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]

You have lots of pepper seedlings rick. They are looking good. Do you grow anything else from seed or
just peppers? I have some tomato and eggplant seed that have germinated. I can set out the tomatoes
in April.

 

[stickman]

That Caroline the Reaper is a keeper!

There's nothing nicer than spending time with my man.

So thank you, it feels really wonderful to be appreciated.

Aww... ain't that sweet...

Stickman, I think it's awesome to have Jury Duty, and to do it without a grumble.

Why not... I paid for it by serving in our military, and actively participating in the system. Things would be better here if more people would participate, communicate and work together instead of playing partisan games or working to subvert the system for personal gain.

As for dem chillies, I like to see the Hungarian strain is peeking out already. Keep the heat up on all your little ones!

As best I can Ma'am...

Great job, the hooks are definitely coming in! Pretty soon you'll be drowning in seedlings, and loving it I'm sure.

You have lots of pepper seedlings rick. They are looking good. Do you grow anything else from seed or
just peppers? I have some tomato and eggplant seed that have germinated. I can set out the tomatoes
in April.

Thanks for the kind words folks

I also grow tomatoes and eggplant from seed Linda. My wife has GIRD, so i stick to the low acid tomatoes. Our current favorite is Sungold cherry tomatoes. I like the big purple Italian-type eggplant, so I plant the Black Beauty variety. By starting the seeds a bit early and planting out in the hoophouse with the peppers and tomatoes I got eggplant last year that grew waist high and had 12-15 fruits on each plant that weighed about a pound to a pound and a half. It was a great year for peppers, and the best I've ever had for eggplant! I posted pics in the growing other thread at the time if you'd like to see them.

Today's news in the Annuum seeds is only fair... I have an Urfa Biber, Hungarian Hot Wax Pepper, another Korean and 6-4 Anaheim hook up, so out of the 26 varieties planted, I am showing:
Korea Winner Gochu 5/14
Chimayo 1/3
6-4 Anaheim 1/3
Urfa Biber 1/6
Hungarian Sweet Paprika 1/3
Hungarian Hot Wax 1/3

I also have one Magnum Orange Habanero out of 4 seeds planted. I think my slow germ rates are because I'm having trouble keeping the temperature constant on my seed heat mat. I have the thermostat set for maximum but the actual temp. in the starter trays is only in the 70-75 degree range.

 

[stickman]

This week's pics of the solo cups vs root pruning pots side by side comparison. I tried to show the color of the foliage as truly as possible, so I took the pics by ambient light only... no flash. It makes the pics look a little grainy since it's a cloudy day outside and the pics were taken inside, but you get the idea...

Douglah...

Jamaican Hot Chocolate...

Yellow 7...

Maya Red Habanero...

and the mature Ajis.

Omnicolor...

Criolla Sella...

And a representative of the Kapia peppers...

 

[Stefan_W]

Based on the pictures it looks like the root pruning pots made a bigger difference in some varieties than others. The Jamaican hot chocolate seem quite different, but the douglahs look pretty much the same from here. If this is the case it is really interesting! Thanks for taking the time to do these pictures.

 

[stc3248]

Plants look stellar Rick! I think its still to early to tell on the air vs cups until the roots in the cups start to circle. Think if you see a big difference it will be at next pot up.

You had mentioned once before about a potential Red Rocoto sprout...any luck or news? I know you've had germ temp problems, me too. Still hopeful for you...all else fails I suppose you can start some outside mid summer as an overwinter project.

 

[highalt]

Remind me again when those plants in the pictures above were planted? I can't believe how far along they are!!!

Most of mine still only have one set of true leaves ...

 

[DocNrock]

Things look like they are really coming along, Rick. Agree with Shane regarding the timing of seeing a difference between air pruning pots and not. I suspect the plants in the air pruning pots will continue to grow while the others will stall. Hopefully the thaw will be just around the corner for you.

 

[stickman]

Plants look stellar Rick! I think its still to early to tell on the air vs cups until the roots in the cups start to circle. Think if you see a big difference it will be at next pot up.

You had mentioned once before about a potential Red Rocoto sprout...any luck or news? I know you've had germ temp problems, me too. Still hopeful for you...all else fails I suppose you can start some outside mid summer as an overwinter project.

Sorry Chief, no love yet... I haven't given up on them, just it's gonna take a bit for things to get up into the light. Inshallah...

You're probably right about the next pot-up making the most difference in size, but I still maintain the plants in the air pruning pots have darker color.

Remind me again when those plants in the pictures above were planted? I can't believe how far along they are!!!

Most of mine still only have one set of true leaves ...

Hi Bonnie
I planted most of my Chinense and Baccatums back on January 6th, so these plants are at week 7. The exceptions are the second Criolla Sella and the Magnum Orange Habanero I started 2 weeks ago. They're just starting to put out their first true leaves.

Things look like they are really coming along, Rick. Agree with Shane regarding the timing of seeing a difference between air pruning pots and not. I suspect the plants in the air pruning pots will continue to grow while the others will stall. Hopefully the thaw will be just around the corner for you.

Hi Doc
The plants in the Solo cups are eventually going into the ground, but I'm gonna keep 'em in the cups until then.

Things are already thawing here, but probably won't be totally thawed until the end of March if we go to pattern. Then it'll be time to prepare the soil with amendments. Nothing's going outside until I see life in the OW scallions.

 

[stickman]

There's a little more activity in the Annuums this morning...

Koreans

A Krimzon Lee Paprika

Urfa Biber

A 6-4 Anaheim and a couple of Chimayos

Hot Hungarian Wax Pepper

 

[stc3248]

And they're off!!! Lol, I started a couple Poblanos after all, and they're up now. Forgot how huge their cotys were compared to most of the others I have already started. going to be cool to watch how they react to your new grow setup!

 

[MisterNo]

Your plants look great Rick, you're gonna have a lot of fun this season

 

[patrick]

The air pots hold more medium than the cups so in the long run they will do better than the cups just on that. For the amount of time the plants will be in the cups is the expense of the air pots worth the difference in growth? What was the cost if you don't mind?

Thanks for doing the comparison too. All of us are always looking for ways to improve our grows and when people do these types of things it benefits us all. Very cool of you Rick.

 

[stickman]

Had to work today... just got home and found that all 3 of the hybrid kapias are hooking up, as well as one of the Peruvian Purple ornamentals and another Urfa Biber.

The air pots hold more medium than the cups so in the long run they will do better than the cups just on that. For the amount of time the plants will be in the cups is the expense of the air pots worth the difference in growth? What was the cost if you don't mind?

Thanks for doing the comparison too. All of us are always looking for ways to improve our grows and when people do these types of things it benefits us all. Very cool of you Rick.

The plants in the airpots are gonna stay in them Patrick. One of the reasons I bought them was because I wasn't going to have enough room in my garden plot for all the chiles I'd planned, and the overflow will be staying in the airpots. I have 1 gallon and 5 gallon airpots waiting in the wings for when I have to put bigger shoes on the babies.

 

[Stefan_W]

The peruvian purple has a really nice taste, I'm sure you'll love them.

All is looking good!

 

[Sanarda]

Plants look great. Makes me wonder if I should invest in some airpots

 

[stickman]

And they're off!!! Lol, I started a couple Poblanos after all, and they're up now. Forgot how huge their cotys were compared to most of the others I have already started. going to be cool to watch how they react to your new grow setup!

Yup, they're starting to move now... slowly at first, but picking up steam. I think they'll be getting more light and nutes than they did last year, so I'm hoping for great things.

Your plants look great Rick, you're gonna have a lot of fun this season

Thanks Robert! Your Kurtovska Kapia peppers are beasts! I had 100% germination with them, and after 7 weeks they're averaging 15 cm tall in my unheated basement and the stems are streaked dark purple and at least 4 mm thick.

The peruvian purple has a really nice taste, I'm sure you'll love them.

All is looking good!

Thanks Stefan... Maybe I'll make some powder out of the Peruvians if it tastes good enough. Didn't you say that the seed to flesh ratio favors the seeds?

Plants look great. Makes me wonder if I should invest in some airpots

Thanks for the kind words Pia...

The jury's still out for me on the effectiveness of the airpots... this is the first year I'm using them. I've noticed that I need to water more frequently than I do with the Solo cups since the holes in the sides and bottom of the airpots increase the surface area of the soil exposed to air. The pots are made of recycled milk jugs and are extremely durable. They come apart like a spring-form cake pan and store flat. The black color of the plastic probably absorbs sunlight and helps warm the growing medium inside during the cool months, but I have no idea how they'll do for me during high summer. Some of the folks down in Florida said the peppers they planted in them didn't do well under summer conditions, but I have a few ideas of what to do to keep them properly watered in summer without using drip irrigation.

Thought I'd take a stab at a throwdown since curries are right up my alley.

 

[stc3248]

Dang...you and Greg are both in it??? Ughhh...haven't looked yet, but I know you two both put something special together. Will get over there tomorrow night to look at all the entries. Good luck brother!

 

[MisterNo]

Thanks Robert! Your Kurtovska Kapia peppers are beasts! I had 100% germination with them, and after 7 weeks they're averaging 15 cm tall in my unheated basement and the stems are streaked dark purple and at least 4 mm thick.

OMG!!!
Great, glad they worked out for you

My 7 weeks old plants are not even close to these monsters
I guess your pot mix is doing it's magic, along with your ''green'' fingers.

I still didn't started my Kapija's, probably in a few weeks. Along with Vesena and Elephant.

 

[stickman]

Checked my seedlings when I got up this morning, and found another Magnum Orange Habanero hook, 2 more Criolla Sella hooks, a "Greygo" Hungarian Tomato pepper hook, a Serrano Tampiqueno hook and a Chilhuacle Negro hook. Things are definitely starting to move! I have seedlings from 12 of 26 Annuum varieties planted.

Current tally:

Koreans: 6/14
Urfa Biber: 2/6
Hungarian Tomato Pepper "Greygo": 1/3
Hungarian Sweet Paprika: 1/3
Krimzon Lee Paprika: 1/3
Hungarian Hot Wax: 1/3
Kapia "Belcanto 3/3
Chimayo: 2/3
Numex 6-4 Anaheim: 1/3
Chilhuacle Negro: 1/3
Serrano Tampiqueno 1/3
Peruvian Purple: 1/3

 

[stickman]

Another Urfa Biber hooked up so I'm 3/6 with them. The Koreans that were the first ones up are starting to get their first true leaves.

I'm noticing something different with both of my Criolla Sella seedlings. The cotyledons seem to migrate around to one side of the plant stem when the true leaves start coming...