Sawyer's 2013 Glog - Last Harvest/First Sauce

Sawyer · Mar 30, 2013

I've updated the secondary germination numbers in the OP. The number of orange BJs actually went down; three of the sprouts turned out to be elm seedlings. :doh:

I also realized I've never posted a complete view of my germination station. Here's one that shows more or less the whole thing without too much of the clutter around it. The plastic tubing looped down in front comes from a gallon jug of water/nutrient solution placed on the top shelf. I use it as a siphon to apply water to individual cells where and when needed. Not as neat as some, but functional.

I ran an unintended experiment I haven't mentioned before. The image below shows a direct comparison of germination of Moruga Scorpion seeds from two different sources. The 12 cells on the left are from one vendor, the twelve on the right from another. I'm not sure of the rules on posts in glogs critical of particular vendors, so I won't mention any names here.

Finally, here are some close ups of some of the girls. First up is a 7 Pot Douglah with a bit of leaf damage:

And a 7 Pot Congo SR Gigantic:

And closing with a 7 Pot Brain Strain:

That's all 'til next time.

JJJessee · Mar 30, 2013

Nice looking rig and plants, Sawyer. Is that sched 40 or 80 PVC? 1-1/4?
Sounds like a busy medium-mixing weekend too

Durham Bull · Mar 30, 2013

Sawyer,
that's a nice setup you have, put my tupperware and a couple of lightbulbs to shame.

plants looking great too

Devv · Mar 30, 2013

Lookin' good my friend, they will be dirt ready soon!

Have a great Easter!

Scott

Sawyer · Mar 30, 2013

JJJessee said:
Nice looking rig and plants, Sawyer. Is that sched 40 or 80 PVC? 1-1/4?
Sounds like a busy medium-mixing weekend too

Thanks, JJJ. The germination stand is sched 40, 1". The grow stand is also sched 40, but only 1/2". Even with all the bracing, it's a little unsteady when fully loaded. Next one will be out of 3/4" sched 40. It's still rainy here on the Ozark Plateau, so I may not get to the big mix this weekend. I've got enough supplies here inside to continue potting up to 3.5" square pots, so that's what I'll be doing until the weather improves.

Durham Bull said:
Sawyer,
that's a nice setup you have, put my tupperware and a couple of lightbulbs to shame.

plants looking great too

Thanks, Sy. I've only been into the superhots for a little while (and haven't had much luck except for the bhuts), but I've been gardening for as long as I can remember. The germination stand itself is around 15 years old. It doesn't matter as much what your setup looks like as it does what you're getting out of it, and your grow looks just fine.

Devv said:
Lookin' good my friend, they will be dirt ready soon!

Have a great Easter!

Scott

Thanks, Scott. You have a great Easter, too, and everyone else, as well.

DocNrock · Mar 30, 2013

It's all looking great, Sawyer. Spring is just around the corner. And feel free to post up the names of the vendors. It helps us all in the end.

Sawyer · Mar 30, 2013

Thanks, Doc. Okay, here goes. The good germination is from seeds I got from pepperlover.com. The not-so-good germination is from seeds I got from CPI. The CPI seeds looked "old"; they were a darker, duller color than normal, while the PL seeds had the usual brighter yellow-tan color.

To be fair, the CPI Pinata jalapeno seeds yielded some of the best germination results I've had this year, while the PL yellow and brown bhuts have yielded some of the poorest. I think these commercial vendors probably don't grow every strain every year and unless they are taking precautions in seed storage, even one year old seeds can germinate poorly. (One would think CPI, especially, would properly store seeds.) For example, I have my own isolated red bhut seeds in cold storage that are yielding good germination results even after three (four?) years, while seeds purchased last year, but stored in the intense heat of last summer, aren't germinating at all or at best very poorly.

Not only are the CPI Moruga Scorpion seeds germinating poorly, those that do seem to have poor vigor compared to the PL seedlings. In my first sowing this year I planted PL MS and RFC (Refining Fire Chiles) MS. Of those, the RFC germinated somewhat more quickly, but overall I can't tell much difference in the results so far.

Chaosbites · Mar 30, 2013

Interesting experiment! You can really see the difference between the two. How far are you going to follow the development?

Michelle

Sawyer · Mar 30, 2013

As long as they grow. I'm a little concerned about the CPI seedlings even developing into plants. They are the most stunted of all.

capehog · Mar 30, 2013

I bought the Ghost the Bell and Numex from CPI the bell and numex came up fine none of the Ghost but that is probably more to do with my having no experience with the super hots. I doubt that I buy from CPI again nothing about the seeds but I feel as though for my garden I can do just as well from pepperlover pepper joe or from friends I've met here.

Sawyer · Mar 30, 2013

I went with CPI as a third source of Moruga Scorpion. I'm very interested to see how stable this variety is. The Pinata and a shot glass were to get my order total up to minimum.

Spicegeist · Mar 30, 2013

Sawyer said:
I ran an unintended experiment I haven't mentioned before. The image below shows a direct comparison of germination of Moruga Scorpion seeds from two different sources. The 12 cells on the left are from one vendor, the twelve on the right from another. I'm not sure of the rules on posts in glogs critical of particular vendors, so I won't mention any names here.

Hmm, interesting, that's quite a difference... one way would be to thank the one vendor and not mention the other...

sicman · Mar 30, 2013

looks great,love the set up!

Sanarda · Mar 30, 2013

That setup looks great. Is that an aphid on the 7 pot brain strain or a glitch in the camera?

GA Growhead · Mar 30, 2013

Sawyer, i had a similar thing with butch Ts last year. Ones from PL and ones from PJ. And the PJ butchies started off slow. The PLs grew like crazy. Once i got them in the garden, they evened up. You couldn't tell them apart either. Plants, pods, and heat/flavor were pretty much identical. My buddy at work trashed his PJs cause they did the same (we split both orders), and only kept the PLs.
I did grow moruga blend scorps from PL last year. I got slight variation in pod shape, none with serious brain like texture. They varied in heat also across plants, when picked at the same time of season. My buddy got the better pheno out of the pack, one that was wrinkly but longer and bit hotter, along with ones similar to mine.
Wouldn't surpise me if they grow out different. I like the picture of CPI's though.

Sawyer · Mar 30, 2013

Sanarda said:
That setup looks great. Is that an aphid on the 7 pot brain strain or a glitch in the camera?

Thanks, Pia, and good eye. This is what you noticed:

The lights are off for the night, but I'll take a closer look in the morning. I know I don't have a heavy infestation, but things can sure get out of hand in a hurry. I did have a few lady bugs overwintering in that room, but haven't noticed them lately.

Sanarda · Mar 30, 2013

Your very welcome my friend. I want no hiccups for you :dance:

Sawyer · Mar 30, 2013

GA Growhead said:
Sawyer, i had a similar thing with butch Ts last year. Ones from PL and ones from PJ. And the PJ butchies started off slow. The PLs grew like crazy. Once i got them in the garden, they evened up. You couldn't tell them apart either. Plants, pods, and heat/flavor were pretty much identical. My buddy at work trashed his PJs cause they did the same (we split both orders), and only kept the PLs.
I did grow moruga blend scorps from PL last year. I got slight variation in pod shape, none with serious brain like texture. They varied in heat also across plants, when picked at the same time of season. My buddy got the better pheno out of the pack, one that was wrinkly but longer and bit hotter, along with ones similar to mine.
Wouldn't surpise me if they grow out different. I like the picture of CPI's though.

Thanks for the info, GA. We'll see. I also want to compare all of the morugas to the Brain Strains I got from PL. :whistle:

I don't trash or cull anything unless it's obviously diseased. Even the runtiest runts get a chance in my grow. I don't baby them, but they get their chance. (I'm the guy who replants carrot thinnings.) I've got a few tiny green sticks where helmet-head cotys shriveled and fell off, leaving just a little green stem. I had assumed those were doomed, but at least one appears to be developing a tiny leaf. I may need to have Pia take a look at it with her sharp eyes.

StupidJerk · Mar 31, 2013

When I was visiting the Ozarks last week I couldn't believe I saw snow on the ground. I can't remember snow on the ground this late in the year in the 20-something years I lived in the area. I think once when I was about 5 it snowed on St Patrick's day, but that's about it.

Hopefully you can take care of those aphids before they really take over. I recommend a beer, some free time, and a set of tweezers. It may not be the most effective way, but it sure is satisfying.

Grow looks great, can't want to see some huge plants growing in my native lands.

Sawyer · Mar 31, 2013

It is unusual to have snow so late in the year, but one of the biggest snows I remember in Arkansas was in the last week of March in the late '60s. And that was in SE AR; I have no idea what it may have been like up here.

Sounds like my style of aphid hunting. I'm going to try to locate those lady bugs I mentioned, too.

Thanks. I'm hoping, at the very least, for some productive plants.

Edit typo.