Pulpiteer's grow log 2012

I thought I'd do a grow log this year, since I've enjoyed reading the ones that other folks do. I'm up in Michigan and last year was able to get the plants in the garden in mid-May, but that isn't a sure thing. I'm starting a bit early, but I want the plants to be a good size when I do get them in, so that I don't have to wait until later in the Fall to harvest. If we would've had an early frost last year, I would've been in trouble. The grow log puts a bit of pressure on. If this is a tremendous failure, then it'll be public. I've been gardening for awhile, and had great luck with my peppers last year, but I'm taking a giant step up this year, so we'll see.

Here is my grow list:
1. Douglah x4 Ajijoe
2. Scotch Bonnet (Y) x4 Pepperjoe.com
3. Cherry Bomb x4 Farmers market
4. Bhut Jolokia ® x4 Dshlogg
5. Trinidad Scorpion (Red)x6 Ajijoe
6. Trinidad Scropion (Peach) x6 Ajijoe
7. Chocolate Congo Habanero x6 Ajijoe
8. Caribbean Red Habanero x6 Ajijoe
9. Aji Pineapple x4 Ajijoe
10. Peach Bhut Jolokia x6 Ajijoe
11. Naga Morich x4 Dshlogg
12. Scotch Bonnet (Y)x8 Refining Fire
13. Jamaican Red Mushroom x8 Refining Fire
14. Jamaican Chocolate Habanero x8 Refining Fire
15. Thai Dragon x4 Dshlogg
16. 7 Pot (Yellow) x4 Masschilehead
17. Avery Island Tobasco x4 Masschilehead
18. Aji Limon x4 Dshlogg
19. Devil's Tongue x4 Dshlogg
20. Fatali x6 Totally Tomato
21. Red Rocoto x6 Totally Tomato
22. Scotch Bonnet (Red)x4 Hotstuff
23. Jalapeno x4 Dshlogg
24. Bell (various) x20 (I'll buy the plants in the spring)

This website has been tremendously helpful. After some contact with MJDiamond83, I ordered some CFL bulbs. They are 100 watt bulbs that put out the equivalent of 400 watts of light, 6500 on the light temperature, I believe. I get a shelving unit on sale last year from Lowes, some pvc this year from Menards and ordered some mylar emergency blankets off of Amazon (10 for $8) and put up a cheap frame that gives me two levels, with the CFL on top and some florescent strip lights on the bottom. With the lights on, it gets to about 84, and with them off its in the mid 70's. I hope that's enough to get the seeds to pop.

Here's a shot where you can see the three lights and the mylar around the three sides. For the front cover I just have a mylar sheet that drapes down and it's all basically enclosed.

Here's a shot of everything planted. For the most part I have at least two seeds in each cell, sometimes a few more than that. I figure I can cut down if I have too many that germinate.

 

[meatfreak]

Looking good and healthy. Doing a great job over there!

 

[Hendrix1326]

Sweet economy rig going, Andy! I think I may utilize some of your techniques. Those mylar blankets look like a great idea for reflective surfacing. I still need to acquire the lights, etc., first. I was thinking about CFL bulbs, too. What type of fixtures do you use for those? I also still need to get a thermometer for my future setup, as well. I can't wait to get the final stuff set up and get these babies on the right track! I am also thinking about expanding from my initial varieties into another 20, but we'll see as we go.

I would have enough room between my house and my mother's as far as spring/summer growing goes, but it would be a matter of logistics for the seedlings having enough space in my house at present. I could remove the table I have the germination mat on right now and set up trays to put the buckets on once they are all transplanted for the first time, but the room would still be a bit crowded, and my wife's elliptical machine and son's cloth diaper drying rack would have to be relocated, I think...

 

[Pulpiteer]

Hey Pulpiteer! Your starts are looking just fine as can be! Way to get after transplanting that red rocoto
I'll bet it's doing great! Sorry you had to sacrifice some of your seedlings. Just one per cell next year!
Your grow area looks like it's working really well. You know, my choc. habs were slow,
and the second set to germinate is still small and growing slow, but I guess one can only be so patient!
Anyway great update, the pics of the seedlings are way cool!

Thanks again Paul. They're coming along, it's exciting! I probably could do only 2 per cell next year (in some cases I had up to 4) just to keep track of germination rates better. But this way I'll be sure to have all my cells full one way or another.
I haven't given up on my chocolate habs yet, well totally yet... and guess what I found today:

It's one of the chocolate congo habs from Ajijoe. Only took 20 days!
Maybe there will be more to follow. I'm hoping this one breaks out correctly - not sure if it'll pull its leaves out of the seed cap or not. But at least it's something!

Looking good and healthy. Doing a great job over there!

Thanks meatfreak! I just hope it continues!

Sweet economy rig going, Andy! I think I may utilize some of your techniques. Those mylar blankets look like a great idea for reflective surfacing. I still need to acquire the lights, etc., first. I was thinking about CFL bulbs, too. What type of fixtures do you use for those? I also still need to get a thermometer for my future setup, as well. I can't wait to get the final stuff set up and get these babies on the right track! I am also thinking about expanding from my initial varieties into another 20, but we'll see as we go.

I would have enough room between my house and my mother's as far as spring/summer growing goes, but it would be a matter of logistics for the seedlings having enough space in my house at present. I could remove the table I have the germination mat on right now and set up trays to put the buckets on once they are all transplanted for the first time, but the room would still be a bit crowded, and my wife's elliptical machine and son's cloth diaper drying rack would have to be relocated, I think...

Hey Karl, thanks for checking it out. Yeah, the mylar is working like a charm. The cfl's I am using are from amazon. Here is the link: but I see they're not selling them currently, which is a bummer cause they're working great. They screw into a normal socket, so I've got mine into those clamping shoplights you can get. I just removed the reflective shield that usually goes with them. It's working like a charm and the plants seem to love it. It seems to be cheaper than some of the higher end grow lights and what not.

I'm worried about running out of space inside as well. I can expand out when we get closer to being outside and I figure i can rotate which ones are under the lights if it's for a limited time. It'll all be worth it if I can take out some large plants and get early pods this year
As far as choosing from varieties, it's hard to stop once you get started, isn't it? I think I could plant an acre if I had the space and money...

 

[PaulG]

All right, where there is one, there may be more!

 

[Pulpiteer]

Well, today is technically the 17th (after midnight), so that would make it the 23rd day of the grow, but it's early in the 23rd day
Updates:

I had one more plant germinate - a Jamaican Chocolate Hab from Refining Fire and it got its leaves out and everything, so it's looking good. That just happened yesterday.

On Monday (Feb. 13) I planted a few more seeds:
From Pepperlover:
Brain Strain Red - 4 cells
Aji Lemon Peru - 2 cells
Bishops Crown - 4 cells
Trinidad Scotch Bonnet Red - 4 cells
Trinidad Scotch Bonnet Yellow - 4 cells

So this is early on the 4th day, nothing yet.

Thursday (February 16) I planted
from PepperJoe:
Datil - 4 cells
Mustard Habanero - 2 cells


My grow list is growing, but my space is not...

Today I also began feeding a little. I mixed 1/2 tsp of Fish Emulsion (Bonine 2-4-0) per 2 quarts of water and bottom watered the plants, which were getting a little dry. Last year I am now certain I overwatered. I got off to a good start, then they turned yellow and dropped their leaves. So I have to hold back and wait. Patience is a virtue, I guess...
Finally, I used some of the leftover, half strength chamomile tea (from seed soaking) and a bit of the leftover fish emulsion water for a foliar spray after the lights went off.

Awhile after feeding, I transplanted a few good plants that were doubled up in a cell into empty cells, so I had my cells filled up. The biggest one I moved was a Peach Scorpion, which has gotten off to a good start. It's amazing how large the root system is already. It is simply amazing seeing all this play out. I moved 5-7 plants total, I think. We'll see how they do, but they'll have water and several hours away from the lights to take hold.

It's been a busy day, all in all. I'll get some more pictures up in the next few days.

 

[Pulpiteer]

So after reading through some things on this website, I made a few purchases yesterday to shore up my lighting and possibly give me some more space when things expand.  At Menards I found a vanity light for four bulbs for $14, so I bought two of those and 9 - 23watt cfl's (6,500 K) which is the equivalent of 100 incandescent. They were $8 per 3pack, so that was $24 total. Then two 9' extension cords for $1.50 a piece. Finally, I got a plastic shelving unit that was on sale, but I'm not sure how I'll light that if it comes to it.

I thought I'd post some quick pictures as to how to 'pigtail' a light fixture like this. I know that this is very basic/beginner stuff, but I am DIY clueless and pepper growing has actually helped me learn how to do some of these things, so if you're a beginner here you go. It's very simple - or I couldn't do it.
In the light fixture there will be a white (probably) and black wire. The black is the grounding wire. You cut off the female end of the extension cord and strip off the plastic coating. I use needle nose pliers. And, although I've heard this isn't vital, you trace the side of the cord that is connected to the fatter plug and attach that to the black wire. The other goes on the white. Twist them together, then there is a little screw thing you twist on the top to cover the wire, or you can use electrical tape. Make sure it's all covered and connected. That's it.

Here is what it looks like hooked up on the underside of my grow area. Now I've increased the lighting from that side from two small strip light fluorescent (cool white), to 8 - 100 watt equivalent daylight bulbs, all for about $55, which isn't too bad.

I'll post some plant pictures next...

Day 25 and I've got some good progress. Here's some pics:

First off, a shot of the whole setup thus far

Next, here is a cherry bomb that I plan on giving to one of the folks in my church this season. Spreading some pepper love. These seeds were from a farmer's market in the area, so we'll see how true they grow out. The plants are healthy and the germ rate was fantastic.

Next is a Jamaican Red Mushroom that had troubles with its cotyledons, but I let it stay to see what would happen, and you'll see the true leaves growing out from a nub. Pretty cool.

Here's a peach bhut from Ajijoe. It's coming along great and I'm excited for these. There are two plants here. I'm going to either cull one soon, or pull it out and repot now that I have an expanded lit area.

The peach scorpion from ajijoe that I've shown a few times

Here's the red rocato I transplanted a little while back. It's doing just fine and the leaves are fuzzy. I'm excited for this plant and hope to be lucky enough to get a few pods from it. I've heard they can be tough, but wow they look pretty.

Of the seeds I planted last monday, I have just two hooks from the red scotch bonnets that came today. I did it different than normal and covered the container so water didn't evaporate and may have drowned some, I don't know. I hope not. We're back to the "damp not wet" growing medium now, so hopefully there'll be more life to follow. I really want the brain strains to pop up because my son is excited about those.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Dshlogg]

Your plants look great! The new set up does too. Can't wait to see how the plants like it.

 

[Pulpiteer]

Your plants look great! The new set up does too. Can't wait to see how the plants like it.

Thanks Dshlogg! The seeds you sent, and the ones I got from the pods you sent have germinated great. I was actually surprised at how easy it was to get the red ghost peppers going. I'm going to be giving a few of those plants away to some parishioners as well - it should be fun!

Not sure if I wrote it on here - I used some of your peppers to make a chili that took first place in a chili cook off at our church. It was awesome - hearing from the judges about how they experienced the heat, fun stuff.

 

[Pulpiteer]

Day 31 - here are some pics for a Saturday night

Here is an overall picture of the smaller cells growing out
Front row L to R Douglah x4 (Ajijoe), cherry bomb x2, bhut jolokia x6 (Dshlogg), Caribbean Red x6 (Ajijoe). I won't go into the next rows, but you get the picture...

Next, my bigger cells (3x3 and 2 1/2 deep). These are in groups of 9 (3x3). Front row L to R: Peach Scorpions (Ajijoe) Fatali (Totally Tomatoes).
Back row from L to R: Red Scorpions and Peach Bhut Jolokias (both from Ajijoe)

Next is a Jamaican Red Mushroom - it's getting pretty tall

Here's one of the Peach Scorpions close up.

Here are are the Rocatos I transplanted a few from awhile back. They are taking off.

Finally, I had some extras that I separated and put in the 3x3 pots down below. I figured if they made it, wonderful, if they didn't, I wasn't planning on them anyway. I used Ferry-Morse organic seed starting mix that I got on sale from a Lowes that went out of business in the area. I thought I'd give it a shot, since I'm saving the rest of my homemade mixture for when I start my tomatoes. I didn't realize how much you have to soak that stuff! The water runs right through it, and as you'll see from this picture, I have two taller 3x3 pots that didn't really wick up the water from the bottom. Consequently, I think I may lose two extra Peach Bhuts, but I'll keep trying with them, who knows. Other than that, I have 16 extra plants that seem to be doing well.

I'll have to post later on the fertilizing I've been doing...

 

[ajijoe]

nice selection and quite a few from me

nice set up!!

good lookin kids and there ito it with you that is so cool
im getting Shailynn into it too
im starting her second porch garden as soon as it safe

thanks your friend Joe

 

[wrightdaddy]

great glog with nice pics love the pic with you and the kids its awesome to get them involved isnt it. keep up the good work and keep the pics coming. good luck and happy growing.

 

[Pulpiteer]

nice selection and quite a few from me

nice set up!!

good lookin kids and there ito it with you that is so cool
im getting Shailynn into it too
im starting her second porch garden as soon as it safe

thanks your friend Joe

Thanks Joe! I just sent a SASBE for your recent giveaway, so there'll be more from you in the near future!

Yeah, the kids are into it. It's awesome and a great thing to do with them. My oldest is going to have his own part of the garden to care for this year, we'll see how it goes. In the background of the last shot you can actually see a lego structure - a green flat piece with lots of single pieces - those are his "seeds" that he's growing right now too. Pretty stinking cute and lots of fun!

great glog with nice pics love the pic with you and the kids its awesome to get them involved isnt it. keep up the good work and keep the pics coming. good luck and happy growing.

Thanks! Yeah, I love getting the kids involved. Such a great learning opportunity and good bonding time. Thanks for stopping in!

 

[Pulpiteer]

Here are the fertilizer type things I've used thus far:

I've used the fish fert from Bonide twice (2/16 and 2/27). For those applications I add 1/2 tsp. to a 2 quart container of water. It's half strength per the instructions for veggies on the bottle. I've added the calmag plus once (2/23) at a rate of 1/2 tsp. per 2 quart container, which is the recommended amount, I believe. I've been leaving a 3 gallon bucket out and letting the water sit in it to get rid of the chlorine. Tonight I added some water from the fish tank that I had rinsed my algae scrubber sponger off in (prob. only 24 oz or so) and the left over water from steaming asparagus. I figure there's got to be something good for the plants in there, right? It's not too much, either way.


I also did a foliar spray with epsom salt mixed in with about 24 oz of water. I added 3 tbsp of epsom salt and I think that was a bit heavy. Some of my leaves appear a bit burned after that, so next time I do it, I'll probably cut down to 1 tbsp. Oh, and I did the spray at night, after the lights went off so as to avoid the bulbs burning the plants.

So far it's gone ok. This is new territory for me. I usually get the plants about this big then get them outside or kill them by over watering or something. So, I'm holding off on the watering until they are really light and/or droopy - which is coming faster with fewer days in between as the plants get larger. I'm a little worried about them getting root bound at some point because I want to put off potting up as long as I can due to lack of space. We'll see how long that lasts.

The other day I mentioned the two peach bhuts that were struggling. Well, it looks like one has bounced back and the other may be a goner, but that's not too bad considering.

Anyway, that's the regimen. Next time it will probably be just straight water, especially if it's in the next few days. I don't want to over fertilize.

Finally, thanks to a post by mjdiamond83 here, I went to supreme growers and got some kelp blast seaweed fertilizer and myco blast fungi stuff for roots. I figure I'll use this when I get to move stuff outside - if that ever gets here

 

[PIC 1]

Nice progress, Your plants are looking very healthy.

The Rocotos are huge, you got a good start on them. They do take quite a bit of time to produce and ripen, but they are worth the wait,

Greg

 

[Pulpiteer]

Nice progress, Your plants are looking very healthy.

The Rocotos are huge, you got a good start on them. They do take quite a bit of time to produce and ripen, BUT ARE WELL WORTH THE WAIT.

gREG

Thanks Greg - that feels good coming from you after what I've seen on your glog! The Rocotos kind of hit their stride all of a sudden, not sure why, but they're looking pretty solid now. I've heard they're worth the wait - and I'm excited. They look like a beautiful pepper and I'm anxious to taste one - I hope I'm lucky enough to get one this season. I'm also curious about overwintering one or two since they do better in cooler climates.

 

[jsschrstrcks]

I ate some Rocoto's in Peru (and even had some seeds shipped back) and loved them. That was three years ago though, and I didn't know what I was doing with seeds and killed all of them =(.

 

[Pulpiteer]

I ate some Rocoto's in Peru (and even had some seeds shipped back) and loved them. That was three years ago though, and I didn't know what I was doing with seeds and killed all of them =(.

Man that's too bad. I've heard they have decent heat - what's their taste like?

 

[jsschrstrcks]

haha its been 3 years - and it was something I only had a few times... I only remember liking them... My parents imported some puree of Rocoto... I'll be by there house probably tomorrow or the next day for dinner and will make sure it gets put out on the table .

 

[Hendrix1326]

Thanks Greg - that feels good coming from you after what I've seen on your glog! The Rocotos kind of hit their stride all of a sudden, not sure why, but they're looking pretty solid now. I've heard they're worth the wait - and I'm excited. They look like a beautiful pepper and I'm anxious to taste one - I hope I'm lucky enough to get one this season. I'm also curious about overwintering one or two since they do better in cooler climates.

I am excited to grow my Rocoto too, Andy, as well as the other C.Pubescens I have going, the Orange Manzano. I know that the local names may be different where these peppers originated, but they are both different C.Pubescens, I can vouch for that from the fresh pods I got the seeds from. They were really good, and one of the Rocoto was pretty HOT!!! Not Habanero level, but definitely near 100,000SHU.

Similar flavor to C.Annuums, but the flesh was juicier and softer, with thinner skin and a different tone to it. I would love to get a good harvest from these and make stuffed peppers with them, I've heard they're great for that!

Plants are looking great, keep it up. I'm getting my lights, etc. on Thursday, and I can start at the end of this week to build my rigs, both in my laundry room and my basement, so the plants can really start to shoot up without getting leggy. All 3 Hot Lemon Drop are transplanted now, seedlings looking good.

 

[Pulpiteer]

I am excited to grow my Rocoto too, Andy, as well as the other C.Pubescens I have going, the Orange Manzano. I know that the local names may be different where these peppers originated, but they are both different C.Pubescens, I can vouch for that from the fresh pods I got the seeds from. They were really good, and one of the Rocoto was pretty HOT!!! Not Habanero level, but definitely near 100,000SHU.

Similar flavor to C.Annuums, but the flesh was juicier and softer, with thinner skin and a different tone to it. I would love to get a good harvest from these and make stuffed peppers with them, I've heard they're great for that!

Plants are looking great, keep it up. I'm getting my lights, etc. on Thursday, and I can start at the end of this week to build my rigs, both in my laundry room and my basement, so the plants can really start to shoot up without getting leggy. All 3 Hot Lemon Drop are transplanted now, seedlings looking good.

Awesome - glad to hear it about the Lemon Drops - I really ended up liking that pepper and am still enjoying the jelly I made from them. I've seen a couple folks growing the Orange Manzanos and my curiosity is piqued. They sound interesting, I'll definitely be checking those out. I'm looking forward to tasting the Rocotos, hopefully I'll get a pod or two from them. Speaking of stuffed peppers, I've got some Bishop's crowns just sprouting that I'll enjoy experimenting with. I saw that you had some of those as well.

One thing to think about for your growing rig - if I had mine to do again I wouldn't do the cardboard underneath the blankets. I may actually end up removing it. You can drape the mylar sheet over the top either way, and it gives you more flexibility without the cardboard. I think I may need to take my top off when the plants get bigger just to raise up my lights high enough. With just the sheet draped over it, that would be no problem. I think the pvc frame would've given it enough of a shape. Like I said, the main issue is flexibility when things get larger - which they either will or they'll die - so if you've got that covered another way, then you're set. As far as the lights - they are working great so far. I just need to keep them up high enough to avoid burning.

Anyway - I look forward to seeing pics of the finished project.

I should tell you, I was just thinking about your hot sauce today. As I've tasted more and more commercial ones, yours stacks up very favorably to them. So many hot sauces either have a terrible vinegar taste or don't have the right amount of heat. Yours had a perfect amount of heat - very warm but not unbearable - and a great taste. Well done.

haha its been 3 years - and it was something I only had a few times... I only remember liking them... My parents imported some puree of Rocoto... I'll be by there house probably tomorrow or the next day for dinner and will make sure it gets put out on the table .

I'll be looking forward to a full report then!