NH Jalapeños 2019 (Runty Lives)

Runty Lives! He's had a rough winter under the Aerogarden lights, but he's finally adapting well and setting fruit.

 
Runty's first born (Junior) has had a great run in the Aerogarden. This will be our third harvest from Junior.

 
Three seed starting experiments and the lone Cayenne from last summer. The seeds were started under the the AG lights and ran into problems. I had to replace the lights last year and I think there's something wrong with the replacements. Regardless, moving the starts into the window has done all three a world of good.

 
And finally, after seeing all your 2019 starts flood my inbox, I started my own 2019 yesterday. Might be a little early, but screw it, let's see what happens. My original plan was to wait till mid March, but I'll do another round then too. 5 Banana Peppers, 4 Hungarian Hot Wax, and 5 Jalapeños (Runty seeds).

 

 

[stc3248]

Add some CFLs to tide you over until plant out!!! Hope you get it up and running.

 

[timegoat]

How did the lights get fried?
The problem could be the
unit itself, maybe?
 
At any rate the plants look good.
You can remove the ugly leaves
a few at a time if they bother you.
I'm not sure how much work a leaf
like that is doing for the plant.

 
It was a nearby bolt of lightning. One minute everything's fine, then a storm rolled right over us, lightning hit somewhere nearby, and the lights went out never to turn on again. We think the unit must have suffered unseen damage too. We went out and bought several surge protectors after that.
 

Very strange indeed on the light situation...like is it the whole plant doing that or just the ones on the outside of the plant like in the pic??

 
It was the whole plant when the lights were close. The yellowing leaves drop on their own so there aren't that many of them anymore.
 
The good news is the plant's current crop is ripening right now. I'll probably just cut it down after harvest and use the space for the smaller gardens. I don't think I'll be able to carry it through for the season and I don't think I want to either. I'd rather use the space for new seedlings. We've been fighting this issue since mid summer last year and it's time to cut our losses. I need to decide one way or the other now as Mid-March is approaching quickly. I want to start all my own seeds this year and now is the time.
 
Also, 2 Banana Peppers have popped up so that's good too. So far we have:
 
8 - Runty Jalapeño sprouts
2 - Banana Pepper sprouts
 
...and I'm very happy about that.

 

[CDNmatt]

 
It was a nearby bolt of lightning. One minute everything's fine, then a storm rolled right over us, lightning hit somewhere nearby, and the lights went out never to turn on again. We think the unit must have suffered unseen damage too. We went out and bought several surge protectors after that.
 
 
It was the whole plant when the lights were close. The yellowing leaves drop on their own so there aren't that many of them anymore.
 
The good news is the plant's current crop is ripening right now. I'll probably just cut it down after harvest and use the space for the smaller gardens. I don't think I'll be able to carry it through for the season and I don't think I want to either. I'd rather use the space for new seedlings. We've been fighting this issue since mid summer last year and it's time to cut our losses. I need to decide one way or the other now as Mid-March is approaching quickly. I want to start all my own seeds this year and now is the time.
 
Also, 2 Banana Peppers have popped up so that's good too. So far we have:
 
8 - Runty Jalapeño sprouts
2 - Banana Pepper sprouts
 
...and I'm very happy about that.

 

Hmm yeah that sucks eh
 
I guess the light could only go so high on the Aerogarden so I assume you couldn't raise it up much higher to see if that made any difference??
 
I actually had an issue with one of my older Aerogardens and had to pop 1 of the 3 bulbs out and raise it up to max distance for some reason. I use LEDs to grow now but not on an Aerogarden so I don't know anything much aboot the newer models they have now.

 

[timegoat]

 
Hmm yeah that sucks eh
 
I guess the light could only go so high on the Aerogarden so I assume you couldn't raise it up much higher to see if that made any difference??
 
I actually had an issue with one of my older Aerogardens and had to pop 1 of the 3 bulbs out and raise it up to max distance for some reason. I use LEDs to grow now but not on an Aerogarden so I don't know anything much aboot the newer models they have now.

 

Yeah, the lights are as high as they go. We'll see what the future holds. We don't want to shell out the $$ for another couple 9pod gardens. They ain't cheap. We'll just work with what we have and keep our fingers crossed.

 

[PaulG]

"We don't want to shell out the $$ for another
couple 9pod gardens. They ain't cheap"
 
Sounds like a job for Craig'sList!
 
Did you see Peter Stanley's DIY 'AeroGarden'
in his last video update??

 

[timegoat]

That's a good DIY. Gonna have to remember that, but for now we still have a couple of 6 pod Aeros that I'll be putting back into use. They should work for small scale seed starting. A couple of days ago I also put a 3 seeds in a small jar on a wet paper towel and have already had one poke out a root. Gently stuck into one of my cups. Kinda taking a experimental shotgun approach and trying a couple of different things at once. Will post pics at some point.

 

[CDNmatt]

I know on my 6-7 pod Aero I have the hood easily comes off and I could suspend a light above it...Do they come off on the newer models as well?? Like Shane mentioned up top you could use some CFLs or cheaper LED bulbs if it does come off  of course. Just trying to toss some ideas out for ya anyways.
 
For around $10CDN I bought a bulb splitter and some LEDS from Ebay and have a  few rigged up as extras on my bottom shelf.
 
Here is a pic to give you an idea though it is not the greatest,
 
 
 

 

[timegoat]

That's an impressive set up but it's much further down the rabbit hole than I'm willing to go.
 
Sprout Count:
 
10 - Runty Jalapeños (7 from 3oz cup start, 3 from jar and damp paper towel start which worked great!)
7 - Banana Peppers
4 - Hungarian Hot Wax
 
I put 2 seeds in each cup and was able to extract any doubles and put them into their own cups / pepsi bottles / whatever. One of these days I'll have time for photos. Gonna do the Mid-March starts all in the 6 pod Aero. I can tell already that the light is far less intense in the 6 pod than the replacement lights for the 9 pods. Time, however, will tell.

 

[CDNmatt]

Its actually very inefficient compared to pretty much any grow light set up out there, but in a pinch it works which is what I am using it for on my bottom shelf. Was just tossing out an idea for a cheap alternative till you got it all figured out. Each rig you see hanging was aboot $10cdn and have used essentially the same thing hanging above my Aerogarden once I pulled off the hood, but again mine are the older floro type bulbs.
 
Anyways dude hope ya get it all sorted

 

[timegoat]

So far the window seems to be working well. Runtys, Bananas, and Hungarian Hot Wax have filled the shoebox.
 

 
Two more Runtys in pepsi bottles set up for top watering. The one on the right is oregano set up for self watering but a fungus is forming on the surface. I'm much better with top watering.
 

 
Mid-March start will happen today I hope.

 

[timegoat]

Its actually very inefficient compared to pretty much any grow light set up out there, but in a pinch it works which is what I am using it for on my bottom shelf. Was just tossing out an idea for a cheap alternative till you got it all figured out. Each rig you see hanging was aboot $10cdn and have used essentially the same thing hanging above my Aerogarden once I pulled off the hood, but again mine are the older floro type bulbs.
 
Anyways dude hope ya get it all sorted

 
Well, it's impressive to me. I'll get it figured out. Gonna have to rely on what little natural light I can get and hope for the best... plus the small Aero is getting put back to work. I know what the big Aero does to leaves, so I'm hoping to be able to make some sort of comparison between all original equipment (6 pod) with the troublesome replacement lights (9 pod).

 

[PaulG]

 
Well, it's impressive to me. I'll get it figured out. Gonna have to rely on what little natural light I can get and hope for the best... plus the small Aero is getting put back to work. I know what the big Aero does to leaves, so I'm hoping to be able to make some sort of comparison between all original equipment (6 pod) with the troublesome replacement lights (9 pod).

I use a 7-pod AeroGarden, flouro variety.
Have not had any issues with plant burning.
So far.
 
For their size and versatility, hard to beat an
AeroGarden or similar DIY concept.

 

[stc3248]

So the center fixture here is some super cheap plug to bulb adapters...some splitters a small power strip and 6 cfls. Total cost under $20 and it grows some killer plants. I used to do this with 4' power strips to cover a 2'x4' shelf with great results. Super easy.

 

[timegoat]

I use a 7-pod AeroGarden, flouro variety.
Have not had any issues with plant burning.
So far.
 
For their size and versatility, hard to beat an
AeroGarden or similar DIY concept.

 
I used to have that one and it worked well but there were several small things I couldn't stand about the old Aeros. Like the side baskets never sat right, the pump connection would break on me, and I never liked replacing the bulbs. When I saw the new LED style I was in because they changed those little things. I've got my 6 pod running now with 5 Junior seeds.
 
I had to cut Junior down after harvest for the space and there was no way I was going to be able to pot him for the summer. That root ball was just way too big. I did manage to get more ripe Jalapeños than I've ever seen off him before the end and I did collect some nice seeds from his most perfect pod. All in all, the lights didn't ruin the plant which is nice. They just didn't work so well with seedlings as the seedlings couldn't afford to lose any leaves, but Junior could.
 

 
So, with the 5 Junior seeds added to the mix and the surprising number of Banana pepper seedlings going, I now have more plants started than I think I can handle. If all 5 sprout I think the count will be 28 pepper plants. I was planning on no more than 30 plants total and I haven't even started the Tomatoes, Cukes, Pumpkin, Carrots, etc... Shit. I'm in over my head again. Yay!?!
 
And just for clarity I think I'm going to refer to Runty's offspring as Runty 2s and Junior's offspring as Runty 3s? I'm sure there's a more formal way to label them, but I dunno what it is.

 

[timegoat]

I think I accidentally cooked Junior's seeds. None germinated. I put the seeds on top of the Aero light and I'm reasonably certain it was too hot. Dumb move.
 
Got 5 Runty seeds jar germinating and 3-4 days later they showed root nubs. They were gently placed into the Aero sponges and all of them are sprouting. 3 of the 5 crossed the top of the aero baskets today. The other two will pop tomorrow. Thank you, everyone at THP, for the jar and damp paper towel technique. I'll be doing that from now on. 100% root nub on every one, only one failure to sprout and I'm pretty sure that was my fault.
 
So... no Juniors this year if ever. All Jalapeños will be Runty 2s. R2 for short and because Star Wars.
 
Things are moving along well. Photos when I get a chance.

 

[timegoat]

The East Window Gang:
 

 
A bit leggy but not too bad. 5 Jalapeños (R2), 6 Bananas, 4 Hungarian Hot Wax. As the sun angle changes they'll get more and more direct light.
 
 
The Aero Garden Gang:
 

 
All Jalapeños (R2). The two in cups are as close to my Plan A I'm gonna get this year and they're looking good. The 5 in the garden themselves have only just popped up but they're looking nice too. I'm looking forward to seeing the comparison between the two gangs.

 

[timegoat]

The East window gang continues well.
 

 
 
The three in pepsi bottles were in the West window, they were getting way too leggy so I moved them to the East. The two in cups were on the Aero garden in the last update.
 

 
 
And finally the Aero Garden Gang of 5. Doing very very well.
 

 
I hope I can start getting them hardened off sometime late this month. Then I can pot them up a little bit and into the cold frame for May. They won't be in their final containers till the end of May.
 
 
 

 

[timegoat]

Day 2 of hardening off! Yay! Never thought we'd get here. I should be able to pot them up early next week, then they'll live in the cold frame till the end of May.
 

 
 

 

[timegoat]

I forgot to mention: I had to top the Aerogarden plants a week ago as they were getting too tall for the 6 pod garden. New branches are forming quickly. It's really amazing how much bigger and sturdier the Aero plants are compared to the window plants.

 

[CaneDog]

Cold frame's looking great TG.  And so are those red pods inside.