Patricks 2012 Pepper Grow Log

xcphantom · Mar 3, 2012

Nice Patrick i cant wait to see what the armegadon and bengal naga look like

stc3248 · Mar 11, 2012

Patrick, those smaller larvae were probably just younger versions of the same fungus gnat larvae. Have you tried mosquito dunks? I just started using them, I won't know if they're working for another few days. Maybe you already are, I only read the last few pages. I also noticed that soils rich in peat moss keep their #s in check. Don't know why, but since I switched to a more peat based soil their #s are much more controllable.Maybe its a ph thing keeping as many from hatching.

You have some really good stuff going on! Keep the pics flowing...
Good luck with your season!
Shane

patrick · Mar 11, 2012

Robin I'm sorry I haven't been back to answer your questions. I hope you got things figured out. As for the red cups I love them. They're deep enough in case of leggy seedlings, wide enough to provide ample space for growing roots, easy to melt a few drainage holes in and you can get 50 of them for under $4. What's not to like?

xcsports the Bengal Naga's are doing well, I can't say the same for the Armageddon's though. I think the fungus gnat larvae got to all of them. I'm contemplating starting a couple more but it's getting late.

stc thanks for the advice. I did break out the mosquito dunk and gave the seedlings a good dose. I haven't seen any gnats for several days so I'm hoping it's working. Time will tell.

Just one photo today I'm afraid. The line of tall plants along the back are Scotch Bonnets and a couple of Thai Oranges. The Thai Orange is an annuum so I know it's supposed to be a fast grower but aren't the Scotch Bonnet's Chinense? These guys are on a pace to be six to seven feet tall! They have outran every other pepper I have growing. As of today they are 37 days old and close to a foot tall. Yeah!

Sorry about the picture quality. I've got a bad back and it's been bothering me a bit lately.

patrick · Mar 15, 2012

This is a short tale of two pepper plants. Both have the same medium, same amount/type of light, same feeding, same watering schedule.

The first one here is a Caramel Bhut Jolokia.It's full and green and has a ton of growth on the stem. Couldn't be happier with it. See...

Here's all of the new growth underneath.

And man look at the underneath growth. Thick with roots too.

Quite happy with that particular plant.

Now on to the next one.

This is a "Not a Black Naga" that started out strong, just like the caramel Bhut. But then the fungus gnats invaded. They were never thick, most I seen at one time was two. I didn't treat for them right away because I didn't think they were a problem. Well I say nay nay! They were a problem.

I treated this a while back with the mosquito dunks. Did it again but the plant never showed any improvement, just kept dropping leaves. I decided to check the roots to see how much damage the gnats might have done.

Easy to see why the plant is struggling.

There were two that were real bad. This one and another. I'm happy to say the other one is doing better.

Moral of the story?Just because you don't see the pest doesn't mean it isn't killing your plant.

PaulG · Mar 15, 2012

Hey Patrick - great idea with the spacers between the red cups!
That demo with the root balls is pretty graphic; hope you got a
handle on those suckers. Your plants look outrageous! The Scotch
Bonnets are something else!

Good luck going into Spring!

ThePepperGrowingMan · Mar 16, 2012

patrick said:
This is a short tale of two pepper plants. Both have the same medium, same amount/type of light, same feeding, same watering schedule.

The first one here is a Caramel Bhut Jolokia.It's full and green and has a ton of growth on the stem. Couldn't be happier with it. See...

Here's all of the new growth underneath.

And man look at the underneath growth. Thick with roots too.

Quite happy with that particular plant

Can't wait to see how it turns out / if it grows true. I have 7 or 8 going myself and managed to get seeds to about a dozen people who are growing them this year too. Good luck!

gnslngr · Mar 16, 2012

Good idea with the root ball shots-....I might try a solo inside a colored one -to check out root growth w/out light issues with the root...hmm.
That caramel bhut is gonna be interesting, took a little digging...but I finally found some seeds for the late starter category.Thanks for spreading the knowledge :cool:

PIC 1 · Mar 16, 2012

Patrick,
That's why I always bottom water once they're potted up.........very few gnats around, if any.
I'm not sure how your weather is but its pretty incredible here in Chi-town. It's very tempting to bring out some plants they're saying another 10 days+ in the 70/80's but theres also talk of and incredible "bug" season. We haven't had a hard frost this year so the cridders are hopping and flying around outdoors. I'd hate to bring plants back indoors for a "free ride" for any aphids if there about.....ha.....that would be alot of dedicated word down the tubes. My neighbor had a flat of tomatoes on their patio set. Little do they realize....last frost date here is May 15th.....and there's nothing worse then stunted plants that just don't produce.
You're Carmel Bhut looks like it'll grow into one of those monster plants with hugh leaves..........pretty cool looking!
Good luck with the rest of your in/out door grow...

Greg

megahot · Mar 16, 2012

Sorry about the plants Patrick!!! Could you see the fungus gnat larvae in your soil? How did you know they were there? Im glad the rest of your plants are doing well!! Keep it up my friend!!! Nice glog!!!

Barley-pop57 · Mar 16, 2012

Looking GOOD !!! Hope mine come out as good. See ya buddy....Mike

patrick · Mar 16, 2012

Thanks everyone.
TPGM the caramel Bhut Jolokia's are doing awesome! I'm going to be one happy guy if they grow true as that is a beautiful looking pod.

Good advice Greg thanks. Yes we're having the same weather as you and you're right it is so tempting. I fear you're right about the six legged critters too. Buddy was telling me today he seen a few moths outside. Way to early in the year for them, not a good sign.

Megahot I seen a couple of gnats in my grow room and I was having germination issues. I ended up digging through some of the cups to check on seeds and found the larvae. Here's the link to the thread I started about them. http://www.thehotpep...seed-predators/

Thanks Mike. I'm sure you're going to bragging about your plants before you know it.

patrick · Mar 17, 2012

At the end of the growing season I always peruse the garden sections of stores to see what I can find on sale. Last fall I picked up a bottle of Miracle-Gro Quick Start Planting and Transplant Starting Solution on the cheap. I pulled it out and decided to give it a shot when I moved the Scotch Bonnet seedlings from the 3 oz cups to the 20 oz cups a couple of weeks ago. While I was taking some pics today I noticed the mark on the cups that indicated I used some of it on that particular plant. Seems I used it on three Thai Hot and four Red Scotch Bonnet seedlings. I have to admit there was quite a difference.

Here's the Scotch Bonnets. The three on the left are Jamaican yellow and the four on the right are the red ones that were fed the Miracle-Gro at a 25% rate. All seven were moved into the 20 oz cups on the 29 of February.

See what I mean?

Something else worth noting is the stem on the closest plant on the right. It gets the full force of the fan while the others are somethere in the middle of the pack of plants and the air movement on them is reduced. Can you say tornado proof?

Here's the three Thai Hots that I used the MG solution on when replanting them. The numbers for the MG are 4-12-4

And for your viewing pleasure a few more pics.

The lovely Caramel Bhut Jolokia.

And the little ones I started to make up for the starts the gnats ate.

In this bunch there are Infinity, Douglah, Pepperoncini, Takanotsume, Joe's Long, Chocolate Trinidad Scorpion, SB7J, 7 Pot Brain Strain, Antillies Fire, 7 Pot Cha-something, 7 Pot Bubblegum and probably a few more. I still have a dozen or so in the little 3 oz cups too.

I've done some reading and it seems that when you use HPS lights it gives the leaves a yellowish look. I can vouch for that.

Thanks all.

MGOLD86 · Mar 17, 2012

Looking great Patrick. That is pretty interesting about the MG ferts...I have always heard that they do make a decent plant food. But either way they look great.

I love those Caramel Bhuts, I am super pissed I didn't save seeds from them. I got a few pods from TPGM and had a training op to go on at the last minuted and sent them over to Beaglestorm. I can't wait to see yours produce some of those gnarly pods.

patrick · Mar 24, 2012

Watering the gang tonight and noticed a few had some roots coming out of the drainage holes so I decided to pot up a couple to see what they looked like. First up is a Bengal Naga. I ended up breaking the root that was outside of the cup, Looking at the rest of them I'm not too concerned about it.

This one is a "Not a Black Naga" and it fooled me a little. Couple of real long strands of roots sticking out of the cup but not as much as the Bengal Naga on the inside. I potted it up anyway.

And what was inside the cup.

Here they are in their new one gallon homes.

PaulG · Mar 24, 2012

Pot-ups and starts lookin great, Patrick! Pretty awesome results
with the MG transplanter. I use a LilyMiller product that is similar.

MGOLD86 · Mar 24, 2012

I am really curious to see how those Caramel Bhuts turn out. I had a few pods and I sent them to someone and forgot to pull seeds. Really disapointed I didn't plant them this year. I have his Chocs and Giant Reds growing now, but the caramel would have been a great trifecta. I am keepin my fingers crossed yours turn out that awesome color that his did last year.

millworkman · Mar 24, 2012

Plants are looking great Patrick. Good luck on the new starts.

PIC 1 · Mar 25, 2012

I like those one gal pots those plants are starting to get large. Are you starting to harden them off?

The HPS lighting will produce a lighter color on the new growth as compared to a "cooler" (blue) lamp temperature.

In regards to the photos of the bonnets , you mentioned that the taller plants received the air flow more than the plants in the middle. Are the plants in the center closer to the light source? The taller plants seem to have the same amount of leaf sets as the shorter and they were fed the 4-12-4. The reason I'm asking is because the ferts are low on Nitrogen compared to the amount of Phosphorus. As you know the Nitrogen will give you the lush green dense growth and color in the leaves, While the Phosphorus aids in establishing strong root and stem growth. Most general fertilizers are heavier in the "N" catagory, while the "flower" producing ones are designed to be lower in the "N" but higher in the "P".(and what I mean by flowers are annuals, perennials, houseplants,etc)
Well what I'm trying to narrow down is the plants can be taller (leggier) and lighter in color due to either being too far from the light source, too low of a "N" source, too high of a "P" source or a combo of all three......well just my opinion.
All those plants tall or average will most likely flower at the same time.I hope we can all move our plants outside soon!

Greg

meatfreak · Mar 25, 2012

Plants are looking great, Patrick. No more drop-outs so far?

S.S.Tupperware · Mar 25, 2012

There lookin nice, can't wait to see the a month from now...