Start Me Up - 2022

The Rolling Stones, Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Oct. 9, 2021. My 13th (and possibly final) Stones show.

My first peppers for this season are starting to emerge and get transplanted waiting for spring to come. I took a cutting of the Scotch Bonnet Marabella Market Caramel that I had success with last year and put it a one gallon fabric pot. I'll either transplant the whole thing or take another cutting later on when it's about 8 weeks out from planting outside. See this post here for last year.

The first transplants:

Scotch Bonnet HSH (see this post)
Chocolate Bhutlah CS (Bohica Pepper Hut)
MA Purple (Texas Hot Peppers)

More to come...

 

[JGBaxter59]

I did a little maintenance today... trimmed some bottom leaves and topped off the bags with potting mix. The El Jefe jalapenos are coming along nicely.

I'm liking the dark foliage on the Sunset Peach SB, the MA Purple, and the Pockmark Peach.

 

[PaulG]

@JGBaxter59 - Those are growing fast, looks
like a great season getting underway!

 

[MarcV]

Really curious to know what that SPSB will turn out to be like!

 

[JGBaxter59]

I'm hoping it is going to be a good pepper... both in looks and taste.

 

[JGBaxter59]

I thought I would share how I do things just in case anyone is interested. I DO NOT claim to be an expert... my way of doing things works for me. I do soak my seeds for at least an hour in Hydrogen Peroxide 3%, then overnight in distilled or purified water. I then plant my seeds in peat pellets and put them in individual cups in a tray under a light and on top of a heat mat.

Once the seeds sprout, I move them to the other room and put them under a 4-bulb T5 rig I made from PVC pipe.

After several days, I transplant them into grow bags or plastic pots. I make my own potting mixture from peat moss and coconut coir. I use about 2/3 peat to 1/3 coir. I add some perlite, too, for aeration. I DO remove the netting from the peat pellets. Then basically I feed/water them from the bottom every 3-4 days. When feeding this year, I am using General Hydroponics Flora Series (Grow, Micro, Bloom). I mix 5 ml (1 tsp.) of each into a gallon of water. I then cut it with 50% water when I feed. I feed every other time alternating with plain distilled or purified water. Once they get a few sets of true leaves, I'll use tap water. This year also I'm using about once every 2 weeks a solution of dried seaweed and mycorrhizae (Recharge).

Like I stated, I thought I might show how I am doing things just in case anyone is wondering. I'm sure there are many better ways to do things than my way, but so far all my babies look good. I'll be glad when I can get them outside.

 

[MarcV]

How's the SPSB doing sofar?

 

[JGBaxter59]

I'm starting to get these things outside to harden. My El Jefe's are already starting to flower.

The Scotch Bonnets SP and HSH are also outside and will get planted this week.

 

[JGBaxter59]

The first round of peppers are planted. Not the best picture, but you get the idea. They are not in their final spot, just here where the hose and my containers of soil and my work area are.

1a, 1b, 1c: El Jefe Jalapenos
2: Sunset Peach Scotch Bonnet
3: HSH Scotch Bonnet
4: MA Purple
5: Pockmark Peach (Pure Coco/Perlite grow)
6: Chocolate Bhutlah CS

 

[MarcV]

Looks like your plants may be in the flowering stage already

 

[JGBaxter59]

Yea, especially the jalapenos. No problem, just pinch the flowers off and they will take off growing again. I got too impatient this year and started too early. Next year I'm going to wait until about the last week of January or the first of February. You just can't plant here too early in April - you will get a sudden frost one night or a bad thunderstorm one day. I've lost plants to snapped stems in years past trying to get them out too early.

 

[JGBaxter59]

The second round of peppers are off and running:

Front (l to r): Death Spiral, Big Yellow Mama (pure coco/perlite)
Back (l to r): T-Rex Mustard (pure coco/perlite), Datil

The only hot pepper left is the Caramel SB. The tiny cutting I took didn't make it, but I still have the original overwintered cutting. I trimmed it way back a couple of weeks ago. In a few days, I'll get it outside to harden and then transplant it into a new 3 gallon bag.

 

[JGBaxter59]

The first fruits of the season are coming! The El Jefes and the MA Purple have pods.

 

[MarcV]

Any news on your bonnets?

 

[JGBaxter59]

They are flowering. I just got the caramel one transplanted. I massively trimmed it, so it's going to be a while on that one. I hope to see fruits forming this week on the HSH and the SP. I noticed the Datil and the Big Yellow Mama now have pods coming.

 

[MarcV]

I'm curious if the shape of the HSH bonnets will be like the ones shown on youtube...

 

[JGBaxter59]

I just couldn't resist picking the first pepper of the season. My El Jefe plants have about 15 or so getting there but this one was calling out to me. I am so ready for homegrown jalapenos this year.

 

[MarcV]

Wow the perfect jalapeño!

 

[JGBaxter59]

Thanks. It was a nice looking pod, and it tasted good, too. I grew this variety 3 or 4 years ago, and my wife really liked it. It's not nearly as hot as the Biker Billy and Rome varieties I grew last year. Every time she tried to eat one of those two it gave her the hiccups.

 

[JGBaxter59]

I am really liking this MA Purple plant. The color of the pods are so cool... I can't wait for them to ripen to supposedly a reddish purple.

My datil pods are coming along:

As are my Big Yellow Mama:

For those of you keeping score at home, the Scotch Bonnets are trying to flower... HSH (top) and Sunset Peach (bottom):

 

[MarcV]

Really beautiful color indeed!