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PJ's 2012 Glog with a Kaleidoscope of Colored Peppers

This is my second season growing superhots. I decided to branch out and grow some tasty peppers that others will enjoy. I've been collecting and buying seeds busily!

So i decided to start my seeds early-mid january since last frost date last year was in early april. Here is my list. Some i bought, some i got for free from the amazing THP members! Thanks again all,

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I'll be germinating my seeds in cups. I had great success last year using this method. Once they sprout, i'll move them to my 72 plug seed tray. I'm using gardener's supply germinating mix. It has very fine peat, vermiculite, and trace minerals and is pH balanced. Once they get their true leaves, i'll move them to 3.5x5 inch pots (P86D) and 1 pint root pouches (just to experiment). After that they will go into their 5, 7, 10 gallon root pouches and plastic nursery pots.

I started the kashmiri seeds 1 weeks ago to see if the dried pods' seeds i got from UK were viable. They were! So these were the first to go into the 72 plug tray.

I have some plants in the garage under flourscents that are overwintering since november. They are brain strain, red bhut jolokia and chocolate bhut, red and yellow 7pods, fatalli, and a bhut-habanero hybrid. Also some annums like serrano and kung pao just to see if it works
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I dedicated one room in the house as my "plant room". Pretty bare bone, its a 48 inch wide, 7 foot tall steel rack. 2 of the shelves each have 4 T12 GE aquarium and plant flourscent bulbs. I have a heat mat where they cups are sitting on to help in the germination.

The Plant Room
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The Seeds in their cups
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The Kashmiri Mirch in their 72 plug tray, i'm using little cups as a "dome" to keep humidity in. Using foil to cover the other plugs so water doesn't just evaporate away making the germinating mix really dry and also keeps it from growing algae.
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Lets see how it goes! Wish me luck!
 
Thanks for the tip on the fan starting to do it today with the young one hopefully their stems grow as thick as that by that stage I am using a computer fan that jerryrig to a 12 volt adaptor. Your plants look great as usual.

Thanks, since i have the front open, i use a large fan on a timer which blows from 10 feet away. That way the wind hits the bottom and top rack.

Dang, that all looks so good. I see you went to the 4-trays wide on the shelf and allowed a little room for the light gap. I'll be doin' the same at the next stage.

Those plugs came out very solid. Any tips (moisture level, tools, swearing, etc) to recommend? Looks like you used a cell to act as a mold for the incoming plugs. Nice. I'm also using ProMix BX for the pot-up.

I used scissors to cut each plug or two sets of plugs. I turned them upside down, and squished the end and massasged the plug and tapped constantly until it popped out. The plugs should not be dry, nor just fresh watered, wait a few days after watering.

The holes were made by digging my thumb into the pot and rotating/pressing until i made the hole deep and wide enough to fit the plug. The mix that is raised from this goes back ontop of the seedling. Hope this makes sense.

Promix is awesome, very airy and light. Its soiless so i dont have to worry about bugs and gnats.
 
Feb 9th, 2012 update, went to water the plants with a little nutes. Just some pics of progress

C. Galapagoense seedling, 6 weeks germinating with nothing, after scarification, the next day it germinated!
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Some C. Chinese, can you see the Cheiro Roxa?
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Cheiro Roxa looks amazing
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Another tray of C. Chinese
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Purple Bhut
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One serrano huasteco that i put for germination came out, still waiting for the other serrano varieties!

Signing off!
 
What do you use to prune you plants for overwintering? I use a nice sharp pair of pruning shears but they seem to damage the plants and kill them. Any suggestions?
 
What do you use to prune you plants for overwintering? I use a nice sharp pair of pruning shears but they seem to damage the plants and kill them. Any suggestions?

I use this: Fiskars Pruner, and just repotted in fresh soil. My annums died, probably because i was not watering that often or it got too cold in the garage. Most of my C. Chinese overwinters are doing fine.

Just an update, some of my annums are getting too big, too fast! I'll need to get bamboo skewers and tie them up.

Zapotec Jalapeno from Peppermania - 13 inches including pot, or 9 inches from bottom of stem to top.
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Kashmiri Mirch is the tallest. The leaves are kind of curling. Not sure why, maybe it needs some calmag? It is topping 16 inches in pot, 12 inches from stem.
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The kashmiri mirch already has flower buds, probably will pinch them.
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Due to the taller ones, i had to raise the lights, and seperate the talls from the shorts. The shortest ones on the right have some books propping them up.
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Lots of new growth, things are getting crowded. Annums are getting too big. Next year, i will start my annums later than chinese. Lesson learned!

Anyways, decided to take some mug shots of my pepper plants that are bigger. These are the annums.

Zapotec Jalapeno
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Serrano del Sol
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Kashmiri Mirch, lots of leaf curl. may a calmag defeciency?
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Siling Labuyo
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Kung Pao
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Peppercinio Round
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Piquillo
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Labuya
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Indian Jawala
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If someone replies back, i can pics of C. Chinese :)
 
Thanks, here are the supers, well mostly, some - not so much :D

Bishops Crown
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Scotch Bonnet Foodarama
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Cheiro Roxa
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Pink Habanero
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Yellow Scotch Bonnet (papa joes mkt)
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Aji Limon
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Peppadew
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White Habanero
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Top Shelf, right most Tray of C. Chinese
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Top Shelf, 2nd to right Tray of C. Chinese.
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Its about time PJ! I waited a whole 5 minutes for that.

But, everything is looking really good. Huge leaves and monster annums!
 
Cheiro Roxa looks cool as hell. You ever think of trying for two seasons in one down there? Sow seeds early for spring and then sow more mid summer for later in the year. I wonder if it is possible?
 
2/16/2012 update

Tray full of c. chinese, getting real big leaves
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Trinidad Scorpion Yellow - chad s - this one is getting really big
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Another tray
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Cheiro Roxa getting bigger - real pretty
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Another tray - can u see the purple bhuts?
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Another tray
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Another tray
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Really big annums are very thirsty, getting ready for a drink
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All done drinking their water/nutes
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I decided to bite the bullet and buy some PROMIX BX bales and 2 x 20lb-bags of epsoma tomato-tone. I needed 4 bales to pot up all my plants. Since each bale expands to 7cf, here is the ratios per bale for my mix.
  • 3.8cf compressed promix bx (expands to 7cf) - 54% of the whole mix
  • 1.5 cf bag of mushroom compost - 11.5% of the whole mix
  • 1.5 cf bag of black kow compost - 11.5% of the whole mix
  • 3 cf of vermiculite - 23% of the whole mix
  • espoma tomato-tone recommended amount per pot
Vermiculite will make the mix nice and airy, and allow for drainage since BX is pretty dense with peat and adding compost will not help.

I might also get some worm castings in there, depends on how much they go for.
 
I don't have any experience with espoma, but if you search on the site, you will see lots of good recommendations. Cappy recommends them as he uses them with his plants and his plants area HUGE!
 
I have some tomato tone, soil loosener, and soil acidifer and they all worked pretty well. How do you like the straight BX inside? I used it outside in pots last year and had a ton of drainage issues. This year I mixed some pearlite into it for the few (like 9) seedlings I potted up. Do you add anything or just go straight, and if so, how is the drainage indoors?
 
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