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

 

[PaulG]

Hey MH!  The reason for mixing the Happy Frog and Ocean Forest is
that they have different compositions, and I can't make up my mind!  
It seems to work pretty well; I don't fertilize much when they are in the
party cups.  Once in gallons, then I start a little light fish fertilizer, and
then when it's time to flower and set pods, add in a little bloom formula.

 

[MeatHead1313]

Hey MH!  The reason for mixing the Happy Frog and Ocean Forest is
that they have different compositions, and I can't make up my mind!  
It seems to work pretty well; I don't fertilize much when they are in the
party cups.  Once in gallons, then I start a little light fish fertilizer, and
then when it's time to flower and set pods, add in a little bloom formula.

Thanks for the info! Not sure I can convince my wife I need another bag of potting mix at the moment haha. I do have some mykos I can add to the OF though, so I've got that part covered at least. My small seedlings haven't received any fertilizer yet other than what's in either the MG or HF that they're in, but my bigger plants have been getting fish emulsion roughly every 2 weeks, and my older plants in the miracle gro have had some rabbit manure added in as well. Still have rabbit poop left to add in if needed, and also have Espoma tomato tone on hand as well. Still have miracle gro bloom booster from last season, but not sure if I want to add synthetic ferts into the Fox Farm pots. Trying to keep those one's more organic. Going to have a pretty eclectic mix soon with some plants in miracle gro, some in happy frog and some in ocean forest, but it'll give me some good experience and keep me busy so that's a good thing. 

 

[PaulG]

Great soil experiment; will be interesting to
see how the three media compare!

 

[MeatHead1313]

Great soil experiment; will be interesting to
see how the three media compare!

I agree. Also will be interesting to see if the plants getting synthetic ferts or the more organic plants perform better as well. Having only just started growing earlier this year I've already learned a lot, and this will be another good opportunity to learn as I go as well. Having a ton of fun doing it though!

 

[MeatHead1313]

Ok figured I need to update my grow list. Original list is as follows-
Yellow bhut jolokia
Brain strain
Aji limon
Chocolate Trinidad scorpion
Fatalii
Black Hungarian
Chinese 5 colour
 
New additions-
SBJ7 (4sprouts)
MoA Jamaican Scotch bonnet (2 sprouts)
Jimmy Nardello (1 seedling)
Brazilian starfish (1 seedling)
Black Pearl (1 plant loaded with pods)
 
Still have a couple more varieties I'm still trying to get to sprout, and still have 1 or 2 that I've yet to plant.
 
Non peppers-lettuce, spinach, aloe vera, strawberry, cilantro and an orchid and various flowers for my wife

 

[maximumcapsicum]

The MoA sounds very exiting. May have to add that one to my grow as well.

Good luck MH! I was thinking of using the fox farm as well. Think it'll store okay on a balcony

Merry Xmas!

 

[MeatHead1313]

The MoA sounds very exiting. May have to add that one to my grow as well.

Good luck MH! I was thinking of using the fox farm as well. Think it'll store okay on a balcony

Merry Xmas!

Yeah I'm really looking forward to the MoA. Haven't tried it yet so wishing I could fast forward a couple of months so I can! lol. 
From what I've seen so far my plants are loving the Fox Farm Happy Frog. Picked right up and threw out new growth within a couple of days of replacing the old stuff with that. Unsure how it'll store on a balcony, but if it's covered I'd say it'll be ok, but I'm still pretty new so I could be wrong.
Merry Christmas!

 

[MeatHead1313]

Was starting to run out of room in the mini greenhouse, and some of my larger plants were starting to push on the edges, which had me worried about mold issues due to the leaves getting wet from the condensation. Received another mini greenhouse for Christmas from my brother in law, so moved my wife's strawberries, aloe, lettuce, spinach and cilantro to the new one. Gave me plenty of room in the original one to move the peppers away from the edges, and gives me a lot more room for solo cups and 6 inch pots when my sprouts are ready. Getting a new camera this afternoon so no plant shots for now. Hopefully future plant shots will be better than my current cell phone pics. 
My growing area with the new greenhouse added-

 
Starting to see a lot of buds forming on nearly all the pepper plants. Hopefully I'll be able to get a few peppers growing soon!
 

 

[HillBilly Jeff]

Looking good there.  You will love the Jimmy Nardello peppers.  I still grow them, but I am almost ready to jump ship to the Marconi Patio Red.  MY plants broke down last year, but even the green ones were super sweet.  Most of my Jimmys were eaten while in the garden lol.
 
 Nice looking update to the grow list
 
HBJ

 

[MeatHead1313]

Looking good there.  You will love the Jimmy Nardello peppers.  I still grow them, but I am almost ready to jump ship to the Marconi Patio Red.  MY plants broke down last year, but even the green ones were super sweet.  Most of my Jimmys were eaten while in the garden lol.
 
 Nice looking update to the grow list
 
HBJ

Thanks HBJ! I got to try the Nardello's earlier this year out of a box I purchased from Justaguy. Absolutely loved them. Pretty sure I'll be doing the same thing too. Definitely one of my absolute favourites.

 

[HillBilly Jeff]

Thanks HBJ! I got to try the Nardello's earlier this year out of a box I purchased from Justaguy. Absolutely loved them. Pretty sure I'll be doing the same thing too. Definitely one of my absolute favourites.

 
I reread my post and it might have been confusing...my patio red broke down, not my Jimmy.  I have found that if I saute them, the sweetness just comes out.  If I get a solid crop of patio red this year, I will send you a sample.

 

[MeatHead1313]

 
I reread my post and it might have been confusing...my patio red broke down, not my Jimmy.  I have found that if I saute them, the sweetness just comes out.  If I get a solid crop of patio red this year, I will send you a sample.

Ahh ok. I see where I got confused lol. Appreciate the offer! 

 

[Devv]

Congrats on the new greenhouse. So you leave them outside all the time?
 
Can't wait to see how the new camera works for you.

 

[maximumcapsicum]

What's the outdoor temp that the greenhouse mitigating? What is the temp in the greenhouse?

Nice looking plants. Can't wait to see some pods forming...

 

[MeatHead1313]

Congrats on the new greenhouse. So you leave them outside all the time?
 
Can't wait to see how the new camera works for you.

  

What's the outdoor temp that the greenhouse mitigating? What is the temp in the greenhouse?
Nice looking plants. Can't wait to see some pods forming...

Yeah the plants are outside all the time. The temps have been getting down into the 30's at night pretty often lately. Daytime temps have been anywhere from 40's-70's. If it's in the 60's or higher I'll open the vents to control the heat and humidity. For the cold nights I have a little space heater with a thermostat to keep it around 70-80.

 

[maximumcapsicum]

Those things are pretty nice. May consider doing those if my plants get too big before planting out. I am starting a little earlier than recommended on my chinenses because they seem to take their time in the beginning, but I have a fear that they'll take off an get root bound.

 

[MeatHead1313]

They definitely saved me a lot of money compared to converting my spare bedroom into a grow room like I'd originally planned. Not sure how many winter's they'll last, but the bigger one only cost me $55 so can't complain if it's only a year or two.
I had the same thought with my Chinenses as well. Even if I don't get any pods during winter, they'll be well and truly ready come spring. 

Had a play with the new camera this afternoon so got some new pics of the plants
Black Hungarian growing well again in Happy Frog

Chinenses

 
Chinese 5 colour

 
Lemon drop

 
Wife's strawberries, cilantro, lettuce, spinach and aloe vera

 

[Devv]

Plants are looking very nice!
 
And the new camera takes really nice pics.
 
Well done!

 

[MeatHead1313]

Plants are looking very nice!
 
And the new camera takes really nice pics.
 
Well done!

Thanks Devv! Made a few mistakes so far (obvious in the size difference between some plants lol), but learning as I go though thanks to help from everyone on here. 
Getting ready to plant some more seeds as well. Have CGN21500, SAFI red hab, Jamaican yellow mushroom, Scotch bonnet TFM, yellow scorpion and yellow 7 pot seeds soaking at the moment, going to plant them over the weekend. Also noticed this afternoon I have an aji amarillo hook showing as well. Still having no luck with tepins. Had some dried tepins I'd received from Phil that I'd planted show some signs of sprouting, but found what looked like fungus gnat larvae eating them so no result there. Still no luck with seeds either. Only others I'm waiting for some action on are aji pineapple and red bhuts. 

 

[PaulG]

Say, those greenhouse units are very nice!  
The plants look like they are lovin' it in them.  
And congrats on the new camera!  What kind
is it?  Pics look great, nice and sharp!