PIC 1's............Pod-ography.............2013

  Good Eve-ning, and Welcome to my bog...glog !

Hey folks sorry for the late glog-up I'm a month behind last years startup,...... ...... I still have 12+ weeks (plenty of time) before I can start think about hardening off the plants outdoors.

First off I'd like to give a shout out to those who followed my grow last season. Thanks for all the comments, thoughts and ideas. The chuckles we shared......there were some good laughs...(and especially all the criticisms........ : .......hah)

To those who are new, I try to follow a "weekend update" format with photos and captions. Although if anyone has questions or replies that needs and answer or response I'll get back during the week. I hope to keep this interesting and entertaining...

and away we go!


Garden Rewind

Here's my 1st garden (1986)...it was modest but what we grew we used in our kitchen. I had a couple of dual bulb 4ft T12 fixtures in my basement. A couple grow-lux and daylight color temp bulbs. The indoor grow was far superior to the vegetable starts sold at the local nurseries.
My Italian neighbor couldn't understand why his bell pepper starts only had flowers while mine had golfball size peppers very early in the season.....The hot varieties I grew back then were the cayennes, orange habaneros, and a few different type or thai-birds. Things have changed but I still grow those varities.

Here's a shot from last season. I grew around 150+ pepper plants in two different sections of the garden. Plants were grown in raised beds and containers from 5 gal up to 20 gal

A typical weekend harvest shot from later in the season when the gardens at full swing.

This is one of my seed catalogs, the c.chinense....the seeds that invade our gardens every year...
This book and other seed catalogs are kept in a tupperware container container on a shelve in the corner of the basement.
No elaborate system needed, The seeds are kept in 1.5" zip backs. I have seeds that are as far back as 2007, and still germinating without a hitch....theres no need to pitch. Speaking of pitching theres some old baseball card to display the size of the pages used.

These are what I use to get the seeds on their way. I take 1/4 bag of each, mix that into a 5 gal bucket and moisten with water. The spagnum peat give fluff to the texture also helps indicate when the mix need to be re-moistened but the lighter color it displays. The vermiclite helps with water retension while letting the air and moisture through. The seed starting mix also has fine grain perlite to keep drainage and airflow moving.

Ha..........I knew this chop stick would come in handy someday. Once the seed medium is moistened I'll make a hole with the stick 1/4" down .
The seeds will be planted at the same depth. That helps when misting the top with water. Seeds that are planted too high may dry out or seeds planted to deep may rot.

I use two 2ft x 4ft germinating mats. Enough area to warm 8 seed flats at once...

I don't bother with a thermostat for the mats. I run them through a timer, 2 hrs on, 1 hr off...continous. The average temp of the soil stays at +/-85 deg

This is the main grow room. I built the 2 tier shelving units 8ft long x 2ft wide. 8 flats fit underneath the lighting units. Here we have four narrow spaced T8 4 bulb fixtures with 6500k bulbs and one 8ft TF twin bulb tight spaced fixture with 4100k bulbs. I have 4 identical systems in the room with an addition of three 400w mh fixtures with 7200k lamps. The room has 2- 20a dedicated circuits and 1-15a to split the current draw..

more photos in a few minutes....thanks for looking!
PIC 1's......Pod Pornage.............2012

















.

 

[PIC 1]

 
Red Scorpion
 

 
Serrano, Jalapeno and Waialua Peppers
 

 
more pots ready to be potted up.....when I have the time.....
 

 
not sure what the purple plant is...when the pods ripen I'll have to get Chris (cmpman1974) a shout. This was from his seed stock
 

 
Chocolate Madballz......one of the taller plants, over 2ft
 

 
Jamaican Red pod (#2)
 
 

 
Bahamian Goat ...seeds from .Brent (Fade to Black) Some of the lower original leaves from the indoor grow are still on the plant. You can see what has grown on the upper portion since planted outdoors 3 weeks ago. This plant is around 2ft tall and growing by the day (and night)
 
ok, too many more plants to show and I don't want to hog the air waves so I'll try to keep the limit reasonable...in the future
here's a food shot with the shot.....of peppers
 

 
In the bowl I have about 2lbs of Hawaiian Yellowfin 1/2" cut, 1/2 a shallot diced, minced Datil and Red Hads, cilantro, key lime with a splash of Soy, Toasted Sesame Oil, Ginger Juice and Sea Salt.  
 

 
 "Poke' "...served with tortilla chips..
This dish is quite different from "Ceviche" whereas Ceviche cooks from the acidic compound and can take from 4 hrs to overnight depending on the seafood.
Poke is flavored from the acidic, sauce and oils and is usually eaten immediately after the processing.
I could eat this everyday................and we do when we're  in Hawaii
 
see ya all next time........thanks for taking a peek
 
 
 
 

 

[KiNGDeNNiZ]

Cool
Was never a poki person.
Interested on how that purple flowers. Purple flash ?! Black pearls ?! Pretty in purple ?

 

[Devv]

Wow Greg!
 
Huge amount of plants! They all look wonderful! Dang Annuum's always pod first LOL.
 
Do you have an automated system to water them?
 
Glad to see the hotties are pouring on the flowers....it won't be long!
 
Have a great week!

 

[PIC 1]

Amazing updates Greg!  It's comforting to know that when I fear I've got too many varieties, I can always pop over here and see the countless pictures of various varieties of pepper plants, perfectly laid out, and at least say to myself "self, I'm perfectly normal, and my 65+ varieties are very reasonable.  At least I'm not doing something crazy like that Chicago guy..." 

Thanks Andy.....it sounds crazy but there's never enough varieties....nor enough room.....

Greg  the Grow looks great, the plants are coming along very well, the ones i adopted from you are still looking better than what i started but they are catching up quickly
enjoy the season hope to see u at "pepperology" once we get going again. and dont forget about the party on the 4th. its always a good time

Thanks Jerry, we'll be over on the 4th....I'll have to dig a recipe out of my garden....literally

Greg, hope you're having a kick azz time during your vacation We be missing your super updates, can't wait to see how they look on your return ^_^

Ramon the vacation was fun for all............glad to be back though, the garden survived with ample rain and moderate temps....I can't wait to get some real harvests. Most likely early August for the start of the hot stuff.

Looking awesome, Greg.  So much larger than the last time i saw them.  They're all budding up, and even a few pods.  Most awesome!

Thanks Doc, I can see the difference in growth with certain plants everyday...while some are bushing out and ready to lunge upwards, others are on a stady pace...and flowering. I check for signs of new pods everyday......it's great when they seem to appear out of nowhere...overnight!

Very nice. I had a purple blob but it died on me. As did a couple of the st Martin seeds i got from you.

As for the lights. Why not just leave it. Easier for them to grow and get a tan as well. As always. Lovely grow you have.

Sorry to hear bout the seed loss...
Hmm...as far as the lights, there's a whole row of 6 bulb T8's on the ceiling, a 2nd row of 4 bulb T8's right underneath. I'm actually just storing them in that position for the convenience until I build the frame work.  

Interested in the grafted tomatoes. Why again. For disease resistance. And more yield?!

Both, disease resistance.....since my grafts are heirlooms and are not DR and the fact that I don't rotate the crop every year. Also the yields are normally higher and with the San Marzano's it's all about "pasta sauce"...plenty of it !

Cool
Was never a poki person.
Interested on how that purple flowers. Purple flash ?! Black pearls ?! Pretty in purple ?

Fair enough.............there are many folks that wouldn't eat rare Fish, Steak or even Sunnyside up eggs.......understandable.
The pepper plant is most likely a Frutescen cultivar. I grew it last year, the pods start out black and ripen red. Thai shaped chili's that grow upwards, some sideways and down. None of the varieties you mention ring a bell. I'll check with Chris in the future..
Thanks for your interesting input(s)

Wow Greg!
 
Huge amount of plants! They all look wonderful! Dang Annuum's always pod first LOL.
 
Do you have an automated system to water them?
 
Glad to see the hotties are pouring on the flowers....it won't be long!
 
Have a great week!
 
Thanks Scott,
 
 
About the same amount of plants as last year....and yes, the Annuums are podding up fast. I've picked off some Gypsy's, Hungarian Wax and Jalapeno's so far. I can't wait for the Hatch and regular Anaheims. My grilled Burgers could use some green roasted chili's on them.......not the one's out of the jars......ha 
 
No automated watering system,yet. We get a fair amount of rain through the growing season and an Inch a week is perfect for the veg even if its from the garden hose. I tried soaker hoses in the past....lets just say it was a past pain in the arse. There were times that the plants were over watered....and that's not good especially in containers. It may take me up to an hour every few days to hand water with a spray attachment on the hose .Or, when using a watering can with supplements,  that may run longer, but I get a chance to inspect the plants at the same time. While I've got the watering can in one hand there's another one filling up with the hose. What slows me down is running in the house for another beer.....Heck, now I just bring a cooler out.......lol
 
Many flowers opening up on the supers. I have a couple of Reapers that only  have buds....those I'm very interested in....oh the controversy !........aha
Thanks for stopping by and commenting...have a great week, also

As always, great update and awesome looking plants! What do you have in there growing with the grafter tomatoes? I thought it would be wise to do squash and zuc in the sqft g, not so much!

Thanks Chris,
Growing in front of the tomatoes are Zucchini and Yellow Squash. It's not ideal to plant the squash in front of the tomatoes since the leaves are scratchy and can make it difficult to harvest the lower tomatoes. I promised my neighbor I'd plant a few. Usually I'd plant Bush Beans or Swiss Chard there. I figure the Squash will die odd towards the end of July just when the maters are peaking. The Squash will get yanked and either Beans or Spinach will get the stage.
I will keep a eye out for any Bacterial Wilt or Mosaic Virus which can spread to the tomatoes.......always something

 

[roper2008]

Your plants are looking beautiful.  Mine are coming along slowly.  Will have one ripe yellow scotch bonnet in a day or two.

 

[stickman]

Great shots of the plants Greg! I like ocean fish marinated in 50/50 lime juice and water with salt... then grill on a plank (since we don't have Banana leaves here in New England) and baste with melted butter, minced shallots, garlic and ginger root, turmeric, soy sauce and more lime juice... Thai Sunda Kelapa-style.

 

[PIC 1]

Your plants are looking beautiful.  Mine are coming along slowly.  Will have one ripe yellow scotch bonnet in a day or two.

 
Thanks Linda,
Hey, no problem with slow moving plants...I have them too !. It's still early in the grow and the zone that you live in provides depth for a longer season then us folks up in the Great Lakes area. Cool on the Scottie....post a photo on your glog, there's many folks growing some hype...type of Bonnet this year.

Great shots of the plants Greg! I like ocean fish marinated in 50/50 lime juice and water with salt... then grill on a plank (since we don't have Banana leaves here in New England) and baste with melted butter, minced shallots, garlic and ginger root, turmeric, soy sauce and more lime juice... Thai Sunda Kelapa-style.

Thanks Rick,
Sounds like a keeper recipe........here in Chi- we get all kinds of limes......from who knows where? I try the juice to check the acidity and tartness before I use it with a dish.  
Wood planks work great. I buy 1 x 6 t/g  western red cedar 8ft length. I rip off the tongue and groove and plane a bit off the face. Alot cheaper then buying the pre packaged stuff. I bet you can find white cedar on the East coast. What type of planks are you using?

 

[stc3248]

Greg!!! You still got plants...AND LOTS OF THEM! Was beginning to worry...hahaha. I feel ya, I have been slammed on my end as well, gotta do what you gotta do. Everything looking as expected from the growmaster himself. Very nice my friend! Keep it up, and looking forward to your next monthly installment!

 

[PIC 1]

Greg!!! You still got plants...AND LOTS OF THEM! Was beginning to worry...hahaha. I feel ya, I have been slammed on my end as well, gotta do what you gotta do. Everything looking as expected from the growmaster himself. Very nice my friend! Keep it up, and looking forward to your next monthly installment!

HaHa....tanks Shane,
I don't know what to compare this to......perhaps the last horse out of the gate, because it was slapping flies, the 100 meter runner that had his ear pods in and missed the start or someone that completely blue the op to update..............hehe
".lifetime" with the grow. My wife keeps asking  me what am I going to do when I retire?  (3yrs). I keep telling her I'll be working in my backyard.....a-ha.....flip houses or turn dirt. I don't care, as long as theres a garden in the yard...
thanks for stopping by.
The Blackhawks are about to xstart ....I'll check out the glogs after the ....WIN !
.

 

[Silver_Surfer]

Plants are looking great. Pimenta Elisir is another possibility for the dark horse.

 

[MGOLD86]

AMAZING update Greg!  But don't ever leave us again.
 
But for real, everything looks really healthy, clean, and happy.  You always have the most impressive updates! 

 

[3/5King]

Ah ha!...I saw a not so healthy plant hiding behind the Maui Purple and fishies!!!....hey, your grow is to amazing, I had to say something or everyone might think you are perfect...and you don't want that now do you?....lol

Simply stunning Greg. If there were a "pepper Magazine" you should have the front cover.

 

[GA Growhead]

That yel fin looks too yummy!
Oh yeah... plants are going off too!

 

[stickman]

Thanks Rick,
Sounds like a keeper recipe........here in Chi- we get all kinds of limes......from who knows where? I try the juice to check the acidity and tartness before I use it with a dish.  
Wood planks work great. I buy 1 x 6 t/g  western red cedar 8ft length. I rip off the tongue and groove and plane a bit off the face. Alot cheaper then buying the pre packaged stuff. I bet you can find white cedar on the East coast. What type of planks are you using?

 
Thanks for the idea Greg! Up to now I've been buying them and using them until they get too crispy.

 

[WalkGood]

Greg great to see ya back mon, I’m sure you had a well deserved vacation Did you find any interesting seeds along the way or did I miss that read?
Ok, here we go … bullets will be easier to make sense of typical WG madness, hehehe. Sorry for the long winded reply

• Shot glass of peppers is a beautiful shot, great layout!
• Very cool picture of your g-lights and just to think that’s only a few of all you have, impressive!
• I enjoy seeing perspective shots and you did a great job with the one of the plants between the fence and the pavers!
• I gotta give you some love on da “Jamaican Hot Corner,” that area is going to be full up & bushy soon, that will be awesome!
• Super nice color on the Orange Blob, I see little flower buds. This and all the others will be podding for you soon and I’m sure we will all be blown away \o/
• I had to google the Wild Tepin Peru pod as I couldn’t remember the look, I’m guessing know yours will blow away what I saw ^_^
• Whoa can’t wait to see your Bahamian Goat pods, no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t germ any of the seeds I had. In a last ditch effort I tried some Borg sowing and still no luck but I’m not tossing in da towel yet, hehe
• Your Jamaican Yellow (annuum) reminds me of a pepper they call “country pepper” down there. But every time I saw them they always picked them green, not sure why but your right they pack some heat, awesome on ya brethren!
• Great picture of the Jamaican Long!
• Your Red Bhut Jolokia is way bushier than mine, as soon as some of mine redden up I will post some mas pics. I will enjoy watching yours grow
• Congo’s and all the plants looking lush with great color … you a master grower mon [SIZE=12pt]\o_ [/SIZE]
• Holy JA Habs, did I read 11 … wow you almost up to my count! I only have 14 that I tend to as good producers and a few in-grounds that I let grow wild without any attention to see what happens. While da wild ones do put out some pods they don’t look good.
• Holy non-stopping hot peppers … running out of stuff to say, awesome updates … Beautiful Yellow Bhut Jolokia, Huge Twisted Hab (very cool), XL Caribbean and I enjoyed reading the story of the St Martin Yellow … keep it up brethren!
• Dat area by the back easement fence looks beautiful, great job! If you run out of stuff to do, you can help in my garden, hahaha like you need the added work.
• Wow what an update, like the Ever Ready Bunny it  just don't stop and keeps going and going, Chocolate Bhut Jolokia, Primo, Indian Carbon … everything looks great!!!!
• Beautiful raised tomato bed, the soil in there looks wonderful!
• Amazing how bushy your Bhut Jolokia’s are compared to mine, not that mine don’t look good, they do but they’re just not bushy. Awesome job!
• Can’t wait to see your Carmel Bhut Jolokia pod up, should be stunning ^_^
• The back garden, all the plants, the main grow area are just to die for! I always enjoy seeing and reading your glog …

Have an awesome week, I’m sure your work is backed up for you but just think of the fun you’ve just had, hehe
 
PS How did you know I love Ceviche, breathtaking, remarkable, tremendous job, I love it … keep up da amazing work very inspiring to all THP members!
 
Edit: Forgot to say Happy belated Fathers Day mon

 

[PIC 1]

Plants are looking great. Pimenta Elisir is another possibility for the dark horse.

 
Interesting....Here's a shot from my garden  from last year. The leaves greened up a bit as the plant grew and the chili's ripened red.
 

 

[WalkGood]

Woot mas!

 

[PIC 1]

AMAZING update Greg!  But don't ever leave us again.
 
But for real, everything looks really healthy, clean, and happy.  You always have the most impressive updates! 

 
Thanks Matt,
I'm looking forward to posting some pepper photos.....I'm actually looking for pods on the plants....none yet !..........drats !.....soon

Ah ha!...I saw a not so healthy plant hiding behind the Maui Purple and fishies!!!....hey, your grow is to amazing, I had to say something or everyone might think you are perfect...and you don't want that now do you?....lol

Simply stunning Greg. If there were a "pepper Magazine" you should have the front cover.

 
Ha, dang I couldn't hide that plant ! That's actually an overwintered Pimenta de Neyde which I intended to keep indoors with another plant for crossing purposes. But, since I closed shop indoors I moved that outside...and well, you know the weather we've had the last few weeks. The plant crisp up like a sun dried tomato. Its coming back from the bottom up, even on some of the dead looking woody stems.
 
Haha........nobody's perfect...nor any sports team no matter which city they're from............
 
Pep Mag.......

That yel fin looks too yummy!
Oh yeah... plants are going off too!

Thanks,
I figured rather than popping those little pods like candy I'd use them in a fish app....it worked out nicely,

 
Thanks for the idea Greg! Up to now I've been buying them and using them until they get too crispy.

Cool..........you can also soak the planks in some cheap booze for an added flame...flare to the food

 

[WalkGood]

... you can also soak the planks in some cheap booze for an added flame...flare to the food

Rather than going cheap on the booze you can infuse some of the good stuff and drink it too. My better half and I do with vodka for bloody marys and I've been hitting the rum a little too, hehehe.

 

[PIC 1]

Greg great to see ya back mon, I’m sure you had a well deserved vacation Did you find any interesting seeds along the way or did I miss that read?
Ok, here we go … bullets will be easier to make sense of typical WG madness, hehehe. Sorry for the long winded reply

• Shot glass of peppers is a beautiful shot, great layout!
• Very cool picture of your g-lights and just to think that’s only a few of all you have, impressive!
• I enjoy seeing perspective shots and you did a great job with the one of the plants between the fence and the pavers!
• I gotta give you some love on da “Jamaican Hot Corner,” that area is going to be full up & bushy soon, that will be awesome!
• Super nice color on the Orange Blob, I see little flower buds. This and all the others will be podding for you soon and I’m sure we will all be blown away \o/
• I had to google the Wild Tepin Peru pod as I couldn’t remember the look, I’m guessing know yours will blow away what I saw ^_^
• Whoa can’t wait to see your Bahamian Goat pods, no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t germ any of the seeds I had. In a last ditch effort I tried some Borg sowing and still no luck but I’m not tossing in da towel yet, hehe
• Your Jamaican Yellow (annuum) reminds me of a pepper they call “country pepper” down there. But every time I saw them they always picked them green, not sure why but your right they pack some heat, awesome on ya brethren!
• Great picture of the Jamaican Long!
• Your Red Bhut Jolokia is way bushier than mine, as soon as some of mine redden up I will post some mas pics. I will enjoy watching yours grow
• Congo’s and all the plants looking lush with great color … you a master grower mon [SIZE=12pt]\o_ [/SIZE]
• Holy JA Habs, did I read 11 … wow you almost up to my count! I only have 14 that I tend to as good producers and a few in-grounds that I let grow wild without any attention to see what happens. While da wild ones do put out some pods they don’t look good.
• Holy non-stopping hot peppers … running out of stuff to say, awesome updates … Beautiful Yellow Bhut Jolokia, Huge Twisted Hab (very cool), XL Caribbean and I enjoyed reading the story of the St Martin Yellow … keep it up brethren!
• Dat area by the back easement fence looks beautiful, great job! If you run out of stuff to do, you can help in my garden, hahaha like you need the added work.
• Wow what an update, like the Ever Ready Bunny it  just don't stop and keeps going and going, Chocolate Bhut Jolokia, Primo, Indian Carbon … everything looks great!!!!
• Beautiful raised tomato bed, the soil in there looks wonderful!
• Amazing how bushy your Bhut Jolokia’s are compared to mine, not that mine don’t look good, they do but they’re just not bushy. Awesome job!
• Can’t wait to see your Carmel Bhut Jolokia pod up, should be stunning ^_^
• The back garden, all the plants, the main grow area are just to die for! I always enjoy seeing and reading your glog …

Have an awesome week, I’m sure your work is backed up for you but just think of the fun you’ve just had, hehe
 
PS How did you know I love Ceviche, breathtaking, remarkable, tremendous job, I love it … keep up da amazing work very inspiring to all THP members!
 
Edit: Forgot to say Happy belated Fathers Day mon
 
Thanks Ramon,
It's great to be back here on a regular basis. My plants are in and all but some minor projects are completed around the house. So more time here to read other glogs.
The shot glass served the purpose....that was the harvest.........      and used in the dish was just the right kick. Any more and my wife might have said "overpowering"
Thanks for the photo perspective comments....I'd like to mix things up each update, but some duplication may occur only to show comparison from previous growth stages.
Heck, I can't wait to shoot some shots of the JA's and MoA's. There will be some variance from pod tp pod.
"Jamaican Hot Corner".........starting to bush out. The idea is to keep the plants shorter but full and hopefully they'll weave together with red and yellow pods...
I have about the same amount of Bahamian Goat plants as the JA Habs........enough for some good sauce. I'll keep some seeds from the best pods. Once I determine the best looking/producing plant I will isolate a branch later in the year. Seeds will be put aside, remind me before your next seasons grow.....wait a minute...your season never ends....must be nice living in SoFlo.
Were the "country pepper's"  yellow or was there a red variety also....
Thanks for all your comments....once again
I too hope you had a great Father's Day weekend !