[SIZE=11pt]It's 2020 and the growing season is coming. I've currently got one obsession: Space Chilies. Chinese Hangjiao #1-10, growing them, eating them, maybe selling them. This will be not only my first outdoor pepper grow, but my first soil-less media pepper grow as well.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Read more about Chinese Space Peppers [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]https://chilli-seedz.com/space-chilli-peppers/[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Here's the plan:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Supplies:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]10 x 2.5 Gallon nursery pots with saucers[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]2 x 5 Kg (11 lb) block Hydro Crunch Coco Coir[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]11 cu ft Vigoro Perlite[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Masterblend Tomato 4-18-38[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Calcium Nitrate 15.5-0-0[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Epsom salt[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Grow Space:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Clackamas County, Oregon. USDA zone 8b.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]I'll be starting the seeds indoors, I'm thinking I can get them outside early, because they will be in containers and I have space to bring them in if it gets too cold. The major factor I have to deal with is I will be moving before the plants reach maturity. This is both good and bad because my current balcony is not great for growing. It faces South-ish but is partially obscured by trees and is pretty small.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]The balcony is 6 ft x 4 ft exactly. 10 x 2.5 gallon pots with saucers fit it almost perfectly, which means it won't really be manageable with 10 grown plants on it. Especially the HJ peppers as they seem to grow pretty large. I have another balcony I can move plants to, but it doesn't receive as much sun.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Plants:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]So far I have seeds in the mail for:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]HJ#1 - The unfortunately named Corona - spicesontheweb.co.uk[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]HJ#3 Solar Flare - thehippyseedcompany.com & vertiloom.com[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]HJ#4 Comet’s Tail - thehippyseedcompany.com [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]HJ#5 Helix Nebula - spicesontheweb.co.uk[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]HJ#6 Pulsar - thehippyseedcompany.com[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]HJ#7 Super Nova - spicesontheweb.co.uk & vertiloom.com[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]HJ#8 Total Eclipse - thehippyseedcompany.com [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]HJ#9 Big Bang - vertiloom.com[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]HJ#10 After Glow - spicesontheweb.co.uk[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]I had to double order from Vertiloom because of their minimums. I also have some Numex Big Jim and Count Dracula Peppers coming in, but I’m going to try and grow those in soil outdoors after we move. I’ll germinate them late, after all the space peppers have blasted off. I cannot find number 2 Meteor to save my life, there is a post up here about it, and I have visited almost every pepper community I can find. I think I'll be able to find it before it's too late, as I still have some time. I've even been emailing the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture, trying to source them directly. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]There isn’t much information about growing the space peppers, but I have found the industrial agricultural documents regarding their growth. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]http://www.space-breeding.cn/[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] (should be auto-translated)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]The Chinese government grew 600k hectares of these crops in order to find the desirable traits for mass production, so they must know what they are doing. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]The space chilies are Capsicum annuum so they shouldn’t go outside until much later. They can live happily in my greenhouse tent before going outside, as it is currently housing a Purple UFO x Datil Pepper crossbreeding experiment. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Germinating:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]I’m going to use General Hydroponics Rapid Rooter plugs and a 36 square tray with a humidity dome to germinate. My tiny indoor greenhouse stays between 76-80 and has ~ 200 watts of LED lights. It is currently housing all of my early season vegetables, and it is monitored so as soon as they sprout I’ll pull the dome off. I have a CFL in the socket directly above them so they get a bit more warmth, the floor of the tent can get down to 70.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Transplanting:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]I’m hoping to go straight from the nursery tray to their final destination pots. But the weather here in Oregon is tricky and I’m probably starting this way too early.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]I re-hydrated a single brick of coco coir a few days ago, and it has been mixed 60/40 with perlite. It’s currently drying out. I’m not going to sieve it, mostly because I didn’t have anything to sift that much media, and now it’s already mixed with perlite. One brick of 5 KG / 11 lbs was enough to fill a 40 gallon tub, it is incredible how much coco expands. I'm going to use this first batch for my early season vegetables, but I'm planning to mix up the batch for the space peppers the same way.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]I scored some very nice pots and saucers for cheap. They are essentially just injection molded or heavier plastic nursery pots. They have large openings in the bottom and a large saucer for underneath. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]https://www.lowes.com/pd/10-25-in-W-x-8-8-in-H-Black-Plastic-Classic-Planter/999979052[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]https://www.lowes.com/pd/Garden-Treasures-12-24-in-Black-Plastic-Plant-Saucer/1000607783[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]I don’t think the saucer will be enough to catch a large amount of runoff. I’m not super crazy about raining nutrient water down on my neighbor’s patio and into the groundwater, so I’m going to have to figure out a sustainable hand watering system. For my indoor plants I just set them in or above a 5 gallon bucket and water them through, maybe I can do something similar for this grow. There’s no power on the patio, but when we move I will definitely consider converting to a drip system, or even turning the pots into bato / dutch buckets. [/SIZE]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVnS6VUKo8o
[SIZE=11pt]Feeding / Care:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]I really hope I don’t have to water more than 1x per day, it’s not very hot here in Oregon. I have no idea if using Masterblend 3 part with coco is even a good idea, I am just going to try it. Alternatively I have the Fox Farms trio if things go badly, and I can always just purchase some soilless medium compatible nutrients. I don’t really want to purchase dry amendments, as I’d like to be able to use my nutrients for water based hydroponics as well, but I will if it is necessary. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]I'm planning on doing a 2-2-1 mix of Fert-Cal-Epsom the entire time, otherwise known as the MHPGardener method[/SIZE]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYv9iu2NI3M
[SIZE=11pt]Everyone everywhere says coco is naturally salty, and retains salts. Otherwise I would switch to 2-2-2 once the plants leave the seedling stage. I'll hand water in the nutrients every day. I love gardening and already have a fairly rigorous care schedule for all of my household plants and projects, so I don't mind the extra work. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]If anyone made it this far thanks for reading, should be a little gap now as we wait for warmer weather. I will update as the seeds arrive which shouldn’t be too long. When they sprout we can start monitoring their progress again. If anyone knows where to get HJ#2 Meteor Seeds please let me know. Also, please let me know where I can improve and where I've gone wrong. Thanks![/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Read more about Chinese Space Peppers [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]https://chilli-seedz.com/space-chilli-peppers/[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Here's the plan:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Supplies:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]10 x 2.5 Gallon nursery pots with saucers[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]2 x 5 Kg (11 lb) block Hydro Crunch Coco Coir[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]11 cu ft Vigoro Perlite[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Masterblend Tomato 4-18-38[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Calcium Nitrate 15.5-0-0[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Epsom salt[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Grow Space:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Clackamas County, Oregon. USDA zone 8b.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]I'll be starting the seeds indoors, I'm thinking I can get them outside early, because they will be in containers and I have space to bring them in if it gets too cold. The major factor I have to deal with is I will be moving before the plants reach maturity. This is both good and bad because my current balcony is not great for growing. It faces South-ish but is partially obscured by trees and is pretty small.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]The balcony is 6 ft x 4 ft exactly. 10 x 2.5 gallon pots with saucers fit it almost perfectly, which means it won't really be manageable with 10 grown plants on it. Especially the HJ peppers as they seem to grow pretty large. I have another balcony I can move plants to, but it doesn't receive as much sun.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Plants:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]So far I have seeds in the mail for:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]HJ#1 - The unfortunately named Corona - spicesontheweb.co.uk[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]HJ#3 Solar Flare - thehippyseedcompany.com & vertiloom.com[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]HJ#4 Comet’s Tail - thehippyseedcompany.com [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]HJ#5 Helix Nebula - spicesontheweb.co.uk[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]HJ#6 Pulsar - thehippyseedcompany.com[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]HJ#7 Super Nova - spicesontheweb.co.uk & vertiloom.com[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]HJ#8 Total Eclipse - thehippyseedcompany.com [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]HJ#9 Big Bang - vertiloom.com[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]HJ#10 After Glow - spicesontheweb.co.uk[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]I had to double order from Vertiloom because of their minimums. I also have some Numex Big Jim and Count Dracula Peppers coming in, but I’m going to try and grow those in soil outdoors after we move. I’ll germinate them late, after all the space peppers have blasted off. I cannot find number 2 Meteor to save my life, there is a post up here about it, and I have visited almost every pepper community I can find. I think I'll be able to find it before it's too late, as I still have some time. I've even been emailing the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture, trying to source them directly. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]There isn’t much information about growing the space peppers, but I have found the industrial agricultural documents regarding their growth. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]http://www.space-breeding.cn/[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] (should be auto-translated)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]The Chinese government grew 600k hectares of these crops in order to find the desirable traits for mass production, so they must know what they are doing. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]The space chilies are Capsicum annuum so they shouldn’t go outside until much later. They can live happily in my greenhouse tent before going outside, as it is currently housing a Purple UFO x Datil Pepper crossbreeding experiment. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Germinating:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]I’m going to use General Hydroponics Rapid Rooter plugs and a 36 square tray with a humidity dome to germinate. My tiny indoor greenhouse stays between 76-80 and has ~ 200 watts of LED lights. It is currently housing all of my early season vegetables, and it is monitored so as soon as they sprout I’ll pull the dome off. I have a CFL in the socket directly above them so they get a bit more warmth, the floor of the tent can get down to 70.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Transplanting:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]I’m hoping to go straight from the nursery tray to their final destination pots. But the weather here in Oregon is tricky and I’m probably starting this way too early.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]I re-hydrated a single brick of coco coir a few days ago, and it has been mixed 60/40 with perlite. It’s currently drying out. I’m not going to sieve it, mostly because I didn’t have anything to sift that much media, and now it’s already mixed with perlite. One brick of 5 KG / 11 lbs was enough to fill a 40 gallon tub, it is incredible how much coco expands. I'm going to use this first batch for my early season vegetables, but I'm planning to mix up the batch for the space peppers the same way.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]I scored some very nice pots and saucers for cheap. They are essentially just injection molded or heavier plastic nursery pots. They have large openings in the bottom and a large saucer for underneath. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]https://www.lowes.com/pd/10-25-in-W-x-8-8-in-H-Black-Plastic-Classic-Planter/999979052[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]https://www.lowes.com/pd/Garden-Treasures-12-24-in-Black-Plastic-Plant-Saucer/1000607783[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]I don’t think the saucer will be enough to catch a large amount of runoff. I’m not super crazy about raining nutrient water down on my neighbor’s patio and into the groundwater, so I’m going to have to figure out a sustainable hand watering system. For my indoor plants I just set them in or above a 5 gallon bucket and water them through, maybe I can do something similar for this grow. There’s no power on the patio, but when we move I will definitely consider converting to a drip system, or even turning the pots into bato / dutch buckets. [/SIZE]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVnS6VUKo8o
[SIZE=11pt]Feeding / Care:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]I really hope I don’t have to water more than 1x per day, it’s not very hot here in Oregon. I have no idea if using Masterblend 3 part with coco is even a good idea, I am just going to try it. Alternatively I have the Fox Farms trio if things go badly, and I can always just purchase some soilless medium compatible nutrients. I don’t really want to purchase dry amendments, as I’d like to be able to use my nutrients for water based hydroponics as well, but I will if it is necessary. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]I'm planning on doing a 2-2-1 mix of Fert-Cal-Epsom the entire time, otherwise known as the MHPGardener method[/SIZE]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYv9iu2NI3M
[SIZE=11pt]Everyone everywhere says coco is naturally salty, and retains salts. Otherwise I would switch to 2-2-2 once the plants leave the seedling stage. I'll hand water in the nutrients every day. I love gardening and already have a fairly rigorous care schedule for all of my household plants and projects, so I don't mind the extra work. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]If anyone made it this far thanks for reading, should be a little gap now as we wait for warmer weather. I will update as the seeds arrive which shouldn’t be too long. When they sprout we can start monitoring their progress again. If anyone knows where to get HJ#2 Meteor Seeds please let me know. Also, please let me know where I can improve and where I've gone wrong. Thanks![/SIZE]
. Several seeds have hooks though, so I'm not giving up yet.
