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SeaDud's GLOG

First grow log, getting this started a bit later than my actual peppers.

Grow List
  • Aji Pineapple
  • Aji Bishop's Hat
  • Large Orange Thai
  • MOA Scotch Bonnet
  • Chocolate Habanero
  • Peach Bhut Jolokia SS
 
Started Seeds - 2/22
Started in clear plastic egg carton under cheap 2-lamp two foot T8 fixture from Amazon.
(Rotisserie chicken container had some lettuce/spinach I was playing around with)
Fixture was finicky and wouldn't light properly without fiddling with the tubes.  Sent it back after 2-3 weeks.
 
 
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Transplanted to solo cups - 3/5-3/10
Bought two 2-lamp two foot T5s from Home Depot and wired them to plugs and timer, 18 on 6 off. Much happier :)
Also rigged up cardboard walls and foil in hopes to keep the box a little brighter/warmer. 
 
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These pictures are from at least 10 days ago, most peppers have their second set of true leaves by now. I'll post more pictures soon.
 
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Picture from today.
Large Orange Thai and the Aji Bishops have really taken off. I'm getting excited for warm weather, but Chicago has decided that we deserve 30 degree temperatures again.
 
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mpicante said:
What 30° degrees in ChiTown!!! Thats cold...
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Yep, and now 63 degrees. Spring here is all over the place, but I can see a garden and backyard time with the smoker on the horizon.
 
dragonsfire said:
Nice little garden their :) Good luck.
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Thank you! 
 
bpiela said:
For a smaller grow, you have an excellent list!  Best of luck!
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I only have the generous members of this site to thank :) Have you grown any of these before? Any favorites?
 
Update
 
I've been watering every few days, I think I'm in need of a fan, the stems seem a little on the thin side. Can anyone weigh in on this situation? Not sure what kind of fan would work best in this kind of setup.
 
Besides that, they seem to have decent growth. I haven't used any fertilizer/nutes yet, just watering once the soil has dried out fully.
 
Left to right: Aji Pineapple, Aji Bishop, Large Orange Thai, MOA Scotch Bonnet, and Peach Bhut Jolokia at far right.
MOAs seem to be growing a bit slower, hoping I'm not running into issues with those. I've put them on blocks to raise them closer to the lights, as everything else forced me to raise them a bit more.
 
Any advice, insight, etc. is greatly appreciated! :)
 
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I have a Lasko Clip Stik Desk Fan that I picked up off of Amazon that I think works well, although I can use a few more.  It clips onto the shelves and you can maneuver it around many different ways.
 
Update: 4/6/2016
 
Started using a small dose of Pure Blend Pro Grow 3-2-4 in the water this week. I'm fairly inexperienced with nutes and had it laying around, so feel free to let me know if this is a bad balance to be using!
 
They're growing well, I got a fan and have been leaving it on them for 20-30 minutes in the morning and evening. Thanks for the suggestion bpiela!
 
Everything is looking good, although I'm seeing some bumps on a few stem bases. I believe those are root nodules and may add more soil to the cups. Otherwise, I'll just make sure to bury them deeper when transplanting them to their final homes. One possible issue I have spotted is a bit of brown patches on one leaf of the Thai. See the picture below.
 
I know they're a bit wilted in the photos, don't worry, I gave them a drink right after taking pictures. The cups have several drainage holes punched in the bottoms too.
 
 
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This is the spot I mentioned. Any thoughts? Nutrient deficiency? Just water on the leaf?
 
Finally a nice day in Chicago. Mid to high 60s, hardening off is a good excuse to sit outside, smoke a cigar, and drink a beer (or several).
 
Brought them outside for about an hour and a half, partial sunlight, light breeze.
They're looking good, although the orange thais look like they're overwatered a bit. Leaves curling under slightly and signs of light edema on some of the leaves, if I've done my reading correctly.
 
Scotch bonnets are starting a lot of growth, but it's very apparent that chinense seem to grow at a much slower pace than the baccatum, which are almost too tall for the maximum height on my lights inside. Good think we're getting close to outdoors! Considering topping the aji pineapple and bishop's hat, still undecided.
 
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Haven't been home long enough this week to continue hardening off. Hopefully I'll get them out for a few hours each day this weekend. I'll probably start putting them out for an hour in the morning and an hour at night before/after work. 
 
I've been trying to let them get as dry as possible without doing any damage, since I've been seeing edema on the Orange Thais. Some are much bigger babies than others, wilting much faster/harder but springing right back up once they get a drink.
 
The two Scotch Bonnets and the Bhut are growing so slowly, probably only a few inches tall, while the Orange Thai's are getting so tall I had to take the hangers off the lights and ziptie them to the shelving unit! I topped one of the Thais and one of the Aji Pineapples last night just to see firsthand a side by side comparison of top/non-top.
 
I also decided to leave two Aji Bishops in one pot, as another experiment. This year is all about learning, sometimes by intentionally screwing up. I'm curious to see if they become nutrient starved at a faster rate than I'd imagine, or how their fruiting will be effected. I'm all for reading about this kind of stuff, but seeing it first-hand is how I learn best.
 
I started this grow thinking I'd give away 1 out of the 2 peppers of each kind I started to a friend... I don't know if I'm going to do that anymore. I'm greedy and want to learn as much as possible. I'd still give out peppers to them for free.
 
On a side note, the goddamned neighbors cats and the squirrels dug up the entire 7x3 raised bed that I just cleaned, turned over, and planted with spinach and radishes last week. I decided to start some spinach and lettuce in plugs (rapid-rooter) just for sharts and gargles, to see if they'd be less aggressive to actual plants. (Damn cats think it's their toilet)
I'll be adding a regular dose of coffee-grounds, citrus peels, hair (I heard that works), and spent pipe tobacco to the raised bed. Also, once I get my herbs in there I think that'll help. I've heard they hate rosemary (which they steered clear of last year).
 
Anyhow, I'm getting antsy to get the plants outside and repotted, and I'm running out of room in the grow box. Warmer weather can't come soon enough.
 
Been having more warmish weather, so hardening off has continued. I had them in the back yard in partial sun for an hour and a half yesterday and they seemed to handle it fine. I've got them on the front porch (north facing) today, and will probably do that for a few hours every day this week. I'm hoping to have them in direct sun in the next two weeks.
 
One worrying thing is that I've seen some grey-ish looking spots appearing and would like to see if anyone has any input on what it might be. My guess was a bit of sunburn but if anyone has thoughts on it being something more serious I'd appreciate your two cents.
 
I've seen it mostly on both plants that I've topped, not sure if that could be a factor, but new growth looks healthy on the 3 plants that have it, so would that rule out nutrient deficiency or burn? Still trying to get the hang of this diagnosing thing.
 
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Peppers are finally outside! Between the cold spring, tons of rain, and all the weddings we've been out of town for, I thought they were going to live under bulbs forever.
I hope they're hardened off enough, they're in full sun today! 
 
 
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