stc3248's 2014 small wild grow

maximumcapsicum · Feb 17, 2014

Great update Shane! Love the pics, especially of the Goat's Weed. Did it grow that gnarly on its own, or did you expose its base after it was established outdoors? Love the varying thickness etc. And I love the wiring... gonna make it look ancient and angry as heck.

Do all the wilds have those little tiny leaves like that, or was that a helmet issue? At least it has some trues coming through.

Devv · Feb 17, 2014

Glad to see the wilds are straightening up Shane.

Looks like a heck of a BBQ coming up!

The Bonchis are way cool, I like the exposed roots!

And I'm in agreement with store bought produce, it just ain't the same as when I was a kid. They have figured out how to make great looking tasteless fruits and veggies.

Have a great week!

Pulpiteer · Feb 18, 2014

I might have missed it, but your "nemesis" was a nightshade, right, what kind? I've read about some permaculture folks growing some. Not sure why though. It's got to reseed as opposed to being a perennial, right?
Anyway, glad to see stuff hooking for you. And man that was a ton of meat. Your cooking always looks tremendous - I bet they love having you prepare it all.

stc3248 · Feb 20, 2014

maximumcapsicum said:
Great update Shane! Love the pics, especially of the Goat's Weed. Did it grow that gnarly on its own, or did you expose its base after it was established outdoors? Love the varying thickness etc. And I love the wiring... gonna make it look ancient and angry as heck.

Do all the wilds have those little tiny leaves like that, or was that a helmet issue? At least it has some trues coming through.

Thanks maxcaps!!! All I did was rinse those roots and stuff them in the new pot. The roots were not exposed before though. The wilds are a combo of both. They pretty much all do have small leaves...and those two had helmet issues and lost some of their cotys. They're both doing fine now though so I ain't sweating it.

Devv said:
Glad to see the wilds are straightening up Shane.

Looks like a heck of a BBQ coming up!

The Bonchis are way cool, I like the exposed roots!

And I'm in agreement with store bought produce, it just ain't the same as when I was a kid. They have figured out how to make great looking tasteless fruits and veggies.

Have a great week!

Them damn little plants are gonna drive me nuts!!! No soak and the Annuums all came up with no hats on...but of the 5 wilds I have up, 2 have had helmets!

Pulpiteer said:
I might have missed it, but your "nemesis" was a nightshade, right, what kind? I've read about some permaculture folks growing some. Not sure why though. It's got to reseed as opposed to being a perennial, right?
Anyway, glad to see stuff hooking for you. And man that was a ton of meat. Your cooking always looks tremendous - I bet they love having you prepare it all.

Sorry...forgot to post the name Andy, it is Black Nightshade. There are a couple wild nightshade varieties out here, but that one is most prevalent. They are listed as perennials, but during a cold winter they won't survive. This year all the old ones are still kicking and the new ones are sprouting. I sure do love to cook...especially for the guys in the Barracks that usually live out of a microwave.

Well, as I mentioned I got a few more up and running...mama texted me a couple pics.

Mostly Annuums here...

Here is the tray full of mostly wilds...

Here is one of the newest babies...C. Chacoense Var. Exile.

Another CGN 19198 also popped to join the Cap 1530 and Galapagoense...Thinking the rest are gonna start popping off now. At least that's what I hope!!!

Happy hump day y'all!
Shane

Pinoy83 · Feb 20, 2014

more babiesssss....your yard gonna be full of monstasss again :dance:

PaulG · Feb 20, 2014

Good goin' brother! Your grow is beginning to look like the Shanester
we all know and love - starts up and running!
The bonchi shelf is awesome; what a great way to display them.

maximumcapsicum · Feb 20, 2014

Love the "small" wild grow Shane! Also, getting hungry for more bonchi pics. I really should be giving mine more attention. Hoping their growth pics up when I move them on the balcony. I know their display shelf wasn't anywhere near what they needed. But still, they live, and at the end of the day isn't that the bottom line?

RedtailForester · Feb 21, 2014

Everything is looking really good broham!

HillBilly Jeff · Feb 21, 2014

Things are really looking good.

stc3248 · Feb 23, 2014

Pinoy83 said:
more babiesssss....your yard gonna be full of monstasss again

Haha...Thanks Pinoy. I sure hope so! We shall see. Going for more monsta plants than monsta pods this season.

PaulG said:
Good goin' brother! Your grow is beginning to look like the Shanester
we all know and love - starts up and running!
The bonchi shelf is awesome; what a great way to display them.

Thanks Paul! Seems like every time I get is moving I hit a speed bump...but still moving. I had to beg mama for that space on the shelves, but don't think it'll last past winter. May take them to work and grow them on my desk in the barracks???

maximumcapsicum said:
Love the "small" wild grow Shane! Also, getting hungry for more bonchi pics. I really should be giving mine more attention. Hoping their growth pics up when I move them on the balcony. I know their display shelf wasn't anywhere near what they needed. But still, they live, and at the end of the day isn't that the bottom line?

Thanks MaxCaps! I will try to snap a few pics of the little plants later today. I lost the one in the smallest container, but the rest are still kicking. I had a replacement to throw in there. I am figuring out that it's going to be tough to grow them without more constant attention.

RedtailForester said:
Everything is looking really good broham!

Thanks RTF...just small time and incognito this year, but still green and growing!

HillBilly Jeff said:
Things are really looking good.

Thanks Jeff! Glad to see you still got powder moving this morning too!

Well 4 steps forward...one step back. My schedule caused a couple casualties this week. When it comes to gardening mama is all thumbs...and they're all brown. Not her fault, and just part of my game I suppose. So as I mentioned above I had a Bonchi casualty...no biggie, trimmed another one up and threw in there. The painful one was the C. 1530 sprout that got toasted...oh well, more seeds are still in the dirt for that one, hope another one pops. On the step forward side, I had a bunch more hook up, including a Rocopica...but...

It came up wonky...tried twice to get a good pic of what was going on, but couldn't get a good shot. Although the pic looks normal sized, this sprout is tiny...and without finding a magnifying glass I don't think I will be able to tell exactly. Looks like either a fuzed or single coty that is cone shaped. The stem narrows then widens out again too...will be very surprised if this one goes anywhere.

Here are three steps forward though...CGN 22792's (Aji Chuncho) two hooks and a sprout. These are for the biggest plant contest for this year. Ha!!! Good luck to all the ~~losers~~ other contestants!

Also have another C. Chacoense Var. Exile hooking up.

Here is it's big brother. This one had much larger and different shaped coty's than the other wilds. I think it's gonna be a grower.

Another CGN 19198 popped as well. This one got a little leggy due to timing of discovery, but looks to be very healthy and I expect it will overtake it's big brother.

Well...maybe anyway. Here is the larger 19198 and he looks much better now and starting to pick up a little speed.

...and the lone Galapagoense still chugging along.

Once again a scale photo. Although the wilds look to be getting huge compared to when they sprouted...here they are among the Annuums I planted a month after them. :rofl:

and finally the group shot of my ~~MASSIVE~~, ~~Huge~~, ~~large~~, ~~medium~~, "small" Wild Grow...

A couple of side notes. MG changed the packaging on their Moisture Control potting soil...I also noticed that it was a bit more twiggy than normal, with less peat than before, and I am getting more fungus gnats than the past couple years also. Heck...I don't remember any at all last year??? Hmmm...may be time to jump on a Happy Frog in an Ocean Forest...

PaulG · Feb 23, 2014

Really cranking along there, Shane! Good goin' buddy!
You couldn't go wrong with the Happy Frog / Ocean Forest soil.
I have had good results using a blend of both in my small pots
since last summer.

HillBilly Jeff · Feb 23, 2014

Things are looking good. Sorry for the loss of the plant. I had a cone shaped coty this year and it came out okay.

Have you thought about not using the moisture control version of MG?? I have heard bad things about the MC stuff.

Really love the ~~microscopic~~ ~~minuscule~~ ~~tiny~~ ~~little~~ "small" wild grow

GA Growhead · Feb 23, 2014

I just opened a new colored MG MC 2cuft bag and mine looks fine. I know they are regionally source so my mix will always be different than yours, but no issues on this side. Maybe you got a bad mix.
Call the number on the bag and complain!

Devv · Feb 23, 2014

Great pics and plants Shane!

I too feel the MG product is a but "chunky". Everything costs more and we get less, it's the chorizo syndrome.

Have a great week!

stc3248 · Feb 23, 2014

PaulG said:
Really cranking along there, Shane! Good goin' buddy!
You couldn't go wrong with the Happy Frog / Ocean Forest soil.
I have had good results using a blend of both in my small pots
since last summer.

Yeah...I have used them before, but I have gotten better results with the MG. Plus them others are so damn pricey!

HillBilly Jeff said:
Things are looking good. Sorry for the loss of the plant. I had a cone shaped coty this year and it came out okay.

Have you thought about not using the moisture control version of MG?? I have heard bad things about the MC stuff.

Really love the ~~microscopic~~ ~~minuscule~~ ~~tiny~~ ~~little~~ "small" wild grow

Thanks Jeff! I have always grown in the MG MC for years, and the stuff really does well out here in the desert. With my wacky schedule it is the most forgiving if I neglect the plants a bit too. I have done side by side grows with it and the other popular stuff used by folks on here, and for me it performed the best. Just hope they aren't messing with what's been working for me for so many years! Kind of like "new" Coke...

U sure hope the cone-head turns out OK, it is the only Rocopica that has popped so far! Really excited about that variety too! We'll see, there are still more in the dirt if it doesn't make it hopefully another will pop.

GA Growhead said:
I just opened a new colored MG MC 2cuft bag and mine looks fine. I know they are regionally source so my mix will always be different than yours, but no issues on this side. Maybe you got a bad mix.
Call the number on the bag and complain!

Same size I get...they are usually pretty consistent from place to place too. Just a little chunkier than normal...we'll see how it performs. The little ones seem to be liking it just fine, and that's all that matters in the end.

Devv said:
Great pics and plants Shane!

I too feel the MG product is a but "chunky". Everything costs more and we get less, it's the chorizo syndrome.

Have a great week!

Thanks Scott! The standard MG has always been a bit chunkier than the Moisture Control...but these two bags seem more like the green bag stuff.

So I promised a couple of pics of the Bonchis so...

The Explosive Ember in this pot dried out and died...so another went in there and looks to be doing just fine. I added a small bowl so that I can add a good dose of bottom water before I head out to work on Mondays.

Hard to tell...but the Charapita is really starting to push out some new growth. Still tiny though.

Here is one of the Numex Centennials...really taking off. The other one got a bit dried out and dropped its leaves...but it looks like it's going to push out some new ones.

Put My Pequin in the ground yesterday. We shall see how it likes it's new neighbors. Nasturtiums, Carrots and Onions will surround it which are all listed as companion plants.

Sent the last few plants that were holding on to life to the compost pile today...and got this little harvest off my Sweet Snacking pepper plant.

Last but not least...another C. 1530 popped today!!! :dance:

Ha!!! Fingers crossed this one stays upright for me!!! A couple more of the CGN 22792's popped as well...yet another serious grower from Kevin!!!

I know that ain't 10...but it's all I got for now.

I got a couple more small spots weeded out and ready for some plants, and started some Tomatillos, Tomatoes, two types of Zukes, and some Cilantro. I also planted some green onions here and there, dug up and repositioned some Gladeolus bulbs and trimmed some hedges to give me a little more planting room. :party:

I also figured out that I probably won't need to mulch around my Lettuce and turnip greens. Although I weeded and turned the soil thoroughly, the portulaca that was in there last year has produced a thick carpet of volunteers. They aren't nute or water hogs, so they should make a nice ground cover in there that I won't mind stepping on if I need to.

I will be working in San Diego tomorrow so maybe a bonus update is in order!!! :woohoo:

Pinoy83 · Feb 23, 2014

bonchis are awesomeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.....are those your OW?

HillBilly Jeff · Feb 23, 2014

Bonchis Bonchii??? are looking great. I am going to try that with a bonda this year and perhaps a chenzo. Chenzo just about is there on its own. Gotta study your pics though.

RocketMan · Feb 24, 2014

Loving the Wilds Shane. Lost my Pequins and Tepins with the drowning of the first trays but I had more Wild Brazils to start. Looking forward to getting them growing and the Tray mod is working like a charm.

Now though, I'm going to have to find a how to for Bonchis. I'd love to get a couple of them going to put in my office. Can you post a link to a good tutorial?

stc3248 · Feb 24, 2014

Pinoy83 said:
bonchis are awesomeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.....are those your OW?

Thanks Pinoy! Yes...they are all plants from last season.

HillBilly Jeff said:
Bonchis Bonchii??? are looking great. I am going to try that with a bonda this year and perhaps a chenzo. Chenzo just about is there on its own. Gotta study your pics though.

They're fun...and obviously more of an ornamental project, but when done right they do look cool.

RocketMan said:
Loving the Wilds Shane. Lost my Pequins and Tepins with the drowning of the first trays but I had more Wild Brazils to start. Looking forward to getting them growing and the Tray mod is working like a charm.

Now though, I'm going to have to find a how to for Bonchis. I'd love to get a couple of them going to put in my office. Can you post a link to a good tutorial?

I have some Pequins I can send you if you need them! Ripe on the plant! As far as the bonchi tutorial, my inspiration came from here:
http://www.fataliiphoto.net/index.php/search?album=0&q=bonchi

He also posts a link at the bottom of his pics to here:
http://www.fatalii.net/Bonsai_Chiles_Bonchi

Which is his step by step and some tips and tricks. He and I will point out that there really are no rules...what looks cool to you is what matters. The important thing is to understand the water and nute needs of plants growing in such small containers, especially if you expect them to fruit for you. He covers that...any other info I would look in regular bonsai sources you can find on the net.

RocketMan · Feb 24, 2014

Yes sir, I would love some Pequins and thanks, I'll check it out. Are there any variety that does better than another as a Bonchi?