Sawyer '15 - Killing frost 11/22 + pics

Sawyer · Mar 6, 2015

Here are some (crappy) pictures.

Pepper Flat #1. This one has 22 varieties, arranged from left to right according the scheme depicted in this post. The exact varieties can be seen (with recent germination numbers) in the chart labeled PF1 in this post. If you look closely at PF1-16, 7P Mustard, you can see a couple of seedlings with tricotys. There are quite a few of these scattered around, but with this many plants, I guess that's not surprising.

Pepper Flat #2. This one has 24 varieties, arranged from left to right according the same scheme as PF1. The exact varieties can be seen (with recent germination numbers) in the chart labeled PF2 in this post.

Pepper Flat #3. This one has 36 varieties, arranged from left to right according the scheme depicted in this post. The exact varieties can be seen (with recent germination numbers) in the chart labeled PF3 in this post. I don't know why the Jigsaw and AR Reaper haven't germinated; those should be good seeds. There are some really leggy seedlings hanging completely out of the picture at the far right. They are Red Pumpkins. Also, I can tell the light output of the old T12 bulbs has dropped. This will likely be the last year for them. Ignore the "Jigsaw" on the tag; it says PF3 on the other side.

Pepper Flat #4. This one has 35 varieties, arranged from left to right according the same scheme as PF3. The exact varieties can be seen (with recent germination numbers) in the chart labeled PF4 in this post.

The fifth flat was just planted, so nothing there, yet. A sixth and seventh will be planted this weekend.

Devv · Mar 6, 2015

Looks great John!

Germ rates are good too from what I see.

And our well pump is a 1.5 hp submersible. Well both are, I'll use the old one until it quits

capsidadburn · Mar 6, 2015

Lots of good looking seedlings! Lots of transplanting soon too. Pics look fine here!

Great start John!

stickman · Mar 6, 2015

You're off to a strong start John, even if not every variety germinates for you. Glad to see you had good germination percentages from the Kurtovska Kapijas.

tctenten · Mar 6, 2015

Very nice John. You certainly are on your way.

Sawyer · Mar 7, 2015

Devv said:
Looks great John!

Germ rates are good too from what I see.

And our well pump is a 1.5 hp submersible. Well both are, I'll use the old one until it quits

Thanks, Scott. Rates are pretty good. As expected, fresh seeds are doing better. I slipped up last year in both seed collection and preservation. Got some ground to make up this year.

I've got an old pump, as well. I need to tap out a gasket for it out of thin cardboard and put it back together before I lose the pieces, though.

capsidadburn said:
Lots of good looking seedlings! Lots of transplanting soon too. Pics look fine here!

Great start John!

Thanks, Mike. You're right, I'm going to have my hands full soon with transplanting. Got a bundle of ramps (wild garlic) in the mail a couple of days ago I need to plant today. I wish I had a good digital camera optimized or even dedicated to close-up shots. All of my decent equipment is old film stuff.

stickman said:
You're off to a strong start John, even if not every variety germinates for you. Glad to see you had good germination percentages from the Kurtovska Kapijas.

Thanks, Rick. Yeah, I've got enough varieties going, I'm not going to sweat the no-shows. I haven't looked today, but I might get 100% on the KKs. Eight out of nine isn't bad, in any case.

tctenten said:
Very nice John. You certainly are on your way.

Thanks, Terry. Yep, things are starting to snowball. This coming week looks to be more spring-like, so maybe I can start getting things ready in the garden and get pots lined up for the next step.

Plantguy76 · Mar 7, 2015

Reading through your glog and I got to say empressive :fireball:

Your list is huge :dance:

Your one interesting person my Arkansas neighbor :!:

Best of luck of this year growing season

What does the Arkansas reaper look like?
Once when I lived with my uncle I had a vole come out I was watching tv and all of a sudden there was this shaking at the book case this vole comes out comes over to me stares at me for awhile then goes under the couch never seen it again
Had to look it up just weird

capsidadburn · Mar 7, 2015

John, I understand completely about old fine camera equipment laying around. Mine is sadly collecting dust! Modernization!

I got a $100 dollar best buy card for christmas work party and a $2600 dollar watch. It's very nice and I like it very much, just not something I will utilize often. I am going to use the gift card and get a small Nikon point and shoot for around $200 similar to what John/ Prodigal Son was using last year. Maybe Scott/ Devv as well. I think it will do what I need for close and quality. My daughter has a larger Nikon with various lenses that we can't afford for me right now. My wife wants one of those too and her 50th birthday is coming in June.

I got some Drummond's Onion bundle for the purpose of maybe approximating a meal used by early natives of northeast Texas using a stone Earth oven for a few days with the onions, meat, and one other ingredient I forget. I don't plan on digging out a hole in my yard and using rocks, although I would love to some day. I think I will add a few Tepins to the mix. They say those onions are stronger than regular.

Thanks for the continuous updates on germinating!

Mike

gnslngr · Mar 7, 2015

....and he's off to a smokin' start, you might even end up thankful they ALL didn't pop!

You mix the dirt for the trays or......??? I know you probably say somewhere in there....but my browsing time is abbreviated out here in the deep blue sea, but I digress.....
...and roger on the Tepins!

Sawyer · Mar 8, 2015

Plantguy76 said:
Reading through your glog and I got to say empressive
Your list is huge
Your one interesting person my Arkansas neighbor
Best of luck of this year growing season

What does the Arkansas reaper look like?
Once when I lived with my uncle I had a vole come out I was watching tv and all of a sudden there was this shaking at the book case this vole comes out comes over to me stares at me for awhile then goes under the couch never seen it again
Had to look it up just weird

Hey, Jason, thanks for following along. My list is kind of ridiculous, but I'll only grow out two or three plants of a lot of these. I hope to sell a bunch of plants, especially the ornamentals. I had to look up Jackson on wiki. Yeah, I guess we are sort of neighbors, but you're way on the east side. One of the Arkansas THPers, JoeFish maybe, is from the NE corner of the state. You guys are practically next-door neighbors.

Funny you mention voles. I was looking out the kitchen window this morning, waiting for the coffee to brew, and noticed a cat out in the side yard, neighbor's or stray, I don't know. It was obviously in stalking mode, so I watched for a little while. It had a vole at its mercy, playing with it as cats do. Every time the vole would get close to escaping into some thicker growth, the cat would grab it and bring it back to the open. I grew tired of watching, i.e., the coffee was ready, but I hope the cat finished the vole off and didn't let it go.

capsidadburn said:
John, I understand completely about old fine camera equipment laying around. Mine is sadly collecting dust! Modernization!

I got a $100 dollar best buy card for christmas work party and a $2600 dollar watch. It's very nice and I like it very much, just not something I will utilize often. I am going to use the gift card and get a small Nikon point and shoot for around $200 similar to what John/ Prodigal Son was using last year. Maybe Scott/ Devv as well. I think it will do what I need for close and quality. My daughter has a larger Nikon with various lenses that we can't afford for me right now. My wife wants one of those too and her 50th birthday is coming in June.

I got some Drummond's Onion bundle for the purpose of maybe approximating a meal used by early natives of northeast Texas using a stone Earth oven for a few days with the onions, meat, and one other ingredient I forget. I don't plan on digging out a hole in my yard and using rocks, although I would love to some day. I think I will add a few Tepins to the mix. They say those onions are stronger than regular.

Thanks for the continuous updates on germinating!

Mike

Hey, Mike, thanks for stopping by. Sounds like a nice watch, but I'd rather have a $2600 camera set-up. Maybe someone's giving you a hint. Been late to any meetings lately? I may have to spring for something better suited to close-ups than my old Sony Cyber-Shot. I really need better close-ups for hooks, flowers, pods, etc.

I had to look up Drummond's onion, never heard of it before. I looked at your grow list in your natives glog. We have some overlap in species, but less than I would have expected. I'll have to look into that cooking technique in more detail. I have a wood-fired bread oven in my back yard that I've never used. Shame on me.

No germ. counts today, but I saw a lot of new ones when I glanced awhile ago.

gnslngr said:
....and he's off to a smokin' start, you might even end up thankful they ALL didn't pop!

You mix the dirt for the trays or......??? I know you probably say somewhere in there....but my browsing time is abbreviated out here in the deep blue sea, but I digress.....
...and roger on the Tepins!

Hey, Dave, good to see you around! I think you're right about being thankful they don't all pop. Though I peeked in a little while ago and I saw a lot of gaps starting to fill in. Just some johnny-come-lately's, I guess. I was especially pleased to see some of the Giant Bhuts I got from you starting to pop. I was worried I was going to lose that strain.

Sometimes I use Fafard 3B germination mix for starting seeds, but this year I'm reusing mix from last year's pots. That is Sunshine Mix #1 mixed 3.8 cu ft to 3.0 cu ft pine bark mulch. I mix in some 3-4 mnth Osmocote time-release fertilizer and water with a dilute solution of Peter’s 10-30-20.

Pepper Ridge Farm · Mar 8, 2015

All the cotyledons look so happy to have a chance at one day becoming a fruit bearing pepper plant. Very ambitious list of varieties you have started this year John and best of luck with all your new additions. The fun has just begun, will be following to see your progress and eventual harvests.

PaulS · Mar 8, 2015

Wow! Lots of seedlings there, it looks like its gonna take a long time to do all your repotting!
Good luck dude

PaulG · Mar 8, 2015

Geez, John, it will take weeks to transplant all those
seedlings, especially if you plant a couple of more flats!

Looking good - the little guys look nice and green.

Plantguy76 · Mar 8, 2015

John I was thinking about the two groundhog's I seen out in the field near the local restaurant.
That was about a week or so before groundhog day and it was a sunny day so they both saw there shadow.
Well we got two bouts of snow and cold weather following that those blasted groundhogs most be in the same union as Phil lol

Maybe getting a cat would take care of the voles and a dog could keep stuff like deer away if that cat is a feral maybe he will stick around and take care of the voles

Sawyer · Mar 8, 2015

Plantguy76 said:
What does the Arkansas reaper look like?

Hey, Jason, I missed this this morning. The AR Reaper is my own silly name for a not Carolina Reaper (or at least one of the apparently many atypical strains of the CR). I can't find a picture of a ripe pod, but here's a picture of an full-size, but unripe pod from 2013. They are a little larger than the correct pheno CRs I had. They are smoother than the CR and without the extreme stinger, but still wickedly hot. I'm pretty sure I have some extra seeds. If you want to try it, PM me.

Pepper Ridge Farm said:
All the cotyledons look so happy to have a chance at one day becoming a fruit bearing pepper plant. Very ambitious list of varieties you have started this year John and best of luck with all your new additions. The fun has just begun, will be following to see your progress and eventual harvests.

Hi Cappy, thanks for stopping by! And thanks for the best wishes. Cotyledons (and true leaves) took a little hit today as I removed the humidity domes today. In the past, I've really hurt seedlings by taking them from the 100% humidity under the dome to the much lower level in my house in general, all at once. I've learned to prop the domes up a little bit for a day or two first, in a sort of mini-hardening off process. Seems to work; the leaves didn't shrivel up like they did that one year.

PaulS said:
Wow! Lots of seedlings there, it looks like its gonna take a long time to do all your repotting!
Good luck dude

Hah! Thanks, Paul. I think I'm going to need some good luck.

PaulG said:
Geez, John, it will take weeks to transplant all those
seedlings, especially if you plant a couple of more flats!

Looking good - the little guys look nice and green.

Hey, Paul! Yeah, I hear you. Even more concerning than the time to transplant, I don't have nearly enough room for that many 3.5" square pots. My grow-out station can hold at most about 20 1020 flats at 18 3.5" square pots each. That's not even half way to where I need to be. I'm eyeing some space in another room, but I've got work to do to make that serviceable. I think a lot of plants are going straight from germination flat to in-ground or larger pot outdoors.

Plantguy76 said:
John I was thinking about the two groundhog's I seen out in the field near the local restaurant.
That was about a week or so before groundhog day and it was a sunny day so they both saw there shadow.
Well we got two bouts of snow and cold weather following that those blasted groundhogs most be in the same union as Phil lol
Maybe getting a cat would take care of the voles and a dog could keep stuff like deer away if that cat is a feral maybe he will stick around and take care of the voles

Jason, I'm glad you only saw two groundhogs and not six! I think you're right about the value of dogs and cats. I live too close to the highway to get a dog until I have everything fenced in. Once that happens, I'll get at least one of each.

NeedsWork · Mar 8, 2015

Sawyer said:

Those look tasty! Almost like a reaper x carribean hab which I was thinking about today...

Sawyer · Mar 8, 2015

NeedsWork said:
Those look tasty! Almost like a reaper x carribean hab which I was thinking about today...

I can see that. That plant was from seed straight from the dealer, so how or even if it might have been crossed, I don't know.

New germination numbers over here. A couple of interesting points, the Giant Bhut, which hadn't germinated any and for which I no more seed, have popped up three seedlings. The Orange Bhut seeds were from fresh pods and have yielded 9 out of 9 germinated. The varieties for which none at all have germinated are becoming fewer and fewer. I've got flats 6 and 7 mostly planned out. Meant to sow them today, but had a business meeting earlier that left me feeling sapped.

PaulG · Mar 8, 2015

Nothing like fresh seeds, John!

Sawyer · Mar 9, 2015

PaulG said:
Nothing like fresh seeds, John!

Yeah, I thought the Orange BJ might germinate more quickly than dried seed, but it didn't happen. I am happy with the 100% germination rate. I finally have one scrawny little Jigsaw germinating, but still nothing on the AR Reaper. Not too happy about that, but haven't given up yet.

Plantguy76 · Mar 9, 2015

Sawyer said:
Yeah, I thought the Orange BJ might germinate more quickly than dried seed, but it didn't happen. I am happy with the 100% germination rate. I finally have one scrawny little Jigsaw germinating, but still nothing on the AR Reaper. Not too happy about that, but haven't given up yet.

Hopefully your AR Reaper will germinate & pop soon!
Looks like most everything coming along best of luck in all your endeavor's