• Blog your pepper progress. The first image in your first post will be used to represent your Glog.

SETHSQUATCH GROW BIG LOG WITH puny hammer

Ok. I'm in the ring. This is really my first year growing from seed and may as well be my first year ever. Last year we had a bag garden (which was pretty weak), and Justaguy contributed a couple of bucket plants later in the season (awesome).

So, just to get this out in the open early, I'm a little OCD. DANGER PLANTS! DANGER! FLEE FROM THE FURRY ONE! My natural tendency is to, well, let's just call it over-love my plants. "You like fertilizer? Well you'll love it straight from the bottle!"

One of my bigger hurdles is to just let the plants do their thing. I mean, I have grown up in a culture of drive-thru instant gratification, which doesn't exactly breed patience… But I'm working on it. Trying to tread gently through the grow instead of STOMP STOMP TEAR BREAK YELL. So far, so goodish?

Well I currently have 93 babies and about that many more in the germination station. Did I mention I like to go all out when starting a project? Does my car need a ejector seat and a rocket engine? Absolutely. Do I need cybernetic appendages and the ability to shoot lasers from my eyes? Most definitely.

Sooooooo. 93 plants. Alive and growing under lights. Here is my count as of this morning.

Scorpion (Moruga) (Justaguy)- 11
Scorpion (Butch T) (Alphaeon by way of Jstaguy)- 7
Brain Strain (Justaguy) - 1
Yellow 7 pot/pod (Justaguy) - 3
Douglah (cmpman) - 8
Fatalii (Pepper Guru)- 8
Avery Island Tabasco - 4
Thai Fire (Justaguy) - 13
Caribbean Red Habanero (Justaguy) - 26
Aji Yellow (Aji Joe) - 6
Naga x 7 pot/pod cross (Justaguy) - 1
Chinese Cabbage, Autumn Torch Hybrid - 3
Unknown pepper - 4

Here is a list of what's in the germination station right now.

Bhut Indian Carbon x Yellow 7 cross (Spicegeist by way of MJdiamond)
Criolla De Cocina (MJdiamond)
Biker Billy Jalapenos
Tabasco
Early Girl Tomatoes
Genovese Basil
Cilantro
Broccoli
Chinese Cabbage Autumn Torch Hybrid
Poblano
Cayenne
Hot Cherry
Dill
Nu mex

My initial germination of the first round of seedlings was done in peat pellets. They came with the tray so I figured I'd use them. NEVER AGAIN. Those things were a real pain in the ass to keep properly moistened. As soon as I could, I removed my sprouts from them and transferred into seed starting mix. Lost a few on the way but nothing to worry about. It's pretty likely I will be sharing some of these plants with some friends the way it is.

I kept my light on 24/7 for the first 2 weeks and then switched to an 18/6 cycle. Right now I am top watering and misting as needed. I was told that top watering helps get rid of all the bad buildups in the soil. Don't know if that's true or not, but whatever. I am trying to base my watering on tray weight. For nutrients I am using Pro Bloom, Liquid Karma, and a weekly compost tea brewed for 24 hours with an air stone in a bucket. All of my water also sits out for at least 24 hours before use to eliminate any chlorine.

Now, I really want to switch soil at this point but I am going to resist. For one, it costs more than I can swing right now.

My setup has evolved from one 2 bulb light fixture to a modified in ceiling fluorescent donated and wired by Justaguy. I drilled some holes, added u-bolts, and used carabiners and chains to hang the fixture from the bar in the closet. This way I can adjust as needed for light height. I can raise one side higher as well if necessary, which is also nice. I have some reflective film on the back wall and closet door to help recapture and reflect some of that escaping light. That's it. My setup.

Here are some pics. I will update with a million questions, and progress as I am able. My next post will probably be showing my outside grow area once the damn rain stops and I can snap some pictures. Anyway, thanks for looking.

Initial setup:




Upgrade:







Peppers 2/29/12 (just one tray but they are pretty similar):


 
Click to expand...
Wow, that's a lot of stuff to happen all at once. Way to hang in there, and glad to hear it's turning around. Last year one of my habs was snapped by a neighborhood dog all the way down to the base. I think there was just a cotyledon left. I left it there and it completely grew back and even gave me a few peppers even though it was later in the season. I was surprised. Peppers are pretty tough, I think. Yours look like they are bouncing back just fine. If there are leaves and the roots are in there, then they'll come back.
 
Wow Seth, a lot has happened in 4 or 5 pages! I'm glad you have
your plants on the mend; between you and Brandon the pepper
world seemed shaken to its foundation!

Now that things seem to be moving in the right direction, I hope you have
nothing but good luck going forward!
 
Hey I just posted this in Brandon's GLog, but figured it fits perfectly with you as well. Since i am sure you are all for some more motivation....

I was doin my morning ritual this morning, you know, coffee, oatmeal, and THP, and came across a thread that made me think of you two guys. Mitch in OZ had an aphid problem, but that is neither here nor there. I am sure you will see something very familiar with this first 2 photos.

cut back fatali
P1000352.jpg


cut back butch t
P1000351.jpg


And now for the big finish!

recovered butch t (left) and fatalia (right) :)
P1000483.jpg


Here's his log. Got a few cool observations from his season in OZ. http://thehotpepper.com/topic/30865-my-top-tiips-i-learnt-from-my-first-grow-season-pics-included/

Happy Growing!
 
I can tell Im gonna have to censor my humor round here for a few more years or so. I come up with some funny stuff, but the reception is lost in translation somewhere. lol Wheres Omri when you need him?
 
Alright. Five days in Atlanta. It was awesome and HOT. :fireball:

This is kind of a trip log. Not so much on the grow log. Had a blast at Guru's place. Awesome spread, southern hospitality, and a playmate for the boy. Good stuff. He loaded me up with some fatalii sauce, flakes, white bullet seeds, and a rooster spur potted and going. His daughter Charley (sp?) was really mellow. It was a nice contrast to Miles who is kind of a whiney diva. :rolleyes:

Anyway, here are a few snaps of the action at Guru's. His fatalii is a tree btw. If you haven't seen his plants, check out his GLOG. Amazing. He has a freaking red clay halo. Amazingly amended Georgia soil. He touches stuff, it grows. We had some good conversations about really just getting in tune with the soil and listening to your plants.


Mr. G and me



Charley and Miles


Now, while I was down there in Atlanta I went to downtown Lawrenceville and got a "ghost burger". The place called it the "Patrick Swayze" and said wives had to drive husbands home after eating this fire monster. Naturally I had to eat it! :party:




Ok, so this burger had "ghost pepper" salsa on it. I call BULLSHIT! I tasted no bhut anywhere on there. We all know the distinctive taste that is bhut and that CAN'T be cooked out and should be especially evident in salsa. Anyway, they said they got it from a farm where they get their produce, so either the farmer is lying or more likely got mislabled seed and is under the assumption it is a "ghost chili". Either way it did not measure up to chilihead standards. :shame:

On the way home we stopped at some roadside attractions. The little hidden slices of Americana off the beaten path. BEHOLD!

FOAMHENGE


When we got home I had an awesome package waiting! Thanks go to Romy6 for the awesomeness! New powders and fresh pods! One of those bhuts is currently adorning my Naan Pizza. So after I post this brief, plant-less update, I'm going to munch and crunch.




Other interesting events (to me).

Saw Avengers 3D at a movie tavern in big ass comfy chairs with beer and food. Movie was great and they had Fat Tire on tap so all was good.

Weird roadside zoo with every venomous snake you can think of.

Lodge cast iron outlet from which I got a WOK!

That's all for now. Everything is nuts in the veggie garden and the peppers are really taking off. I'll do a proper update soon.

Chili cheers
:cheers:
 
Alright fellow growers and fire bellies, it's time for a PROPER update on the gardens. Everybody is settled in from the transplant (took 3 weeks with the bacterial spot issue) and putting out new growth right and left.

Let's get to it.

This Cayenne was just a stem a couple weeks ago. By far the most damaged by the BLS. It's coming back strong!



Bhut IC x 7 cross



Brain



New Mex



Tall Aji Yellows in the back



The babies



The next photo is a little validation for me. I have been accused of overloving the plants by many, myself included. I planted some extras around the yard and let them do their thing. No manipulating whatsoever. The look pretty weak compared to my fussed over rows. So, I'm going to keep giving my rows my sweaty yeti man love. :dance:



To be continued - hit my image limit...
 
Wow, those are looking great! Nice work and great recovery - you've gotta feel good about that, your plants are looking wonderful. I've not successfully dealt with a bacterial spot issue, so you're ahead of me on that. Anyway, again, keep up the good work!
 
Plants are looking awsomnessly Seth. Who cared for them while you were away ?

Looks like the guru is already rubbing off on ya :party:

So how was the pizza with a real bhut?

Great grow :dance:
 
And now, the rest of the story...


In the other garden - weeds are out of control and I packed everything really tight making management pretty difficult. Live and learn. I will only mound grow from this point forward. Anyway, the tomatoes are already monstrous, just they way I like things.

Tomatoes


Basil


Broccoli


Finally, my garden helpers after a long Memorial Day.


Couple issues - my fabric is ripping on the mounds. Not too big a deal but it leaves openings for the weeds to move in. The other issue is my photography. I need to include something for scale next time.

Chili cheers,
Sethsquatch
:cheers:

Pulpiteer said:
Wow, those are looking great! Nice work and great recovery - you've gotta feel good about that, your plants are looking wonderful. I've not successfully dealt with a bacterial spot issue, so you're ahead of me on that. Anyway, again, keep up the good work!
Click to expand...

Thanks Pulp. Need to check in on your grow today man. Leaf spot wasn't too bad. Just take off all the bad leaves and spray with copper/sulfur. It looked WAY worse than what it was.

romy6 said:
Plants are looking awsomnessly Seth. Who cared for them while you were away ?

Looks like the guru is already rubbing off on ya :party:

So how was the pizza with a real bhut?

Great grow :dance:
Click to expand...

Yeah. That fresh bhut was great man. I actually made a kind of relish out of some of the others with onion, garlic, and basil. I've been introduced to NAAN pizza. Super easy, fast, tasty. Naan bread, topped like a pizza and cooked at 425 for 10 minutes. Good stuff. Here is a picture of the bhut one for reference.




BTW - got plans for that Brain this weekend. Throwdown style.
 
Looking good man.... Been meaning to ask you about the concoction you made for your bugs. You mentioned soap and oil,and some various things. Did the soap you use have lotion or antibacterial chemicals? The reason I ask this is because I used a dawn soap solution once and it was the kind with lotion and not the plain blue. Fast forward a couple days and the plants,and girlfriend were royally pissed. Not counting out BLS but just thought I would pass that along for future growing knowledge.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top