Patrick's 2013 Grow Log

Sanarda · Mar 18, 2013

Looking good Patrick. Excellent start.

3/5King · Mar 18, 2013

Looking good Patrick!

Vegas_Chili · Mar 19, 2013

Those Wally world lights work like a charm. I still have mine and I'm also running out of space I might take that one out and the small t8 I have.

Take a look at the Kelvin on those I think it's 7500k or 7800k, and when I read some info on that color it's said to resemble the tropical sun which is where some peppers come from or close.

I'm glad that problem you had wasn't a viral issue. I really want to see these puppies get big and produce, especially that SBJ7.

,Vegas

Al-from-Chile · Mar 22, 2013

patrick said:
Howdy stickman. Love to hear some spider stories some time. Believe me I've lived through some good ones.

Thought I would post a pic of what's currently going on.

Not a lot obviously. I've got 60 seeds started in cups most of which you can see. Six are on another table. The heat mat is keeping temps 84-86F and now it's just a matter of waiting. Plan on adding another 40-50 seeds to the bunch in the next couple of days. I uses coco coir but ran out and have had to go with a Jiffy seed growing mix. Don't like it but it's what I had handy at the time. Just wait and see I guess.

Thanks to all for stopping by.

Very nice glog you got there going...

somewhat ot
Me, too I have some good stories concerning the Chilean Rose - and also some good scorpion stories as well. (I might be the only idiot on this planet that stepped twice onto the same scorpion and got stung twice).

Cheers, Al

patrick · Mar 23, 2013

Al I would enjoy hearing how you got tagged twice by the same scorpion and thanks for the compliment.

Sanarda · Mar 23, 2013

And I would like to see some SB7J update pics. Just saying....

Al-from-Chile · Mar 23, 2013

patrick said:
Mike I did get your package, apologies for not letting you know my friend. Thank you very much.

Dan sorry to hear you're having germinating issues. Keep at it you'll get it done. Just so happens I have a couple of recent pics of things.

Here's things as of last night. I moved a bunch of them up earlier this year than ever before due to the salt issue. I also started a new regime with the ferts and I overdid it with a few, got some crispy edges on a few leaves. Lot of leaves darkening too but that's working itself out. All of the new growth is nice and green. 40 large cups with 35 still in the 3oz dixie cups.

A closer peek at the larger seedlings. You can see some purple on the older leaves but notice the new growth is green and healthy looking. I keep a small fan on them 24/7 so a lot of the stems are getting thick and strong. Still have a dozen or so in the germination tray I'm waiting on and I doubt if I'm done starting new ones yet.

And another slightly closer shot.

Take care folks.

Hi there,

I hope you don't mind my asking :

- ~~why are you double cupping? (there seems to be a story behind this)~~ nevermind -its clear as AACT now ;-)
- what's your soil mix?

TX for sharing,
Al

stickman · Mar 23, 2013

Al-from-Chile said:
somewhat ot
Me, too I have some good stories concerning the Chilean Rose - and also some good scorpion stories as well. (I might be the only idiot on this planet that stepped twice onto the same scorpion and got stung twice).

Cheers, Al

Woops! How the H@#$ did that happen? Didn't have him spotted before he tagged you again?

My experiences with Scorpions, sidewinders and Tarantulas happened when I spent a month on Manoevers at Ft Erwin in the Mojave Desert in SoCal during the winter. We were lucky that our top kick had been there before, and based on his experience, he had every man in the unit bring a sheet of plywood along with the other gear for when we made camp. We broke camp every morning and set up a new one every evening, and you can bet we shook out our boots and sleeping bags before getting into them after seeing what cuddled up to us at night for warmth under the plywood. Lol!

I was on radio watch by the CP tent one day when we saw a truck pull up on the other side of the valley and disgorge a half a dozen people who set up a GP Small tent and a gasoline stove for heat, and move their gear inside. After about 20 minutes you could see the heat waves shimmer off the top of the tent, and about 15 minutes after that they all came boiling out of the tent with much gesticulation...
We were far enough away that we couldn't hear a word of what they were saying and curiousity got the better of us, so we sent a guy over to find out what had happened. They were a squad of medics that were half women, and once the stove had warmed things up enough inside, a Tarantula came outside of its burrow to get some of the heat too. One of the women startled it because she didn't know it was there and it jumped to get away, which freaked her out. She screamed and ran for the door... none of them waited to find out what set her off, and they pelted after her too. Pretty funny at the time...

Al-from-Chile · Mar 23, 2013

patrick said:
Al I would enjoy hearing how you got tagged twice by the same scorpion and thanks for the compliment.

Well in the last house we rented, already in the "pre-cordillera" of santiago (thats the higher part of santiago, on the shoulders of the andes mountains), it was above the line of the last irrigation channels, thus fairly dry ... seems that both the tarantulas and scorpions dig dry, sandy soil.

We got plenty of chilean roses (called: araña pollita (something like small chicken spider)) and scorpions (called: alacranes) IN our house ...

I am not a native chilean, but my wife is ... so I always enter in crisis, screaming for her to get the tarantula out ...

I remember distinctively, that one day I was taking a shower, while what I always call "quaterpounder" crawled down the wall in the bathroom .... Wife always comes in with a big grin and a newspaper , sits them on and carries them out of the house ...

Good to know that this seems to be standard procedure here ... in my many years living in chile, I never once saw a person killing a chilean rose! You can even buy them at the pet section of the local home depot for 1-2$

well, the scorpion story ... we got those crawling through the house every other night or so... and one night I went to close the windows ... didnt bother to turn on the light ...and stepped on one of those damned LEGOs (or thats what I thought) ... except it was not a lego, but a scorpion ... so I was jumping there on my left foot, holding my right one in my hands trying to get to the light switch, when I managed to step onto the same damned scorpion again ...

so, there was a funny moment, when i thought about holding my other foot in hands as well ;-) ... somehow i managed to limp into the bathroom and fill the tub with water and ice ... and had both of my feet in there for a couple of hours ... wasnt THAT bad, but does hurt quite well ...

interestingly enough, we now live just 1/2 a mile from this house, but below a watering channel (so we have plenty of green and moisture) and I havent seen any of those 2 animals in 3 years!

sorry, i seem to side-track any glog i visit ;-)

again, compliments on your crops!!!!

saludos, Al

patrick · Mar 24, 2013

Great stories Al and Rick! Thanks! I have been bitten once by a tarantula. It was a Cyriocosmus elegans, adult female. I was breeding her with a male and they were finished. I was putting the male back into his home when the female decided to take a walk up my arm. I couldn't get to her real quick so she got to my elbow. I didn't want her going up my shirt sleeve so I started to close my elbow and I think I must have caught part of a front leg in the crease. She got me then. I managed to chase her back down my arm and into her home without any more damage. Here's the fun part. I didn't even know she got me. A few minutes later I was in the bathroom when I noticed two very small spots on my arm right at the inside of my elbow. I got a closer look and touched them and they disappeared. It was blood and when I touched it I wiped it off. I didn't even know she bit me. It's easy to understand when I tell you that those particular tarantulas are dwarfs. They rarely get to two inches in leg span and have fangs maybe 1/16th of an inch.

Al-from-Chile · Mar 25, 2013

GOOD ONE ;-)

Patrick, I heard that when a chilean rose is being bothered by other small animals, they kind of rub their abdominal hair which gets airborne fairly easy and is quite irritating to those animals as it has some substance on it ... so its a mid-range defense system ... true or BS?

... would you know more?

cheers
Al

patrick · Mar 26, 2013

Al that is true. Not all tarantulas can do it, only New World genera. The hairs on their abdomen are called urticating hair and they are the tarantula's only defense other than claws and fangs. They will rub a back leg across their abdomen and that will loosen the hairs and any type of air movement will send them flying. There are six different types of the hairs. Some are barbed and all of them have some kind of chemical on them that causes rashes and itching. They tend to bother you more and more each time you're exposed. The first couple of times you might not have any reaction but the more often you get hit the stronger reaction you can have. Here's a pretty good article about them. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CDUQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FUrticating_hair&ei=3qpRUcLeOqfF2AXIo4D4Cg&usg=AFQjCNH8UxNkB8-Zy_Vz7IXR46UEYkbKkA&sig2=1BT4PKvYwFyMD2yQ6tu-vw&bvm=bv.44158598,d.b2I&cad=rja

You can PM me with any other questions or there is a thread going in the lounge called "Creepy Crawlies" that we can discuss them in.

Al-from-Chile · Mar 26, 2013

very interesting info ... I am not really *into* them, so it was just about general knowledge ...

but now back to your PEPPERS!!!!!

;o)

patrick · Mar 28, 2013

Like Al said, back to the peppers.

Thought it was time for an update on the cuttings and the couple of plants that are still in red cups that were started last year. They have started to grow peppers again! Sitting on my kitchen table getting just a few hours of morning sun. First up is one of the Thai peppers. Two pods on it, one red ripe and several flowers.

This is a pepperoncini. I got two pods from it last fall then nothing. It's got two more on it now with a bunch of flowers.

This is one of the cuttings that I've decided not to put in a growing medium. I want to see what it will do sitting in a glass of water. Roots are looking decent.

And this is what's on the top.

It just amazes me that I can do all of this crazy work, the right growing medium, the correct fertilizers, water, lights and such and here these guys are not only surviving but producing in year old dirt, a couple of hours of sun and a change of water every few days.

Hope you enjoyed.

Barley-pop57 · Mar 28, 2013

Looking good !!!!!! You're doing pretty good for being a rookie (joking) :rofl:

Cont'd success amigo !!

millworkman · Mar 28, 2013

It's like they can live without us intervening or something...? Looking great Patrick, keep it up and keep us updated.

Devv · Mar 28, 2013

Patrick,

Nice update! It's always a thrill to see all the nice work.

It's like they can live without us intervening or something...?

Sometimes I think mine suffer due to my intervention...heh.

Scott

patrick · Apr 7, 2013

Been a while, apologies.

I learned a lesson about dampening off this morning. I always thought once they got past the three or four inch mark the plants were pretty safe from it. Wrong. I had noticed some mold on the surface of the cups a while back. The fan I was using wasn't strong enough to get the air moving across the two back rows of plants. So I rotated them when I watered. Well I got lazy and didn't do it the last couple of times so the mold got a few days to grow and go to town. This morning while watering I noticed one plant leaning pretty good and as I grabbed it to water the leaves got caught in the leaves of another plant and when I lifted the cup it just snapped the leaning plant off right at the dirt. Talk about shocked! After giving it the once over the only thing I can come up with is dampening off. The mold had time to work it's dark magic on the base of the plant. I took several photos but it was impossible to get it to focus on the snapped off end. You can see how the outer edge of the stem was dead. This plant is a good 10" tall and quite healthy looking otherwise. It's a Carolina Reaper. I cleaned off the end and put some rooting hormone on it and stuck it in a glass of water, hate to lose it. Here's the pics.

I've moved the plants and put a stronger fan on them, hope that takes care of this. What a drag. Anyway a lesson learned.

stc3248 · Apr 7, 2013

That suck Patrick...hope it roots for you.

Devv · Apr 7, 2013

Wow, I too thought that couldn't happen after they got to a certain age.

You have plenty to work with there, I'm sure it will be back in a pot soon...