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Sawyer's 2013 Glog - Last Harvest/First Sauce

I haven't done a grow log before, but thought I'd give it a try this year. I'm growing mostly super hots, so I feel like I'm already behind schedule. Anyone know where January went? No pictures yet, I'll add some later when things (hopefully) start popping.

My setup is a basic home-made 2-tier 1" PVC plant stand. Each tier can accommodate 4 standard 1020 nursery flats and has three 2-bulb T-12 4' 40W fluorescent shop lights suspended above. The bulbs are a mix of Daylight, Wide Spectrum, and Power Twist. (I can't give you a K rating on these off the top of my head.) I use heater mats to try to keep the flats in the comfort zone for germination. They are wired to a dimmer switch so I can adjust the current. Even with the dimmer switch, in the past I've had trouble keeping uniform temperature, so this year I've put a layer of aluminum foil on top of the mats to spread out the heat and a layer of kraft paper on top of that. The flats go directly on the kraft paper. If anyone has any tips or tricks for controlling the temperature of heater mats (without purchasing an expensive thermostat), I'd love to hear about it.

I use standard 1020 nursery trays with 1206 (72-cell) inserts. I filled the inserts to planting depth with Sushine Mix #1 and planted anywhere from 2 (new) to 4 (old) seeds per cell. I then topped off the trays with some peat-based germination mix. I intended to use Fafard 3b germination mix, but didn't want to open a new bag for only four flats. I had a small bag of Miracle Grow and one of Ferry Morse left over from days past so I used one of those, I forget which.

The germination stand is in a back room in the warmest part of the house. As plants geminate and become established they'll be moved, either in whole flats, or potted out separately, to a 3-tier, 5 flat/tier stand in front of a bright picture window on the south side of the house. No lights on that yet and may not need them since the window gets direct sun for several hours per day. I'll be starting a lot of other seeds besides hot peppers, so I can't just leave them on the heater mats 'til plant out.

I started four flats today, one whole flat of self-propagated, pure-strain red Bhut Jolokia and up to 12 cells each of the following (note - I prefer the term 7 Pot to 7pod, but am keeping the 7pod nomenclature here out of deference to the vendor):

(First parenthesis is # of plants from first planting on 2/11, second is # plants/# soaked on 3/4)

Red Bhut Jolokia (my own isolated) (75)
Yellow Bhut Jolokia (PL) (0)
Brown Bhut Jolokia (PL) (1)
White Bhut Jolokia (PL) (8), (15/20)
Yellow Fatalii (RFC) (11), (6/10)
Giant White Habanero (RFC) (7)
Trinidad Scorpion Moruga/Moruga Blend (PL) (10), (28/35)
Trinidad Scorpion Moruga/Moruga Blend (RFC) (14)
T. Scorpion Moruga/Moruga Blend Yellow (PL) (6), (19/25)
T. 7pod Congo SR Gigantic (PL) (9), (2/7)
T. 7pod Large Red (PL) (4)
T. 7pod Large Yellow (PL) (1)
T. 7pod Brain Strain (PL) (10), (2/9)
T. 7pod Brain Strain Yellow (PL) (4), (11/12)
T. 7pod Brown (PL) (17)
T. 7pod Burgundy (PL) (8)
T. Douglah (PL) (5), (4/20)
T. Scorpion Butch T. (PL) (7)
T. Scorpion Yellow (PL) (18)
T. Scorpion Original Strain (PL) (1)
T. Seasoning (PL) (4)

New strains/sources started on 3/4:
Red Bhut Jolokia (PL) (45/50)
Scotch Bonnet Brown (PL) (22/34)
'12 7 Pot Yellow (RFC) (0/11)
'12 Bhut Jolokia Chocolate (PL) (0/14)
Datil (PL) (7/22)
Bhut Jolokia Orange (PL) (15/20)
T. Scorpion CARDI (PL) (7/20)
Tobago Treasure (PL) (8/20)

Started on 3/6:
Red Bhut Jolokia (own isolated) (>50)
Trinidad Moruga Scorpion (CPI) (13)
NuMex Pinata (CPI) (40)
White Bullet Hab (PL) (13)

Unrecorded plant date:
Orange Hab (PL) (2)
TS Cardi (PL) (7)
Dorset Naga (PL) (5)

Started on 3/25:
Yellow Bhut Jolokia (PL) - 8/?
Long Choco Habanero (AjiJoe) - 17/42
Pimenta da Neyde (PL) - 14/30
Giant Mexican Rocoto (PL) - 0/40
CAP 1144 (PL) - 0/21
(old) Yellow Habanero (Trade Winds) - 0/24
(old) Jamaican Red Mushroom (RFC) - 0/18
Trinidad Congo Red (PL) - 10/12
Datil (PL) - 9/22 (4 hh)
7 Pot Primo (PL) - 5/18
Early Jalapeno (PL) - 19/36
Cracked Jalapeno (PL) - 33/36
Large Hot Cherry (PL) - 33/36
Surprise Hot Mix (AjiJoe) - 97/144

Edit 4/3: add sources PL=pepperlover, RFC=Refining Fire Chiles, CPI=Chile Pepper Institute
Edit 4/3: (in blue)
Edit 4/29: Edit title (again)
 
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stc3248 said:
Nice! Notice a lot of triple cotys on the pics I've seen. Not terribly uncommon, but could mean slightly less than stable...I dunno??? Sure is cool though!
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50% more cotys = 50% more pods?
Devv said:
Good show!

Glad they're popping. Love the triples

How's your weather doing?
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Weather is absolutely gorgeous, though it did get a little cool last night. Have about 1/2 outside, but still in small pots. Too wet to garden, though I could be potting up if I weren't so busy otherwise.
annie57 said:
+ 1 but I know ya been away Arksaw. Need debriefing after the D.C. event? Just a little PTSD event. D.C. or snow? Snow is less damaging to the psyche! ;)
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Hi, Annie. I leave in a week for D.C. and will be gone for 10 days. :( Yeah, at this point, I'd rather have the snow. I'm working around the clock to get ready for the trip and getting so far behind outside I expect the county to pay me a visit to see if I'm still alive. Somehow, I have to at least get a little mowing done before I leave.

So far, out of 6-9 Reaper seeds planted from each of three different vendors, I have one that has popped. It's early yet, so I expect more.
 
Some of the more "precious" ones, I'm thinking of taking with me. That will probably raise eyebrows at the hotel, but there's nothing that says "no plants". I have someone lined up to water the more well-established plants, if needed. We'll see how that goes. I was thinking the timing of this trip was as bad as it could be, from a farming/gardening perspective, but there is really no good time to be away for this long (10 days).
 
Planted 22 plants into the garden today, 7 PL 7P Brown, 2 PL 7P SR Congo Gigantic, 4 PL 7P Burgundy, and 9 RFC Moruga Scorpion. I've got room prepared for 10 more and will likely get space ready for another 20 or so before I leave. Y'all will scoff at this, but they are planted about 10" apart. I know that's not nearly enough space, but this is just a holding bed until I get back from my trip. They'll do better there than staying in small pots. I'll be more selective with the rest of the available space and try to get as many varieties in the ground as feasible. Come to think of it, I may plant them even closer, to get more in the ground.

I also planted the remaining shallots and potato onions I had stored from last year. These things are tremendous keepers, but waiting this late was pushing it, both in terms of still being viable and having enough time to make before the killer heat. I planted one strain of shallots a week or so ago and hoped maybe 40% would sprout. Closer to 85% or 90% sprouted, though I'm losing a few, possibly due to water logging from the recent rains. Today I planted another variety of shallot (Melissa's from the grocery store) and three varieties of potato onions. The Melissa's shallots are huge, bigger than all of the potato onion varieties but one. All of these were stored overwinter from a spring planting last year. One variety of PO performed poorly last year and didn't make the cut this spring.

I mowed by the highway and the front yard, so at least anybody wondering will know I'm still alive. I'm less than 1/3 done with prep for the trip and time is growing short. Some of what needs doing can be done evenings after I get there, plus I have all day Tuesday to myself. Had thought to walk around the National Mall, but, been there, done that.

I think I can manage taking four or six 6-packs of seedlings with me. If it's only four, it will definitely be the Jigsaw (with 3 brown congos in the other three cells), and the three different sources of Reapers (two of which are showing life). If I can swing six, not sure what the other two will be.

I'll try to post a picture of the in-ground plants before I leave.

Edit: Forgot about Steve's MoAs. They'll be traveling with me as well.
Edit2: It's Hawk's Claw that's in the other three cells with the Jigsaw, not Brown Congo.
 
I think I would take peppers with me too!!

Dang, 10 days away from them at a crucial time....
And I thought I had it rough with all the bday parties, relatives visiting, etc etc that has kept me from getting garden stuff done....
 
Wow your shallots keep? Mine simply don't last, but I don't have a root cellar. My plant time for shallots and onions is Jan 15th, it may still hit the 20's but it never bothers them or the lettuce, broccoli etc.

I'd love to dig a root cellar but we have 2' of sand then 6"s of clay then rock. Years ago they replaced the gas line that runs through our place. They were saying they did a mile a day, not when they got here, took them 3 days to go 950'.
 
I had never tried shallots until last year I sowed some seeds in a flat and transplanted them in September. The ones that were right against the south side of the raised bed made it through the winter -the others not so much. I was given some potato onions and they wintered over fine. 
 
Have fun in DC, I'm headed that way for the weekend -to my DD and SIL about a hour west.
 
Just got back from Atlanta, ~10.5 hr drive (came the long way home from DC).  The one Jigsaw that had germinated before I left is still alive! :woohoo:    (Thanks, DesertChris!)  I have at least some Reapers from each of three vendors, red, yellow and orange manzanos, and four or five of the MoA seeds Steve sent to me have germinated. :dance:   I think all six of the MoAs I planted germinated, but it looks like a bug may have eaten one or two.  I clearly lost a few plants to drowning, but for the most part everything has survived my absence well.  Some of the plants look pretty awesome.  I'm too tired tonight to do anything but eat a burger, watch some TV and crash and I have a bunch of errands to run tomorrow, but I'll get a more complete accounting and update here in a couple of days.
 
 
 
 
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