PHB's Grow Log 2013: Paris

Hi all !

So I decided to start a growlog to improve myself as a total beginner in growing chilies and to get your advices.

I'll post updates and pics every week if I can.

THE PLAN

I've 2 houses in France :
- a little flat in Paris : because the weather is very bad in Paris (< than 1600 hours of sunlight/year, cold, rainy & pollution) I can only grow peppers indoor. But my flat is rather small (40m&sup2 so I grow things into my cupboard.
- a farm in La Rochelle : I grew up in this farm which is not a big one because it's only 5 acres. It's located here, around 200 yards from the sea. The weather is usualy nice (same sunlight as the south of France, we have some kind of a microclimate). I've plenty of space to plant my peppers but the soil is very poor (sandy or clay). It can also be windy and as you know, wind carry salt from the sea which kills a lot of plants.

So my plan is :
1) - to start growing all the plants in Paris
2) - keep 3 plants (one of each) growing indoor in Paris
- move the other to La Rochelle in a greenhouse
3) - plant the peppers from the greenhouse to the soil in La Rochelle

Then I'll compare the results of indoor/outdoor


THE PEPPERS

I planted the seeds the 18 march 2013 :
- 10 Bhut Jolokia
- 10 Trinidad Scorpion Butch T
- 10 7 Pot Brain Strain

THE ENVIRONMENT

Cupboard : 0.5m&sup2; (5.3 sq&sup2

Light : Envirolite 250W CFL ECO bulb (6500K&deg;, 100% PAR & 18 000 lumen) with reflector

Soil : Biobizz All Mix (NPK 3-3-5, EC = 2,4 & PH = 6,6)

Fertilizers : BioBizz :
- Root Juice (NPK 0.1 - 0.1 - 0.1) : root stimulator (first weeks)
- Bio-Grow (NPK 8.0 - 2.0 - 6.0) : during growing stage
- Bio-Bloom (NPK 2.0 - 6.0 - 3.5) : make bigger flowers/fruits
- Top Max (NPK 0.1 - 0.01 - 0.1) : bloom stimulator

I follow this program : http://admin.wizisho...-1317412719.jpg but I put just 1ml/L of fertilizer because I noticed the previous years that their indications were too much.


A the moment here is the sprouting rate :
- 2/10 for the Jolokias
- 8/10 for the Scorpions
- 1/10 for the Brain Strain

The first to sprout were the Scorpions after 14 days.

Jolokia on left - Trinidad middle - Brain Strain right and bottom (8 April 2013)

(8 April 2013)


I've already made a mistake : I over watered them. You can see that the soil is a little green, and I guess it's because I over watered them. So now they're on diet and I'll wait until the leaves go down a little.

I plan to buy a fan also.

 

[PHB]

Hey bud! Your plants are looking really healthy man. Do you have a fan in the grow?

Thanks Jamison, but when you will see the pics I will post tomorrow you will change your mind ... (they look terrible now ... )

Yes I've a fan, I set it twice per day (morning & evening) for 1 our 2 hours. I also often let the door open.

Everything you mentioned sounds like a good plan...I buy bagged hardwood chips at the local "big box" home and garden store, also at Wal-Mart. More expensive that making it myself, but I like the convenience...As you say, wood chippers are very expensive, so it may be a while longer before I invest in one...

The fallen branches are ideal...That's what the forest uses when it builds soil. I think you will be real happy with the outcome.

You can actually plant vegetables in the wood-chip-amended ground right away, if you add a little fertilizer to counteract the effects of nitrogen tie-up. I use a little Osmocote 14-14-14, which are timed-released pellets...Then I watch the plants closely for signs of either over-fertilizing or nitrogen starvation...

I couldn't believe it when my brother gave me that La Pavoni...He's a generous guy, and he loves good coffee.

Thanks. So I will have a lot of work for this autumn ... (I also have to plant a lot of trees and manage the digging for the 5 ditches we have ...). If you plan to come to France you can come by and help me !

 

[SciurusDoomus]

Oh no! Are they messed up like my Bhut?

 

[PHB]

Oh no! Are they messed up like my Bhut?

Worse ... they look like Michael Jackson after his 109th plastic surgery ...

 

[Island_Dan]

You have me waiting to see these pictures now. I hope you are overreacting!

 

[SciurusDoomus]

Same here, man. You've seen my Bhut after I had to flush and prune the poor guy... Now lemme see your carnage so I can feel better about myself!

 

[PHB]

Week 5 (Day 36 after first germination)

Resume :
First I'd like to say that everything that I've done so far to these peppers is written in this glog. So if there is an answer to find it's here.

Then I would like to say that this was the worse week so far : my peppers are in a bad shape for most of them and I feel so guilty & ashamed. First I though that their problems came from over-fert, but reading back my glog, I noticed that I only fertilized them once at the very beginning (for sure I didn't fert them since the 15 of April) and only with 1ml/L of Bio-Grow (NPK 8-2-6, PH 6.4). So now the only fert they have is the mix of the 2 soils (a NPK 18-6-8 & a NPK 12-14-24). So the second option could be over-watering. Looking back, I just added 1.66 fl oz of water per week for each pot. Only last week I added way more a day before the repotting session.

I don't know ... I'm lost ... I don't know what to look for, I don't know what to do ... Your expertise is more than welcome before I'll top myself ...


Plants : no changes same number as before

Plants height : 6cm (2.36 inches).

Light : no significant changes. Just optimised the light area by adjusting bulb height with lux meter (see previous post)

Temp & Humidity : no significant changes

Watering & Fertilizers : No fert except soil change ! The only watering I did previous week was one day before repotting (see previous post). I poured mineral water (the 500mg/L Cal) in a bowl and watered them from the bottom. After 1 min in the bowl (water level at 1cm below soil level) I removed the plant. The aim of that was to try to flush the soil from fert and to add cal.

Problem & Mistakes this week :
- leaving the pots for 1 min in the water was probably a bad idea resulting in overwatering
- plants seems to have serious troubles I will explain under the pictures section


ChangeLog :
- because of the plant's problems I checked the PH of the fert solution I used in the previous week (1ml/L of Bio-Grow) and it's at 6.4 (the clear water PH was at 7.2 before I add the 1ml of fert). I guess it's okay or even a little to high (I think pepper like PH around 5.4). I unfortunately didn't have an EC meter.
- I started to hardening them from time to time (sun from 10:30 till 12:30)

Roadmap :
- buy EC meter

Pictures :

06 May 2013 - all the indoor peppers

06 May 2013 - the 3 outside peppers. They are outside since the 02 of May and they never get inside. They are fine even if I think they will lack of sun after a while (1400 lux today at 09:00. It's extremely cloudy.) (I know my Geranium with the red leaves is lacking of N & P)

"The Healthy Gang" : those 5 look kind of okay (3 Brain Strain & 1 Bhut). I find their leaves quite pale (on the pic they look darker). It might be an impression, but they look to grow slower than the others & they seem not to get their leaves as dark as the other. They are also the youngest. Maybe over watered.

One member of "The Healthy Gang" at closer look.

"The Sick Gang" : I feel guilty for those 6 (mainly Scorpion & Bhut). They are bumpy, some have their leaves curling down, some leaves are "break dancing", the knew leaves are tiny & almost translucent.

Sicko #1 (member of "The Sick Gang" : he looks terrible. One of his leaf is narrow and curling down, the new leaves are very pale.

Sicko #2 (member of "The Sick Gang" : he looks better than the other member of the group. But still he have theses yellow bumpy points on the leaves, the new leaves are pale, some leaves have yellow strange edges close to the stem.

Sicko #3 (member of "The Sick Gang" : he's the worst, because one of his leaf is "break dancing". By "break dancing" I mean one of his leaf is folding on itself (a few other have this symptom, but not that bad). The tip of some of his leaves are brown and dry (some other peppers have this symptom too).


I treat them all the same way and I don't understand why they react differently (like the young are okay, but the older are not). Am I paying the price of the fert I added when they were little ?

 

[Jamison]

PHB, they look fine man. If your really worried about it that much go pick up some CaMg+. Otherwise they look fine buddy! Do you use RO water?

 

[PHB]

PHB, they look fine man. If your really worried about it that much go pick up some CaMg+. Otherwise they look fine buddy! Do you use RO water?

No, I buy them mineral water named "Hepar" containing Calcium (549mg/L) and Magnesium (119mg/L) and my GF want to kill me for that ...

Seriously ?? You think they are fine ?? I mean to me a fine plant is Windchicken's Ashe County Pimento (https://dl.dropboxus...03_27/ashe1.jpg). You see the difference ... Mine just look like cripple having contracted bubonic plague compared to his ....

My next step will be to buy a solid rope and a beam ....

 

[Jamison]

Completely different variety. CHineses are prone to have leaves that are bubbly and sorta twisted. I think your doin a fine job.

 

[Island_Dan]

Omg if you are worried about that then I better take some pictures of my plants and show you. Most chinense will do that and is dependent on the variety. The mineral water seems like too much of an expense also. I use RO water for my hydro/aeroponic grows and regular tap water for my soil plants.

 

[PHB]

Thanks Jamison, I like your support.

Yeah I know they have a tendency to be bubbly, but take a look at that Scorpion :

It's beautiful, it's healthy, if I was a cow I would eat it !

I know I over react and it can be boring. But I'm new to peppers, so I'm trying to understand what they like and what they don't like. A pepper doesn't bark, doesn't move, so one of the few way I've to know if he feels good or bad is by comparing with other peppers. The Scorpion above look good, I'd like mine to look that good.

When I'll be back to my "farm", I will take a picture of some of my trees which made me realise something a couple of months ago about plants (it will also be a riddle for the members of THP and the person who find the answer will win something ).

Omg if you are worried about that then I better take some pictures of my plants and show you. Most chinense will do that and is dependent on the variety. The mineral water seems like too much of an expense also. I use RO water for my hydro/aeroponic grows and regular tap water for my soil plants.

You use RO without "re-mineralisation" ? (<- don't know the word in english sorry :s)

 

[Jamison]

I agree that is a fantastic looking plant!

Heres a pic of my Scorpion plant from last year so you can compare. Little bubbly and not as healthy as Windchickens for sure. But still produce pods none the less!

 

[SciurusDoomus]

Yeah. I know it sucks to hurt your friends, PHB (believe me I know). But they're not dead and eventually they'll give you fruits. My Bhut's already making healthy foliage. Should be back to a huge plant in about a month. (fingers crossed)

 

[windchicken]

[background=rgb(255, 244, 228)]Worse ... they look like Michael Jackson after his 109th plastic surgery ...[/background]

Wait......whuuuut??? I'm having a little case of cognitive dissonance here....Are those plants on a ledge au premier &eacute;tage? That's seriously messing with my head...How in the heck do you water them?

Thanks for the compliments on the Pimento plants...So far all they've gotten is Miracle Grow Potting Soil and a little Liquid Miracle Grow (12-4-8). I may still have seeds if you want some....

Oh, and I'll be there at your house to help in the garden as soon as I get mine finished...in about a month or so....

 

[Island_Dan]

You use RO without "re-mineralisation" ? (<- don't know the word in english sorry :s)

Yeah I have a RO system specifically to make water for the hydroponic systems. Since I am adding my own nutrients, I want the water to have a very low total dissolve solids number. Water going in ranges at about 280-320 ppm and PH of 8.9-9.1 and water coming out is 9 ppm and ph of 7.6. I collect the waste water from the RO system since it still contains minerals but is dechlorinated by the pre filter. That waste water reads about 8.1 ph and 330ppm since the waste water flushes mineral deposits out of the membrane. RO water can be bad for soil plants as it really takes out too much from the water. I use RO water also for my home aquarium.

Check out my two moruga scorpion plants in deep water cultures. They get a nutrient change every week and calmag every other week with the nutes and they have RO water and lots of bubbles etc and they are still bubbling and some leaves still twist up all weird but plant seems to be growing amazingly well!



ALSO PHB if you need any other seeds at all or if there is anything you are looking for, tell me and I will check my seeds and source them if I don't have them as I have shipped to you in France from the US successfully and the cost was quite low.

 

[PHB]

Sorry guys for being so late replying ...

I agree that is a fantastic looking plant!

Heres a pic of my Scorpion plant from last year so you can compare. Little bubbly and not as healthy as Windchickens for sure. But still produce pods none the less!
[....]

Your Chinense look great Jamison ! Just look at the size of the leaf in your hand ! I hope mine will have leaves like that ! (because the only Chinense (Bhut) I grew outdoor in 2011 had tiny leaves ...)

[...]

Wait......whuuuut??? I'm having a little case of cognitive dissonance here....Are those plants on a ledge au premier &eacute;tage? That's seriously messing with my head...How in the heck do you water them?

Thanks for the compliments on the Pimento plants...So far all they've gotten is Miracle Grow Potting Soil and a little Liquid Miracle Grow (12-4-8). I may still have seeds if you want some....

Oh, and I'll be there at your house to help in the garden as soon as I get mine finished...in about a month or so....

Just for hardening purposes Gary ! I put them back inside every day, and it's not easy to climb on that edge to get them. I water them inside.

I would gladly have some of your seeds (I'm sure you're some kind of mad scientist to have such plants !)

Come to my place whenever you want ! Believe me there is a LOT of work to do ! (like cutting thousands of bamboos, digging "rivers", pruning apple trees, building home for wallabies, etc.)

Yeah I have a RO system specifically to make water for the hydroponic systems. Since I am adding my own nutrients, I want the water to have a very low total dissolve solids number. Water going in ranges at about 280-320 ppm and PH of 8.9-9.1 and water coming out is 9 ppm and ph of 7.6. I collect the waste water from the RO system since it still contains minerals but is dechlorinated by the pre filter. That waste water reads about 8.1 ph and 330ppm since the waste water flushes mineral deposits out of the membrane. RO water can be bad for soil plants as it really takes out too much from the water. I use RO water also for my home aquarium.

Check out my two moruga scorpion plants in deep water cultures. They get a nutrient change every week and calmag every other week with the nutes and they have RO water and lots of bubbles etc and they are still bubbling and some leaves still twist up all weird but plant seems to be growing amazingly well!

[...]

ALSO PHB if you need any other seeds at all or if there is anything you are looking for, tell me and I will check my seeds and source them if I don't have them as I have shipped to you in France from the US successfully and the cost was quite low.

You also grow indoor ? I only see your outdoor hydro-system. I was thinking of RO for my peppers, but the re-menineralise thing scares me a little. If you got an aquarium we will be friends ! (got a 180L Rio )

I will give a try on AAA (Air Atomized Aeroponics) next season if I can afford it and try out RO. I will keep also going soil (I think both "worlds" have to learn from each other).

Thanks for the seeds proposal. But I've a bunch of seeds to grow (including yours !). I will go wild species next season (ordered from pepperlover) because they seems like not easy going plants (a little like french girls ...) and also because they are beautiful endanger species. Still looking for flexuosum ...

 

[About Mulch]

Nice use of space PHB , living on the edge!

 

[windchicken]

You are a more dedicated gardener than I! That ledge looks very narrow to me....I can picture myself squatting down to set down a container, my ass bumping the wall, and I'm doing a stage dive into the street below....Certainly you are destined for greatness! By the way, what is the engraving on the side of the building, next to your window? Just wondering...Looks historic. That street looks like it might have a nice slope for a little downhill skating, also!

I love physical labor, in the dirt...It's my drug of choice, actually....the only one I've got left.... So, yeah...You're only making it sound better to me.

Send me your mailing address on the PM. I'll get Ashe County Pimento seeds out to you right away...

 

[locopao]

Nice glog PHB (just found it)

Your plants are doing pretty well imo, and i wouldn't worry too much if i were you.

keep up the good work!

 

[PHB]

Week 6 (Day 43 after first germination)

Resume :

So last week I was not home (I was in Amsterdam). So I just watered them before leaving and that's it. When I came back I was surprised on how fast they grew in only 4 days (see gif). At the same time they don't look very good : leaves look like "paper", very green, etc. I'll move them all outside except 3 of them (1 Bhut, 1 Scorpion, 1 Brain Strain) that I will keep growing inside.

I think the new soil contains too much fert.

Plants : /

Plants height : 8,5cm (3.15 inches).

Light : /

Temp & Humidity : /

Watering & Fertilizers : No fert. Came back to normal water. I watered them once last week (Thursday) with 10cl (3.3 fl. oz). I watered them today.

Problem & Mistakes this week :
nothing, I wasn't there.


ChangeLog :
- switched back to normal water (mineral water is expensive)


Roadmap :
- buy EC meter

Pictures :

Differences after 4 days of growing (8 May & 12 May)

13 May 2013 - All the peppers inside

13 May 2013 - Closer view

13 May 2013 - They are still very bumpy. Plus the leaves's edges are like dentate. I don't know if it's due to overfert soil or what. I noticed a red ant in a pot (she was alone). I don't know how she landed there ...

13 May 2013 - The 3 outside didn't grow much but they are alive. There is not enough light where they are.