• 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.
 
Click to expand...
Finally got the water working at the farm again today. They shut it off for a big press event and street festival. Had a bunch of people looking at the pepper patch this weekend.
 
Spicegeist said:
Nice the yellow's are growing well.  You know, I've been having trouble with some standard red bhuts too for some reason... strange :think: .
Click to expand...
 
They are! I am so jazzed. I've been gazing at pictures from last year's glogs with envious eyes, now it looks like I'm going to have more supers than I know what to do with. Spicy oils, powders, and chiles here I come! Also gonna cut 'em up and try 'em on sandwiches and salads like Jason.
 
JJJessee said:
Sorry to here about the Cardi, but everything else is looking FANTASTIC!
 
Those Jalas are huge!  
 
Those holes could be a grasshopper just passin' through. But if you notice more damage right away could be a slug and he'll keep eating. A hornworm would probably still be there with his mouth full.
Click to expand...
 
I am pleased for sure. I suspect the holes are coming from baby grasshoppers. I have caught them in the act a couple of times, but haven't really been able to do anything about it yet. Bt will take care of grasshoppers and snails, won't it? I am hesitating because I want to try to build up the beneficials and I am worried about going to hard on the pesticides, even the natural ones. 
 
Another strange thing about it... the holes are really only appearing on chinense leaves, and even so, the chinense leaves in the new bed. The same bed that keeps growing weeds (the one I didn't have last year). I hate to douse everything for a localized problem, but I am also worried that some of the smaller supers are getting stressed from all the munching. May apply Bt tomorrow or Thursday night.
 
OCD Chilehead said:
The garden looks great Adam. That Chiero Roxa bonchi does look like a tree. I see some flowers. Will look good with some pods hangin.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks OCD! I agree. I really should have these guys in pots. They're doing much better than they did over the winter... need better lights inside.
 
HillBilly Jeff said:
Plants are looking nice.  I like the OW coming back.
Click to expand...
 
They do appear to be enjoying the asphalt, that's for sure. If the Not Cardi doesn't come back to life, I may let one of the bonchis grow back to its full size.
 
Devv said:
Very nice Adam!
 
Your grow is kicking it!
 
Are you getting the cooler weather?
Click to expand...
 
Not yet Scott! 80's, humid, and little wind. Peppers are enjoying it so far.
 
stickman said:
I'll second that emotion Adam... very nice indeed!
 
One of the things I'd check for that make holes in chile leaves is slugs and snails. Fortunately, they're one of the easier pests to deal with.
Click to expand...
 
I have spotted a snail or two. The problem is small scale now, but its starting to annoy me. Bt takes out slugs and snails too I think, without harming ladybugs (they don't eat it, right?).
 
Thanks for dropping by guys. Will try to get more pics tomorrow. Need to actually count how many white bhuts I have ripening.
 
Damn son!!!  Them things exploded!  Your gonna pull tons and tons of peppers from that patch there.  As far as the tomatoes go about pruning.  I just pull off all the suckers on indeterminate plants just so you have only one main stalk going up the whole way.  Kinda the opposite of what your doing with your peppers.  So instead of pruning the leaf off,  you'd pull the new branch that's starting at the node if that makes sense to you :crazy:   Looking fantastic man,  doing an absolute stellar job on your grow.  Can't wait for the next update!
 
Hi Adam, here's what I found on organic slug control... http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/slug-stoppers?page=0,0
I don't seem to have a big problem with them here, but when I see them I hand-pick and squish 'em underfoot. Beer traps seem to work well, but I'd use the cheap stuff since I ain't gonna waste the good stuff on no stinkin' slugs. Diatomaceous Earth cuts 'em up and they bleed out, but it works best in dry conditions. Using Red Clover as a trap crop seems like the best alternative... it lures the slugs away from the plants you want protected, and when the plant eventually dies, it adds Nitrogen to the soil. You could have a pot of it set on top of the soil at one end of each raised bed. When the clover dies you could just empty the pot, extract the dead Clover, remove any seeds and bury it in the soil in the raised beds... easy. :)
 
This is what I use for the slugs and snails. Doesn't harm the insects.
071549046408lg.jpg
 
Jamison said:
Damn son!!!  Them things exploded!  Your gonna pull tons and tons of peppers from that patch there.  As far as the tomatoes go about pruning.  I just pull off all the suckers on indeterminate plants just so you have only one main stalk going up the whole way.  Kinda the opposite of what your doing with your peppers.  So instead of pruning the leaf off,  you'd pull the new branch that's starting at the node if that makes sense to you :crazy:   Looking fantastic man,  doing an absolute stellar job on your grow.  Can't wait for the next update!
Click to expand...
 
Yeah I'm trying! Hard to keep up with them. I've had to remove some branches when they escape they're cages too far, but if anything they are reacting well to the pruning. Tomatoes are having no problems, lol.
 
The peppers I'm done pruning for now. Mother nature froze a bunch of 'em, essentially topping them, which means they're going to be a bushy mess by the end of the season, but I'm practicing a bunch of pruning techniques and learning what I learn.
 
stickman said:
Hi Adam, here's what I found on organic slug control... http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/slug-stoppers?page=0,0
I don't seem to have a big problem with them here, but when I see them I hand-pick and squish 'em underfoot. Beer traps seem to work well, but I'd use the cheap stuff since I ain't gonna waste the good stuff on no stinkin' slugs. Diatomaceous Earth cuts 'em up and they bleed out, but it works best in dry conditions. Using Red Clover as a trap crop seems like the best alternative... it lures the slugs away from the plants you want protected, and when the plant eventually dies, it adds Nitrogen to the soil. You could have a pot of it set on top of the soil at one end of each raised bed. When the clover dies you could just empty the pot, extract the dead Clover, remove any seeds and bury it in the soil in the raised beds... easy. :)
Click to expand...
 
Yeah Bt isn't the answer in fact. DE is probably the way to go, but I am a bit hesitant on that because it can harm beneficial and you have to reapply it after each rain. Ditto with beer traps. 
 
Spotted some millipedes and earwigs. They also like to chew holes in pepper plants. So far it doesn't really seem to be slowing the growth down, and the beneficial population does appear to be on the rise. Probably need to get a bag of DE soon though.
 
Jeff H said:
This is what I use for the slugs and snails. Doesn't harm the insects.
 
Click to expand...
 
Looks like bait Jeff? I've read good things. I'm not quite fed up enough yet though. May get there in another week.
 
HabaneroHead said:
I love your pics, Adam! It is good to see that the plants are doing great for you! Continued success, my friend!
 
Balázs
Click to expand...
 
Thanks Balázs! Love watchin' em grow. I get about 20 minutes to half an hour in the garden a day after teaching. A great way to unwind, but the tomatoes are taking advantage of me.
 
Devv said:
Snails? That would require rain, so I don't see too many around here. It cracks me up when I see one, usually dried out and stuck to a building in 100° heat ;)
Click to expand...
 
=P You're missing out. They're so much fun to squish.
 
Time for mid-week pics! I actually got these a couple days ago, but its taking forever to get the glogs!
 
RIPENING COUNTDOWN!!!
 
vocbZC0.jpg

 
That's a mean white bhut you're looking at there. One of half a dozen, carefully hidden beneath the leaves of the plant.
 
7ESCbsV.jpg

 
Can you spot 'em all?
 
jduWiK0.jpg

 
Looks like Biker Billy has hit his full size. A little cracking is on the biggest pod, making these my fastest maturing annuums. Not ripe, just at full size. Gearing up for a jalapeno pull soon to let the plants grow a little bigger.
 
g042EhC.jpg

 
Yellow Bhut has set pods! No lookers yet though, just little guys.
 
gnP4jlr.jpg

 
Barrackpore X Chiletepin is maturing! Going to be tons of these guys. Look like they'll make a mean sauce, what do you think Charles? A great looking plant for sure.
 
h0EkbmX.jpg

 
Goat's Weed from Jamison, ripening fast. They look longer than I was expecting... pushing 4 or 5". Also a very nice looking plant.
 
hrX7Gix.jpg

 
Brown Eggs are set! These are from Jason. Nice looking little plant.
 
yuKGrUi.jpg

 
Ladybugs are moving into the tomatoes. Guess its good I didn't get medieval on those aphids.
 
XWOyMdP.jpg

 
Blondies are setting nicely as well!
 
And finally:
 
54Bsi2q.jpg

 
Aji Chuncho with a new haircut. Cut back four nice side shoots and left the thickest central shoot standing. Trying to coax it to grow tall and get back in the game. Wish me luck!
 
Indecisive on the pest control... the plants are growing so much I hesitate to really do much. One bed is definitely having more trouble than the other... the 7pots are getting chewed on more than the annuums. Also hoping to see some habs and bonnets set pods soon. I think we need a tad more heat.
 
Thanks for reading!
 
That white bhut is... Badass!
Everything is going off! Crushing it Adam!
I would go beer traps. Don't want to harm anything beneficial. Even what could run off in the soil sounds bad.
I found earwigs on a few plants. I have never seen them on any of my plants before. It's all you fault for talking about you getting them last season. :P
Joking. :D
Looking amazing Adam!
 
Great form on the white bhut!
That plant is worth isolating some seed.
Maybe not quite as pebble-y as a classic red, at least at this point, but form is right in there.
Looks like a winner to me.
 
Everything is coming on strong!
If the plants are out growing the bug damage, I usually just deal with what pests I see manually.
 
Nice job Adam... I see poppers in your near future! Everything else looks very happy as well. Since you have the frames for your raised  beds already, think you'll get or improvise a shade cover for mid-summer?
 
If you do go with spreading DE for the slugs, just spread it on  the ground around the plants, not on the leaves themselves. If it rains, you'll have to wait for the ground to dry out before re-applying. Walkgood said that the DE is made up of lots of flat pieces of Diatom shells... when applied to dry soil a lot of the pieces stand up on edge and cut up the slugs. If it rains, the pieces all lay flat, and he'd seen the slugs just ski right over it with no problem.
 
Cheers!
 
Yea,  I agree with Triple J and Jason on that one.  Def should isolate some flowers on that White Bhut.  If it actually turns out white I'd be amazed.  Wouldn't mind having a few of those seeds for next year ;)   Go beat the hell out of it and tell it to hurry up and ripen so I can see!  The anticipation is killin me over here :rofl:   Enjoy your weekend bud! :cheers:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top