Megamoo's 2011/2012 Grow Log

gnslngr · Nov 7, 2011

megamoo said:
I had two separate jiffys with Peruvian White Habanero's sprout and then get some sort of disease and shrivel and die. They hadn't been soaked in hydrogen peroxide which could have killed a seedbourne disease, and so this time they all were soaked in H2O2. The other seeds are ones I've had limited to zero sucess with, and the last four are newly arrived.

I have taken apart my lights for the season so when these sprout they will go outside in a humidity dome

For what its worth, the Peruvian Whites were my hardest starters, ended up with 3.I figured they were just "damping off", but hell 8 of em?
They are throwing pods right now finally.Several others mentioned problems with these as well during germination.Makes me wonder...

megamoo · Nov 16, 2011

I started a bunch of seeds and put them on a heating mat on a shelf and then got real busy for a week or two and forgot about them. A lot have sprouted and they are all super leggy cos there is no light there.

I'm going to have to pot up and bury them to save them.
The plastic on my greenhouse has fallen apart so need to use a box or something. Also need to pot up little ones but finding it hard to be bothered now.

Dot Com · Nov 16, 2011

Since I last posted here I've experienced some kind of crown-rot on @ 5 of my plants (25% of them

) So, you're not alone in some misfortune my friend. On the bright side I've had some Pequin's sprout that took @ 3 weeks to do so. That cheered me up considerably as I can eat those w/ just about anything because they are supposed to be Scoville scale (100,000-140,000 units) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pequin_pepper. Hope your new plants pull through.

Pablo_h · Nov 17, 2011

megamoo said:
Also need to pot up little ones but finding it hard to be bothered now.

Go on. Even I'm potting up with what I have worth keeping so far.
one each of choc bhut, brainstrain, scotch bonnet and a bonda ma jaques.

There's a few others worthwhile too, but I'm going to take your lead and get cheap buckets for them.

Lovley weather we're having right now isn't it?
Raining and only 23C in November!

megamoo · Nov 17, 2011

Pablo if you are going to use buckets you really need to get the mix right. The idea for the buckets sounded great at first but half of all my bucket plants have stalled at a tiny size and are yellow. They are now on the chuck list. I'm pretty sure the problem was the soil mix staying too wet, and not having enough drainage holes in the buckets. I made a lot more drainage holes, and elevated the buckets to air the undersides but it was too late for the worst ones.

For my next soil mix which will go into the vacated buckets I'm not going to use the coir-peat brick with the wetting agent added. I'll just use the regular one, and I will also use more perlite. When I ran out of perlite last time I tried to space out the mix with sugar cane mulch, which was all I had available. Now thinking back its not such a good idea because it will also act to hold water and not freely drain. Our weather hasn't been hot and dry enough yet for it to be of use.

I will take some photos when I can because half of the bucket plants are doing well and almost all of the other large potted plants are really thriving.

Pablo_h · Nov 18, 2011

Is this enough drainage for them?
8x 10mm holes around the edge, and another 8 x 10mm holes underneath

I also tore slots on the ring of the base, so the holes on the bottom can actually drain water away (without a fancy stand like you got

)

I have learn all about drainage this year. Never use to have a plant last a winter in a pot. I used to chuck a plant in a pot with plain potting mix and they'd nearly always die.
Even this year, when I thought I knew something about potting mixes, and added perlite and got potting mix with less soil and peat in the mixes, I still did badly with all my first few plants because of so much rain they could never dry out.
I know I mentioned in this thread stuff vermiculite, water is my enemy, but I've mentioned in other threads, in winter I know I really need to up the perlite, and also use mainly terracotta until the constant rain we get here in Perth is over. Edit: I know I could put the pots undercover somewhere out of the rain, but guess where the ants and aphids are?!

megamoo · Nov 18, 2011

I did the notches in the bottom rim like you have there and stood the bucket on a hard surface, and with bigger holes but it wasn't enough for them to dry out. That could be to do with my soil mix though. So then I went back and drilled more holes all around the sides where the lowest ring is. I was able to do this with the plants still in them so wasn't hard even with 27 buckets to do. The more air you can get flowing under them the better. If you look on Neil's facebook page he just sat them up on some wood offcuts. I'm about to post a bunch of pictures of mine but basically half of the buckets are going to be thrown out and half are doing ok. I don't think the buckets are to blame as much as other factors such as the soil mix.

megamoo · Nov 26, 2011

Random photos in my yard

Douglah

I think this is an old tabasco

Overwintered Aji Lemon sharing with some basil

Aji Lemon pod getting sunburnt

Jack Be Little Pumpkins

Brazillian Starfish

Topaz chilli

Bishops Crown is sending out bunch of buds

megamoo · Nov 26, 2011

Very bad photo of tomatoes

Poblano pod

Big Jim

My first new pod of the season was this Cochiti. The plant was so short I had to dig a little hole for it to hang in.

It ripened two pods up and I used them in a salsa. Had some fresh and Couldn't detect any heat at all.

I'm sure it would be different if plant was bigger.

Thick stem of a Red Habanero. It is my best and most mature looking plant. It just started putting out some buds so think I'll get some good stuff from it.

Limon has plenty of buds too.

Most of my Butch Ts made great starts like this one. Wating to see if they can take it to the next level.

megamoo · Nov 26, 2011

Overview

Most of the ones on the shelves are doing great. Moved the sick ones on the benches to one end. They are about to give up their buckets and places to newer healthier seedlings and go to the great compost bin in the sky.

harry · Nov 26, 2011

megamoo said:
My first new pod of the season was this Cochiti. The plant was so short I had to dig a little hole for it to hang in.

It ripened two pods up and I used them in a salsa. Had some fresh and Couldn't detect any heat at all. I'm sure it would be different if plant was bigger.

I have a variety of Jalapeño that will produce zero heat if it is kept well/over watered. The parent plant produced heatless pods a potting mix with water saving characteristics. Two plants grown from its seed also produced zero heat bar one freak of a pod all season.

The flat bottom of buckets isn't good for drainage.

gasificada · Nov 26, 2011

Did your Aji Lemons sunburn last season, Moo? My overwintered ones are doing the exact same thing and I can't recall ever seeing even one do it last season. The pods are also much fatter than they were last season too.

Jayman · Nov 26, 2011

Hey Megamoo, have you ever considered the idea of throwing a Tarp over your shade house if your in for afew days/weeks of rain? Maybe even some clear plastic. I have a really nice garden bed that is full of weeds atm that I plan to use next season. I would have to have some kind of shade structure as it would get almost all of the days sun. I plan on making it so I can stop the rain from over watering my plants. It just rained here for 5 days straight and if my plants were in the ground I hate to think what would have happened.

patrick · Nov 26, 2011

Dang Moo talk about a roller coaster ride. I think you're on the right track though. Better drainage is a good thing to shoot for. Don't be shy with the perlite. Sometimes my mix looks like it's about half of the stuff.

Did you ever get around to checking your pH? You're right about the nutrient lockout so for your sake check it. Too much of any nutrient can have negative effects on others.

This was my second year using Chili Focus and I've found that the amount of the basic three nutes N-P-K in it isn't sufficient for good overall plant growth. This year I used a basic tomato/pepper fertilizer, something like 8-15-10 and had much better growth. Chili Focus is good at providing calcium and the micronutrients that all living things need though and I'm fairly certain I'll never grow peppers without it.

Keep at it Moo, you'll be swimming in peppers before you know it bro.

megamoo · Nov 26, 2011

gasificada said:
Did your Aji Lemons sunburn last season, Moo? My overwintered ones are doing the exact same thing and I can't recall ever seeing even one do it last season. The pods are also much fatter than they were last season too.

Yeah they did. The pod pictured gets full sun all day though. When they have shade from leaves or whatever they don't do it.

Jayman said:
Hey Megamoo, have you ever considered the idea of throwing a Tarp over your shade house if your in for afew days/weeks of rain? Maybe even some clear plastic. I have a really nice garden bed that is full of weeds atm that I plan to use next season. I would have to have some kind of shade structure as it would get almost all of the days sun. I plan on making it so I can stop the rain from over watering my plants. It just rained here for 5 days straight and if my plants were in the ground I hate to think what would have happened.

I hadn't considered it because the problem has been too hot and dry weather so far. And wind. The walls of the shade house cut down the viscious wind. I did have the thought to put another layer of shadecloth up because in summer the heat and sun get nasty, and I have no natural shade from other plants. If we do get a downpour the sloping roof channels some of the rain away from the pots, and they are elevated so they are able to drain, if I got the soil mix right.

megamoo · Nov 26, 2011

patrick said:
Dang Moo talk about a roller coaster ride. I think you're on the right track though. Better drainage is a good thing to shoot for. Don't be shy with the perlite. Sometimes my mix looks like it's about half of the stuff.

Did you ever get around to checking your pH? You're right about the nutrient lockout so for your sake check it. Too much of any nutrient can have negative effects on others.

This was my second year using Chili Focus and I've found that the amount of the basic three nutes N-P-K in it isn't sufficient for good overall plant growth. This year I used a basic tomato/pepper fertilizer, something like 8-15-10 and had much better growth. Chili Focus is good at providing calcium and the micronutrients that all living things need though and I'm fairly certain I'll never grow peppers without it.

Keep at it Moo, you'll be swimming in peppers before you know it bro.

I checked the pH and it came out normal which got me scratching my head again. I've been too heavy with the fertilizer in the past so I have backed off for a month..... however today they are going to get a nice foliar feed of Seasol and Powergrow, with some Bokashi liquid and GoGo juice. Might chuck something else in there too as I rumage through my cupboard. Today is for chucking the sick and potting up the new. Probably won't get much time for the garden till new year so I have to set up the retic and have everything as maintenance free as possible.

8-15-10 sounds a bit too much P if you ask me, but go with whatever works for you

I'm still experimenting with ferts.

megamoo · Nov 27, 2011

I've already posted a bunch of pictures but yesterday I moved things around and repotted new plants and chucked the sick ones. Just after these pictures were taken I gave them their first feed in a long time with seasol, powerfeed, silica, bokashi liquid and gogo juice. So I'm doing this post for reference so I can see changes in their growth from now on.

You can pick the newly potted up ones because of the perlite.

these are the sick ones that were given a final chance

These are the ones that weren't good enough to be potted up but weren't so bad they were binned.

megamoo · Nov 27, 2011

Here are some tiny and unripe pod pictures. I had hoped to have more by this stage but the season aint over yet.

Poblano

Lots of Topaz for a small plant

Pusa Jwala snuck out a pod while still in its tiny pot.

Limon putting out!

Purple Tigers

Overwintered Tabasco in full sun and showing it a bit.

Overwintered Aji Lemon burnt brown by the sun

Brazillian Starfish. They are same colour as leaves but if you look there are tons of pods there.

Overwintered Hungarian Black always puts out meaty pods full of seeds, and withstands the weather well. I'll be giving some seeds of this one away soon so keep an eye out for my offer post.

Black Pearl. Ate first ripe one off the plant yesterday. Nice little snack

megamoo · Nov 27, 2011

...more

Jalapeno. First seed planted this season and been through all the dramas but has put out some small sized pods and is having a go. Had to discard three already cos of bug holes

Bought this plant and the soil mix I put it in is slowly killing it

The photo doesn't do the colour justice, it's really bright orange.

Dot Com · Nov 27, 2011

Looks like things have turned @ for you since last time I looked at the thread. As they say in sports. "nice save" megamoo