Stickman's 2014 Glog- That's all folks!

stickman · Feb 11, 2014

maximumcapsicum said:
Looking great Rick! Wish I had something substantial to add about the horticubes, but this really is just a learning season for me, and this is a great place to learn! Can't wait till the next round of pics!

I'll do another mass update this weekend, but until then... Shane's Pequin hooked up, and more are on the way.

The next one to hook up will be this Dilley Street Tamwork...

And there was an envelope in the mail today from brother Jericson... Thanks brah, you rock! What would you recommend putting them on?

In other good news... there are Goat's Weed, "Espanola Improved" Anaheim and Hargita F1 seeds that have broken dormancy. The Hargita is a "Hungarian Pointed Hot" variety that looks an awful lot like what we call a Hot Wax Pepper. We'll see when the pods ripen up.

Cheers all!

Penny · Feb 11, 2014

Nice wee sprouts and a nice surprise too.

maximumcapsicum · Feb 11, 2014

Great man! I think I nominate Goat's Weed as annuum of the week! Hah!

Pinoy83 · Feb 11, 2014

stickman said:
And there was an envelope in the mail today from brother Jericson... Thanks brah, you rock! What would you recommend putting them on?

red powder... has a li hing mui blend.... good with fried foods...specially fries

yellow one.... banana blend....hmmm i dont know lol....i just use them all around...different flavors

brown one.... my special blend...tweak that thing out to the max...thats the dark powder u saw in my last post...its very damn ONO... if i only have a biggg batch...i would use it for RUBS

enjoy brahhhh... if you can put your review on them so i know what flavor ill mass produce

PeriPeri · Feb 12, 2014

Nice one on the seedlings there Rick! Lots of excitement still ahead - awesome grow list my friend!

stickman · Feb 12, 2014

Pinoy83 said:
red powder... has a li hing mui blend.... good with fried foods...specially fries

yellow one.... banana blend....hmmm i dont know lol....i just use them all around...different flavors

brown one.... my special blend...tweak that thing out to the max...thats the dark powder u saw in my last post...its very damn ONO... if i only have a biggg batch...i would use it for RUBS

enjoy brahhhh... if you can put your review on them so i know what flavor ill mass produce

Sure brah... I'll get started on it this weekend.

Thanks for the good vibes folks, it seems to be working! I transferred some of the hooks in Horticubes into pots today...

More are breaking dormancy almost hourly... I'll post pics as I pot them up...

Spicegeist · Feb 12, 2014

Excellent...

stickman · Feb 13, 2014

We're moving right along folks! I see the Goat's Weed, Thai Orange, Thai Red, Takanotsume, smokemaster's Pequin and sweet Hungarian "Coloring" pepper have broken dormancy as well as some of the Ailsa Craig exhibition onion seeds. The Ailsa Craigs are supposed to get bulbs that weigh 5-7 pounds each. Thinking ahead to the County Fair...

Trippa · Feb 13, 2014

Those horticubes are starting to look very very tempting with the germinating rates and speed you are getting Rick ... my last lot of seeds are taking there sweet ass time (so far 15 days for some) ... so far one pop out of about 50 seeds (Korean Gochu

) in Jiffy pellets ... and I know its not the seeds so something is amiss ...those horticubes just seem so much simpler!!

stickman · Feb 13, 2014

Trippa said:
Those horticubes are starting to look very very tempting with the germinating rates and speed you are getting Rick ... my last lot of seeds are taking there sweet ass time (so far 15 days for some) ... so far one pop out of about 50 seeds (Korean Gochu ) in Jiffy pellets ... and I know its not the seeds so something is amiss ...those horticubes just seem so much simpler!!

I hear ya brother... that's what I was thinking at the time myself! Another feature I like about the Horticubes is that being just foam, when some (but not all) of the seeds in the tray germinate, I can cut them out easily to get them out from under the plastic dome and pot up. I don't think damping off is an issue as long as you sterilize the 1020 tray before soaking the sheet of Horticubes and sowing your seeds, because it's a sterile medium. There are no nutes in them either, so you need to get them into soil and begin feeding them as soon as the cotys fully form.

To pot up, I just trim away from the top of the cube because I want to disturb the roots as little as possible. Here's a few pics of Shane's Texas Pequins I potted up this morning.

Penny · Feb 13, 2014

Looking great....nice little surgery you performed this morning.

JJJessee · Feb 13, 2014

Thanks, Rick.
Those Horticubes look more and more magical every day.

Do you think a person could make that center dibble less deep by crumbling some of the foam finely and filling it slightly without negatively effecting the wicking level the moisture rises to?

stickman · Feb 13, 2014

JJJessee said:
Thanks, Rick.
Those Horticubes look more and more magical every day.

Do you think a person could make that center dibble less deep by crumbling some of the foam finely and filling it slightly without negatively effecting the wicking level the moisture rises to?

I don't think it's necessary JJJ... as the hook grows upwards it mostly seems to scrub the seed coat off against the inside of the dibble... given that it's a vigorous grower that is. Even helmet-heads seem easier to deal with since the environment inside the tray is so humid. The few I've gotten just slid off when I squeezed the seed coat with a pair of tweezers across its width... just like opening an old-fashioned coin purse.

maximumcapsicum · Feb 13, 2014

Interesting procedure Rick. So the horticube itself breaks down after you trim it down?

stickman · Feb 13, 2014

maximumcapsicum said:
Interesting procedure Rick. So the horticube itself breaks down after you trim it down?

I Emailed the manufacturer to ask just that question Adam... still haven't heard back from them, but I'll post it when/if I hear back from them... Even if they're not biodegradable, they're inert, and once dry will crumble up well and just disappear into the soil.

JJJessee · Feb 13, 2014

I suspect Horticubes are an ultra low density foamed urethane. It may not technically bio-degrade fully but winds up as small inert particles quickly.
Probably a proprietary formulation, but there could be very similar, usable products sold in sheet form

I assume the sheet has been cast as opposed to milled to that size and shape.

Jeff H · Feb 13, 2014

JJJessee said:
I suspect Horticubes are an ultra low density foamed urethane. It may not technically bio-degrade fully but winds up as small inert particles quickly.
Probably a proprietary formulation, but there could be very similar, usable products sold in sheet form

I assume the sheet has been cast as opposed to milled to that size and shape.

I would guess that this is correct but I will be keeping tabs on this to find out what info the manufacturer gives you. I can tell you that rapid rooters absolutely do not decompose. At least not in one year. All of the plants that I started in them last year still had the rapid rooter around the trunk when I pulled them out of the ground.

Trippa · Feb 13, 2014

Jeff H said:
I would guess that this is correct but I will be keeping tabs on this to find out what info the manufacturer gives you. I can tell you that rapid rooters absolutely do not decompose. At least not in one year. All of the plants that I started in them last year still had the rapid rooter around the trunk when I pulled them out of the ground.

In Saying that jiffy pellets (the new ones especially) will not break up/down and can strangle the roots (enough to limit root growth for years ) if you leave the netting on as well. Just dug up a 2yr old plant... It had the smallest root ball ever and a perfectly formed jiffy pellet stuck directly under its stem ... With only a small amount of sturdy roots protruding ... May be my last year using them to be honest

maximumcapsicum · Feb 13, 2014

Yeah I had mixed results with pellets last year too, but I think removing the netting solves most of the problems right? Also fluffing via Jason's procedure.

maximumcapsicum · Feb 13, 2014

Yeah I had mixed results with pellets last year too, but I think removing the netting solves most of the problems right? Also fluffing via Jason's procedure.