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Scandinavian Growlog 2015

Welcome.
This is my second year of growing chilies. First year gave a decent yield and a lot of experience (see http://thehotpepper.com/topic/49543-first-year-growing-glog/).
 
Generally I am very limited in space. For this year I will grow less plants, but in bigger pots, outside. 
I intend to have 4-5 outside plants in ~20 liters fabric pouches, and 1-2 smaller plants in 5 liters pots, but i accidentally sowed more varieties than this. We will see how it turns out!
 
 
I sowed the following seeds yesterday:
Fatalii yellow (pepperlover)
Goats weed (pepperlover)
Brazilian starfish (pepperlover)
Cracked jalapeno (pepperlover)
Unknown bird pepper (from pod)
Lemon something (pod left by my door along with a note that mentioned this pod was a lemon chili - I suspect it being an Aji Lemon Drop)
Basket of fire (from pod)
 
 
Had soaked all seeds in a weak camomille tea for 6 hours prior to sowing. 
 
I actually intented to only sow the fatalii this early (being a slow chinense), but couldn't help myself from sowing the rest. I had concerns about sowing too early, as they might turn out leggy in the dark scandinavian winter, or outgrow my indoor space.
I think I might top the plants, hoping that the resulting delay in their growth will mean that they don't outgrow my indoor space before i'll be able to transplant them outside.
 
 
I don't have any special seed starting mix, but had some pellets from some "grow-your-own-basilikum-kit" i once bought, and I guess they are similar to jiffy pellets. I mixed this soil with a bit of perlite (which I have aquired from the lab I work at, we use it for chemical spills), and sowed the seeds in about 4 centimers of this. Topped the soil with a bit of vermiculite (same origin as the perlite). 
You might notice I sowed directly into cups, and the lowest 10 centimers or so of the cups, are just regular, fertilized potting soil, mixed with a bit of perlite.
 
So my idea was that the jiffy pellet soil is probably not really fertilized, and thus good for sprouting. And once the plant grows, it will gradually reach the pre-fertilized soil, preventing potential fertilizer burns.
 
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I then moisturized the soil and covered the cups with foil. Now they are placed next to my radiator at 20-23 degrees celsius.
 
 
Any comments, suggestions or whatever is highly welcome! 
 
 
To be continued!
 
 
Coldgrowth said:
 
 
 
Generally I am very limited in space. For this year I will grow less plants, but in bigger pots, outside. 
 
     That's almost always a good idea. It's a hard lesson to learn because this time of year it's always tempting to start more seedlings than there is room for. But it's been my experience that small pots just leads to frustration. Big pots = monster plants!
 
Yes, we will see what works out! I have a lot of seeds starting, so lets see if I have the strength to murder a lot of seedling!

 
Also, I was just searching around and found that you can get 24watt red-blue LED's quite cheap (like 10 USD). Should I consider getting some grow lights to help my seedlings along?
I only have a west-facing window, and we have about 9 hours of daylight during february here. So the main natural light source for the seedlings is just diffuse daylight.
Last year I did find them to grow quite slow in the beginning, though I don't really know what to expect.
 
I guess I can compare the rate of growth on my old glog to that of other glogs here. Time for research!
 
You can buy some cheap artificial lighting to supplement growth. A cheap 36w tl fixture (6500k, 2000 lumen) will already help a lot for your seedlings.

Your grow looks good, but I'm a bit concerned about the drainage and water retaining of the vermiculite and perlite. It might not be so much of an issue, but you might run into some issues like yellowing, curly leaves or chlorosis. If that happens, try watering less. If that doesn't fix it, repot in regular potting soil with a bit of perlite (volume 5%).

What kind of lab do you work for (NGS/sequencing by coincidence)?
 
Thanks for the comments!
 
@ Pfeffer
I might get a cheap grow light light, though I really quite don't have room for it... hmm..
 
We will see about the water retention. I'd say theres maybe a 5% volume of perlite in the soil. Vermiculite is just on the top. I'll keep an eye on it!
 
I am an engineering student, and have a student job at the university, in which I use the labs. 
 
 
 
Also just moved my cups, as the temperature was just between 19-21 degrees, which I don't think is ideal for germination. I don't really have any way of keeping a temperature of 24-30 degrees constant, so just placed them on top of a radiator at low settings.. I hope it works!
 
Growlights start at about 50 euro. Just go to a DIY store and get twin TL fixture. They are more affordable to buy and operate, though less productive. It's better than only daylight though. You can also buy some 20mm screws and mount it underneath a desk (a class mate did that with his fixture as he only had little space). He used daylight at day and put the tray on his deskchair for an additional 4-5 hours of extra lighting in the evening. I'm quite sure you can even get free fixtures in your neighbourhood. Always replace the bulbs though. Get decent 6500k bulbs with as much lumen as possible.
 
So the temperature on the radiator seems to be mighty fine, ranging 23-30 C.
 
Bunch of little plants emerged, being anuums and the brazilian starfish.
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2015-01-14103355_zpsbf32da33.jpg

 
 
Also dug a bit around in the cup with Fataliis, and they have also germinated, so expecting to see them soon as well!
 
Now the issue is that I basically started these too early, considering I have no artificial light for them, and the season has few daylight hours AND it is basically constantly cloudy, I have barely seen direct sun in weeks.
We will see if they will manage. Either way, have plenty of seeds, so I can just start a new batch in february if all goes bad.
 
 
 
 
So I did decide to get myself some grow lights, though from china, so potentially long shipping times. Anyway, I'll have the lights for next season then.
Went for the following in the end:
15 watt e27 LED (5x3watt LED, 3 red 2 blue)
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/1-X-Full-Spectrum-Led-Grow-light-E27-15W-3-Red-2-Blue-for-flowering-plant/32227852799.html
 
with the socket:
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/A96-Free-Shipping-E27-female-socket-to-EU-plug-adapter-with-power-on-off-control-switch/2017534372.html
 
Total: 4.71 USD Including shipping. It really seems too good to be true.. And if it is, I havn't lost much. But the seller and the bulb did have decent ratings. We will see!
 
It's really mind boggling these chinese prices! I was looking to buy some flourescent lights locally, which easily went well past 20 USD for bulb+fixture (more like 50-60 USD).
But the bloody chinese can produce and ship bulbs for less than half of what it would cost me to ship a bloody wallet to my father for christmas (13 USD for a <1kg shipment, within country limits, seriously)!
 
Either way, now comes the waiting time!
 
Any light is better than non. You can even go to IKEA and get a 2 euro fixture and fit it with an 1 euro 13w fluorescent bulb if you can't provide anything else yet.
 
Ill try my best without artificial lights this season. I mean, I do intend to top them, which kinda counteracts any potential leggyness of the seedlings.
 
Also i really cannot find cheap flourescent lights here, cheapest are 10 USD each. I think denmark might have some extra taxes for them, for environment or whatever, 13W 517mm T5 FL rod for 12 USD, from a cheap online danish supplier. So I'll wait and see if the 15W LED from china arrives, or if I've been ripped off.
 
 
Anyway, lots of sprouts!
All varieties have germinated in 8 days, anuums, baccatums and even the chinense Fatalii, I'm quite impressed!
Picture here from today! Finally direct sun, wow! 
2015-01-16134445_zpse1e45831.jpg

 
 
I really had a hard time keeping my hands off them. I'm studying for exams, and even watching a seed sprout seems more interesting than reading any more books.... So I've been digging a bit about in the dirt, and possibly disturbed quite a few seeds. But I was a bit worried, since my girlfriend helped me sow them, and she placed some of them pretty deep in the soil (up to about 3cm deep). But seems that sufficiently many have made it fine!
 
 
 
Now it is soon time to figure out what to do with all these.. Can only keep about 7 plants (8-9 if I push it). 
 
 
 
 
Also I'll update a bit on the Miracle fruit plant I bought last.. october I think it was.
It went through a period of dropping a lot of leaves, but appeared to stabilize during december. No new growth, but looked healthy. Even had a few leaves turn red-ish, which appears to be their 'normal' way of shedding a few leaves during winter.
I have been keeping it in a plastic bag to provide humidity, but hadn't sealed it tightly as I thought some air circulation would be beneficial... Well, I guess that was a bad idea.
About a week ago, i noticed a few leaves turning brown. A few days after, about ½ the leaves were beginning to dry out, turning brown and curling. I misted it with water, gave the plant a good watering and sealed the bag tightly around it. I think humidity was the issue, and the plant appears to have stabilized again - though a lot leaves seem to have died.
 
Interesting project with this Miracle fruit, but I havn't seen ANY new growth.. So I'm considering this to be a sort of journey of experience, because the darned fruits seem to be years away..
 
seedlings coming along nicely. They don't seem to turn out that leggy, and apparently are getting enough sun - I can spot the first hints of true leaves emerging on the anuum varieties.
2015-01-23141350_zps7d5ca90d.jpg

 
 
Another minor update, this thing finally arrived!
2015-01-23141422_zpscd6fc345.jpg

 
 
It had already destroyed a few seedlings with it, as I accidentally crashed it right onto the plants, and chopped up a few.. Luckily it did not wipe out an entire variety!
 
So firstly. Peppers are doing fine. Growth is somewhat slow, but they are MAINLY growing in natural light (more on this further down). Natural light is very limited. West-facing window, and since the sun is low in the winter, most direct sunlight is blocked by nearby buildings. So they get at absolute max an hour or two of direct sunlight a day. 
 
2015-02-09163054_zpsf3bce492.jpg

 
First true set of leaves out for most of the varieties. The ones in the back are just the same varieties for friends. Jalapenos growing quite fast compared to the others. Goats weed being the slowest, even slower than fatalii, dispite goats weed being an anuum. Other than that, seems to go well. Watering is simple and maintenance-free, with about 400-500ml of soil in each cup.
 
Considering to cover the clear cups with some paper, as some on this forum says the light will damage roots? I will consider, it would be quick to implement.
 
 
 
Also gave in, and bought myself a 15W LED bulb from china, for 3,5 USD including shipping? Thats insanely cheap. Had my doubts about the quality, but from what I can tell the 5x3W led bulbs are from a decent company, and they have been installed in a proper e27 socket with aluminum heat sink. It does run a bit hot, maybe about 60 degrees celsius, but the heat sink does its job well.
If interested, this is the product: (http://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/6447331630.html?orderId=65423049440087)
 
So my purpose of buying this bulb was to try using grow lights to supplement natural light. So I took a box I had around (which is from Germany and contained brewing equipment, another hobby of mine!), lined it with aluminum foil and simply stuck the led bulb on top if it. Seems to be working fine. I'll toss it over the seedlings in the afternoon, once the sun has gone down, and turn it off again, once I go to bed.
2015-02-09214632_zpsb98a7fb1.jpg

 
 
 
One minor issue is that the bulb has quite low spreading of the light, they are focused quite well by some plastic optics. So some of the plants definitely get more light than others. Not a big issue, I'll rotate them and preferentially keep my dearest babies in the hot spot.
2015-02-09214647_zpse4e08182.jpg

 
 
I guess it could be possible to reduce the focusing of the lenses and make the light more diffuse by removing the plastic optics, leaving the pure diodes... well. I will not do that now.
 
 
 
 
Also an update on the Miracle Fruit plant. First picture is how it looked when I got it from thailand in october, and the picture on the right is its current state.
 
2014-10-04132744_zpsc8475981.jpg
         
2015-02-09204531_zpsf75c50be.jpg

 
It took a big hit during the winter, as the humidity got really low. Caught it in decent time, and misted the plant and resealed it in the bag. The plant has stabilized, and hasn't had any further drying of leaves in the past month.
 
Decided to clear it from dead leaves. A pretty sad sight, less than 50 leaves left on the plant.
 
 
 
hey man
good progress on the plants I see... but time for repotting maybe ?
don't wait for the roots to tangle...
 
I see you're researching the LED growlights area....  I picked one of these... blue&red ones... http://www.aliexpress.com/item/2014New-Design-10pcs-0-5M-LED10w-grow-light-bars-light-strip-Hydroponic-Plant-flowers-vegatables-Greens/1821227630.html
but am still waiting for delivery... guess I'll have them here just about when I'll have to put the plants outside :)
 
anyway.. good luck with the grow
 
tsurrie said:
hey man
good progress on the plants I see... but time for repotting maybe ?
don't wait for the roots to tangle...
 
I see you're researching the LED growlights area....  I picked one of these... blue&red ones... http://www.aliexpress.com/item/2014New-Design-10pcs-0-5M-LED10w-grow-light-bars-light-strip-Hydroponic-Plant-flowers-vegatables-Greens/1821227630.html
but am still waiting for delivery... guess I'll have them here just about when I'll have to put the plants outside :)
 
anyway.. good luck with the grow
 
Thanks!
 
I don't intend to repot these, as my grow space is severely limited, I'll have to cull all but one in each cup - just havn't had the guts to do it yet!
 
The LED lights seem good so far!
 
Been a whiiiile since last update. Busy times.
 
So what happened.. Well, had that little incidence with suspected mites, and the hot water treatment I applied that nearly killed my plants. Severe setback to plant progress, but they did bounce back!. More pictures and such here: http://thehotpepper.com/topic/53293-seedlings-growing-wierd-leaves-unhealthy-grow-any-guesses-to-as-why-this-might-be/?hl=coldgrowth
 
This is the dude who started my worries. Brazilian Starfish from Pepperlover. A plant from the same pack of seeds, in the same pot, had no issues. wierd stuff. Ended up killing it, but I kinda regret doing so. "Too weird to live, and too rare to die."  Oh well, like half of the Brazilian starfish's I sowed (about 4/7 plants) had these wierd growing characteristics, and I have plenty more seeds. Could go for starting a new "freak", should I wish for it.
2015-03-30%2014.40.44_zpsw17xk7ia.jpg

 
 
Also experimented a bit with topping. Same plant, a month apart.
2015-03-16%2016.19.56_zpsb2pzxzsj.jpg

2015-04-13%2021.22.56_zpsoxrs5ekt.jpg

 
 
 
And a group shot. From the left: (Goats Weed, barely visible), Jalapeno, Brazilian starfish, Aji Lemon Drop, Fatalii. Also have an additional 2 varieties, but they are mainly ornamental.
2015-04-13%2021.36.07_zps9pfoanqj.jpg

 
 
Another chili I havn't shown here before: one overwinter I left in a public room nearby. Doing great, soon mature chilis!
Funny little story regarding this picture. Notice the brown spots on the grass outside? Where I live, it is tradition that when someone turn 25, you tie them up, and throw lots (multiple kilograms, seriously) of CINNAMON on the poor lad or lass. In this particular case, the poor fella got shot with a spud-gun, packed full of cinnamon. He was not hurt, don't worry. (for an example: http://imgur.com/gallery/XvEvg
2015-04-12%2017.49.08_zpsleeixr6e.jpg

 
 
 
Other projects in progress: 
Miracle berry... Won't post a picture, poor fella is suffering. Alive, but suffering. Not really sure how to make it happy. It's packed in a bag in a west-facing window, and regularly sprayed to keep humidity high.
 
Hops for beer brewing. I'm a homebrewer, and thought this could be interesting. Got myself a clone of an old danish variety (Winge 1) and a british variety (First Gold). First gold put out its first few leaves, might add a picture later.
 
Myrica gale, or sweet gale. In danish "mose-porse". Was out plucking some porse to make some flavored akvavit, and investigated the growth habit of the plant meanwhile. Noticed that they make shoots, that form their own roots - so they would appear quite simple to clone! So took two clones, and stuck them in some peat I had around. They are native in bogs, acidic and wet soil. It's too early to tell if they are thriving or not, time will tell.
2015-03-23%2018.37.36_zpsndqmgurs.jpg
 
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