Sawyer's 2013 Glog - Last Harvest/First Sauce

Stefan_W · Mar 5, 2013

Good luck with this batch! It looks like a great selection.

Sawyer · Mar 5, 2013

stc3248 said:
Good luck with the new germ technique...should work for you. Good call on the lights and bulbs. The more light you can get to them the better. I think you're at a turning point, gonna start seeing some big changes on here!

Stefan_W said:
Good luck with this batch! It looks like a great selection.

Thanks, guys.

WalkGood · Mar 6, 2013

Nice update Sawyer!
Sad to read about you loosing a few, has happened to me as well :/ Interesting new germ method, let us know how it works out. Looking forward to seeing the up potting once you get to them, keep up dat great work! BTW my germ rates from my January 1 starts sucks, notice I’m not posting my sheet any more, lol. I don’t think Jan. is a good time for planting down here, oh well I’ll start a few more come spring & summer.

A few updated pics of your OW’s on your next update would be great! Sounds like they’re really enjoying the sunny window

Sawyer · Mar 6, 2013

WalkGood said:
A few updated pics of your OW’s on your next update would be great! Sounds like they’re really enjoying the sunny window

Will do soon, Ramon, the OWs are definitely starting to show some life.

I must have finally hit the sweet spot, temperature-wise, for the red bhut jolokias. I had another 22 sprout just overnight last night. These were planted on 2/11 and I've had quite a few germinate at either end of the flat. Even with a heater mat, hot spot buffering, and radiant barrier, there has still been enough temperature variation across the flat to cause uneven germination. The new sprouts are almost entirely located in the middle section of the flat.

I'm also starting another 100 or so red Bhut Jolokia seeds and one packet each of CPI Trinidad Moruga Scorpion and the NuMex Pinata (didn't count, but generous quantities). I put these in capped cups on wet coffee filter like the others, but may just let them soak awhile and plant before actual germination. I now have the Moruga Scorpion from three different sources, so it will be interesting to compare them for consistency. (I know, I know, the Reaper is the rage this year, but I'm behind the curve on all this.) I also found the description of the Pinata to be very interesting. I think a mix of the different colors will make a nice jar of sweet-pickle rings.

robisc · Mar 8, 2013

Sawyer nice plants and grow station! You commented on my glog about not having enough light to which I agree and am adding more tonight or tomorrow, do you have any recent pics to compare mine too, it looks like we started the seeds at about the same time and would like to see what mine should look like with enough light, thanks.

Sawyer · Mar 8, 2013

robisc said:
Sawyer nice plants and grow station! You commented on my glog about not having enough light to which I agree and am adding more tonight or tomorrow, do you have any recent pics to compare mine too, it looks like we started the seeds at about the same time and would like to see what mine should look like with enough light, thanks.

Thanks, Ty. I'll be potting up a bunch over the next couple of days and will post some new pictures then. To be honest, I don't have enough light either. Peppers seem to like way more light than most other things I've grown under these same lights... six T12 bulbs, positioned only two or three inches above the plants. Part of it is the bulbs are old and I'm sure the output is not what it once was, but from what I've seen on here the T5s are the way to go for peppers.

WalkGood · Mar 8, 2013

Four days have passed, how's the new germ technique working

Sawyer · Mar 8, 2013

WalkGood said:
Four days have passed, how's the new germ technique working

Nothing yet, at last check. I'll look again this evening or tomorrow morning.

Sawyer · Mar 9, 2013

Yeah, okay, I don't think I'll be doing that again. I planted a bit more than half the "moistened coffee filter in a cup" seeds today. Nothing was obviously germinated (five days?), but there were a few that looked like they might be trying. Most of the seeds looked fat and healthy, so we'll see how long it takes them to hook. I planted them a little deeper this time, so hopefully that, together with better temperature control, will reduce the number of helmet heads. The ones I planted were filling in gaps in the previously started varieties. I'll plant the new varieties tomorrow and hopefully get at a least a few of the bigger plants potted up in 3.5" square pots.

What I don't like about this germination method is the way the wet seeds stick to my fingers. Takes two or three times as long to plant them as it does dry seeds (and I have too many to plant each one with tweezers). Plus they stick together making it very difficult to distribute them around a cell. I finally just started dropping clumps of two, three, or however many, into a hole in the center of each cell. If I had only a very few extra special seeds, then maybe it would be worth the effort, but for the standard strains I'm growing and the numbers, I just don't see the benefit. I plan to isolate enough pods of each of the strains I want to keep to have plenty of seeds for the shotgun approach I'm more comfortable with.

I replaced the two weakest bulbs in my setup with two ~~recent engineering grads~~ 6500K T12s from Walmart. They are brighter than the ones replaced and maybe brighter than the other four still in service, but what I notice most is that they are very distinctly bluer than the others. Too early to be sure, but I think the plants like them, in that they seem to be bending more in that direction. If that's the case, I may replace the others or, at the least, intersperse the new bulbs amongst the others instead of having both on one side.

I put the six OW bhuts outside for awhile today to enjoy the bright sun and 65ºF temperature, as well as the one OW Naga Morich. It's in a 2-gal pot and so doesn't fit on the shelves. It normally sits on the floor next to the stand in the window. It got visited again last night by whatever critter previously stole the leaves from the bhuts. I heard the trap snap in the middle of the night and felt bad for the animal and good for the plants. This morning, I found the trap tripped and nothing in it, and all the remaining leaves and two small ripe pods (still hanging on from last fall) missing from the Naga Morich. I'm increasingly interested to know more about this animal and will try to rig up the live trap tomorrow.

I was going to take pictures in the sun of the new leaves on the OW bhuts (one is doing very well, one is struggling and the others are somewhere in between), but by the time I got around to it, it had clouded up and started raining. Soon.

I've updated the OP to reflect the number of healthy plants I have of each of the varieties planted 2/11, and changed the label for the newly started seeds from (# germinated/# soaked) to (# plants/# soaked). It does matter how many germinate, but in the final analysis the most important thing is how many plants I get. I'm most disappointed with the fact none of the yellow bhuts and only one TS Original grew, since I don't have any more seeds for those. I'll try those again next year (maybe) and in the meantime, I think I have plenty of plants to work with.

Salut!

stc3248 · Mar 9, 2013

Feel ya on the ~~rat~~ critter problem...I built a live catch trap last year and snagged about a dozen pack-rats out of the tomatoes. Once I relocated them all I didn't have many more problems. Late in the season a large critter started getting to them again. I suspect racoons, instead of just some eating fruit they knocked the plants over stakes and all. A good dose of cheap cayenne powder all over the shelves, soil and any potential incoming or outgoing trails may help...but if its eating ripe nagas I wouldn't want to meet it in person and it may lick up your cayenne and ask for more. Good luck!!!

Stefan_W · Mar 10, 2013

I don't do anything fancy with the seeds that I plant. They just go from the package and into some good organic soil mix, and it seems to work for me.

Good luck catching the critter!

Sawyer · Mar 10, 2013

stc3248 said:
...but if its eating ripe nagas I wouldn't want to meet it in person and it may lick up your cayenne and ask for more. Good luck!!!

Yeah, that's partly why I've resisted calling it a rat. Mammals aren't supposed to like that stuff. When I bought this place the previous owner claimed it was inhabited by something akin to a house elf. I dismissed the idea, but over the years, I've become slightly less skeptical.

Stefan_W said:
I don't do anything fancy with the seeds that I plant. They just go from the package and into some good organic soil mix, and it seems to work for me.

I use a commercial nursery mix supplemented with a time-release fertilizer, but yeah, direct-to-mix seems to be the way to go for me, especially now that I (think I) have the temperature control somewhat in hand.

Edit typo.

Stefan_W · Mar 10, 2013

Temp control is always a key part of it. I bought high quality grow matts from Lee Valley three years ago and I swear it was one of the best gardening invesments I ever made. I dont have to worry about anything except getting seed into the right cells, and everything turns out great.

Sawyer · Mar 11, 2013

Stefan_W said:
Temp control is always a key part of it. I bought high quality grow matts from Lee Valley three years ago and I swear it was one of the best gardening invesments I ever made. I dont have to worry about anything except getting seed into the right cells, and everything turns out great.

I have one each ~20"x48" from Hydrofarm and Root Radiance, but no thermostats. I wired them in series with a lighting dimmer switch (well, one of them, I just unpacked the second) and with frequent monitoring, that works pretty well. Along with covering them with aluminum foil and kraft paper to spread and buffer the heat, and still need a spacer to lift the flats a little. It's in my mind to build a Type-K thermocouple control unit, but who knows when that will happen.

Sawyer · Mar 11, 2013

Another update: Today I sowed a 72-cell flat of NuMex Pinata Jalapeno (18 cells), Tobaga Treasure (6 cells), CPI Moruga Scorpion (12 cells), PL Moruga Scorpion (12 cells), Orange Bhut Jolokia (12 cells), and Brown Scotch Bonnet (12 cells). Two to four seeds per cell. This flat goes on the lower shelf of the germination stand, that I finally got cleared out today. The heat mat is in place, but I still need to hook it up to a dimmer switch so I don't fry the babies. I'll plant one more flat of Red Bhut Jolokia and T.S. Cardi tomorrow and that will be it for the pepper seed starting (he said). On to other things at that point.

I potted up 18 seedlings into 3.5" square nursery pots. From left to right, there are six 7 Pot Browns, three 7 Pot Congos, six red Bhut Jolokias, and three red Brain Strains:

Here's a close up of one of the Bhuts:

One of the Congos:

And one of the Brain Strains:

Thought I had a picture of one of the brown 7 Pots, but apparently not. Here are some shots of some of the OW Bhuts. (Remember, these had leaves most of the winter until the creature stripped them not too long ago.) "Leafiest" first:

This one is showing life, too:

Here's an accidental shot of the base of the previous plant. It doesn't show anything special; I just like the picture:

'Til next time.

Sanarda · Mar 11, 2013

Very nice. Those babies are beauties for sure. Gonna be happy in their new home until plant out. Oh! Are you doing in ground or pots?

MisterNo · Mar 11, 2013

Great glog Sawyer, and nice pepper list!

Almoust all are superhots

Goodl luck with the grow

Sawyer · Mar 11, 2013

Sanarda said:
Very nice. Those babies are beauties for sure. Gonna be happy in their new home until plant out. Oh! Are you doing in ground or pots?

Thanks, Pia. There will be some of both. Most will go in ground, but I'll keep some in pots (relatively small, probably 5 gal). Hope to sell a few, too.

MisterNo said:
Great glog Sawyer, and nice pepper list!

Almoust all are superhots

Goodl luck with the grow

Thanks, Robert. I haven't yet learned to appreciate eating the superhots, but I'm trying.

Durham Bull · Mar 11, 2013

They are growing nicely. The OWs are looking good too.

Sawyer · Mar 11, 2013

Durham Bull said:
They are growing nicely. The OWs are looking good too.

Thanks, Sy. It's been a slow start, but I think things are going to start taking off now.