?
 
They were! I should have taken a pic or two. But I had to rush. One day I had the 9 month old helping out.
 
A couple plants were almost entirely white with roots, kind of like the coir pics blister posted. Luckily there wasn't any rot, but I need to either make more space for pot ups or start a week or two later next year. 70 days is on the long side for a solo cup. 
 
Strange thing is root-boundedness doesn't seem to be predicting their health now. The Blondie is probably struggling the most, but its roots were fine. 
 
Devv said:
Great to see those healthy gals in the dirt Adam!
 
The JA Habs certainly know how to grow, I think I have 5 or 6. The wife likes to cook with them, now for me that's a big deal as Jal's were her limit before last season.
 
Grow on!
 
Definitely making a case for the JA's. Love the habs in general, and the plants are growing well. I think I'm torn between the second yellow bhut and the JA hab.
 
HillBilly Jeff said:
Things are looking good.  I got a month until I can harden off.
 
Stay strong buddy it's comin!
 
OCD Chilehead said:
Looking good. Fresh air and natural light (sunshine not the beer). They will love and reward you for that. Good luck.
 
Here's hoping.
 
Went down to the plot today to prep some things for a possible thunderstorm. They're gonna have to deal with it eventually, but I set up some planks of wood to shield the wind a little. Some sunburn has definitely crept in, especially on the lower leaves of the younger plants, and the Blondie got nuked. Transparent patches on the leaves, and some dropped. Actually from the thickness I think I can tell the difference between a hardened leaf and a not-hardened enough leaves. I don't think anyone is permanently KO'd though, but the outdoors are definitely rougher than the indoors.
 
Purple Jals rewarded me with these though:
 
UAdBpY2.jpg

 
Should I pick up 4 or 5 pots this weekend?
 
Adam,
 
They most likely won't look so pretty a week from now, but they'll dig in and do what they do. Mine are dropping all those large leaves they grew under the lights and putting on their smaller summer leaves.
 
Pots? Hell yes! You grew them, plant them ;)  Will they let you stick the pots next to the beds? Just 4 or 5?
 
Devv said:
Adam,
 
They most likely wont's look so pretty a week from now, but they'll dig in and do what they do. Mine are dropping all those large leaves they grew under the lights and putting on their smaller summer leaves.
 
Pots? Hell yes! You grew them, plant them ;)  Will they let you stick the pots next to the beds? Just 4 or 5?
Yeah I had been preparing myself for that. Actually it hasn't been too bad yet. More concerned about yellowing on the reapers... They just a nitrogen loving variety maybe?

They said I can stick a couple pots near my beds as long as walkways aren't obstructed. So I will. Easily I have room for 4. Was thinking about doing 4 and experimenting with one plant on my shady balcony. Now I am thinking just try to keep everything in the real sun and don't waste resources on the balcony. Decisions decisions..

Potting mix is gonna be last years pine bark fines/perlite/peat mixed with about 1/3 ocean forest, and some topsoil. I can easily fill 4 pots... May have to purchase more dirt for much more than that.
 
ALL of mine yellowed when I put them in the dirt, I'm thinking I've been overly cautious when applying ferts. Better safe than fried. Just hit them with a dose of Epsom salt foliar spray. We'll see how that does and proceed from there ;)
 
Plenty in the dirt. Annuums are starting to flower like crazy. Hopefully they continue to grow while putting out flowers... Going to take a green pull of jalapenos in order to facilitate a ripe pull later this summer. Hopefully a large ripe pull. Love the taste of ripe jalapenos.
 
The plants took a beating yesterday. First Spring thunderstorm roller through. I secured everything and put up some planks to block the worst of the wind, but it doesn't seem to have been enough. Had a lot of leaves that looked like this:
 
FbNywXr.jpg

 
Now I am 90% sure that is storm damage. There were some lacewings on the plants so there may be some aphids about but I haven't spotted any. Haven't seen any worms either.
 
Sure aren't looking as pretty as they were, and a ton of leaves are dropping. A couple plants are pretty yellow too, so I hit 'em with fish emulsion and am hoping for the best.
 
Annuums are happy though:
 
iuJNsEb.jpg

 
Should probably pinch those but I've been pinching for 3-4 forks... maybe time to let 'em grow out. I can taste the jals already.
 
Got my aged potting soil from my old house. Gonna mix it with a bag of ocean forest and pot up the rest of my plants this week.
 
Thanks for readin!
 
Devv said:
Looking good Adam!
 
Don'tcha just wish they would stay perfect once they hit the dirt?
 
Part of the process I'm afraid.
 
They will make you very happy I'm sure!
 
Keep it green!
 
Hoping so! Never seen some of this discoloration before. Hopefully it's normal. How long did it take your gals to green up?
 
HillBilly Jeff said:
+1 on 436
 
They will look haggered after plant out, but they will be a jungle before you know it.  Looking good.
 
Waiting impatiently! Hoping it's coming.
 
1 week pics!
 
1HHSpeu.jpg

 
Tomatoes are coming to life. Most the peppers are still losing a leaf or two each night. The tallest two plants, blondie and barrackpore X chiletepin cross are losing the most. Bad sunburn on those too.
 
q8lCHO2.jpg

 
Man those rows are crooked! Spent all that time measuring. Should have put down strings like I would at work. No big deal though, every plant has the proper clearance.
 
Annuums are looking pretty good. All the black and purple jals have flowers now. A little worried actually as the plants are still very small.
 
Hardening the last three plants... Indian Carbone from Jeff, Goat's Weed 2 (can't get enough of this stuff), and the future growdown winner.
 
2WtEOMH.jpg

 
Growdown winner putting on sunblock:
 
TFAjWXI.jpg

 
VERY hairy Goat's Weed:
 
1z4YiNN.jpg

 
All the other plants are as hardened as I have time to get them. Gonna get everything in dirt or pots tomorrow with a little luck.
 
Stay tuned!
 
Looking good Adam!
 
That growdown plant has mine beat to heck, glad we have all summer :D
 
My plants are uh, getting there. So far I'm disappointed with how they're doing, been pushing them hard, trying not to burn them.
 
Wishing you continued success!
 
Back
Top