Scuba_Steve's First Year Glog

Trident chilli · Feb 22, 2015

Once you sowed your seeds where did you put the tray ... Have you a prop or did you utilise the airing cupboard. seeds need constant heat 27-30c to germinate ... do you also have artificial light

If not happy with potassium nitrate .... make yourself a cup of tea. Save the tea bag and place in a dish with some warm water .. place seeds in some paper towel and place on top of tea bag ... leave over night ... a weak tea solution softens tannin which softens the seed husk and is widely used in the UK to aide germination especially on those stubborn varieties

Scuba_Steve · Feb 22, 2015

... turns out that I think I just need to be a bit more patient. I am now over 50%, and I see at least 1 new hook every day!

Trident chilli said:
Once you sowed your seeds where did you put the tray ... Have you a prop or did you utilise the airing cupboard. seeds need constant heat 27-30c to germinate ... do you also have artificial light

I have a standard little seeding heat mat under them.

When my peppers first started coming up, they were lit only by a south facing window. I noticed that they appeared to grow quickly despite only having their cotys. I decided that they were looking a little leggy for my liking. I had 6 bulbs laying around from a hydro project that never had a chance to take off. I decided that 2 should be plenty to illuminate my tray. I ordered these bulbs off of eBay from a guy in china. I could not find the exact spectrum I wanted, so I had them customized by him. I still got a great price, around $25 each. The bulbs are 18 3w LEDs, 54w total, with a combo of 8 660nm, 4 630nm, 2 450nm, 2 430nm, 1 730nm, 1 3000k white. The 8 660nm, 4 630nm, 2 450nm, 2 430nm are set due to peaks in the PAR spectrum, or areas where photosynthesis is most effective. I added the white to provide a small amount of coverage in all the other areas. The IR LED is there to stimulate the Emerson Effect. Look that up on Google if you've never heard of it. It was some good knowledge.

I then threw this together.

Shortly afterwards I moved the light up as high as they could go. I was not getting good coverage. Plus 3w LEDs are a point light source, and can be pretty intense for some new seedlings.

moruga welder · Feb 22, 2015

nothing more cooler than watching a seed that you plant go from a tiny hook to a huge plant with really nasty looking peppers towards the end ! self satisfaction ! i'm hoping that i can get some to maturity and retrieve a lot of seeds so i can share back into the T.H.P. COMMUNITY ! they have treated me well ! :onfire:

Scuba_Steve · Feb 22, 2015

moruga welder said:
nothing more cooler than watching a seed that you plant go from a tiny hook to a huge plant with really nasty looking peppers towards the end ! self satisfaction ! i'm hoping that i can get some to maturity and retrieve a lot of seeds so i can share back into the T.H.P. COMMUNITY ! they have treated me well !

I agree. As I have heard quite a few people around here say, Pepper People Rock! There is a ton of generosity around here. I am hoping to amass enough seeds this year so I can contribute back to the community as much as humanly possible next season.

So after a ton of thought and discussion on soils, I finally decided on a mixture to use. Ironically it is what I originally planned.

Here is a mixture of 5-1-1. Well actually I modified slightly and made 4-1-1. 4 parts Olde Castle soil conditioner (composed pine fines), 1 part sphagnum peat moss, 1 part perlite. I also added 1 tbsp of kelp based slow release fertilizer, 1 tbsp dolomitic lime, and 1/2 tbsp bone meal.

How many of you can say that you have been arm deep mixing soil at 1am?

9cft unmixed

Mixed

Closeup

Bagged

I did a second 4.5cft batch this morning as well. There are now 10 1/2 bags.

BTW, I had read Wally bags are almost exactly 5 gallons. Well Depot bags are almost exactly 10 gallons. I measured with a 5 gallon bucket.

I mixed this by hand on a 9'x9' tarp. The tarp made things very easy compared to any other method I could think of. I could pick up a corner or side of the tarp to remound the mixture. It still took forever!

moruga welder · Feb 22, 2015

looks great my friend ! keep us updated ! :onfire:

coachspencerxc · Feb 22, 2015

Scuba_Steve said:
How many of you can say that you have been arm deep mixing soil at 1am?

Ha. I can relate. I do most of my work long after everyone's asleep.

Runescape · Feb 22, 2015

Scuba_Steve said:

whoa, are those some of your coral back there?

Scuba_Steve · Feb 22, 2015

Runescape said:
whoa, are those some of your coral back there?

No coral can not live outside of saltwater. Those are my daughters moon cactus.

Runescape · Feb 22, 2015

Scuba_Steve said:
No coral can not live outside of saltwater. Those are my daughters moon cactus.

Ah, lol. Never heard of those before...look pretty neat...

Scuba_Steve · Feb 22, 2015

Here are some pics I took today. I turned off the grow lights to get better pics. Please let me know if you see any issues.

7 Pot

Bhut Jolokia

Carolina Reaper

Devil's Tongue

Moruga Scorpion

Naga Morich

Red Savina

Trinidad Scorpion

tsurrie · Feb 22, 2015

looks good to me ... looks like you'll have a fine grow!

I can relate to late night work regarding peppers too... I always do stuff 'till 2 AM, even when I have to get up at 6:30 AM to go to work.... you just get used to it

Scuba_Steve · Feb 24, 2015

Just threw together a little Arduino project after getting a moisture sensor in the mail. It lights up 5 LEDs based on the moisture level in the soil.

Scuba_Steve · Mar 2, 2015

I had another late night last night, elbows deep in dirt. Man I must be getting old! Mixing your own dirt is hell on your back! I am glad I am finally done with that!

First I installed a new irrigation timer. The old one broke. We have 6 beds in our yard. Each line goes to two beds. Only 2 of them are mine, the rest belong to my wife. I have the far right line.

Dug a trench to run the irrigation line.

Here is my bottom irrigation. There will be sprinklers up top too. I know most don't like the pea pebbles, but it has worked very well in my wife's beds.

Mixed up 28cf of Mel's Mix with a little twist.
6cf Sphagnum Peat Moss
2cf Coconut Coir
10cf Mixed Compost (Manure, Mushroom, Humus, Chicken)
6cf Vermiculite
2cf Perlite
2cf All Purpose Sand
8 cups Dolomitic Lime
8 cups Kelp based slow release fertilizer
4 cups Bonemeal

Close up

Scuba_Steve · Mar 3, 2015

Is it just me, or does anyone else have a cable box that looks like this?

Runescape · Mar 4, 2015

Scuba_Steve said:
Is it just me, or does anyone else have a cable box that looks like this?

Lol, ive heard of germinating seeds like that, but have never tried it...

Those your round 2 seeds?

Scuba_Steve · Mar 4, 2015

Yes they are.

I hope they can catch up to Round 1!

Scuba_Steve · Mar 4, 2015

Today is beautiful outside! 80 degrees with a light breeze. So far it is the warmest day of the year.

I decided today would be a good day to sit outside, let the peppers have their first exposure to the sun and the wind, and do most of my transplanting. Not everything was ready to pot up, but most were.

Prepped and ready

All done!

Scuba_Steve · Mar 4, 2015

And we are back in the house now. I again threw together a lighting setup to accommodate their much larger footprint. They are now in the garage. It isn't heated, so hopefully they stay warm enough.

I am just using an old aquarium LED fixture. It seems to be putting down plenty of light, although not the most ideal spectrum for plants. No reds, just whites and blues.

Hybrid Mode 01 · Mar 5, 2015

Your plants look really good so far, as does that soil. I bet those raised beds are going to be fun this season. I'm really happy with the ones I put in a few years ago.

Scuba_Steve said:
I also added 1 tbsp of kelp based slow release fertilizer, 1 tbsp dolomitic lime, and 1/2 tbsp bone meal.

Are those amounts ^ what you added to the whole batch? That seems kind of light, imo. I think I added closer to a cup each of bone meal and Tomato-Tone per ft3 to my mix last year, for example.