Stefan_W's 2013 Pods A-Ripenin'! Glog

I am going to start the new glog for my upcoming growing season on a bit of a personal note. One year ago tomorrow (January 3rd) is the one year anniversary of the day that my daughter was diagnosed with a tumour that is lodged in the middle of her brain. The past year has involved treatments and hospital stays, and there were at least three different points when we were pretty sure she was not going to make it. But she is a fighter, and nothing could keep her down for long.

Sofia has personally planted every pepper and tomato seed that I have started in the past three growing seasons. She beat the odds last year to help me, and once again she is defying what medicine has to say to help me out this year.

We started a jalapeno plant about a week ago just for the sake of watching it grow, because we both love it so much. One of the jalapenos grew to the point that it had its firt couple of leaves, so we transplanted him into a bigger pot. While we were at it I decided to put in some aji lemondrops, partly because they take a long time to fruit up and I wanted to give them a huge head start.

This is the jalapeno plant. I pulled the second one out because we did not need it, and discovered that the roots had grown all of the way down to the bottom of the cell.

My daughter personally doing the transplant.

Her aim is better than mine, and so it turned out perfectly.

Next up was taking out the lemondrop seeds from peppermania.

I need a few extras of this type, so I asked Sofia to plant two seeds in each of the four cells. Two plants will be for us, and whatever else grows will be given away to good friends.

Two of the three tiers in my lighting stand are currently being used as toy shelves, which is cool for now. The lights are adjustable, and moved down to get close to the seedling.

The heating pad works extremely well, and once the cells are covered the top clouds up in no time.

A happy early jalapeno seedling in his new home. I thought I heard "feeeeeed meeeeee" coming from that direction, but I'm not sure.

That's it for today, folks! Welcome to my new glog

 

[amps]

Great Glog Stefan!

I had some real issues getting Tabasco seeds to germinate last year. 2 packs from a fairly popular vendor and I only got 2 seedlings and only one survived. I wound up ordering from a different vendor this year (solana out of Quebec). So far I've had 17 out of 18 pop and they were the first of all my seeds to sprout (2-5 days for the whole bunch). Maybe worth trying a different vendor if there was a bad bunch seeds elsewhere.

 

[Stefan_W]

Great Glog Stefan!

I had some real issues getting Tabasco seeds to germinate last year. 2 packs from a fairly popular vendor and I only got 2 seedlings and only one survived. I wound up ordering from a different vendor this year (solana out of Quebec). So far I've had 17 out of 18 pop and they were the first of all my seeds to sprout (2-5 days for the whole bunch). Maybe worth trying a different vendor if there was a bad bunch seeds elsewhere.

Thank you very much, and welcome to my glog! I used a very popular vendor last year, and only one out of 15-20 tabasco seeds popped. I ended up buying tabascos from three different vendors this year just to be sure, so if this does not work well I will re-plant using a different vendor. I tried to stick with vendors known for plants going true, because a higher germination rate wouldn't mean much if I end up with a pile of mini bells or something like that

I have never heard of solana from Quebec, is there a web page for this? Seeing as I am in Ottawa it would be close by.

 

[WalkGood]

Thank you very much I wanted to get more hot sauce winners from the Hot Pepper Awards on this site, but Lucky Dog Hot Sauce was the only one that agreed to ship to Canada.

Good point to note for all other Canadians and how the other mfg's responded per your previous post was totally unprofessional IMHO.

I am definitely game for writing up a longer review once I am through the three bottles, which will be soon seeing as I am putting the stuff on absolutely everything now. The only I buy at the local hot sauce store is the Marie Sharpe hot habernero sauce, which I love, so I could put up a review of that one as well.

I think that would be cool, while it's probably not for everyone I'd certainly like to take a stab at writing one myself

But for the most part I usually just make my own sauces, which can be hit or miss but are fun to make all the same. …

I hear you … I have been making my own sauces for long time now as well. Every time I can’t eat or gift my leftover pods, its sauce time The other day I made a new one focusing on a hot garlic taste and I’m very pleased the way it came out.

 

[amps]

Check out Solana here: http://solanaseeds.netfirms.com/welcome.html

The site's a little 1998 but shipping was really fast and their customer service was great. They've got a really good selection of non-superhots and vegetables and a lot the packets are about a toonie (hehe).

 

[Stefan_W]

Thanks for the link! Seeing as you are in the area, you may want to check ou these folks: http://www.uharvest.ca/ They do not have much of a selection of hot peppers, but they have all types of other seeds and they are 100% organic.

Ramon: Yeah, it is frustrating being Canadian and not having access to a lot of the sauces and powders. But the way I look at it is that the people who refuse to ship here are losing out as a business because up north there is quite a market for all that is hot. I can understand not being able to ship fresh pods, but there is no real reason not to ship powders and sauces so long as you pass along extra costs. And I don't mind paying a bit extra because I understand businesses need to make money. On the other hand, there is no excuse at any time for a business person to ignore emails from a potential customer. I lost the most respect for people who did not even bother sending me a note back after I took the time to email.

 

[patrick]

The short answer is because I absolutely, positively have no idea what I am doing with the stuff. This is my first year using myco, so as I go through the first seedlings that I don't really need I am trying out different ways of growing, transplanting, fertilizing, etc. I gather that the best place for the myco to be effective is along the root system, so the trick would be getting as much of it there as possible. This could involve mixing it in with water, which would spread it out, dabbing the roots in it, which leads to root loss at the seedling stage because the roots are sometimes attached to clumps of dirt that fall off as you dab them. My next attempt will be to just put some myco in the whole I'm about to transplant the seedlings into and see how that works. In all of these scenarios you add water after the transplant, and I have even seen some people add in some seaweed juice so the myco has more to feed on. That last one sounds interesting to me, and I have liquid seaweed leftover from making compost teat last year, so I can see giving that a go in the next little while.

Thanks for popping in

Sounds perfectly reasonable to me. Keep us informed of your results if you can. Using Myco as a supplement is relatively new in the pepper growing world and I was wondering if you had read some new info on it. Thanks for the quick response.

 

[amps]

I'm still up in the air on Myco. I keep saying I'm going to try it but always wind up not using it due to a lack of reports from first hand experience.

I did find one study regarding New Mexico style peppers. They found that peppers inoculated with native New Mexico Endomycorrhizae increased the yield by about 300%. However, peppers inoculated with non-native mycorrzhizae had reduced yield of about 20%. The question I couldn't find an answer to was which kind of bacteria was native and which wasn't? And of course it didn't study the effects on C. Chinense or C. Baccatum peppers.

Looking forward to seeing your results. Maybe you'll have an idea of it's effect before I need to pot up and I can ride your coattails a little.


Edit: Just found this guy published out of Quebec. Might be worth a read.

http://digitool.libr...ase=GEN01-MCG02

 

[Stefan_W]

I am sick at home today after catching the flu that hit the rest of my family late last week. Being sick at home, of course, means comfort food so I decided to cook my favourite "get better" soup. As I promised earlier, I decided to share more recipes this year and to not get hung up on whether peppers are a main ingredient.

White Bean and Spinach Soup
Leftover ham or 2 packs bacon
1 medium sized white onion
6 ounces of spinach
1 whole bulb of real garlic (do not use store bought crap imported from china, it sucks)
2 or 3 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste


Step 1: Chop up the leftover ham and the onion. If you do not have leftover ham use about 2 packs of bacon thinly cut width-wise. Try to make the slices thin, especially if you are planning to feed this to younger children.

Step 2: Put diced onion and ham into medium sized stock pot.

Step 3: Mince garlic. I use a press I got from Lee Valley because it is the only one I found that works well, but of course just use whatever works for you.

Step 4: Add garlic to pot. Add in a tablespoon of oil if you are using ham (not needed if you are using bacon). Turn heat on to medium.

Step 5: As the ingredients in the stock pot come up to heat, wash spinach and chop into small pieces.

Step 6: Cook the ingredients in stock pot until onion start to become soft on outside. Do not overcook.

Step 7: As the ingredients are simmering get ready to add the white beans. The best way to do this is to buy dried beans and soak overnight the day before, and then boil for about an hour to get them ready for the soup. If you are in a rush, or you don't care about the beans so much, just add a couple of cans after rinsing them out well. Add beans to pot and continue to cook for 5 minutes.

Step 8: Add the spinach. Cook until spinach begins to soften. Do not overcook.

Step 9: Add stock until it is just covering the rest of the ingredients. I prefer to make the stock using the bone from the ham, but you can easily substitute chicken or vegitable stock. I prefer to go salt free in everything so none is ever included when I make this, but you can add salt and pepper to your own taste. Add 2-3 bay leaves. If you want to ramp it up and make it hot, you could easily add hot peppers or pepper powder at this stage.

Step 10: Slowly raise to boil, cover and turn off heat. It will be ready about an hour later.

 

[stickman]

Sorry to hear you're under the weather... The soup, drinking lots of fluids and catching up on lost sleep will hopefully get you back up quickly. Cheers

 

[PaulG]

The mycorrhizae that I use has a ton of different propagules in it.
I suppose the idea is that for each species of plant, the proper
mykos will interact with the root system. Just a guess on my part.
My question is, once you have innoculated a large container, do
you have to repeat the mykis appliction, or are the proper organisms
surviving year to year?

 

[amps]

Since the mycorrhizae survive in a direct symbiotic relationship with the roots, I'm gonna guess they need to be replenished. One paper I read said that even with direct contact to the roots in ideal conditions, colonization was only 9-12%. With nothing to feed on through the winter, the likely hood of them being alive to colonize the new roots would be small.

 

[WalkGood]

Sad to hear that you are sick but that white bean and spinach soup should do the trick besides resting and fluids. I was sick myself a week ago and it seems I’ve not rid myself of this evil bug yet but I’m much better. I tried to put a pod in everything I ate and it seems to clear up my blocked nasal passages very well, even when I’m not sick

 

[Stefan_W]

I'm still up in the air on Myco. I keep saying I'm going to try it but always wind up not using it due to a lack of reports from first hand experience.

I did find one study regarding New Mexico style peppers. They found that peppers inoculated with native New Mexico Endomycorrhizae increased the yield by about 300%. However, peppers inoculated with non-native mycorrzhizae had reduced yield of about 20%. The question I couldn't find an answer to was which kind of bacteria was native and which wasn't? And of course it didn't study the effects on C. Chinense or C. Baccatum peppers.

Looking forward to seeing your results. Maybe you'll have an idea of it's effect before I need to pot up and I can ride your coattails a little.


Edit: Just found this guy published out of Quebec. Might be worth a read.

http://digitool.libr...ase=GEN01-MCG02

Thank you very much for the link! I will take a look when I am feeling healthier and it doesn't feel like I am thinking through cotton.

Sorry to hear you're under the weather... The soup, drinking lots of fluids and catching up on lost sleep will hopefully get you back up quickly. Cheers

Thank you very much! Man, this is one brutal flu.

The mycorrhizae that I use has a ton of different propagules in it.
I suppose the idea is that for each species of plant, the proper
mykos will interact with the root system. Just a guess on my part.
My question is, once you have innoculated a large container, do
you have to repeat the mykis appliction, or are the proper organisms
surviving year to year?

I don't know about year to year, but the seller I bought from said that you only need one application during the growing season, which should happen right at transplant. But just because he said it doesnt make it true. Those are excellent questions.

Since the mycorrhizae survive in a direct symbiotic relationship with the roots, I'm gonna guess they need to be replenished. One paper I read said that even with direct contact to the roots in ideal conditions, colonization was only 9-12%. With nothing to feed on through the winter, the likely hood of them being alive to colonize the new roots would be small.

Good point. Although most of us use some type of soil amendment over winter, like aged sheep manure or mushroom compost. But those things could change the ratios of all the microorganisms.

Sad to hear that you are sick but that white bean and spinach soup should do the trick besides resting and fluids. I was sick myself a week ago and it seems I’ve not rid myself of this evil bug yet but I’m much better. I tried to put a pod in everything I ate and it seems to clear up my blocked nasal passages very well, even when I’m not sick

You are braver than I am! I remember my dad telling me to eat a big hunk of fresh garlic every day, and that if I did I would never get sick. But that may be because no one would ever get close enough to me to pass any of the nasty bugs along

 

[WalkGood]

... You are braver than I am! I remember my dad telling me to eat a big hunk of fresh garlic every day, and that if I did I would never get sick. But that may be because no one would ever get close enough to me to pass any of the nasty bugs along

lol, good point and here I thought that garlic kept the vamps away

 

[Stefan_W]

Sofia and I transplanted out first tabasco plant, from the rapid rooters. She is sick with the flu too, so please forgive me that I did not snap any pictures.

I see one or two more seeds in the rooters looking like they may be getting ready to pop, so I promise lots of pics next time around.

 

[roper2008]

Both of you, get well soon....I have not tried rapid rooters. Maybe I should try some.

 

[Stefan_W]

Both of you, get well soon....I have not tried rapid rooters. Maybe I should try some.

Thank you very much! I'll keep posting pics to show how the rooters are doing. I'm still open to using them or not using them when it comes time to do my main seed planting in about 5 or 6 weeks.

 

[PeriPeri]

Hi Stefan, I just came accross your glog. Awesome start on your season and what an incredible assistant you have - she is adorable! I do love the way you have managed to combine your passion for growing chillies with food. Gives it all purpose and meaning. I must say that I too have struggled with getting the elusive Tabasco to seed. I have several plants going this season and they are almost ready for the picking. PM me your address, and I would be happy to send you nice fresh seeds

 

[Stefan_W]

Hi Stefan, I just came accross your glog. Awesome start on your season and what an incredible assistant you have - she is adorable! I do love the way you have managed to combine your passion for growing chillies with food. Gives it all purpose and meaning. I must say that I too have struggled with getting the elusive Tabasco to seed. I have several plants going this season and they are almost ready for the picking. PM me your address, and I would be happy to send you nice fresh seeds

Thank you for stopping in, and thank you very much for your offer of fresh seeds! I have about a dozen tabasco seeds on the go, and I plan to give them another week to see if I can make it up to the 4 seedlings I need. If they don't pop I'll definitely send you a message

 

[DocNrock]

Hope the both of you feel better. Flu sucks.