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

Well, here we gro, October 14 and the setup has begun.
 
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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....
 
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Wellp, got the frost. Real light, but frost.

The sprinkler quit at some point, was just spraying a single jet of water off to one side. I was up before 6, got it working again (in my bare feet), we'll see if I saved the farm or not.
 
Wow Stetto, frost already. I thought I had it bad in the Netherlands, but that's a really short season! Props to you for figuring out how to grow our beloved fruit properly in those circumstances. Any chances of some decent weather after this?
 
b3rnd said:
Wow Stetto, frost already. I thought I had it bad in the Netherlands, but that's a really short season! Props to you for figuring out how to grow our beloved fruit properly in those circumstances. Any chances of some decent weather after this?
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Yeah, until this year with all the "new" peppers I never really gave it that much thought. This year that one thought took up a lot of my attention.

I started really early this year too, some planted in DECEMBER. The deer, in one night in May, started me from scratch. Next season should be better, I've learned much.

And yeah, we should have a few weeks frost free now. The first one is almost always like this...
 
MikeUSMC said:
Damn, Eric, that sucks! Hopefully they didn't get hit too hard, and they'll bounce back for you :pray:
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First look tells me that they should do ok. Commencin' to hold my breath. These early spotty frosts are usually really light (the thermometer at the house never went below 37), so if anything only the canopy was affected. If even that was spared I may have to drive down to Dee-VINE Texas and give a man a big-ol' sloppy kiss... :shocked:
 
Trident chilli said:
Feel for you Eric nature just isn't fair sometimes..... hopefully they will pick up
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Thanks, and you're right, fair is just not something I figure into nature much. I know where I live, and this being my first big grow with chiles, I will adjust for next season (deer deterrant top of my list). I have an idea that getting this cool shot might just trigger a ripening spell.
 
The potted plants spent the night in the garage and have no idea what transpired last night.... :cool:
 
37 "should" be no trouble.  Even with a touch of extra radiant cooling, the plants "shouldn't" suffer any real damage.   :confused:
Riiiight??   :eh:
 
And now you've got at least another 10~14 days of near-80 bliss...   :dance:
 
Geonerd said:
37 "should" be no trouble.  Even with a touch of extra radiant cooling, the plants "shouldn't" suffer any real damage.   :confused:
Riiiight??   :eh:
 
And now you've got at least another 7~10 days of near-80 bliss...   :dance:
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Yup, like I said, a very light frost. Even so, at 37, look at the roof--
 
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The grass around the 8th acre did something akin, but for some reason I didn't take the pic.
 
Everything looks good, and yeah, that 8-10 days is going to feel great! Many years I get half through October before the frost thing is an every-nighter. By then my potted plants will probably be spending most of their time in the house.
 
Glad they made it Eric!
 
I'll pass on the sloppy kiss ;)
 
It's not so much the temperature that hurts the plant when one has frost, but the frost itself. And frost occurs in relation to the dew point on said day. It pulls all the moisture out of the affected areas of contact. Effectively burning the areas where the damage occurs. I beat the frost one year (the only year this happened), it was 21 days past the "average last frost date" and went down to 24° that morning. I turned the sprinkler on at 4AM, and went back to bed (Saturday ;) ) at 7AM I went out and all the plants (babies) were coated in ice, just like an ice storm. I left the sprinkler on until the ice melted, around 9AM. Out of 96 plants, 50% peppers and 50% tomatoes, I lost one pepper plant. Luckily I haven't had to use this trick since.
 
Keep it going Eric!
 
Nope. It's all good. I had wished for a trigger to ripen, maybe this is a good sign:
 
Excellent!
 
Long range weather forecasting is always sketchy but, FWIW, the next system bringing cold air isn't "due" until the 22nd or so.
Tell those damn pods to get with the program!
 
Geonerd said:
 
Nope. It's all good. I had wished for a trigger to ripen, maybe this is a good sign:
 
Excellent!
 
Long range weather forecasting is always sketchy but, FWIW, the next system bringing cold air isn't "due" until the 22nd or so.
Tell those damn pods to get with the program!
 
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Devv said:
here's to a next frost happening in late December!
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Ah, for me the optimism is a long eroded-by-experience kind of thing. It's definitely Fall here, the maples do not lie. I lost my faith in weather forecasting many years ago. We had a frost last week, the next town down the road was in the 40s. It's that mish-mash-jumbled up around here. My favorite weather guy, now long dead, used maps and looked out windows and claimed that weather will NEVER be accurately forecast beyond 12 hours. He said that in 1978, and it is still true, technology be dammed.
 
Then we get the bunch that keeps switching the phrase "you're confusing weather with climate", depending on what the weather happens to be doing and if it makes a particular argument. The lack of a hurricane in 12 years is weather, unless there is one...then it's climate. Brother...
 
I'm hoping for a first frost in late December as well. Sorry 'bout the rant....
 
Yeah, the weather is what it is. And predicting it is an art so to speak. We have one guy here, who's very close to retirement (Steve Brown), who's darned good. I've seen him a many times go against all the other forecasts and he nails it most every time. When Harvey was working towards us, the "forecasts" said it may go tropical and then cat1; he said "all the conditions are there for this to go cat4". Danged if he didn't hit it on the head. My brother was a meteorologist for four years when he served in the Navy on the JFK. He taught me a lot, and that helps me to this day.
 
Good luck, and no more frosts until the mistletoe has been hung. ;)
 
There are around 150 5-to-6 inch long bright yellow pods on the CAP 267, but 3 of them are no longer so yellow.
 
Can't wait to try these. You say you make salsa with them, Greg? Garden's full of salsa fixins!
 
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It's odd; these are much more orange than the camera (phone) captured. Note the corky reddishness at the end of the center pod. Considering my last taste test with these was premature I wanted to reassure that these ARE creamsicle orange.... :scared:
 
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