MeatHead 2014

Thought I'd start a new glog as my 1st year grow plants have now gone, and all remaining plants are intended for the 2014 season. Currently have growing with hopes of keeping through winter-
Yellow bhut jolokia
Brain strain
Aji limon
Chocolate Trinidad scorpion
Fatalii
Black Hungarian
Chinese 5 colour.
Have all healthy plants bar 1 out of 6 inch pots and in either permanent or semi permanent homes. Due to messing up the labels I'm not sure which is which on the Chinense varieties. Have 1 seedling that was seriously struggling, but it's starting to throw out new leaves so there's hope for it yet. Hoping we either have a mild Winter here, or I can get some lights set up in our spare bedroom to get them through until Spring. Have a few more varieties I have yet to plant, but thinking I may wait til the end of January to start those seeds. 
 
Anyway, enough babbling. On to some pics!
Green pot is an Aji Limon, bag TBD Chinense, Venus fly trap and pitcher plant on the cooler in the back, cayenne I'm trying to decide whether to OW or not in the red pot and some cilantro in the cup

Another couple of TBD Chinense's and the struggling seedling that's popping back (over watering was the cause I think)

Chinese 5 colour and 2 more Chinense's

Aloe vera and a couple of strawberries for my wife

More tbd Chinense's

Black Hungarian (already putting out flower buds that are getting pinched off for now)

Last 2 Chinense's

 

[thirdcoasttx]

Yeah I'll take a few when they are ready. I think next year will be moa sb7g and then some other sorts of 7 pot. 7 pots have been my favorite lately as far as a good combo of heat and flavor.
Edit: sb7j

 

[MeatHead1313]

Yeah I'll take a few when they are ready. I think next year will be moa sb7g and then some other sorts of 7 pot. 7 pots have been my favorite lately as far as a good combo of heat and flavor.Edit: sb7j

No problem. Will get some seeds out to you once they're ready. 7 pots are great! Loved the flavour of all the ones I've tried so far, besides the douglah. You need any specific 7 pot seeds? I may have some I could send with the MoA's, would need to double check my stash though.

 

[thirdcoasttx]

Umm the one I really liked was the large red 7 I think. I should have pulled seeds but didnt. Anything red or yellow. I'm not to big on chocolates or whites. I tried a white bhut the other day and the flavor made me gag instantly

 

[MeatHead1313]

Will hopefully have some new pics up some time next week. Haven't got much to update plant wise as most are suffering the effects of rain nearly every day here lately. Production has dropped greatly. Only pulling 4 or 5 pods a day. Just started training for my new job as well, so that's part of the reason for no updates.
Some outstanding news though. We received the keys to our house today, and officially begin the move in tomorrow! So excited! Good news is-brand new house so nothing to worry about there. Bad news-with all the rain our yard resembles a swamp. Going to take a lot of work to level it out so it drains off instead of pooling up. Take the good with the bad tho. I'd rather work outside than work in the house.

 

[Devv]

Go rent a skid-steer (bobcat) and go to work
 
Owning your own place is a treasure, just throw yourself into it!

 

[JoeFish]

Will hopefully have some new pics up some time next week. Haven't got much to update plant wise as most are suffering the effects of rain nearly every day here lately. Production has dropped greatly. Only pulling 4 or 5 pods a day. Just started training for my new job as well, so that's part of the reason for no updates.
Some outstanding news though. We received the keys to our house today, and officially begin the move in tomorrow! So excited! Good news is-brand new house so nothing to worry about there. Bad news-with all the rain our yard resembles a swamp. Going to take a lot of work to level it out so it drains off instead of pooling up. Take the good with the bad tho. I'd rather work outside than work in the house.

 
Congrats!!! 

Go rent a skid-steer (bobcat) and go to work
 
Owning your own place is a treasure, just throw yourself into it!

+1.  Nothing like it.

 

[MeatHead1313]

Thanks all! We're absolutely loving it so far! Good news on the yard front too, my manager at my last job told me he has access to a tractor whenever he wants, so may be able to get our yard levelled for nothing! Which would be awesome. Would definitely save us a lot of money.
As promised earlier, time for some actual photo updates. These are all a little outdated now, but it's the best I can do until we're fully settled in and I have all my plants moved.
Finally got my decent first harvest off the tepin x lemon drop. Absolutely delicious peppers! Sweet, juicy and fruity, with a very manageable heat level.

 
Had a bunch of these on my plants at my in laws, and need to try to get some to stay for the trip when I bring the rest of my plants. Juvenile assassin bugs.

 
Another old, but not posted photo. Finally have my first Barrackpore pod! 

 
My experiment with Dollar General eco friendly bags as root pouches has ended in mixed results. Some bags are doing great, and others are looking like this after 6 months

 
No idea what happened here. All of a sudden, one of my CAP 215 plants just decided to go kaput. The other 2 are still going great, so this has me stumped.

 
My first ever volunteer plants! The little Thai fire that was destroyed by a hornworm finally succumbed to the damage caused, but in doing so also had a few pods that weren't quite ripe at the time. Guessing 1 or 2 ripened enough before dropping off. 

 
Local knowledge is saying these tracks I found in my backyard recently are either raccoon or opossum. Seeing as the lowest heat peppers I currently have here are Birgit's locoto's, pretty sure they're not after my peppers lol.

 
That's all for now. Will have more as we get more settled in.

 

[Seacowboy]

Looking really good down there.

Wife and I are planning a trip to NOLA in mid November to do a little scouting for houses down there. See what is going on and maybe meet up while were down.

 

[MeatHead1313]

Looking really good down there.

Wife and I are planning a trip to NOLA in mid November to do a little scouting for houses down there. See what is going on and maybe meet up while were down.

Thanks Jason! Would be great to meet up! 

 

[Devv]

My vote is it's a coon print, they look like a baby hand print. And they love Cantaloupe! The day before we pick they steal em.
 
Good deal on the tractor

 

[HillBilly Jeff]

Thanks all! We're absolutely loving it so far! Good news on the yard front too, my manager at my last job told me he has access to a tractor whenever he wants, so may be able to get our yard levelled for nothing! Which would be awesome. Would definitely save us a lot of money.
As promised earlier, time for some actual photo updates. These are all a little outdated now, but it's the best I can do until we're fully settled in and I have all my plants moved.
Finally got my decent first harvest off the tepin x lemon drop. Absolutely delicious peppers! Sweet, juicy and fruity, with a very manageable heat level.

 
Had a bunch of these on my plants at my in laws, and need to try to get some to stay for the trip when I bring the rest of my plants. Juvenile assassin bugs.

 
Another old, but not posted photo. Finally have my first Barrackpore pod! 

 
My experiment with Dollar General eco friendly bags as root pouches has ended in mixed results. Some bags are doing great, and others are looking like this after 6 months

 
No idea what happened here. All of a sudden, one of my CAP 215 plants just decided to go kaput. The other 2 are still going great, so this has me stumped.

 
My first ever volunteer plants! The little Thai fire that was destroyed by a hornworm finally succumbed to the damage caused, but in doing so also had a few pods that weren't quite ripe at the time. Guessing 1 or 2 ripened enough before dropping off. 

 
Local knowledge is saying these tracks I found in my backyard recently are either raccoon or opossum. Seeing as the lowest heat peppers I currently have here are Birgit's locoto's, pretty sure they're not after my peppers lol.

 
That's all for now. Will have more as we get more settled in.

 
 
More than likely it is a raccoon track.  Was there any tail drag marks in the mud?  If there was, it is a sure sign it was an opossum.  That and the thumb part of an opossum back foot track is a bit extended out, disjointed looking thing.  A raccoon back foot looks like a human foot with long toes and nails.  
 
Many thanks for the pepper love in the mail.  A little help on some id would be great!!!
 
 

 
 
 
Once again many thanks, and let me know what I can send you back.

 

[MeatHead1313]

More than likely it is a raccoon track.  Was there any tail drag marks in the mud?  If there was, it is a sure sign it was an opossum.  That and the thumb part of an opossum back foot track is a bit extended out, disjointed looking thing.  A raccoon back foot looks like a human foot with long toes and nails.  
 
Many thanks for the pepper love in the mail.  A little help on some id would be great!!!
 
 

 
 
 
Once again many thanks, and let me know what I can send you back.

Thanks Jeff. There hasn't been any tail drag marks that I've seen at all anywhere around the tracks, which has me leaning to raccoon as well. Been seeing more front foot tracks than back foot tracks, and the back foot ones I have seen have been distorted in the mud so are hard to make out.
Starting from top left and going clockwise, it's nagabrain red (f3 pods), chocolate scorpion, CGN 21500, MoA's, Madame Jeanette in front, aji pineapple behind those, tepin x lemon drop and congo red. In the middle the tiny pods are CAP 215 and a lone black hungarian.

 

[East Texas Heat]

Lookin good meat, grats on the new place! I had the same experience with those cloth grocery bags, most of them held up ok, a few had handles ripped off in transit and a couple just sort of disintegrated from the good ole East Texas Heat, of course part of that was my own fault for whacking the, with the weed eater lol. I think the ones I used were a bit too small for most of the plants I grew given the length of our growing season here. I take it you probably have a few more good weeks of growing weather out your way, wishing ya continued success on your grow!

 

[MeatHead1313]

Thanks ETH! I actually think the dollar store bags may be good for a season if they're left in place, but with the moving we did they just couldn't deal with it. Good news was the root pouches I got off greenhousemegastore.com held up great, and will be reused next year.

Been a long time since I updated anything here. Pretty much gave up on all my plants other than the few I want to try to OW after we moved into our house as my freezers close to overflowing. Had some nasty fights with hornworms for a while, and also found out there's grasshoppers everywhere at our new place too. Seem to have everything under control now, but will need to order something for the hoppers early next spring to try to contain them before they get out of control.
Had last Saturday off, so took a trip to our local Lowes, Home Depot and garden centre to check some stuff out for some raised beds for next year. Ended up picking up enough stuff to make a 4x4 bed for now, and also picked up some turnips and cabbage to plant. Will be starting seeds for some lettuce and kale to add in shortly as well, as the turnips have such a quick maturation time they'll be gone and freeing up more room by the time the seedlings are ready to go in. So here it is, our first ever garden bed!

Dug down and removed about 6-8 inches of the local clay, and was pleasantly surprised to find we have a fairly decent earthworm population in our crappy clay soil. Filled the hole with recycled potting mix from some of my culled plant pots up to the original level, covered with wet cardboard to help suppress weeds and allow roots to pass through after decomposition. Placed the cinder block border around, then filled with a mix of Dr Earth vegetable garden planting mix and Dr Earth compost. Planning on filling the cinder block holes with potting mix and using them for other veggies and herbs.

Edit to add-I have no idea why my pics post sideways when posting from my phone.

 

[ivplay]

I did the same with some cheapie shopping bags from the Reject Shop, and they disintegrated within four months or so.  The sun and heat here must just be too much for the cloth.  Oh well, it was only $1, so not out too much!  Everything is looking good, MeatHead.

 

[East Texas Heat]

diggin that raised bed!

 

[Devv]

Like the raised bed Chris!
 
I'm growing cool weather crops in mine too. I like it that it's close to the house and easy to maintain.
 
Grasshoppers like tall grass and are hard to control. A product does exist that acts like BT to them if used when they're tiny. I wish I could tell you the name of the product
 
Any info on success would be greatly appreciated. My garden juts into a pasture and we always have GH issues...

 

[MeatHead1313]

I did the same with some cheapie shopping bags from the Reject Shop, and they disintegrated within four months or so.  The sun and heat here must just be too much for the cloth.  Oh well, it was only $1, so not out too much!  Everything is looking good, MeatHead.

 
Thanks ivplay! Yeah my bags were only a dollar as well, and pretty much lasted the season so no real complaints here.
 

diggin that raised bed!

  Thanks! I really need to try to level the ground better before I put the next one in though! Lol.

Like the raised bed Chris!
 
I'm growing cool weather crops in mine too. I like it that it's close to the house and easy to maintain.
 
Grasshoppers like tall grass and are hard to control. A product does exist that acts like BT to them if used when they're tiny. I wish I could tell you the name of the product
 
Any info on success would be greatly appreciated. My garden juts into a pasture and we always have GH issues...

Thanks Scott! Going to set a few up over winter so all I have to do is put in some mix and plant next spring. Thinking I may fill out one more for extra winter veggies soon though, depending on weather.
Yeah the hoppers are going to be hard to control for a while as we've got an acre between us and out next neighbor that's up for sale, but the grass hasn't been cut for quite a few months. I think i know what product you're talking about as I did buy something that sounds like that when they started devouring my plants. This is what I got http://www.arbico-organics.com/product/semaspore-grasshopper-cricket-contol-bait-nosema-locustae/pest-solver-guide-grasshoppers-crickets. Seems to have worked enough to slow them down a bit. Will have to hit them early next season before they get out of control.
Looks like my seasons officially over. It is way too early for these temps!

Gave the plants I'm going to try to OW a trim this afternoon in preparation for coming inside. My OW's this year will be the birgit's locoto, nagabrains, Madame Jeanette and yellow 7 I got from windchicken, along with my 2 MoA's. Pretty much have my list for next season finalised, and will be focusing much more on sweet-hab heat level peppers, with probably only 7-10 superhot plants total. Though if this winters anything like last, I'll end up starting a hell of a lot more than originally planned lol.

 

[Devv]

Yeah, we're getting that cold too. I'm surprised it's here so early, but you can never tell here in the south. 28° they say in the morning. We brought in what we could   I will say we've stayed around 5° warmer than the forecasts so far. The dew point is way low, so we may do OK.
 
I do believe that's the stuff I was talking about for the G-hoppers. Thanks for posting that, I bookmarked it and will give it a whirl this next season.

 

[MeatHead1313]

Warning. Really bad photo ahead.
With our first freeze forecast for tonight, I trimmed back my planned OW'S yesterday, and re potted my MoA's out of the dollar store bags into some recycled kitty litter buckets from culled plants, and also repotted the 2 smaller nagabrains, mainly due to one pot bring infested with fireants. Brought them inside this afternoon, so pretty much have one spare bedroom (what was supposed to be my seed starting room) already overtaken with plants. Considering the success I had with the mini greenhouses last year, I'm seriously considering saving some money over the next month and getting something similar that'll house larger plants. As it stands now, I can't reach my pepper freezer, and have no room to start seeds lol.

Also added some more plants to the raised bed. Reused some potting mix from this year's plants to fill some holes, and planted the root section from some green onions I'd bought for Jamaican jerk sauce. The last time I planted them was straight in crap clay soil and they grew like crazy, so hoping for similar results this time if they can survive the weather.