Shlogg's Glog 2013... Long overdue update.

Hey THP. Well 2013 is upon us, time to start growing!

I picked 27 varieties to take up the bulk of my garden space. Mostly supers but also a couple cool varieties that aren't so hot. Anyway, I soaked my seeds in a weak herbal tea blend for 24 hours, rinsed them and they are now resting comfortably in my germination tank. I'm trying cotton make-up removal pads to keep them moist instead of paper towels. They seem to work great!

My tank consists of a plastic storage bin filled with water and a fish tank heater. The heater can take a little playing with to get the temps just right but once I find the sweet spot its perfectly constant. I then float my seeds in condiment cups on the warm water. It's really works.

I did have a few hiccups in the process though. I was a bit hasty and put my seeds in the germ tank before getting the temp just right. It reached 86 degrees for a couple hours before I caught it but they should be fine. I've got them at 82 degrees now which I think is perfect. Now I'm just excitedly waiting for tap roots so I can get them all into my seedlings trays.

Here what I have going:
20 TS Moruga Blend
20 7 Pot Brainstrain
20 TS Butch T
20 Bhut Jolokia
10 TS Moruga Blend Yellow
10 7 Pot Brainstrain Yellow
10 7 Pot Primo
10 Bhut Jolokia Chocolate
10 Bhut Jolokia Peach
10 TS Chocolate
10 Douglah
10 Bhut Jolokia Yellow
8 7 Pot Jonah
8 7 Pot Congo SR
8 Billy Boy Douglah Red
4 7 Pot Burgundy
4 TS Orange
4 Devil's Tongue
4 7 Pot Chaguanas
4 Bahamian Goat
4 7 Pot Barrackpore
4 7 Pot Savannah
4 Douglah Yellow
4 Billy Boy Douglah
4 Douglah X Butch T
4 Naga Jolokia
4 Jalabanero

I believe that's it for now. I'll be adding more varieties when I have room in the grow box.

Here's a low quality shot of the boys in their bath:

Thanks for looking!

 

[stc3248]

You could always cover them or get ghetto like me and weave a string of Christmas lights through them to keep them toasty.

 

[Chaosbites]

Nice place for growing you got. Growing up in Laurel I remember the soil there. The soil was difficult full of clay and gravel. I worked that garden for several years as a kid. It was prime when I left home.

Go for the century mark! Gotta have 100!

 

[Devv]

You could always cover them or get ghetto like me and weave a string of Christmas lights through them to keep them toasty.

Hey I'm for whatever works! great idea!

 

[Dshlogg]

Hope the weather holds out for you, been worried as we're forecast for 42-43 tonight and Sat.

A sprinkler will save the plants from a frost if it comes to that.

Fingers are crossed for you.

Thanks bro. I think we'll be allright. I'm just gonna wet the whole area in the evening to raise the humidity a little. Just as a precaution though the chance of frost is low.

You could always cover them or get ghetto like me and weave a string of Christmas lights through them to keep them toasty.

I used the Christmas light technique once with a Peru Purple it lasted into January and then I guess the roots froze solid. A few more lights and I bet it would've made it through winter.

Nice place for growing you got. Growing up in Laurel I remember the soil there. The soil was difficult full of clay and gravel. I worked that garden for several years as a kid. It was prime when I left home.

Go for the century mark! Gotta have 100!

PG county nice. I'm from Riverdale but I live in MoCo now. Clay and gravel sounds a lot like my soil. Mine is clay and rocks, mostly shale but plenty of quartz too. I've got it amended pretty well but two areas are mostly clay chunks. There almost like cement. Very hard to crush in your hand. I mixed alot of leaves in those spots hoping it will help. We'll see this fall or next spring.


This is my first year using SureRoots trays. They have a vertical ridge on each side that prevents the roots from spinning and guides them downwards. The bottom of each cell is open with only a cross to hold the medium in. It causes the roots to airprune when they reach the bottom of the cell. Check it out:

I'm pretty pleased with them. You can really see how the roots are pruned at the bottom. Also the extra deep cell gets the roots down low from the jump.

 

[Dshlogg]

Well I've got 7 of 9 rows planted now. 6 rows of supers and one row of nons. Here's the peps:

No shots of the nons just yet but I finally got one of my Birgit's in the ground for the biggest plant growdown. I planted it about 2 inches deeper so I took a little step back there. Hope that step back will lead to a giant leap forward when the roots developed. Here it is:

Isn't it cute? That's a 12 foot bamboo pole behind it. I have a 25 footer but didn't want to take the time to anchor it. That thing would wreak havoc if it fell over. Hasta pronto.

 

[sicman]

caught up on your glog yesterday, love your garden. cant wait to see them 6 foot monsters

 

[stc3248]

You heard the man...6'! Not an inch over that, on your Birgits especially!

 

[Jamison]

Inground and bound for pods! Looking stellar man!

 

[Devv]

Looks great, a lot of work went into that!

Here's to a great year!

 

[Dshlogg]

Trying to get a little work done in the garden today despite the rain. I'm retreating to the garage every half hour or so when it gets heavy. All of my plants seemed to take to planting out pretty well but many have sunburn on the stems. It seems to have caused some leaf drop on a few plants. Right now I'm cautiously optimistic all will recover. We shall see.

I'm planting herbs at the end of each walkway beyween rows. I figure I'll be weeding there anyway so why not? I also decided to grow some beans on the fence at the bottom end of the garden. They might cast a little shade on my squash if they grow well but nothing seems to slow down squash anyway (except disease). Between that and making some AACT I'll call it a day.

Hope this weather improves. It has been cold and rainy almost continuously since I planted out. Cmon sunny days!

Bucket O tea brewing:

Back in the garage again .

 

[stc3248]

I liked that for the tea...the rest kinda sucks! Hope your scalded ones pull out of it and the rain will let up for you soon.

 

[Dshlogg]

I liked that for the tea...the rest kinda sucks! Hope your scalded ones pull out of it and the rain will let up for you soon.

I don't know, I think the herbs and my truck are pretty cool .

 

[stc3248]

Lol...and that BA pink and white Bigwheel!

 

[Pr0digal_son]

Lol...and that BA pink and white Bigwheel!

That's just to get back and forth to work!


That garden plot is awesome,wish I had the room to do that. All that hard work will pay off in a few months.

 

[Dshlogg]

John hit the nail on the head. That thing gets great gas mileage . I'll even take it out on Sundays too. It really turns heads :").

 

[Dshlogg]

My witch's brew is boiling up. Just needs a little eye of newt.

 

[Dshlogg]

We had a frost last night. It got down to 39 where I live but it must've been much colder at my garden a few miles away. I wetted everything down last night to increase the humidity but it wastnt enough. That's what sux about not living where my plants are. I cant keep up with the frost. I lost all vegetation and probably the tops of 150 peppers, plus tomatoes, squash and cucumbers. I'm super bummed right now. They may come back but who knows.

 

[stc3248]

Damn...that sucks. Sorry man. Don't give up on them some will pull through. 

 

[Dshlogg]

It really sucks. I just found out it got down to 32 at my garden. I can't believe it was 7 degrees colder there. It's only about 4 miles away and the same elevation as here. The odds of a frost this late are very low. I had an early one last year too. I'm not sure what I'll do. I guess the best I can hope for is a late harvest. This blows.

 

[Devv]

Wow! Sad news, so sorry to hear that. I know you put a ton of work into your grow.
 
Hopefully as Shane said some will come back. I had the same thing happen many moons ago...not fun..