Megamoo's 2012/2013 Glog

gasificada · Nov 24, 2012

DocNrock said:
I don't have a lot of experience, so maybe I'm all wet. But with the plants I have grown this year, I did not notice accelerated growth if I pinched off buds as they formed. In fact, I have an Anaheim right now that seemed to grow just fine while setting more and more pods. It almost seemed like after every pod or two it set, it then had a growth spurt. It has now stopped growing, but I think it is probably root bound in it's current container. The chinenses that I grew from seed are also probably maxxed out in their current containers also. I don't see them getting any larger unless I up-pot them, either.

I find exactly the same thing. If pinching does do anything, it's nothing big enough for me to notice. Most of the time the buds just grow back a couple days later anyway!

megamoo · Nov 24, 2012

stickman said:
Hi Moo
I just popped in for a quick scan... I'm going to have to come back when I can spend more time and really dig in. This is a really information-rich glog. You've got so many plants started, you'll be rivalling Shane for output before you know it. Cheers!

Thanks stickman. "Information rich" is the nicest way anyone's ever told me that I tend to waffle on and on

Yes its a lot of plants...... I'm still sowing seeds though. Who is Shane? I really don't get much time to read many glogs on here.

DocNrock said:
I don't have a lot of experience, so maybe I'm all wet. But with the plants I have grown this year, I did not notice accelerated growth if I pinched off buds as they formed. In fact, I have an Anaheim right now that seemed to grow just fine while setting more and more pods. It almost seemed like after every pod or two it set, it then had a growth spurt. It has now stopped growing, but I think it is probably root bound in it's current container. The chinenses that I grew from seed are also probably maxxed out in their current containers also. I don't see them getting any larger unless I up-pot them, either.

Glad to hear the overfert condition seems to have dissipated. Do you have an idea as to which nutes were in excess? Only nitrogen, or NPK in general? I ask because when my plants started to flower, I gave them a bit of 5-50-30. I think that kept them growing while giving them the building blocks they needed to make buds/flowers/pods.

I think it was both too much general NPK and too much nitrogen. I really dropped the ball on the soil when I planted them but now it should be all the food they need for the season except for some occasional trace elements, worm juice and seaweed concentrate .

gasificada said:
I find exactly the same thing. If pinching does do anything, it's nothing big enough for me to notice. Most of the time the buds just grow back a couple days later anyway!

I tried the pinching off buds experiment in my first year and didn't see any change. I think the plants had already reached their max size as determined by their pots and that wasn't going to change anyway.
In this case I was hoping the plants had some more veg growth in them before sending out buds, only because it means more bud sites. The changes I made in replacing the soil and also putting up the shade cloth have resulted in a burst of new and healthy growth. The plants now have a main bushy part and then a stalk going up out of it. Looks like a fat animal extending its neck. I deliberately planted them too close together to try and cram more into the space but if they decide to really get big it might be a problem.

The wall plants are looking really good at the moment. You know when you can't put your finger on what it is but they are fuller, green, lush and just look healthy. Here are some close up shots.

You can see the stretching neck thing on these ones. My one and only Pimenta De Neyde gone black in the sun.

This one's suddenly found the energy to add some height.

This is one of the sickest ones from before.

There's yellowing on the raised bumps of the leaves and they are all leathery and hard. I read that a nutrient excess causes this but can't remember what. This one and another right next to it are the only ones still showing it now.

Flowering away, Saw a couple of bees systematically inspecting every plant down the line today

Also potted up most of the hydro seedlings. I went and sowed 8 seed cells for most of the varieties to give the best chance of getting at least one plant. Wouldn't you know it but most of them germinated 8 from 8. Don't have the space for that many plants so I'm going to have to give a lot of them away. Be a waste to just discard them.

Graduated.

Held back but it's only because of space. Most of these are viable seedlings.

These ones will be going into the garden or bigger pots this week.
Still a bit light green/yellow but doing well.

DocNrock · Nov 24, 2012

Everytime I see your grow, well, it quite frankly grows! All those small plants and seedlings look great! I feel ya on having to start 4 to 8 seeds just to ensure you get one plant, then having the lot of them pop. I had a feeling this was going to happen to me this year, so I planted them all in one cell, and for most varieties did no more than two cells. That way I would be forced to cull the weaker seedlings instead of trying to save them. It was very hard bringing myself to cut down the first one or two, but admittedly it got easier after that. JoynersHotPeppers had asked me in whose name I was killing. My only response was Darwin.

You probably have takers for your excess seedlings. I don't, and didn't want to end up having to care for them as they grew.

As Stickman said, very information-rich Glog. I certainly learn something everytime I read it. PdN looks great. Love the look of that plant. It's my only black seedling.

stickman · Nov 24, 2012

megamoo said:
Thanks stickman. "Information rich" is the nicest way anyone's ever told me that I tend to waffle on and on
Yes its a lot of plants...... I'm still sowing seeds though. Who is Shane? I really don't get much time to read many glogs on here.

Hi Moo
Shane is stc3248. You might want to check into his 2012 glog speaking of "information-rich"... Cheers!

megamoo · Nov 26, 2012

DocNrock said:
Everytime I see your grow, well, it quite frankly grows! All those small plants and seedlings look great! I feel ya on having to start 4 to 8 seeds just to ensure you get one plant, then having the lot of them pop. I had a feeling this was going to happen to me this year, so I planted them all in one cell, and for most varieties did no more than two cells. That way I would be forced to cull the weaker seedlings instead of trying to save them. It was very hard bringing myself to cut down the first one or two, but admittedly it got easier after that. JoynersHotPeppers had asked me in whose name I was killing. My only response was Darwin. You probably have takers for your excess seedlings. I don't, and didn't want to end up having to care for them as they grew.

As Stickman said, very information-rich Glog. I certainly learn something everytime I read it. PdN looks great. Love the look of that plant. It's my only black seedling.

Thanks, I'll just be happy if anyone can learn from my mistakes and not have to live through them

If I have to thin out seedlings I do it when they have just sprouted. It goes against the principle of what you are trying to do but you've got to do it. Once they have been potted up it feels too wasteful so I'll give them away, or at the very least stick them in a corner where they'll get some spray from a sprinkler and have a chance.
I've just sown some Royal Black seeds which apparently is a totally black plant. Hope it grows!

stickman said:
Hi Moo
Shane is stc3248. You might want to check into his 2012 glog speaking of "information-rich"... Cheers!

I went through his glog. He got amazing production from his plants, and they were infected with a virus too. The powder rmaking gives me an idea of what to do with a total glut of pods... which is not a problem I was ever expecting. But now everything is going so well it might happen.

I should explain that I'm posting lots of pictures and getting excited over not much change because I have officially scored a chilli grow PB.

My last season was all turning to crap at this point and the first season before that was no better.

Jayman · Nov 26, 2012

Amazing amount of work you have put into your place Megamoo. You talk about others learning from your mistakes, but it isn't just mistakes you can learn from. Like not giving up. I'm happy if my plants look half as healthy as yours look.

stickman · Nov 26, 2012

megamoo said:
Hi Moo

The powder rmaking gives me an idea of what to do with a total glut of pods... which is not a problem I was ever expecting. But now everything is going so well it might happen.

Speaking of learning from mistakes, don't make the mistake I did by grinding your dried chiles too soon. Grinding greatly increases the surface area of the spice that's ground, speeding up oxidation and evaporation of the volatile oils. The end result is that a bit over a quart of my chile powder is losing its vibrant red color and going stale. Dry your chiles, bag them up with the best seal you can manage and only grind what you need at the time. I really should have known better, because that's what I do with the spices for curries.

What's a chile grow PB? Cheers!

I should explain that I'm posting lots of pictures and getting excited over not much change because I have officially scored a chilli grow PB. My last season was all turning to crap at this point and the first season before that was no better.

Trippa · Nov 26, 2012

PB = personal best

DocNrock · Nov 26, 2012

megamoo said:
If I have to thin out seedlings I do it when they have just sprouted.

I've just sown some Royal Black seeds which apparently is a totally black plant. Hope it grows!

I should explain that I'm posting lots of pictures and getting excited over not much change because I have officially scored a chilli grow PB. My last season was all turning to crap at this point and the first season before that was no better.

This is exactly what I meant when I said I planted multiple seeds per cell. When I got one good looking seedling, the rest within the cell got culled. This was before they got their first true set of leaves developed. But for many varieties I planted out in two cells, one soil and one Rapid Rooter, with multiple seeds per cell. Each cell got culled down to one seedling, but for many varieties I had two cells of small plants. Like you, I can't just toss them now. I even up-potted them yesterday. Hopefully I can find good homes for them, as I won't have room to grow them out!

I too planted Royal Black (Ajijoe). The little plants haven't turned black yet, like my PdN has, but hopefully that is a function of the lighting. Time will tell. Looking forward to seeing yours grow, as well.

Congrats on your chile PB. I'm hoping for one, myself. I learn a lot reading through the Glogs, and yours is very good. I not only learn from the failure of others, but also from their successes. I am somewhat new to THP, so I didn't see your previous Glogs, but what I see in this one is pure gold. I was at Home Depot yesterday morning and was thinking about how warm my greenhouse gets when the sun is directly on it. I actually thought of your Glog and remembered the shade cloth you put up. I got some and put it over my greenhouse "roof," and peak temps dropped from the 90's to the 80's.

Jayman said:
Amazing amount of work you have put into your place Megamoo. You talk about others learning from your mistakes, but it isn't just mistakes you can learn from. Like not giving up. I'm happy if my plants look half as healthy as yours look.

Absolutely agreed. No one I know of did a dry run with Jalapenos to test their initial growing technique before planting out the real deal. That is about as dedicated as it gets.

megamoo · Nov 27, 2012

Thanks for all the positive comments.

I had to do a dry run with the jalapenos because reading a lot about growing chillies and then trying to do it wasn't working. All my effort was being wasted. The test was a lot of work but some things you have to learn from experience.

Glad I did it now because as soon as I spot the first bit of colour on one of the jalapeno pods I'll harvest everything and make a green sauce. From the 144 seeds I started with I've culled it down to 10 fruiting plants. Imagine if everyone had the time and resources to do this with all their chilli varieties! Breeds would improve and new breeds would stabalise so much faster.

Here's another shot of the PDN cos I like it so much.

I put 23 more plants in the back row of the wall bed.

There is more room further on behind the shed for more. Once that space is filled I'll connect all the drippers, spread some mulch and then let them grow.

Most importantly I reclaimed 23 pots for waiting seedlings. Really got to find a place for all these plants. I'm considering doing a giveaway to anyone willing to drive to my place, rather than just trash them. So if you're in Perth stay tuned, I'll figure out what I have left after I plant everything I can.

Also gave 5 plants away to my uncle on the weekend. After all his talk of his plants going great with no attention it turns out they are all waterlogged after winter rains and looking pretty terrible except for this one volunteer. Goes to show that chillies will grow in all sorts of conditions!

Some more pictures of plants.
Big fat leaf.

Yellow 7 Pot would have to be one of my favourite looking plants.

I'm holding it to stop it moving in the wind. The wind has given all these plants thick stems.

These are the new lot in the hydro, mostly annuums. I still have a list of another lot to start after these ones but summer is knocking on the door and might have to just cut the plan short.

gasificada · Nov 27, 2012

Plants are looking awesome, moo! :onfire:

The "sick" ones might be thrips... either that or maybe the aphids have made their way to your plants. :scared:

Thrip damage on one of my plants:

The blackest plant I have grown is PDN. It may be a bit greenish when it is young, but out in the sun, it grows out of it quick smart! Royal Black probably the second blackest I have grown. The one I am growing this season seems to be holding a greenish tinge though. Maybe I just have to boot it out into all day sun.....

DocNrock said:
It was very hard bringing myself to cut down the first one or two, but admittedly it got easier after that.

Really? I still get the guilts to this day! :lol:

I even go as far as putting the culled babies on some dirt or whatever so they can become one with the earth again.....

nee · Nov 27, 2012

That plant growing between the crack in the bricks is insane!

Trippa · Nov 27, 2012

Looking so good moo. You must be so stoked after your last season to be away and laughing like you are currently. Well done and nice work and I hope your season continues in this same positive fashion ...

DocNrock · Nov 27, 2012

Looking forward to seeing that retaining wall garden in about three months. It will be a chile jungle!

gasificada said:
Really? I still get the guilts to this day! I even go as far as putting the culled babies on some dirt or whatever so they can become one with the earth again.....

I didn't say I felt good about it! To keep from feeling guilty, I keep thinking it is for the greater good, Darwin and all that. Seems to work for me. I know they are going to that great compost pile in the sky.

nee said:
That plant growing between the crack in the bricks is insane!

My thoughts exactly. We work so hard to make these things grow the way we want, when in reality, some behave just like weeds!

Jeff H · Nov 27, 2012

That is an insane amount of pepper plants that you have going there. They all are looking great. What do you think will be the rough total of the plants that you will take to full maturity? Looks like you might have enough peppers to last you a lifetime.

Lavatung · Nov 28, 2012

Your plants look wicked Moo!
Those jalapeño seeds you sent me are coming along nicely. If you need anymore shade cloth I have a 100mtr roll by 5mtrs wide that I scored for free. You are welcome to as much as you need.

megamoo · Nov 29, 2012

gasificada said:
Plants are looking awesome, moo!

The "sick" ones might be thrips... either that or maybe the aphids have made their way to your plants.

The blackest plant I have grown is PDN. It may be a bit greenish when it is young, but out in the sun, it grows out of it quick smart! Royal Black probably the second blackest I have grown. The one I am growing this season seems to be holding a greenish tinge though. Maybe I just have to boot it out into all day sun.....

I know! I spend far too much time just standing there looking at em :drooling:

I'm not used to it

Damn thrips. I had wondered what causes that pinching/deforming of the leaves at the tips. If it gets out of hand I might look into the `bugs killing bugs` option. I noticed a mantis hanging around yesterday = bonus !

Love the black plants. See below for a current picture of the PDN. Not a pretty one either.

nee said:
That plant growing between the crack in the bricks is insane!

I know right! :crazy:

You wouldn't think it could sustain the top of the plant with all those pods. I don't think those bricks ever get direct sun so they don't heat up too much.

Trippa said:
Looking so good moo. You must be so stoked after your last season to be away and laughing like you are currently. Well done and nice work and I hope your season continues in this same positive fashion ...

Cheers. I'm tripping cos of it !

I planted them so close together because I didn't really think about how big a mature plant could get. Might be looking at a chilli hedge if it keeps going good!

DocNrock said:
Looking forward to seeing that retaining wall garden in about three months. It will be a chile jungle!

If the ones in front make a hedge I won't be able to get to the second row!

Jeff H said:
That is an insane amount of pepper plants that you have going there. They all are looking great. What do you think will be the rough total of the plants that you will take to full maturity? Looks like you might have enough peppers to last you a lifetime.

So far its about 60 plants, with at least that many again that I want to grow to maturity. That'll give me mainly 2 plants of each variety, with some more and a few only 1. Then I will see what to do about the multiples.

Lavatung said:
Your plants look wicked Moo!
Those jalapeño seeds you sent me are coming along nicely. If you need anymore shade cloth I have a 100mtr roll by 5mtrs wide that I scored for free. You are welcome to as much as you need.

Thanks Lavatung. Checked out your glog, yours are growing well too. Just be careful letting the loved ones or in laws look after them when you're away. Spouses can get jealous of the attention chilli babies get. Many many glogs on here contain stories of "accidentally" over watered or over fed plants.
Thanks for the offer of shadecloth but I think I've done everything I'm going to with it.

.... speaking of Jalapeños :party:

First harvest shot :dance:

We've just had two days of high winds and rain which left my plants slightly damaged. It was much worse elsewhere in the Perth area, I got away pretty light. The mature plants on the wall had their leaves whipped around and lots were broken. I staked up the really bendy ones so they didn't snap their stems and I think that all of them will bounce back.

The Jalapeños had woodier stems and most of them were hanging right over so I picked every pod I could find to lighten the load and set them upright again. They are still pumping out flowers so in a month hopefully I'll get another harvest. Going to make some sauce tonight.

Most of the younger seedlings in pots were amazingly protected by shadecloth and look no worse. Everything got drenched, but rain water is good for a flush of all the nutrient salts.

The Pimenta de Neyde is just a stick but it'll be back.

Some of the other worst affected.

The affected leaves were hanging limp so for half an hour I went along the wall and pinched off any damaged leaves.

I used a method where you pinch off a whole growing tip above the node so there is still all of the branching left. The plant re-shoots doubly as bushy. Supposed to happen like that anyway. I know this works on basil where you pinch off a flower stem and two grow back, branching off in its place.

edit: I posted and got a warning that too many emoticons are on the page?? Way to suck the fun out THP !

Mezo · Nov 30, 2012

"I know this works on basil"

Haaa, Basil of the herbal variety you mean? :high:

Mezo.

megamoo · Dec 2, 2012

Mezo said:
"I know this works on basil"

Haaa, Basil of the herbal variety you mean?

Mezo.

Yes you are correct Basil is a herbal variety.... :whistle:

Last night I went and made some sauce. Jalapeno and Spicy BBQ. Both turned out too runny. I followed recipes I haven't used before but doubled the quantities. Obviously the liquids didn't scale up in the same proportions. They are supposed to be xmas presents so I might have to reheat, thicken and then rebottle... which means re-sterilising everything. :rolleyes:

My whole house smells like BBQ though.

stickman · Dec 2, 2012

Nice looking sauces Moo! I suppose there are worse fates than having a house that smells like a barbeque pit... So far I've only made sauces that used carrots in the recipe for thickening as well as flavoring... Is your green sauce made of Jalapenos?