Stetto's First Winter Grow ('16-'17)

Well, here we gro, October 14 and the setup has begun.
 

 
My heat mat is unregulated, no thermostat, but measures (without sunlight) @ 87.5F. As can be seen, the 20+ inch deep mat is folded up at the window sill, which should help in deflecting any winter chill getting through the glass. This window will one day be a garden window extending around 9 inches out from the house, to facilitate all manner of horticultural misdeeds...But that's another story...
 
The lil' ziplock box in the photo is the start of my winter experiment, some Trinidad Moruga Scorpion seed obtained through the good graces of Jeff Contonio. My other seed is in transit from Australia:
 
Aji Amarillo
 
Jalapeno Tormenta
 
Bert the Chilli
 
I've been trying to grow Aji Amarillo for some years but have never been able to get seed to germinate. I've blamed the seed (innocuous Amazon purchases) up till now, but I have a lot more faith this time around since finding a reputable vendor. Note that only one superhot is being planted----For now.
 
After germination I intend on sowing into Solo cups (I've heard a wive's tale that you use the red ones for more than just the song), and eventually into 1.5 gallon pots. Even though I brag about the growing strength of the local soil (primordial ooze), I think I'll either hybrid it with non-soil potting mix or not use dirt from the garden at all.
 
I expect to do quite a bit of pruning, hopefully to encourage bushyness and to promote production in smaller accomodations. I'm sure I can find plety of input on that subject in these pages...
 
This is my first inside grow, let's see what happens. Any advice/pointers/warnings/pokes/prods/words of encouragement are welcome....But ya doesn't has to call me Johnson....

 

[stettoman]

A bit of rough weather last night. The tornado siren went off at 9:3-something. I'll never get used to how much tensile strength trees actually have...well, most trees.
 
This morning it's still drizzling, rain guage reads at 1 & 3/4 inches, yard is full of small branches. Yes, I took all the potted plants in....
 

 
Yesterday there was no view of the field behind the grove.
 

 
There was a buckeye sapling right there yesterday too...
 

 
The garden was left almost untouched. The corn was blown down, though this is early enough in the season that it will stand itself back up in a day or two. The peppers look put up wet, and have a lot of small tree branches laying on top of them. They'll have to wait for that inch and three quarters of water to drain before I can get out and clean up.
 

 
Lost half a lilac bush.
 

 
I feel lucky. Not far from here they clocked a wind gust of 140 mph.
 
My peppers are smiling too....

 

[Geonerd]

Just keep a goat on hand at all times, to sacrifice in case hail threatens.

 

[stettoman]

I'd like to dedicate a post to the color purple.
 
I know a lot if not most of you guys and gals are old hats to purple blossoms on a pepper plant, I beg your indulgence. The baccatum blossoms and their fern motif was one thrill for me, this is another.
 

 
I have three Rocotos that I'm sure of, this potted model is Rocoto Amarilo. When this one and the two in the 8th acre began to blossom I thought these gotta be the purtiest flowers I ever saw. I can't wait for the ripe pods. The Mini Rocoto Rojos and Aji Oros out in the garden are flowering like this one, only moreso. The recovery from Deer Day is such that it's finally time o start staking some of these peppers out. About time. This is the portion of my season where I can see great daily progress, virtually watch stuff grow before m eyes. The corn adds about 4 inches a day to itself, the weeds maybe twice that.... : 
 
Oh, but the purple!
 
 

 
 

 

[Devv]

Glad you didn't see the full wrath of mother nature she can be brutal!
 
Love the color purple! In the garden that is
 
Glad summer is in full swing up your way, and that the garden is kicking it
 
60 days here before we get a well deserved break from the "summer" AKA hell here   We have 90 days of bad, and the rest of the year is happy time.
 
Keep it green buddy! I'm following your most excellent grow!

 

[stettoman]

Just keep a goat on hand at all times, to sacrifice in case hail threatens.

 


Tried that once, Greg. I was living in Knoxville Arkansas at the time. We did not get along, and I eventually barbequed and ate him (tastes like tough pork).


 

Glad you didn't see the full wrath of mother nature she can be brutal!
 
Love the color purple! In the garden that is
 
Glad summer is in full swing up your way, and that the garden is kicking it
 
60 days here before we get a well deserved break from the "summer" AKA hell here   We have 90 days of bad, and the rest of the year is happy time.
 
Keep it green buddy! I'm following your most excellent grow!

I really appreciate your support and advice, Scott. Your seeds too! All are thriving now and we can't wait for some good ripe chiles to taste!

It's looking like another weather day today. Cross yer fingers and cover yer asses!

 

[stettoman]

My July 23 update....
 
Everything is lush and growing, with a couple of exceptions. My concern is that with a short season some of my plants won't get around to flowering and setting fruit.
 

 
The most avid flowering and podding units in the 8th acre are the CAP 267
 

 
And the sweet paprika
 

 
I have an Aji Pacay that just looks weird
 

 
My Aji Amarillos, at least the ones in the dirt, are growing fat and dense but nary a blossom to be seen
 

 
I obviously have some soil issues, an inconsistency in nutrient quality, P & K being of chief concern. The tomatoes are flowering and setting fruit as usual, and the potted chiles are overachieving, but the 8th acre is abundant in weeds more than anything else. This season is educational to me in that regard.
 
A more comprehensive update is forthcoming, when I have more time...There are more plants to report on....
 
Oh, and one more thing: This, shitty as the pic is, is NOT a Scotch Bonnet, is it....I'm willing to try again next year with the PDreadies, Malarky & I will have to kibbutz on the right seeds this time...
 

 
Til next time,
 
 

 

[stettoman]

Potted plant update, 7/27...
 
There is little difference in the growing aspect of these plants, garden dirt or engineered "grow media", but there is definitely a component these guys have that the 8th acre is lacking. The potted plants are flowering and podding up like crazy compared to most of the "free range" plants out back. While all the 8th acre peppers rose above and beyond Spring's deer attack, a couple right down to dirt, their flowering/podding activity is far less than their counterparts on the deck:
 
 
Aji Amarillo. I count more than a half dozen new blossoms on this pair every day. Both plants in this pic came from PaulG, one an F5 from his own pods, and the other a direct Peruvian immigrant. Very different in both blossom and pod, though flavor and heat seem identical. The Peruvian is producing slightly smaller flowers, but larger, fatter, smoother pods. The F5 (on the left) has giant blossoms but the fruit is skinny and has slight ridges and "lines". I have no doubt there is some crossing going on, along with the other baccatums. We are just one big open pollinating family here, after all....
 

 
 
 
Next to the Amarillo is my Aji Lemon Drop. Yes, the one I tried, but failed, to kill. It has repaid my treachery with dozens upon dozens of pods and now screams for water every other day. It's supposed to be a competition plant, but if memory serves, the last time I grew these they all ripened at once, sometime in mid September. I think it's a zone 3 thing...
 

 
 
My baccatum buddy Geonerd sent me some wonderful seeds and pods and a goodly dose of enthusiasm to try more than just the Aji Amarillo chiles, and this one was actually an "accident", planted as a lark and become one of my most cherished little plants. It is an Aji Mango, the seed pulled out of a pod he sent that tasted so damn good I immediately grabbed a seed out of one of the pods and planted it. It was, along with most of my pepper plants, stunted at a early stage and I didn't have much hope. It now has gone into production mode. This plant will be over-wintered if I don't kill it with zeal...
 

 
 
This one kind of saddens me, though at the same time has me all kinds of excited. This is my NOT a PDreadie. I have two, one here and one in the 8th acre that hasn't even blossomed yet. It's become nicely lush and healthy and has pods and Malarky sez they taste great, so On with the show! This is the one that a nasty caterpillar tried to eat...It has recovered nicely.
 

 
 
Aji White Lightning Bolt, finally getting around to flower and podding up. This one is so dang bushy at the bottom that rain can't get to it, I have to water it by hand. It drinks a lot. Solid7 turned me on to 3-1-2 fertilizer and it is performing beautifully on everything I apply it to.
 

 
 
Purple. I giggle like a schoolgirl every time I look at this plant, my Rocoto Amarillo. These rocotos I have never tried before, I really can't wait to try one stuffed.
 

 
I'm really sorry for the lack of photo quality, I'm using a dinosaur Galaxy s6 and as tech goes I'm sure it's now the equivalent of stone knives and bearskins, but it's what I got. My SLR took a dump long ago and it just hasn't been a thing to replace...
 
Anyhow, I'm really stoked. I've never been one to get potted plants to produce, and these six are all stars!
 
I'm going to try to get the 8th acre tilled today, it's finally dry enough. Supposed to be a drought, my property failed to get the memo, I guess....
 
You guys picking ripe fruit, I really envy you!

 

[MikeUSMC]

Nice update, Eric! I'm growing Aji Mango for the first time this year (seeds courtesy of Superhot Sim, thanks again, bud!) and I'm really looking forward to it

Your new ferts..... Is it CNS17, by any chance? He turned me onto that too. I'd been using DynaGro for the past 3 years and loved the results. I made the switch this year. The CNS17 has all the same micro/macro nutes, plus calcium and magnesium, and my plants seem to be loving it. Not to mention it's like HALF the cost of DynaGro!!!

Plants are looking good, bud

 

[stettoman]

Nice update, Eric! I'm growing Aji Mango for the first time this year (seeds courtesy of Superhot Sim, thanks again, bud!) and I'm really looking forward to it

Your new ferts..... Is it CNS17, by any chance? He turned me onto that too. I'd been using DynaGro for the past 3 years and loved the results. I made the switch this year. The CNS17 has all the same micro/macro nutes, plus calcium and magnesium, and my plants seem to be loving it. Not to mention it's like HALF the cost of DynaGro!!!

Plants are looking good, bud

 
Thanks Mike, and yessir, CNS17 is exactly what he suggested, and probably saved me from burning my peppers to death! I'm using on the potted plants, likely has something to do with them being more productive. I need a better delivery system than a water can for the 8th acre, so I'm going to try this
 
https://www.amazon.com/Jobes-Organics-Vegetable-Fertilizer-Soluble/dp/B011HXVEQM/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_img_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=F0YXRPGBCV60A9R3M864
 
This way I can utilize the hose....
 
The guys here at THP are the best growers I've run into, save me from destroying my own crop regularly!

 

[Devv]

Looking good Eric!
 
 

 

[stettoman]

Looking good Eric!
 
 

 
Hey thanks Scott, I noticed your grow continues even in these Devil Days of South Texas! I'm hoping for a very long, very warm Autumn, maybe some of my late bloomers will have a chance to produce ripe pods.
 
The Gochus and Urfa Beiber and Kurts are all beginning to flower profusely, the Orange Thai hasn't had a blossom yet.
 
The Sweet Paprika? She make-a you PROUD, mang!
 

 
 
And the CAP267 that I got seed from Geonerd is also an overachiever. It would appear that the baccatums do quite well in the Tundra.
 

 
 
 
Dude, I tilled/cultivated yesterday. I decided to not torture you with a pic of that fresh black shit. That garden looks magical when freshly tilled!
 
My tomatoes are 6 foot tall and full of large, heavy fruit. The Amish Paste is a pleaser!
 
And the robins and cedar waxwings have started on the chokecherries, a sure sign that it's time to pick! I'm going to experiment with hot pepper jellies this year, cannot wait mon!

 

[stettoman]

Ohdehellwiddit, it looks so good I can't help but post it! Eat your heart out, Scott!!
 
Made sure not to get too high in the resolution department, don't want to cause any caniptions out there!!
 

 
 
Aji Mangos at attention
 

 
Mystery plant, seed mixed with some PaulG Aji Amarillo seed from Peru. Flowering nicely, still no pods whatsoever.
 

 
My NOT a PDreadie is making peppers, hope they're good! There's another "maybe" PDreadie out in the 8th acre, hasn't produced a pod yet, I might still be in luck...
 

 
And my first Aji White Lightning Bolt!
 

 
 
Weather is turning typical early August here; 80s-90s and lots of leftover humidity from July. There will be a change to VERY dry in a couple weeks, happens every year. Thing is, other than for spraying ferts I don't need to water the 8th acre at all after the end of June. These plants tap into ground moisture and thrive. The potted plants, on the other hand, seem to want a drink every day now that they're making babies.
 
I'm doing my best not to kill these again. So far so good....
 

 

 

[Devv]

The garden looks great Eric! All that hard work will pay off.
 
I grew 2 P. Dreadie's, 1 looks kinda like yours, they still eat just fine. Glad the Paprika made for you
 
You can keep your winters but I would love your August weather right now

 

[moruga welder]

Couldn't agree more with Scott , All is looking great !  Sure is beautiful up north there , but will too pass on the winters ! lol  

 

[stettoman]

The garden looks great Eric! All that hard work will pay off.
 
I grew 2 P. Dreadie's, 1 looks kinda like yours, they still eat just fine. Glad the Paprika made for you
 
You can keep your winters but I would love your August weather right now

Good to know on the Dreadies, Scott. Can't wait to start working these peppers into recipes! I'm hearing some intrigueing things from the local epicurians about fresh ground paprika too....

Couldn't agree more with Scott , All is looking great !  Sure is beautiful up north there , but will too pass on the winters ! lol  

Thanks Frank, I continue to believe that any success in my world will be due in HUGE part to input, advice and support from youse guys at THP.

Winter? Meh...I don't mind it so much except for the hinderance on my grow, but the wife HATES it. According to her we will be selling out and moving to the mts of Colorado after my daughter gradiates high school.

I didn't have the heart to tell her about mountain winters.....

 

[stettoman]

Heh heh, I was just out checking for pepper activity and found this old guy suffering from the heat....It might take a few seconds for some....
 

 
 

 

[Devv]

Tell him to put his tongue back in his mouth

 

[stettoman]

A plant I haven't given many updates on I actually from the first seed I was gifted at THP: The Trinidad Moruga Scorpion sent me by JeffContonio. It was planted along with my many Aji Amarillos from PaulG last November/December.
 
 
Both are this robust.
 

 
I may be avoiding updates because these little guys scare the shit outta me, beside intriguing the hell outta me. But I'm finally seeing some production, so for better or worse it looks like I'm going to get some scorps... 
 

 
Then there's the Madballs and other supers that Mpicante sent along, which should be podding presently...

 

[PaulG]

Looks like you have everything under control despite rain and deer, Eric!
 
Here's hoping the weather holds and you get a nice Fall season
to ripen up those babies in!
 
Keep the faith, brother!

 

[stettoman]

Looks like you have everything under control despite rain and deer, Eric!
 
Here's hoping the weather holds and you get a nice Fall season
to ripen up those babies in!
 
Keep the faith, brother!

Heh, the Darlin Bride gets on me for lack of patience. We've had three really nice long autumns over the last three years. I'd love to see a fourth.

Appreciate ya pokin' yer head in, Paul!