PepperJam's 2011 Grow Log

For the 2011 season i'll focus more on super-hots and so-so-hots than other veggies. I'll be growing the following peppers:

1. Bhut Jolokia
2. Trinidad Scorpion
3. 7pot
4. Yellow 7pot
5. Naga Morich
6. Red Habaneros
7. Thai Birds Eye Pepper
8. Super Chili

For veggies/herbs i'll be just growing:

1. Diva Eggplant
2. Carmen Bell Peppers
3. Neopolitan Basil
4. Mint

I'm just germinating peppers for now since those take longer to grow. Here's my seedling tray under lights. I also have some superhots seeds in wet paper towels/sandwich bags on a heating pad to keep the temps at 85 degrees. The seedling tray is also on the pad so it helps the seedlings grow.

Here's a paper towel setup.

can u see something interesting here?

and i unwrap the diaper:

seed is crying because its too cold, so i put it in the seedling tray:

and i cover it up, its happy now:

its now all warm and cozy with the rest of the superhot family:

So far i only have the following seedlings:

• 1 bhut jolokia
• 2 naga morichs
• 2 trinidad scorpions
• 1 7pot
• 4 habaneros
• 4 birds eye chillis
• 4 super chillis

At first i put each pepper-type into it's own sandwich bag. But after 3 weeks a few germinated. So i'm trying a giant sandwich bag with paper towel:

Lets see how things go in time.

 

[wayright]

Looks great PJ, I like your setup,Is that temp reading the heating pad or in the dome? Great work

 

[cjbrewer5]

Very nice PepperJam!!! Looking great so far and keep up the good work. Good luck to you on this seasons grow!

Charles

 

[PepperJam]

Looks great PJ, I like your setup,Is that temp reading the heating pad or in the dome? Great work

Thanks! I have a dummy sandwich bag with a wet paper towel that i put the temp sensor in. That way i can regulate the heat for the germination using the wet paper towel technique without putting the sensor inside the bags with seeds. When all seeds have germinated, i will put the sensor into the soil of the seed tray. Right now the seed tray is just piggy backing on the heat pad The soil temp gets 70-75 degrees which is fine for the seedlings.

 

[PepperJam]

It looks like the 4 out of 7 trinidad scorpion seeds germinated pretty quick in the large sandwich bag. Took about 2 days!

A yellow 7 pot seed also germinated but when i tried to pick up the seed, the starter root dissolved! I still buried the seed hoping it will workout.

The bhut jolokias, 7 pots have not germinated yet in the large sandwich bag. Not surprising, its only been a few days.

A single bhut jolokia seed from refining fire chilli that i started in a small sandwich bag over 3 weeks ago finally germinated.

The germinated seeds are now all in the seedling tray.

I also just ordered some seeds from Dave (asiasgarden):

• Yellow Bhut
• Red Bhut
• Chocolate Bhut
• Yellow Fatalli
• Red 7Pot
• Yellow 7Pot

I hope those germinate better/faster than what i bought so far.

 

[PepperJam]

Thanks! I have a dummy sandwich bag with a wet paper towel that i put the temp sensor in. That way i can regulate the heat for the germination using the wet paper towel technique without putting the sensor inside the bags with seeds. When all seeds have germinated, i will put the sensor into the soil of the seed tray. Right now the seed tray is just piggy backing on the heat pad The soil temp gets 70-75 degrees which is fine for the seedlings.

UPDATE: Even though putting sensor in wet towel sandwich bag seemed like a good idea, it wasn't accurate. I saw temps using my temperature IR gun reach 95's on the sandwich bags. So i just taped the sensor to the mat itself to make sure the mat doesn't get too hot and reduce the rate of germination of my seeds

 

[PepperJam]

Wow its freezing here in Texas, and the wind is blowing like crazy! I removed the dome for the seed tray. It was keeping the light too far away from the tiny seedlings and causing them to be leggy. I'll use mini cups as private domes to keep things warm for the little ones

Anyways, just a status update, a few more Trinidad Scorpions germinated and 1 Bhut Jolokia from Hawaii germinated. Put those in the seed tray. The Super Chillis are doing well.

 

[capsidadburn]

Looking good PepperJam. Best of luck with your season.

Mike

 

[PepperJam]

After my findings in my germination experiment, i moved everything from bags into cups. and moved the heat mat under the table. I read you don't really need to heat the seedlings as long as they are 70 or so they should be ok. I also got two new seeds from patrick (thanks a bunch for the seeds and the chilli powders - you rock!):

1. 7pod Brain Strain (originally from PRF)
2. Trinidad Scorpion Butch T

I started those in cups too, right now i'm soaking them in water in those cups. After a day, i'll drain them and leave a little water so they can germinate.

 

[PepperJam]

Ok, i got the led glowpanel 45 light 3 days back. Here's a pic of the seedlings before i used it

and here is the setup with seedlings in it

a close up

 

[PepperJam]

Here are the seedlings 3 days after i installed the glowpanel 45. I see a little change (am i impatient?). My leaves are still yellow ... If i don't see good results in 2 weeks I'm returning it to amazon and might get a hydrofarm designer florescent 4 bulb 4ft t5 system or a t12 ballast from homedepot with 2 4ft t12 aquarium and plant bulbs.

 

[Josh]

The yellow leaves are most likely a result of your grow medium being too wet. I would cut way back on the water and see how things go. Most of the time the surface of my grow medium is dry. I bottom water when the container, flat, whatever feels light.

 

[PepperJam]

The yellow leaves are most likely a result of your grow medium being too wet. I would cut way back on the water and see how things go. Most of the time the surface of my grow medium is dry. I bottom water when the container, flat, whatever feels light.

I don't top water them, its on a capillary mat which sucks the water when needed. should i just remove the mat until the soil gets dry?

 

[Josh]

I don't top water them, its on a capillary mat which sucks the water when needed. should i just remove the mat until the soil gets dry?

I would. You can probably still use the capillary mat when it is time to water but I wouldn't leave the flat sitting on there. Also note how heavy the flat is now. That way you can compare how it feels when they dry out. It will take a little time but you will be able to tell fairly quickly when they need water based on weight.

 

[Binchnunker]

your peppers are bigger than mine, I can't seem to get most of mine to grow, they are just shrimpy things, lots of leaves but only a couple inches tall and a couple inches wide... Not sure what I am doing wrong, a couple varieties are growing decent sized leaves, but still not quite as large as most I see on here. Well good luck PJ, and happy growing

 

[logchief]

I'm using two of the same grow trays and I take my trays off the mat every couple of days to dry out. This is my first year from seed, when I first started them they were staying really wet and several folks here advised me to cut back. Lift the tray up and feel your soil in the hole in the bottom, if it's really soaking wet you probably want to take them off the mat for a couple of days like Josh said.

 

[Matt Berry]

They are definitely too wet. Cut back on the water, let them dry out before watering, and you should see them start to green up again.

 

[PepperJam]

I don't like/trust those LED glowpanel 45 lights anymore, i'm returning them.

In the morning I went to home depot and bought 2 2-tube t12 fixtures for $10 each, two wire shelve storage things at $20 each. I bought some GE plant and aquarium t12 4ft bulbs ($6 each) and emergency mylar blanket ($2) at walmart. Here it is all built. I love it! 8000 lumens! and for less than the price of the glowpanel 45.

a close up of happy seedlings showering in light

and a upshot

 

[logchief]

Looks like a simple, functional setup. I like cheap

 

[PepperJam]

Just an update, super chillis are doing great. they have been moved to cups. So have 3 habaneros, 1 birds eye, 1 trinidad scorp, and 1 naga morich. I also have yellow stickies hanging to catch those pesky flies before they breed.

Here is the first tray i seeded over a month ago. The seedlings are slowly growing. I am starting to use the botanicare nutes. Soon they will move to cups this weekend.

Here is the new tray i started 2 weeks back. The seedlings seem to be healthier and with less defects than the original tray. maybe its the nutes. In addition to some seeds from the original tray, I added early jalapenos, fatallis, and 7pod brainnnnnn strain.

Here are the seeds still germinating in cups, i'm still waiting for jalapeno goliath, carmen bell pepper, yellow bhuts, and chocolate bhuts to germinate.

I have extra seeds that sprouted and have no home so they are stuck in cups until i decide what to do with them bwhahahahh. I hear them saying helllpp meee: