stc3248's 2014 small wild grow

Devv · Mar 25, 2014

Looking good Shane!

Never know where those volunteers will pop up! Andy's correct, you're lucky to find the varieties in a nursery. I just started seeing Habs in the San Antonio stores. You would think with the heritage we have here there would be more selection.

I'm in the same boat with the wind, makes for non-photogenic plants, if not plain beat up. They'll just have to put their big girl panties on and grow! Which they will.

Keep it green!

maximumcapsicum · Mar 25, 2014

Thanks for the info Shane! Loving the pics of your grow... Can't wait to see the wild jingle.

Hoping a week or so in and indirect balcony hardened my guys alright. A little concerned they've never seen full sun just yet, but there's no real way to ease them into it.

stc3248 · Mar 28, 2014

millworkman said:
Awesome stuff Shane. Can't wait to get my little furry Rome cross going. That birgit, if you ever decide you don't want her anymore, would make an awesome bonsai IF you can get some shoots about 8-10 inches off the soil line.

Those Romy X's are some growers and they look great too. You won't be disappointed. More to follow on the Birgits Bonsai!

Penny said:
I agree, awesome pics and updates Shane ....everything looks amazing . Nice to see you too , and Congrats to your daughter on her acceptance to her school of choice. Its so exciting when they get into the school that they want.

Thanks Penny! Lol...I try not to get into too many pics at work, but they always catch me at least once or twice. She sure is excited about college, finger's crossed she's still as excited this time next year! :pray:

Pulpiteer said:
Crazy how those "volunteers" sprung up at the nursery

I am amazed at the plants you guys can find at different nurseries. It's tough to even find a red bhut here, and half of the time I'm not even certain that is what the plant actually is. And you found a fatalii? It bet it will even be one of those fancy "right colored, right shaped ones" too, unlike the ones you grew from me last year.

Finally, it blows my mind that the birgit made it through the winter. I cannot even fathom such a thing living where I do. What in the world will it look like at the end of this season?

Yeah...those nurseries have a ton of volunteers ripe for the picking. We really are lucky to have such a variety out here. They usually have a much bigger and better selection, but it is still a little early. They usually carry an assortment of supers, wilds, pubescence as well as the typical and not-so typical annuums. May go back in a week or two to see what other volunteers have sprung up. The Fatalii I grew here from you was spot on perfect. The one I sent Bonnie was the red one...both great peppers though!

The Birgit continues to surprise me. She didn't even struggle, and while we do have very mild winters here we usually have lows in the 20s most of January and February...none this year. :dance:

Jeff H said:
Shane picking peppers at the end of next year. LOLOL

Lmao...I just ain't picking those top ones! We'll have to see how tall she gets???

HillBilly Jeff said:
Plants are looking nice.

Thanks Jeff!!!

Pinoy83 · Mar 28, 2014

and the monstrous project had begun...... :hell:

stc3248 · Mar 28, 2014

Devv said:
Looking good Shane!

Never know where those volunteers will pop up! Andy's correct, you're lucky to find the varieties in a nursery. I just started seeing Habs in the San Antonio stores. You would think with the heritage we have here there would be more selection.

I'm in the same boat with the wind, makes for non-photogenic plants, if not plain beat up. They'll just have to put their big girl panties on and grow! Which they will.

Keep it green!

Hey Scott! Those volunteers sure are sneaky that way! As I said above, our local nursery really is cool. Always worth a visit if you're ever out in SD! The wind is always brutal, but it has been exceptionally brutal this past week, the barracks plants sure are beat up. They'll find a way ahead once they put on some of those smaller outside leaves and their stems get used to the constant support required...I hope anyway.

maximumcapsicum said:
Thanks for the info Shane! Loving the pics of your grow... Can't wait to see the wild jingle.

Hoping a week or so in and indirect balcony hardened my guys alright. A little concerned they've never seen full sun just yet, but there's no real way to ease them into it.

Anytime MC!!! I always try to get them in some direct sun first. A good way is to find a spot on the north side of a structure or tree to put them where they'll get direct sun early and late with shade during the middle of the day. The best way is to shuffle them in and out for an hour or so into the sun, but having time to do that is the challenge. Even if your technique isn't great...they'll just be ugly for a little while until some new leaves come in.

Pinoy83 said:
and the monstrous project had begun......

Lol...yeah man.

Well it's been a rough week. I think I lost all of the Bonchis. They dried out and burned up. One or two may make it, but its doubtful. Oh well...I have some others I may be able to chop up later on. The decision to put the overwintered Pequin in the ground for one more year should have prevented it's death...but in the same week...

It looked like this...@#$%^^ gopher!!! Gnawed it off at the base...

Ughhhhh....

I dug down and it looks as though there may be a few nodes for it to try to spring back with...time will tell. Very frustrating. I don't know what sort of damage and voids it created down by the roots??? Since it was sooooo hungry it had to eat my plant, I fed it some special gopher food...which it quickly accepted. He/she will be fertilizer now.

Speaking of Birgit-Bonchis...here is the one I grew in the 18# tote last season. I cut it back and was beginning to wonder, but back it came...finally! I may put this one in a little pot and keep it on my desk under the lamp at the barracks where I can babysit it a little better.

I may also Bonchi one of the two Romy Mysteries that are already starting to put on new pods...

The Pomegranates I started last year are another bonsai project. I am braiding this one into a circle...why...heck I dunno, seemed like the thing to do at the time???

Here is another one I am braiding, but this one is straight up. Not pictured is one that was bent over by the wind and is doing a natural form of LST, pretty cool looking.

Gazanias (and weeds) are sure loving the weather!

This is what the barracks plants look like...but hey, less leaves, less wind resistance right???

And finally the whole barracks crew...hanging in there. The pepperproblem plant is sort of sheltering the Jalafuego which looks almost unharmed by the recent wind storms.

More to follow, lots of good with the bad around here, but I do need just a little more yin with all this yang...lol

Happy Friday errybody!
Shane

Pinoy83 · Mar 28, 2014

im eyeing for your glog again...they just crazy fun to watch :dance:

i think i have romys mystery aswell the tall one you have the beat up one.....but i killed them and replaced it with my Hawaiian ghost chili, im pretty sure you gonna love these pepper, they're bite size to your liking.....i planted like 10 from the mother plant, and checking if its stable, so far so good the babies are producing pods now...let me know if you wanna try grow this pepper of mine

stickman · Mar 29, 2014

I seem to recall you having rodent problems a couple of years ago Shane, sorry to hear they came back.

On the plus side, it's great to see your plants are putting out flowers and pods! :dance:

Devv · Mar 29, 2014

In town gophers are everywhere! I ~~guess~~ know I'm lucky as I have yet to see one or a sign of one here, maybe it's because the rock is just 2 feet below the ~~topsoil~~ sand. Sorry the bastard ate your plant, but the end resulting compost is a slight reward.

The wind, yep it sucks, mine are starting to get used to it...they have no choice! And you're correct they get stiffer stems and smaller leaves, leaves, they're everywhere.

Liking that pic of the Romy mystery! Speaking of likes, I'm out :mope:

, I'm such a slut...

Enjoy the weekend!

HolyP · Mar 30, 2014

Too bad about your bonchis, i would have loved to see how they turn out.
I'm hoping that you'll give it a go again

Jeff H · Mar 30, 2014

Plants are looking good Shane. Sorry about the loss to the gopher, but good thing you got him before he did to much damage.

Find any more volunteers yet?

The para-cord cracks me up. It is as thick as the stem of the plant you are tying up. IIRC, you go through a lot of it during the course of the year.

Pulpiteer · Apr 2, 2014

That gopher went and made things personal. I'm glad you were able to take care of business so quickly.
Plants are looking great though, I think. The wind battles will only make them tougher. I love the barracks crew. That's got to help a little as far as being away from home so much.

stc3248 · Apr 8, 2014

Pinoy83 said:
im eyeing for your glog again...they just crazy fun to watch
i think i have romys mystery aswell the tall one you have the beat up one.....but i killed them and replaced it with my Hawaiian ghost chili, im pretty sure you gonna love these pepper, they're bite size to your liking.....i planted like 10 from the mother plant, and checking if its stable, so far so good the babies are producing pods now...let me know if you wanna try grow this pepper of mine

Thanks Pinoy! I was just out in your neighborhood! Kaua'i, not much happening, but sure is a perdy place. I may try your pepper next season, we'll have to see where the Navy sends me next.

stickman said:
I seem to recall you having rodent problems a couple of years ago Shane, sorry to hear they came back. On the plus side, it's great to see your plants are putting out flowers and pods!

Yeah, year before last it was packrats stealing my tomatoes...then last season a gopher almost took out my throwdown plant...now this. I had hopes it might bud back out, but before the food I gave it kicked in it came back and took out the roots the next morning. Oh well...stuff happens I suppose. It also took out a whole row of onions which I replanted along with some garlic in that spot. I may put some of my other wilds in there once they get a bit bigger and I am certain the medicine has kicked in on that big rat.

Devv said:
In town gophers are everywhere! I ~~guess~~ know I'm lucky as I have yet to see one or a sign of one here, maybe it's because the rock is just 2 feet below the ~~topsoil~~ sand. Sorry the bastard ate your plant, but the end resulting compost is a slight reward.

The wind, yep it sucks, mine are starting to get used to it...they have no choice! And you're correct they get stiffer stems and smaller leaves, leaves, they're everywhere.

Liking that pic of the Romy mystery! Speaking of likes, I'm out , I'm such a slut...

Enjoy the weekend!

Haha...we all come up against the like police from time to time. Count your blessings on the gophers...they're a constant threat here, but they've never caused any major issues until this time. I usually just let them dig where they wanna, but not anymore...its freakin on now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lYm0c7gYyU&list=RD3lYm0c7gYyU&feature=share

HolyP said:
Too bad about your bonchis, i would have loved to see how they turn out.
I'm hoping that you'll give it a go again

Yeah...I liked them too, but I'll make some more!

Jeff H said:
Plants are looking good Shane. Sorry about the loss to the gopher, but good thing you got him before he did to much damage.

Find any more volunteers yet?

The para-cord cracks me up. It is as thick as the stem of the plant you are tying up. IIRC, you go through a lot of it during the course of the year.

Gopher shmopher...will be looking for some more volunteers tomorrow. :shh:

Para-chord (550 cord) and duct tape make the world go round! :rofl:

Pulpiteer said:
That gopher went and made things personal. I'm glad you were able to take care of business so quickly.
Plants are looking great though, I think. The wind battles will only make them tougher. I love the barracks crew. That's got to help a little as far as being away from home so much.

Having a few plants to talk to in the evenings at work sure does make it more easy to deal with. Haha...not sure what it does to my reputation when the young Sailors I lead see me doing it??? Ahh...who cares. :party:

They're doing better and starting to pod up...we're having a heat wave and they should really start to take off.

Well as I mentioned to Pinoy above. I was FORCED to have to spend a week in Kaua'i Hawaii...terrible stuff. We're testing a new missile system out there. We're going back out in a month for the actual event. This trip was just to identify any safety concerns and such. What a beautiful place. Kaua'i is a little off the typical tourists radar, but I highly recommend it to anyone looking for stunning scenery and smaller crowds. They actually filmed Jurassic Park on Kaua'i. For a small island it sure packs some stunning views and very treacherous terrain. We had the redeye leaving there, so we had a full day to take a look around. Here are some pics.

The waterfall in the upper left was featured in the helicopter scene of Jurassic Park.

Only had my Iphone camera to take pics with this trip...will take the DSLR next trip.

With a bump I will throw up some pepper pics!!!

stickman · Apr 8, 2014

Hell yeah! I'm in for plant porn! Very nice pics of Kaua'i... now you did it... I've gotta add it to the bucket list...

Pinoy83 · Apr 8, 2014

i miss kauai............ill be taking my vacation there next month :dance:

stc3248 · Apr 8, 2014

Thanks guys!

Here are how the home plants look...

Jalapeno Row...

One of the Mucho Nacho plants...

Here are the Numex types moving right along.

C. Chacoense var Exile...

Another C. Chacoense Var Exile

CGN 19198 some weeding needed.

The original seeds planted over two months ago continue to pop sporadically...this one is a C. Eximium. Still no Tovarii...but I ain't giving up just yet. This one is a cool double double. I have seen folks with 4 coty plants, usually conjoined twins. This one is two sets of double leaves. I wonder if it's twins???

The pepperproblem plant is loading up...maybe two dozen little pods so far and about a bajillion flowers open. I wonder if these new pods will look different than the tiny pods it had over winter???

Couple critter pics to end with...

Scrub Jay

Southern Sagebrush Lizzard...

All for now, some more stuff to post, but will have to wait until tomorrow.
Thanks for looking in, should be home a bit so I hope to catch up with everyone's stuff soon!
Shane

GA Growhead · Apr 8, 2014

Hawaii is beautiful!
Plants looking good! Two double leaves is a new one for me. Haven't seen that before.
& here lizard lizard.

JJJessee · Apr 8, 2014

Plant's looking good.
Can't wait to see what the Birgits does this year.
Hawaii- mountains, ocean, tropical -couldn't get any better. I'm saving it for last

Keep it growin'

maximumcapsicum · Apr 9, 2014

Wow Shane excellent updates! Sorry I took so long to get by... Got to keep all the plates spinning right?

Looks like the gopher is under control. That's good, especially given you got your grow down plans moving outside.

Love the Hawaii pics too. Definitely the place to be.

Keep on growin!

Pr0digal_son · Apr 9, 2014

Nice pics of your trip. I would love to be forced to go to Hawaii,even for work.

There is still a chance the tovarii will pop. I have read about people having them pop after 500 days! I would suggest laying more seed down though. I have some smaller plants and I can ship one out to you if mama permits it. They are just along for the ride here and probably will get tossed once my main ones are outside.

Svetlana · Apr 9, 2014

Hi Shane,

I discovered your post, I enjoyed reading it !!!

Nice pics of Kaua'i Hawaii !
I like very much your little wild chilli plants ! Wilds peppers are fascinating !

This year, I have a C. cardenasii trisomic (1 normal cotyledon and on the opposite side, 2 which are welded by the tip). I also have two C. annuum and 1 C. chinense with this kind of malformation.
I do not know what it is due, but it does not affect the growth of plants. It is then quite normal. Plants grow and produce as other.

I sympathize for the problems of wind. Here in Provence, I have also many problems with the strong wind. Pfffffffff...... I do not count the number of shredded leaves, and beautiful plants reduced to the bare stem in a few hours after the release of the greenhouse !!
Fortunately, they are able to adapt and then they are more resistant.
I noticed that the most susceptible to wind are the C. chinense & the C. pubescens.
Most resistant are the C. baccatums, despite their large size, their branches are flexible, and they do not break like C. chinense.

I love the bonchis too.
Two years ago, I prepared several bonchis, but because of the damn wind, I abandoned, I had to watering them 5 times a day !
This one of my favorite bonchi, the little C. annuum 'Red Missile' :

For rodent problems, I tried a lot of solutions. Pfffffff..... these filthy beasts, they always come back ! fortunately now I've two cats, formidable hunters, who are my best auxiliary !

I wish you good luck,
look forward to read more !!
Isa