stc3248's 2014 small wild grow

PIC 1 · Apr 9, 2014

Shane
Awesome photos of Kaua'i...rough terrain to say the least.....find any dinosaur bones or aftershave containers floating...
Oddly enough we've been to the islands many times and are going back in Nov.....but haven't been to Kauai yet.
Your inground plants look like they're ready to jump into new growth.
Some of my wilds are still popping up within the transplanted adult plant.
As they say, "Carry On"

Devv · Apr 9, 2014

I must agree awesome pics of Kauai, and I hope the off time on the island was enjoyable.

I'd like to get there one of these days, maybe if I hit the lotto and can retire early

Cool looking seedling with the double coty's, it will be interesting to see how it does.

The rest of the gals look like they are ready for that growth spurt we're both waiting on.

Keep it green!

stc3248 · Apr 10, 2014

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

It sure was Jason! Two fused coty's is a new one on me too. Looks to have only one primary node, so don't think it's twins...just different. I have tons of those lizards and Alligator lizards...fun to look at.

JJJessee said:
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'

Thanks JJJ! Yeah, that Birgits should be pretty crazy bo the end of the year. She is still shedding her funky yellow winter leaves and putting on new growth everywhere. I have been feeding her every weekend and I think this warm streak we're having is going to get her moving pretty quick. It was my first time to Hawaii, and it was breathtaking. Kaua'i is the quiet island so not too much partying going on...which was fine by me. Mostly rich families and older folks...just my kind of trouble free crowd. Once I take my crew back next month the island may never be the same. Take the trip and concentrate more on the island than the beach. Tickets can be found fairly cheap and if you watch the "off season" prices on rooms they're almost reasonable. I don't understand "off season" out there anyway??? High temp and low temp were in the 70s our whole trip.

maximumcapsicum said:
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!

MC...you don't have to apologize to me brother! I have been more out than in on here lately too...I am dropping plates left and right. I sure hope that gopher is dead and gone, no sign of him lately. With the past couple years mainly container grows I had forgotten all the hazards of inground. I'll keep on keepin on...and you do the same!

Pr0digal_son said:
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.

Thanks John...cell phone pics turned out pretty good, but trying to capture the stuff in the distance didn't do them justice. Hope taking the DSLR I can capture the scenery a bit better. I would love to go trekking to the center of that island...nobody out there. According to locals the terrain is just to rough and you can only get in and out via helo and those that venture out there don't come back...sounds about perfect! With wild pigs and chickens everywhere food wouldn't be a problem...water everywhere...sounds like a challenge to me!!! You got me tempted on the tovarii John...and don't toss them for sure. Mama would get over it...lol. Update to follow on her tolerance. Although I am certain as soon as my seeds know there is another one on the way they'll pop.

Svetlana said:
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

Isa...thanks for stopping by! I do enjoy the challenge and mystery of the wilds. I have had fused coty's before...and tripple cotys...but never had four like I have seen some folks get, and four with both sets fuzed is really cool.

Hardening off for the wind and sun usually helps, but they always end up ugly and struggling the first few weeks in the wind and sun but recover and are stronger after the struggle.

My first Bonchi plants a few years ago were all Red Missiles! They make great little trees and are very easy to grow in small containers.

I have pack rats, raccoon, and gophers. The pack rats are large field mice and aren't the filthy Norwegian rats most are accustomed to. The only trouble they cause me is they steal my tomatoes or eat them on the vine. The raccoon do the same...but in doing so the topple my plants. As far as the gophers other than the mounds and holes I have never really paid them much attention...but they got my attention now!!! Haha...

Once again thanks for stopping by and hope to see you more around the forum!

PIC 1 said:
Shane
Awesome photos of Kaua'i...rough terrain to say the least.....find any dinosaur bones or aftershave containers floating...
Oddly enough we've been to the islands many times and are going back in Nov.....but haven't been to Kauai yet.
Your inground plants look like they're ready to jump into new growth.
Some of my wilds are still popping up within the transplanted adult plant.
As they say, "Carry On"

Hey Greg! Thanks...it is pretty rough. Never seen such sharply formed mountains. I am used to the ones pushed up from underneath...not volcanic. Surprisingly different. No aftershave or dinosaur bones, but we did hear some strange noises at night! The place is overrun by wild pigs and chickens though...so I blame it on that. We also encountered some wild Mouflon sheep on our treks.
The plants are all starting to take a turn for the better. The cool nights have mellowed a little and the days are hot this week. Not much wind either, so I think they're all ready for takeoff! The only one I am worried about is the little Galapagoense, but I have another one still in the grow room that is ready to be hardened (happening today). I have had a couple little wilds pop outside in the garden which is where the holdout Tovarii and Rocopicas are going to end up. I will put them in a spot that gets watered every couple days and see if ma nature can figure out how to make them pop??? We shall see!!!

Devv said:
I must agree awesome pics of Kauai, and I hope the off time on the island was enjoyable.

I'd like to get there one of these days, maybe if I hit the lotto and can retire early

Cool looking seedling with the double coty's, it will be interesting to see how it does.

The rest of the gals look like they are ready for that growth spurt we're both waiting on.

Keep it green!

Hey Scott! You can make a trip to Hawaii more affordable...but not affordable if that makes sense??? We found round trip tickets for around $500 and you can get a room for for maybe $125ish a night off season. Even the military cottages on base are $85 a night and they stay booked for months in advance. The double double is a cool little plant and deserves to live just based on that...so I guess I'll have to find room somewhere??? The growth spurt is starting here...on some anyway. The two Chacoense plants are really starting to reach for the sky. The 19198 is too...the Chunchos are looking a little rough, but the new growth has me optimistic about them. We shall see???

Here are some pics from yesterday...

Here are the ones still in the grow room...

First up the Chunchos...I have three ingound, but these 5 stayed behind as a reserve unit just in case.

C. Eximium

C. Galapagoense

C. 1530

CGN 19198 This one started in a funk...but once it shook that has really taken off.

Another pic of the dual fused Eximium...you can see the one primary node already starting to push out some growth.

Found this Chilitepin "volunteer" at Walmart of all places??? After the demise of my pequin mama said yes! I had to point out that the Tepin is the state pepper of Texas...and then she was sold along with the little plant! Not in bad shape for a Wally World start either!

Here is what the inground Aji Chunchos look like...and what the weeds look like as well. Delinquent on getting my Newspaper and mulch in place. The chuncho is looking a little rough, but the new growth is really looking good...so LOOK OUT!

Speaking of volunteers...

Here is one growing out of my pool deck??? Can't bring myself to pull it up...it really wants to live!!!

Thanks for checking in everyone...this update has been a challenge. My puter is on its last leg and is about to die. Had to redo this post three times. Time to back up the pics and music and get a new one...

heefy · Apr 10, 2014

Your Bonsai look great. Some very nice looking wild ones too. Great glog.

romy6 · Apr 10, 2014

Everything is looking wild it Cali my friend :fireball:

GA Growhead · Apr 10, 2014

That last volunteer is on crack.

RocketMan · Apr 10, 2014

Looking good Shane both at home and at the barracks. Man, I gotta take the wife to Hawaii some day.

Pomegranate Bonsai, that should be an interesting one and I love the braided one.

maximumcapsicum · Apr 10, 2014

Amazing the way those volunteers pop right out of those bonnie planters. I always see tons of those popping up in front of box stores... they must compost a ton of pepper plants!

How are the bonsai's doing? Reminds me I should do a little update since mine have been springing to life lately.

Devv · Apr 10, 2014

What's with those Aji Chunchos and the leaf curl anyway? I have 9 and just 1 doesn't do that, I'm hoping that gal has a checked flag in her future, she better grow quickly before it gets hot here...

We have the Bonnie starts here too, they usually look good if you get them before the store mangles them

GA Growhead said:
That last volunteer is on crack.

Now that's funny!

The rest of the plants look great and I see dirt in their near future.

Friday Eve.! I'm sooo ready!

Oh, I have no Dell affiliation, but when LB's puter decided to not boot anymore (7 years old) I priced parts to build a replacement, a mid range 4th gen I5 with 4 gigs ram and a 250gig drive. We were able to buy a laptop with the same proc and mem specs and a larger HD for about $100 less, that was a no brainer. They usually have hard to find coupons on their site too.

stc3248 · Apr 11, 2014

heefy said:
Your Bonsai look great. Some very nice looking wild ones too. Great glog.

Thanks heefy!

romy6 said:
Everything is looking wild it Cali my friend

The land of fruits and nuts!

GA Growhead said:
That last volunteer is on crack.

Haha...that little plant wants to live!

RocketMan said:
Looking good Shane both at home and at the barracks. Man, I gotta take the wife to Hawaii some day.

Pomegranate Bonsai, that should be an interesting one and I love the braided one.

Just go man...I been trying to talk the wife into getting a ticket and taking the ride, but I think the thought of flying over the ocean terrifies her more than flying over land...which shares the sheet out of her. I got another pic of one of the Pomegranates coming up...

maximumcapsicum said:
Amazing the way those volunteers pop right out of those bonnie planters. I always see tons of those popping up in front of box stores... they must compost a ton of pepper plants!

How are the bonsai's doing? Reminds me I should do a little update since mine have been springing to life lately.

Yeah we get the here too popping up all over the place...and when one is a Tepin...well I just gotta give her a go! I killed the pepper Bonchis...my water once a week was't getting it done for them. I have a new Bonchi candidate up and coming and plan to keep it in my barracks under the desk lamp. Should be able to pamper it there and keep it alive a bit longer.

Devv said:
What's with those Aji Chunchos and the leaf curl anyway? I have 9 and just 1 doesn't do that, I'm hoping that gal has a checked flag in her future, she better grow quickly before it gets hot here...

We have the Bonnie starts here too, they usually look good if you get them before the store mangles them

Now that's funny!

The rest of the plants look great and I see dirt in their near future.

Friday Eve.! I'm sooo ready!

Oh, I have no Dell affiliation, but when LB's puter decided to not boot anymore (7 years old) I priced parts to build a replacement, a mid range 4th gen I5 with 4 gigs ram and a 250gig drive. We were able to buy a laptop with the same proc and mem specs and a larger HD for about $100 less, that was a no brainer. They usually have hard to find coupons on their site too.

I really hope you or Adam win that thing...Like I said, no special treatment this year. which includes not keeping the lights on an extra month...so outside they went! I do need to keep the lights running a bit longer until the Eximiums are a little bigger then outside with everything.

All we have is laptops now. The days of buying "cheap" desktops...or even building them are all but gone. Mine travels with me back and forth to the barracks and on my trips so a laptop is a must. This one has done its time, and is still kicking, but the screen flickers now and then...or blacks out. I have replaced LCDs before, even on this one, but I don't think that is the cause. The battery is bad and the power supply connection not good either...and even when charged when the computer starts to run hard (IE Antivirus running) it gets too loaded and robs the screen of power. I could try a new battery...and LCD...and even resolder a new connection for the PS...but it just ain't worth doing on one this old. I need to just back up the music and pics and go office space on her.

A few more pics for y'all...

Don't mind my mess...but got some more planted in the corners of this little bed, and a little weeding while I was at it. They are bordered by red onions...

C. Galapagoense

C. 1530

CGN 19198

and a couple more of the Growdown Chunchos. I have room for a few more in there...and just so happens I have a few more in the grow room!

Post got lost at this point...after I finished writing this novel...ughhh...

Inground CGN 19198 taking off...these first ingrounds were my barometer and are now telling me the time has come! A few more will have to remain in the grow room a bit longer to get a little bigger...but those days are numbered!

Some more Volunteers...same as the plant on crack. Notice the cluster of a pods worth of sprouts??? These were supposed to be PI 438638 but turned out to be something else last year. Very small plant with tough chewy pods that dry before or as they ripen. Decent to powder...but really not worth the effort. May let them survive though...

Some more Vols...these are Explosive Embers and may be used as a border somewhere???

A little Hawaii right here at home...all my Hibiscus are in full bloom.

Finally the Pomegranate...I had already braided, made a circle and weaved the ends back through the braided trunk. I added some wire and did some trimming. Now I am going to try to do another circle perpendicular to the original to create a sphere...or that's the plan right now anyway??? I may pot it up to try to stimulate more growth...Thinking a 2# root pouch and drape it over a nice rock then slowly roll down and remove dirt until it is what I want??? Whatcha think?

It for now...hopefully it works this time??? Have a great weekend!
Shane

PIC 1 · Apr 11, 2014

Plants Gone Wild !...........peppers are looking perky outdoors. That's quite a find at the Mart, we'd never see a Tepin plant up here at a retail store. Bonnie Bell sends tons of Banana and Hungarian Wax in these parts because they do so well.

Nice shot of the Hibiscus, if there were a Bird of Paradise in the background then it would be Hawaii.

Will the Pomegranate flower this yr ?..........yet another plant that I can't grow................ :neutral:

Enjoy your weekend.

Devv · Apr 11, 2014

Interesting about the Pomegranate, a guy who worked at the school last year started growing them, the Aggie's contacted him and supplied the plants. Wish I knew more about them.

Your Hibiscus is about 1-2 weeks ahead of ours, must have warmer nights there.

The peppers are looking good! And growing! I just looked at mine and came away shaking my head. Maybe I'm expecting too much too soon, but don't we all?

Enjoy the weekend, it's finally here!

maximumcapsicum · Apr 11, 2014

Hope the next round of bonchis takes off for ya. Mine paled a little toward the end of winter but are out strong now growing in the comm garden. I'll post some more info next time I update... It's an offshoot of the truly living well urban agriculture project.

Hibiscus looks great. I used to have a lizard that loved chomping on hibiscus blossoms.

stc3248 · Apr 11, 2014

PIC 1 said:
Plants Gone Wild !...........peppers are looking perky outdoors. That's quite a find at the Mart, we'd never see a Tepin plant up here at a retail store. Bonnie Bell sends tons of Banana and Hungarian Wax in these parts because they do so well.

Nice shot of the Hibiscus, if there were a Bird of Paradise in the background then it would be Hawaii.

Will the Pomegranate flower this yr ?..........yet another plant that I can't grow................
Enjoy your weekend.

Yeah quite the score on the Tepin...We're pretty lucky, I bought that fatalii and ghost at the nursery this year and they've carried scorpions and several 7 pots in the past, along with pequin, goat's weed and manzano plants. Not such a great variety this year at the nursery, at least not yet, but still impressive and they even had a flat of these...

The variegation wasn't great on most of them...but its there. I almost bought one, but was able to resist.

I dunno if the pomegranate will flower...I doubt this one will with all the poking, prodding and trimming. I have two more that may, but they're still pretty small. I got the original seeds/fruits off a plant that was growing beside the road. They're just over a year old now.I potted the other two up to 12# and hope they put on some good growth this year. The weather here means we can grow almost anything any time of year. I still can't wait to get the heck out of cali though...

Enjoy your weekend too brotha!

Devv said:
Interesting about the Pomegranate, a guy who worked at the school last year started growing them, the Aggie's contacted him and supplied the plants. Wish I knew more about them.

Your Hibiscus is about 1-2 weeks ahead of ours, must have warmer nights there.

The peppers are looking good! And growing! I just looked at mine and came away shaking my head. Maybe I'm expecting too much too soon, but don't we all?

Enjoy the weekend, it's finally here!

They do well in south texas...but maybe a tad farther south than you. We had one when we lived in McAllen pretty good sized shrub once it gets going. Never was a huge fan of dealing with the seeds while eating them, but the fruit is really good. I may grow one big and juice the fruits.

The hibiscus have been blooming for over a month. (another pic to follow from last week) Our nights are definitely cooler than yours still in the high 40s to mid 50s. July and August are the only two months that the average lows are in the low 60s. Its more due to the mild winter we had and the relatively harsh one you had for south Texas??? The peppers are moving right along, and about to open first flowers on the Annuums. I have pod set on my overwinters too. So doing well thus far! My weekend started on Wednesday. I took half a week of leave to do some woodwork. Pics of that one in a few weeks.

maximumcapsicum said:
Hope the next round of bonchis takes off for ya. Mine paled a little toward the end of winter but are out strong now growing in the comm garden. I'll post some more info next time I update... It's an offshoot of the truly living well urban agriculture project.

Hibiscus looks great. I used to have a lizard that loved chomping on hibiscus blossoms.

Haha...I used to watch the iguanas down in Miami chomping on flowers...fruit...and anything else they could get their mouths on. lol My bonchis just got too dry and never quite came out of it. I only have one replacement for now...and will do the chop and swap in a few weeks.

A couple pics...don't think I'll make 9 more though???

These all sat right there all winter...and came right back. Straw flower on the bottom with some lilies, alyssum, geranium and sweet potato vine with a couple of airplane (spider) plants on the side.

.

Heck...I dunno...but its perdy???

Female oriole robbing the hummingbird feeder...

and the male of the species doing the same. Birds are similar to my family in that the males are the most attractive...

Here is the other hibiscus pic...

Porter is well hidden...at least he thinks so.

Jewels is hiding in plain sight...and working really hard at it for sure.

and here she is poised to pounce on mama...

Oh and to keep it pepper legal...

Here is the pepperproblem plant. Still sporting some of its yellowish winter leaves and the limbs that got to far away from center are wind stripped...but it is one dense plant and putting out tons of perfect looking new growth. This one will be a beast by the end of season.

I dunno how many that was??? Its all I got for now though.
Happy Friday errybody!!!

Nulle · Apr 12, 2014

Lovely plants. Porter and Jewels needs more pics taken

maximumcapsicum · Apr 12, 2014

Pepperproblem is looking more like a solution!

Bonchis are fun. Can't wait to see what you could come up with after a season of growth. I've been shocked how strong mine have been since I moved them into the community plot. Apparently sitting on asphalt livens them right up.

Pulpiteer · Apr 12, 2014

Glad I took a bit to catch up. Those Hawaii shots... wow.

I loved the volunteer in the cement crack. That's great. We do all this stuff to baby our plants and get them to grow, then that happens. You have to let it grow and see how far it gets. Very cool.

I also loved the Porter pic. I just enjoy his constant presence in your garden and thinking to myself that he has a not so secret rivalry with the pepper plants. It just gets me every time.

Finally, looks like your wilds are coming along nicely! Very cool varieties.

Spicegeist · Apr 12, 2014

Lot's of nice eye candy, love it!

It's great seeing the galapa in the ground and that pepper growing out of a crack!

Devv · Apr 12, 2014

The wife and I agree, that pic of Porter should be framed and hung somewhere. Every pic of him he has that "I'm happy" doggie smile, I'm sure he's feeling blessed when your home and in the backyard.

Keep it green my friend! And have a great weekend!

stc3248 · Apr 12, 2014

Nulle said:
Lovely plants. Porter and Jewels needs more pics taken

Lol...I will give you a couple more...

maximumcapsicum said:
Pepperproblem is looking more like a solution!

Bonchis are fun. Can't wait to see what you could come up with after a season of growth. I've been shocked how strong mine have been since I moved them into the community plot. Apparently sitting on asphalt livens them right up.

Haha...pepperproblem was the member that started that plant, along with several hundred others last season. He passed away and I helped Nigel distribute those plant to other members to grow out as per his family's wishes. I took maybe 60 plants up to LA and let Denniz have them to pass out to some folks up there. I kept this one plant. Still have no idea what it is...his label said M7 which I thought might mean Madballz 7 Pot, but the only pods it set last season were about the size of a fingernail??? Hoping this year in fresh soil and a bigger container it will give me some hints.

I just can't keep up with the Bonchis with my schedule. I will try keeping one under my desk lamp at work like I said where I can pay more attention to it. Be careful as things heat up, they'll need water a couple times a day.

Pulpiteer said:
Glad I took a bit to catch up. Those Hawaii shots... wow.

I loved the volunteer in the cement crack. That's great. We do all this stuff to baby our plants and get them to grow, then that happens. You have to let it grow and see how far it gets. Very cool.

I also loved the Porter pic. I just enjoy his constant presence in your garden and thinking to myself that he has a not so secret rivalry with the pepper plants. It just gets me every time.

Finally, looks like your wilds are coming along nicely! Very cool varieties.

Thanks Andy! Porter is a card...almost 14 now and finally starting to show his age a bit...but just a bit. We just got new living room furniture and he and I are having an argument right now about why he's not allowed on it like he was the old stuff...He finally gave up and is laying at my feet...but not without grunts and groans.

San Diego has a perfect climate to grow anything...minus the water. If I continue to water that plant I am certain it will keep on keepin on...

Spicegeist said:
Lot's of nice eye candy, love it!

It's great seeing the galapa in the ground and that pepper growing out of a crack!

Hey Charles!!! The Galapas are the most finicky so far about the move outside...but the first one has finally started to move after dropping a few leaves. Hope the second one takes off right away! That crack pepper is a trip. I have had hundreds of volunteers so far this season...scrapped most, but I think that one deserves a shot!

Devv said:
The wife and I agree, that pic of Porter should be framed and hung somewhere. Every pic of him he has that "I'm happy" doggie smile, I'm sure he's feeling blessed when your home and in the backyard.

Keep it green my friend! And have a great weekend!

Thanks Scott! Porter can make almost any picture good. He can really show emotion well for a pup...almost human. I just might print that one!

Well after 81 days here it is...

C. Tovarii...whew...now just the rocopica are holdouts...keeping my fingers crossed that it comes right up without any helmet drama!!! :pray:

and for those asking...a few more pet pics.

Here is porter on the old sofa...gonna be a hard habit for him to break.

Lacy bugging Porter for the ball...

That's all I got for now...was really just gonna post the tovarii pic, but since the furry kids got so many comments...