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

PeriPeri · Mar 8, 2013

Looking great Stickman... Not sure about you - but I cant wait to see them in the soil!

stickman · Mar 8, 2013

stc3248 said:
Those dang manzanos...grrrrr. Did you grow Mucho Nacho last year??? If not you're going to love those plants! Hope to see some more blue and green on that list by week's end!

Hi Shane
No, I planted Coyame Jalapenos I got from Burpee last year. It didn't say so on the packet at the time, but this year they identify it as a hybrid. When the plant was in full swing the pods were huge and quite tasty. Perhaps similar to the Mucho Nacho.

PeriPeri said:
Looking great Stickman... Not sure about you - but I cant wait to see them in the soil!

Hi Lourens
You sure nailed that one! We got another inch of snow last night, and perhaps another one today if it doesn't change to rain. The average temperature is hovering around freezing, but moves above or below that depending on whether or not the sun is out. The snow is melting and the ice on the ponds is softening though, and the vernal equinox will be here in a week and a half... Once we pass that tipping point, things will start to warm up even more as the days become increasingly longer than the nights.

WalkGood · Mar 8, 2013

stickman said:
... We got another inch of snow last night, and perhaps another one today if it doesn't change to rain. The average temperature is hovering around freezing, but moves above or below that depending on whether or not the sun is out. The snow is melting and the ice on the ponds is softening though, and the vernal equinox will be here in a week and a half... Once we pass that tipping point, things will start to warm up even more as the days become increasingly longer than the nights.

I hear you, its gotta be hard waiting for it ... strangely enough we've had late cold fronts pass thru down here, normally we don't get 50's in March o_O

stc3248 · Mar 8, 2013

Mucho Nachos didn't turn out quite as big as advertised...but still pretty big! They are prone to blackening in the sun as well. Very cool plant! Also a hybrid, so probably won't grow true from harvested seeds??? Is it plant out yet???

Ausmith · Mar 8, 2013

Rick - I've been germinating the Vesena Lukschal for the last week and a half and I am 0 for 3 so far. I'm using a slightly different method from normal, so not sure if that is playing into it or not. We'll see.

Looking good buddy. Thanks for the seeds - Dad got them last week,

meatfreak · Mar 8, 2013

Sorry to read about the empty holes, Rick. Luckily it's Annuums so you still got more then enough time for a re-sowing

I hope your Aji Panca germinates, I tried the 6 seeds I had over here but none germinated

would have love to grown this one this season. Maybe next year.

stickman · Mar 8, 2013

Ausmith said:
Rick - I've been germinating the Vesena Lukschal for the last week and a half and I am 0 for 3 so far. I'm using a slightly different method from normal, so not sure if that is playing into it or not. We'll see.

Looking good buddy. Thanks for the seeds - Dad got them last week,

If I don't see some hooks by sunday, I'm gonna re-sow some Vesena seeds and presoak first in a 10% solution of Hydrogen Peroxide for 10 minutes and diluted seaweed extract overnight. Hopefully that'll get things moving.

Glad your Dad got the seeds... hope they do well for him. Good luck with your grow too!

meatfreak said:
Sorry to read about the empty holes, Rick. Luckily it's Annuums so you still got more then enough time for a re-sowing I hope your Aji Panca germinates, I tried the 6 seeds I had over here but none germinated would have love to grown this one this season. Maybe next year.

Hi Stefan
They're slowly filling in... Aji Panca and Guajillo are 2 varieties I really want this year, so if no hooks by Sunday I'll plant more. Cheers

Came home from work today and found some seeds from persianninja including some 7-pot Barrackpore and Scotch Bonnet FDA... and a bonus of seeds from a couple of Russian tomatoes... Black from Tula and "Japanese" Trifele. Both look so cool that I think I'm gonna start some to see if they're as tasty as I've read. Thanks Arian! Also have 2 Marconi Rosso hooks and more coming this weekend.

meatfreak · Mar 9, 2013

Let me know about those Guajillo, Rick. Mine popped all 4 after only 4 days, if needed I could send you some. Those tomatoes look nice indeed, got them also but didn't made the list this year. Sowed my tomatoes yesterday, 24 varieties to try like Costoluto Fiorentino and Dix Doigts de Naples.

MisterNo · Mar 9, 2013

Hi Rick. Sorry to hear about Manzanos and Vesena.

I got 1/8 manzanos growing, it's looking good. One more germinated but it was rotten, didn't stand a chance.

I will start vesena in a week or two, hope i get few plants. I didn't hear from Ela in a long time, don't know about her luck with vesena.

stickman · Mar 9, 2013

meatfreak said:
Let me know about those Guajillo, Rick. Mine popped all 4 after only 4 days, if needed I could send you some. Those tomatoes look nice indeed, got them also but didn't made the list this year. Sowed my tomatoes yesterday, 24 varieties to try like Costoluto Fiorentino and Dix Doigts de Naples.

Thanks for the offer Stefan, it looks like I'll get at least the Aji Panca, and from what I've read, it has a sweet, berrylike flavor like the Guajillos so I won't have to do without. I've heard that they're so sweet that they go well in baked goods and ice cream, and I'm planning on trying it out this summer.

Ah yes, those Italian varieties sound excellent. I'll be curious to see what your assessment of them is when they come in. I grew up around Tuscans, and they have a real romance going with tomatoes...

Jamison · Mar 9, 2013

Keep the hope man! They will sprout. Hit me up if you need any seeds!

stickman · Mar 9, 2013

MisterNo said:
Hi Rick. Sorry to hear about Manzanos and Vesena.

I got 1/8 manzanos growing, it's looking good. One more germinated but it was rotten, didn't stand a chance.

I will start vesena in a week or two, hope i get few plants. I didn't hear from Ela in a long time, don't know about her luck with vesena.

Hi Stefan
I hadn't known before this that the Manzanos were so difficult to germinate. More power to anybody who can pull it off!

I see Ela hasn't logged in since October 17th... I hope all is well with her.

Jamison said:
Keep the hope man! They will sprout. Hit me up if you need any seeds!

Thanks for the offer Jay, I appreciate it!

This past week has been crazy busy... quite a few of our home health staff have been out sick, and I've been scrambling to keep my own clients covered and to cover as many of the others as possible. To add to the problems with time management, I got a check engine light in my pickup and had to put it in the shop while borrowing my wife's car and dropping her off at work. It's always one d@#& thing after another, but fortunately not everything at once... The good news is that it was a fairly minor repair. Spark plug wires and plugs.

In the Annuums I have another Peruvian Purple hook, so I'm 2/3 for those. Cascabel, Ochsenhorn and Aji Panca are showing signs of life, so I should have some hooks to show from them in a few days. Here's the overall effect...

The little guy in the front in this pic I was hoping was a Red Rocoto, but Shane says that even the cotys would be hairy, so it's probably just another Criolla Sella. The trio behind it is Magnum Orange Habaneros.

Hope everybody has a fun and productive weekend!

highalt · Mar 9, 2013

Glad the Ochsenhorn is starting to pop for you. When did you sow them? Mine were sown about a week ago, so I'm thinking I'll see something in the next 2 or 3 days.

I feel your pain on the Manzanos! I actually had decent germination, but I'm down to one last Yellow Manzano sprout. Had a lot of helmet head issues, and then a couple succumbed to what I assume was dampening off. They seem to be picky little buggers. Hoping this last one hangs in there, because it's getting a little late to start them over!

stickman · Mar 9, 2013

highalt said:
Glad the Ochsenhorn is starting to pop for you. When did you sow them? Mine were sown about a week ago, so I'm thinking I'll see something in the next 2 or 3 days.

I feel your pain on the Manzanos! I actually had decent germination, but I'm down to one last Yellow Manzano sprout. Had a lot of helmet head issues, and then a couple succumbed to what I assume was dampening off. They seem to be picky little buggers. Hoping this last one hangs in there, because it's getting a little late to start them over!

Hi Bonnie
Tomorrow, it'll have been 2 weeks since I sowed the Ochsenhorn. You'll probably have a shorter germination if your seed heat mat is working better than mine.

I'm gonna give the Manzanos one last try... I think it's too late to actually get pods from them here, but I can always overwinter and have a shot at next year. While I was about it, I treated the seeds for the other varieties I'm re-sowing the same way... Soak for 10 minutes in a 10% solution of Hydrogen Peroxide and boiled and cooled water. The Cascabel and Manzano seeds were fizzing, so I hope that means the next try may be more positive...

Drained them, and set to soak in a solution of 1 tsp of Neptune's Harvest seaweed extract to a cup of water. I'll plant them in fresh soil tomorrow.

Short of dosing with Gibberelic Acid to break dormancy, I don't know what else to do. We'll see...

Since the "Taltos" Hungarian Stuffing Peppers didn't do so well, I started some of the Keszthelyi Rezisztens variety. Replaced the Hungarian Hot Wax with the Rapires F1 Hybrid and started more Manzanos, Cascabel, Mulato Isleno, Guajillo, Holy Mole Hybrid and a few Big Jim Anaheims because I already have one Numex 6-4.

Stefan_W · Mar 9, 2013

You have more fight in you than I do. I usually give it one or two tries before giving up on one of the varieties for the season.

stc3248 · Mar 9, 2013

Try a few manzano seeds direct sown into small pots on your grow shelf. With a heater under. Soil temp around 80...blah blah blah. I think some fluctuation is good with them. So when lights are on 80-85 lights off 70-75 with a Matt or lights below helping maintain it. I use a meat thermometer to check the temp at seed depth in my pellets because every germ mat seems to have hot spots, cool spots and sweet spots. Hedge your bets with a few methods and good luck brother!

stickman · Mar 9, 2013

Stefan_W said:
You have more fight in you than I do. I usually give it one or two tries before giving up on one of the varieties for the season.

Nah... just stubborn...

Sometimes it pays off though, I just checked the seed flats and there's a hook apiece in the Aji Panca, Cascabel and Ochsenhorn sections. :dance:

stc3248 said:
Try a few manzano seeds direct sown into small pots on your grow shelf. With a heater under. Soil temp around 80...blah blah blah. I think some fluctuation is good with them. So when lights are on 80-85 lights off 70-75 with a Matt or lights below helping maintain it. I use a meat thermometer to check the temp at seed depth in my pellets because every germ mat seems to have hot spots, cool spots and sweet spots. Hedge your bets with a few methods and good luck brother!

Thanks Shane, your input is most welcome. I was reading a thread from last fall about soaking with Hydrogen Perixide, and Greg said he thought it was beneficial for seeds with a lot of nooks and crannies, like Manzanos. He also mentioned Spectracide stump remover as a 99% pure source of KNO3. If so, I'm off to get some for starting other tough-to-germ seeds.

PeriPeri · Mar 9, 2013

I have been hearing a lot about them tricky Manzanos... I'll give you 20/10 for trying Rick. I had a quick look on the internet and it tells me these are the same as Rocoto's. Looks interesting... will have to try these next year. I am holding thumbs for you my friend!

roper2008 · Mar 9, 2013

stickman said:
If I don't see some hooks by sunday, I'm gonna re-sow some Vesena seeds and presoak first in a 10% solution of Hydrogen Peroxide for 10 minutes and diluted seaweed extract overnight. Hopefully that'll get things moving.

Glad your Dad got the seeds... hope they do well for him. Good luck with your grow too!

Hi Stefan
They're slowly filling in... Aji Panca and Guajillo are 2 varieties I really want this year, so if no hooks by Sunday I'll plant more. Cheers

Came home from work today and found some seeds from persianninja including some 7-pot Barrackpore and Scotch Bonnet FDA... and a bonus of seeds from a couple of Russian tomatoes... Black from Tula and "Japanese" Trifele. Both look so cool that I think I'm gonna start some to see if they're as tasty as I've read. Thanks Arian! Also have 2 Marconi Rosso hooks and more coming this weekend.

I've heard the Black from Tula is a good black tomato. I have the seeds, but it's on for next year. Let me know how they do for you?

Trippa · Mar 10, 2013

If the Mazano's don't end up working Rick throw some of those Hot Fish into the mix ... they have a great flavour and heat for an annum not to mention they look great in the garden (maybe another one to appease the wife??

) You seem to have plenty hooking up now rick ... not long to go and you'll be rolling in both chilli's and plants !!