Stickman's 2013 Glog - Time To Pull The Plug on 2013

I'm pulling things together to get ready for my next growing season. I bought NuMex variety seeds from Sandia Seed company in New Mexico, Hot Paper Lantern Habaneros and Antohi Romanians from Johnny's Select Seeds in Maine and Korean varieties from Evergreen Seeds in California. Due to the unbelievable generosity of a number of THP members I've also gotten seeds to a wide variety of chiles from around the world. Special thanks to BootsieB, stc3248, romy6, PaulG, SoCalChilehead, joynershotpeppers, highalt, cmpman1974, smokemaster, mygrassisblue, Mister No, chewi, KingDenniz, orrozconleche and most recently and spectacularly, Habanerohead with a great selection of superhots and peppers from Hungary!

There are eleven varieties of Hungarian peppers in here, mostly the early, thick-fleshed, sweet ones that range from white through yellow to purple and red.., plus Aji Lemon Drop, BJ Indian Carbon, Naga Morich, Bishop's Crown and TS CARDI Yellow! Now I just have to go through my seed bank and match the space available to what I want to grow. Thanks Balázs!

 

[roper2008]

Seedlings looking nice. I'm going to be using a lot of 5gal dirtpots this summer.

 

[stickman]

Seedlings looking nice. I'm going to be using a lot of 5gal dirtpots this summer.

Thanks Linda
I'll be looking for how they do for you. Especially in the summer heat. I can't afford a drip irrigation system this year, but I know of a trick I got from some folks in Brooklyn that keep Bonsai. In order to keep them from drying out too much during the day when they were working away from home, they'd put large chunks of ice in the pots, where they would gradually melt and water them.

 

[georgej]

Wow. Stunning little plants man!

 

[stickman]

Wow. Stunning little plants man!

Thanks G... I'm pretty happy with results so far too. Except for the non-germinating Manzanos of course... If they don't pop, I guess it just wasn't meant to be for this year. I'll have to try again next year with commercial seed and read up on that particular variety.

 

[georgej]

I've never heard of manzanos. Pubescens??

I can't understand why my ultras are doing awesome, habanero died, scotch bonnet are ok, but not as good looking as the ultras. Never mind!

I especially like how your douglah plant looks

 

[stickman]

I've never heard of manzanos. Pubescens??

I can't understand why my ultras are doing awesome, habanero died, scotch bonnet are ok, but not as good looking as the ultras. Never mind!

I especially like how your douglah plant looks

Yup, Pubiscens. Its name translates to apple, and is also known as Chile Peron, Chile Caballo, and Chile Ciruelo. It's closely related to the Rocoto chile too. They differ from other peppers chiefly by having dark brown or black seeds with a thicker seed coat and hairy leaves and stems. They're native to the foothills of the Andes and healthy, mature plants can take a bit more cold than other peppers as well.

The Douglahs are kind of cool in how they differ from the Scorpions and Habaneros... more rounded leaves.

Do those of you who were successful germinating Manzanos do anything different with them to get them to sprout? My initial germination using the coffee filter method on my seed heat mat went very well, but lights weren't part of the equation... Now I have the chiles I started on the second shelf, and the seed heat mat on the shelf above. I have four 23 watt CFLs providing light for the seedlings, and the waste heat from them is making it hard to keep a consistent temperature on the seed heat mat above when they're on. It fluctuates when the timer kills the lights at night... Guess I'll have to override the timer and leave them on 24/7 to even out the temps. until I get the new seeds to pop. Is there anything else I'm missing?

 

[stc3248]

You know Rick, I would try a few seeds just in a solo cup under the lights. My last batch of Manzanos was from that same seed stock and they popped for me. Good luck, I'm bummed they aren't hooking up for you.

 

[Stefan_W]

Do those of you who were successful germinating Manzanos do anything different with them to get them to sprout? My initial germination using the coffee filter method on my seed heat mat went very well, but lights weren't part of the equation... Now I have the chiles I started on the second shelf, and the seed heat mat on the shelf above. I have four 23 watt CFLs providing light for the seedlings, and the waste heat from them is making it hard to keep a consistent temperature on the seed heat mat above when they're on. It fluctuates when the timer kills the lights at night... Guess I'll have to override the timer and leave them on 24/7 to even out the temps. until I get the new seeds to pop. Is there anything else I'm missing?

I am not growing Manzanos, but if they are anything like the rocotos they will frustrate the heck out of otherwise sane growers. Anyway, as for things you may be missing, this year I have been opening up the dome the seeds are under to allow for an air exchange at least once per day. Low air exchange can lead to bad stuff that you don't want at any stage.

 

[stickman]

I am not growing Manzanos, but if they are anything like the rocotos they will frustrate the heck out of otherwise sane growers. Anyway, as for things you may be missing, this year I have been opening up the dome the seeds are under to allow for an air exchange at least once per day. Low air exchange can lead to bad stuff that you don't want at any stage.

Thanks Stefan, I'm on that one already... I take off the dome at least twice a day to look underneath for signs of activity.

 

[PeriPeri]

Gnat Situation: Hmmmm darling, you know that pot plant of yours... It's amazing, but it just got hit by space debris... mind if I use that spot for another of my pots? Such a shame! Space debris... really? How freaky!

 

[stickman]

Gnat Situation: Hmmmm darling, you know that pot plant of yours... It's amazing, but it just got hit by space debris... mind if I use that spot for another of my pots? Such a shame! Space debris... really? How freaky!

Hi Lourens
An interesting suggestion... but you know that if Mama's not happy, nobody's happy...

Still no sign of life from the Manzanos, but I have a Criolla Sella hook from the second planting of seeds. The Ajis were the first to pop in the first planting, so I'm hoping this means future success.

Now I have two of each Chinense and Baccatum variety planted.

 

[WalkGood]

... Especially in the summer heat. I can't afford a drip irrigation system this year, but I know of a trick I got from some folks in Brooklyn that keep Bonsai. In order to keep them from drying out too much during the day when they were working away from home, they'd put large chunks of ice in the pots, where they would gradually melt and water them.

Rick, that's an interesting trick, will cold water affect them in any way? And how often do you or would one water up there in the summer heat? I find the winter here sucks the water out of the ground and air is very dry VS in our summer everything is moist, including the air. Mainly because we're in our rainy season then but I do not water as much in summer. I go by feeling the soil in the drain holes (bottom and sides). Please take some pics if you implement this trick ...

 

[stickman]

Rick, that's an interesting trick, will cold water affect them in any way? And how often do you or would one water up there in the summer heat? I find the winter here sucks the water out of the ground and air is very dry VS in our summer everything is moist, including the air. Mainly because we're in our rainy season then but I do not water as much in summer. I go by feeling the soil in the drain holes (bottom and sides). Please take some pics if you implement this trick ...

Sure Ramon, I was planning on it anyway. It's not such an issue for the plants in the ground... just the ones in pots. It makes me wonder though... would this keep the chiles cool enough that they wouldn't drop their flowers in midsummer heat?

Habanbero's and Supers are starting to pick up the pace. Some are already half as tall as the Habanero's I transplanted in April last year. I'll post pics this weekend.

We're in Lent as of Wednesday, so I thought I'd make a big pot of New Orleans-style Red Beans and Rice. I make mine in the slow cooker with Ham Hocks, Bay Leaves, Chipotle Powder, black pepper, Old Bay seasoning, Ham or Chicken stock, hot sauce, onions, green bell peppers, chiles and lots of garlic. There's not much to see in the slow cooker, but I'll post pics of the plate-up tonight.

 

[megamoo]

I assume the word manzano translates to apple? Pubescens means hairy, hence all the jokes about growing pubes

About bottom vs top watering... it all depends on the medium. Basically if the soil or medium doesn't drain well then it is bad for plants, but it is made worse with bottom watering vs top.

At the moment I start my seeds in coco coir and as soon as they sprout they go into flood and drain hydro, which is bottom watering. The coco draws the water up really well and the cells are saturated in a matter of seconds. It does hold onto the water and takes a whole day to dry, but the cells are tiny and each flooding completely replaces the water. When I've bottom watered soil raising mix it takes a lot longer to draw up and drain, the capillary action is just not there.

When bottom watering a cup or pot that has a very young plant or new transplant in it you need to be careful of overwatering. When most of the bottom of the pot is just soil with no roots in it then it is pointless to water this and saturate it just to get to the roots. In my experience it is much better to top water at this stage. If you bottom water, all the rootless soil gets saturated, and because not enough of it is taken up by the plant it doesn't dry out and can become stagnant water = death to plants. The next bottom watering with fresh oxygenated won't effectively replace the old stagnant water. But if you top water the roots get what they want first and the rest is left to drain. Even if it doesn't all dry or drain away the next watering will provide fresh water to the roots, and push the old water out.

Ok that may sound confusing but bottom line - the soil mix or medium is the major factor in determining whether bottom watering or top watering is the best method.

edit: and when I've used seed raising mix I've had problems with fungus gnats. Man they suck! I've used sticky traps to get the big ones and sprayed the soil top with H2O2 solution. It controls them for a while but the come back. Don't know why but haven't had that problem with coco coir in the hydro. I've seen only the odd one and they don't start breeding.

 

[roper2008]

Maybe try heat mat and lights for the manzano. That's how I'm starting to germinate my seed this year. I have
4 rocotos seedlings right now. That's 3 too many.

 

[Jamison]

The beans and rice sound awesome! Them sprouts will be coming. I might actually try to germ some manzanos to see what the hype is all about. Seems everybody loves them. Good job Stick!

 

[stickman]

Ok that may sound confusing but bottom line - the soil mix or medium is the major factor in determining whether bottom watering or top watering is the best method.

Thanks Moo! A well thought-out post with some great info. I'd been thinking about what to replace peat-based potting soil with when starting seeds... Peat is a non-renewable resource, it holds water like a sponge and the fungus gnats really like it. It's good to know what else is out there and what to expect when using it. Cheers!

Maybe try heat mat and lights for the manzano. That's how I'm starting to germinate my seed this year. I have
4 rocotos seedlings right now. That's 3 too many.

Thanks for the suggestion Linda... I'm on it!

The beans and rice sound awesome! Them sprouts will be coming. I might actually try to germ some manzanos to see what the hype is all about. Seems everybody loves them. Good job Stick!

Thanks for the kind words Jamison. Let us know how the Manzanos do for you.

Red Beans and Rice came out great with the addition of some Chorizo sausage slices. Andouille sausage is traditional, but I like the Chorizo.

And thinking of Ramon... Thanks for the red JA Habanero seeds mon! They got here today...

 

[stickman]

A few shots of progress this week...

Kurtovska Kapija...

Douglah...

Maya Red Habanero...

Jamaican Hot Chocolate...

 

[stc3248]

Dang it! Every time I come over here I am hoping to see a fuzzy little hook! Nice update Rick! Tomorrow is my bet...

 

[Stefan_W]

The plants look great!

Red beans and rice is a favourite in our household, so the pictures instantly made my mouth water