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

 

[Stefan_W]

We are both feeling a bit better today, and hopefully this keeps moving toward recovery. Man this one was nasty.

 

[DocNrock]

Did you and/or Sofie get the flu shot this year?

 

[Stefan_W]

Nope, there was no way we could get it done this year. We usually get them, and they help quite a bit so long as the doctors predict the correct strain that will hit the area.

 

[WalkGood]

We are both feeling a bit better today, and hopefully this keeps moving toward recovery. Man this one was nasty.

Good to hear you're both feeling better, yea it sucked 2 weeks ago when I had it. Did you remember to eat more peppers in your food? I'm serious they really helped me even if it was just physiological at the very least they opened up my breathing passages very well.

 

[Stefan_W]

I've been eating pepper sauce every night, which counts I think. At dinner time I tend to use the powders and sauces I buy, but at night I crack open my home made stuff which is really fresh and hearty (peppers, carrots, onions, garlic). I definitely feel better today

 

[DocNrock]

I've been eating pepper sauce every night, which counts I think. At dinner time I tend to use the powders and sauces I buy, but at night I crack open my home made stuff which is really fresh and hearty (peppers, carrots, onions, garlic). I definitely feel better today

Glad to hear you're feeling better. Hope Sofia is, as well.

 

[Stefan_W]

We were almost admitted while at the hospital yesterday, but things look a lot better today. The first year of so after chemo and radiation is brutal because every flu could be life threatening due to the high risk of it turning into pneumonia, which is a huge killer in kids that have gone through treatment. I've been off of work all of this week, and only two days of it have been because of my own flu. Anyway, it looks like she may have turned a corner because she is happily drawing and colouring now.

 

[romy6]

Just for the record Stefan I think you Grow title is classic/timeless

Glad you guys are feeling better

 

[Stefan_W]

A few new things happened today, so I decided to take out the camera and snap some pictures.

The first of the tabasco seeds that I planted in the soilless medium I normally use has popped. I planted these as a control to see how much the rapid rooters help. So far I have one tabasco from the rapid rooters that has been transplanted, and now I have one from my usual approach that will probably be transplanted over the weekend.

Not to be outdone, a second tabasco seed in the rooters is getting ready to pop.

This is the first early jalapeno that my daughter and I planted two and a half weeks ago. It put up its first set of true leaves the other day, and it is looking great.

The early jalapeno in the largest pot, surrounded by 5 aji lemondrop seedlings and 1 tabasco seedling. They are on the heat mat and under the grow light. I take them out for 30-60 minutes each evening and blow a fan across them, which is a pain in the butt but I haven't found a clip on fan that I like yet.

My overwinters: one bhut jolokia and one tabasco pepper. These plants were struggling, so I started to pay more attention to the nutrients they are getting. Right now they are in recovery mode and are looking far better than they did a month ago.

That's it for my update, thanks for having a look and thank you for all the positive thoughts coming out way as we all try to kick this flu

By the way, the paper bag in the background to the left of the plants is filled to the top with garlic bulbs from last year's garden. Space is always at such a premium...

 

[patrick]

Glad to hear you and your daughter got through the bout with the flu Stefan. It has been a pretty nasty one this season.

 

[roper2008]

Glad you two are feeling better. I think the doctors predicted the wrong stain this year....Congrats on your
tobasco germination. I can only seen to grow tabasco's in earthboxes only. They do lousy in the ground
for me. Can't figure that one out...Oh, I bought some rapid rooters at a hydro store to try out. I also picked
up some dirt pots since they were by the register. Same thing as smart pots. The guy gave me a sample
bottle of some liquid he said my peppers will love. It is called Floralicious Plus. 5 drops for every gallon. I'm
going to try it out and see how it works.

 

[WalkGood]

Wow when you said “we are both feeling better …” here I assumed you were close to recovery. So imagine my surprise tonight when I read “you were almost admitted while at the hospital yesterday.” What can I say, I’m glad you dodged that bullet and can only say keep the faith brother … here’s hoping you both continue to feel better.

On another note, great updates …

• Congrats on the Tabasco sprouts
• Ditto on Sophia & your Jalapeño continuing to develop
• Aji lemondrops, nice
• Your OW’s will bounce back with dat lovin
• BTW how long does your garlic last, I can’t keep the stuff around that long, lol

Regardless of the peppers, focus on both your health first and the peppers will always come … take care brah and hope you guys are soon muchin on all these beautiful peppers your growing

 

[Stefan_W]

Just for the record Stefan I think you Grow title is classic/timeless

Glad you guys are feeling better

Thank you very much

My daughter seems to be doing a bit better. We spent most of the evening at emergency at the local hospital, but that was just a precaution. Things seem to be looking up.

Glad to hear you and your daughter got through the bout with the flu Stefan. It has been a pretty nasty one this season.

Yes, the H3N2 strain is particularly nasty. I'm not sure if it is the same strain in your area, but it definitely kicks the crap out of you.

Glad you two are feeling better. I think the doctors predicted the wrong stain this year....Congrats on your
tobasco germination. I can only seen to grow tabasco's in earthboxes only. They do lousy in the ground
for me. Can't figure that one out...Oh, I bought some rapid rooters at a hydro store to try out. I also picked
up some dirt pots since they were by the register. Same thing as smart pots. The guy gave me a sample
bottle of some liquid he said my peppers will love. It is called Floralicious Plus. 5 drops for every gallon. I'm
going to try it out and see how it works.

I asked a doctor yesterday about whether they picked the wrong strain, and she told me that they had the correct strain but the vaccine was only effective in a little over 50% of the cases. The normal is 65-68%, so it was a huge drop off and very disappointing.

Good luck with the rapid rooters, I'll be checking in at your glog to see how they are working out for you

Wow when you said “we are both feeling better …” here I assumed you were close to recovery. So imagine my surprise tonight when I read “you were almost admitted while at the hospital yesterday.” What can I say, I’m glad you dodged that bullet and can only say keep the faith brother … here’s hoping you both continue to feel better.

On another note, great updates …

• Congrats on the Tabasco sprouts
• Ditto on Sophia & your Jalapeño continuing to develop
• Aji lemondrops, nice
• Your OW’s will bounce back with dat lovin
• BTW how long does your garlic last, I can’t keep the stuff around that long, lol

Regardless of the peppers, focus on both your health first and the peppers will always come … take care brah and hope you guys are soon muchin on all these beautiful peppers your growing

When you have a seriously ill child who has been through the chemo/radiation gauntlet things are never simple. We spent half a day at emergency today and went through a battery of tests as a precaution, mainly because this strain of flu has been deadly for oncology kids. It is all good, because we requested the tests and they are taking no chances.

The garlic lasts when you start off with a little over a hundred bulbs

Thanks for stopping in !

 

[megamoo]

Hope you and the family get better soon.

Good to see the seeds spouting.

When I get a the flu I make some carrot and celery juice but chuck some garlic and a bit of ginger in the juicer too. Wakes you up and takes care of the cold fast.

If the Tabasco didn't sprout well I'd definitely say they were a bum lot of seeds. Tabasco is such a well established and well known variety that natural selection should have produced high germination rates in the strain by now. I mean its not an unstable new hybrid or anything. So you have to assume the vendor didn't select the best pods for saving, or didn't dry or store them properly.

I had two well known cayenne varieties from the same vendor get no germination. One to avoid, never buy from there again!

 

[stickman]

Hi Stefan
Sorry to hear of the illness in your family, and hope all is getting better now. Seedlings and OW plants look great. I was looking at some Rapid Rooter plugs at a local Hydroponic shop, but decided not to get any... From what the guy at the shop said, they are a sort of sponge made of natural materials, but they don't break down readily when you're done with them.

Have any of your Chinense varieties sprouted yet?

 

[Stefan_W]

Hope you and the family get better soon.

Good to see the seeds spouting.

When I get a the flu I make some carrot and celery juice but chuck some garlic and a bit of ginger in the juicer too. Wakes you up and takes care of the cold fast.

If the Tabasco didn't sprout well I'd definitely say they were a bum lot of seeds. Tabasco is such a well established and well known variety that natural selection should have produced high germination rates in the strain by now. I mean its not an unstable new hybrid or anything. So you have to assume the vendor didn't select the best pods for saving, or didn't dry or store them properly.

I had two well known cayenne varieties from the same vendor get no germination. One to avoid, never buy from there again!

The tabasco seeds are from a good source, it just takes them a while to germ. I took a peek this morning and was surprised to find a few new hooks in there. I'll post some pics later on today.

Hi Stefan
Sorry to hear of the illness in your family, and hope all is getting better now. Seedlings and OW plants look great. I was looking at some Rapid Rooter plugs at a local Hydroponic shop, but decided not to get any... From what the guy at the shop said, they are a sort of sponge made of natural materials, but they don't break down readily when you're done with them.

Have any of your Chinense varieties sprouted yet?

Yeah, I am still a bit skeptical about the rooters as well, which is why I put half of the tabasco seeds in rooters and half in my regular mix. I am putting up pictures this afternoon, but the results so far have surprised me.

I did not plant any chinense yet. This is about 5 or 6 weeks early for me, because I can't take plants out till early May so I don't usually start until later Feb or early March. I'm experimenting with a few longer season varieties and some hard to germinate ones, but that is about it at this point.

What I found this morning was so interesting, and so surprising to me, that I could not wait to take a couple of pictures.

As a recap, I took one pack of tabasco seeds (about 10-12 seeds), soaked them, and put them in rapid rooters. I took another pack of seeds (also 10-12 seeds) bought at the same time from the same seller, did not soak them, and stuck them in the same mix I always use.

The first seedling came from one of the rapid rooters, and it was days ahead of anything else.

When I checked this morning, I found three definite hooks in the regular mix. There is also one possible one in the cell in the bottom right corner of the pick (look at the bottom right of the cell, about a third of the way from the edge). This makes 3 seeds (possibly 4) sprouting in the regular mix at the two week point.

The only new action in the rooters is the one seed that popped a couple of days ago, but it taking its time sprouting upwards.

So at the two week point I have 3 or 4 seeds popping in my regular mix, and only 2 in the rooters. The interesting thing to me is that the ones in my regular mix appear to be popping at about the same time, while the ones in the rooters are popping at different times. Although this is only one variety of seed, it is a difficult seed to germinate. At this point I am leaning toward just using the same mix I've always used and skipping the rooters when it comes time to plant my other seeds.

 

[Stefan_W]

Pepper growing in Canada. These are my overwinters in front of the back window. The snow is falling like crazy, and the temps this week are supposed to dip down close to minus 30 celcius (about -20 F or so) not counting windchill.

A bhut and a tabasco, glad to be inside today.

Looking out back. The snow had just started to melt off, and now we have this.

 

[stickman]

Boy that sure looks familiar... Your OW plants look happy though. Cheers!

 

[DocNrock]

That looks coooooolllllddddd. But your OW's look nice and toasty. Good luck with whatever germ method you end up choosing.

 

[Stefan_W]

It is definitely cold out. So cold that on my way to work this morning I saw a dog stuck to a fire hydrant (*rim shot*).

Thanks for the kind words about the overwinters! Another tabasco came out in my usual soil mix, so I am now pretty much set on sticking with that instead of using the rooters. I am thinking of starting white habs next, unless anyone can think of something that is tougher to germinate on my grow list (I'll have to re-post my current grow list later on, or people can look in my profile).