Sorry 'bout the glitch... still learning how to use my new "smart" phone. Sometimes it seems like it's smarter than me... 
Stickman's 2017 Minimalist Glog
- Thread starter stickman
- Start date
Datil said:Hey Rick, i hear ya on the cold indoor placement.
I'm growing in my basement and it gets pretty cold at night but i've tought the same, a slower growth lets me more time to complete germination and doing a decent selection without being overcrowded
Plants look good anyway, nice to finally see the Forbing Naga seedling i'm 6/6 with mines
Have a super nice weekend, more pizza maybe?? I will
Fab
Good on ya Fabrizio, that's a nice germination percentage on the Forbing Nagas! Gary's pics of them look great, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how their pods compare to the Naga King's. Randy's cross is also a Bhut-Trinidad Scorpion hybrid and it like to have "kllt" me last year. I hope they're as potent this year!
I'll probably try to sneak in at least one pie this weekend. I picked up a few sun-dried tomatoes and some mushrooms today to experiment with.
Devv said:Plants are coming along nicely Rick
This weekend I intend to set out the Annuum's using the IRT plastic and a row cover. Also the tom's hit the dirt as well. I may well need a three day
Cheers Scott... I'm looking forward to checking out your pics of the plant-out. Take lots!
The very warm temperatures and rain of the last week have pretty much melted the snow hereabouts. the next week should thaw the rest, though the long range forecast calls for daytime highs in the 30s for the first full week in March. Spring is always a back-and-forth dance and I didn't expect otherwise.
The raised beds are all free of snow, and should be the first ground to thaw. Here's the bed where I'll be transplanting my chiles... hopefully by mid-April.The yellow dust on top was some superfine Diatomaceous Earth I added to improve the Si levels in the soil.
Have a great weekend all!
Devv said:
Thanks Scott!
DE is the fossilized remains of a hard-shelled plankton, and is 80 to 90% Silica (Silicon Dioxide). Plants and soil biota "weather" the soil to release Silica in a dissolved form the plants can use, but in old soils like we have in New England, they've become depleted of Silica that can be weathered, so I added finely ground DE to replace it. Most of this paper is written in "high academic", but the meat of it is in the conclusion... http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2435.12704/full
I've also got a hold placed on a book in our library system that promises to be educational. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AAL61HK/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
This book is similar, and can be downloaded for free.
http://www.sare.org/Learning-Center/Books/Building-Soils-for-Better-Crops-3rd-Edition\
Charles' King Naga is up enough to see the hook but nothing yet from the C. Galapagoense
Second round seedlings (Douglahs, Scotch Brain and Scotch Bonnets) working on their third nodes, third round Forbing Nagas working on their second nodes.
Pizza tonight... pics later. Have a great Sunday all!
Trippa said:
Cheers Tristan! Working hard to make it so.
PaulG said:
I think it did Paul... the plants are the darkest and glossiest I've ever managed at this point in the season. I'm hoping it'll also make them sturdier and more disease-resistant, but I won't know that until after they've been outside a while.
randyp said:Won't be long now Rick, My beds were thawed enough to play in last week before it snowed, Does the aero garden seem worth the cost and limited pot space.I am very interested in this for 2018?
I think it sorta depends on how many plants you want to start at the same time Randy. My unit only fits six cells and I haven't noticed it took any less time to germinate than it does in potting soil on a heat mat. The unit was expensive too... $80 at Wally World plus the cost of additional sponges for germination beyond the six included with the unit. If I had it to do over again I'd get the "Extra" model for $158 that has 7 cells out of the box and remove the lid to the bowl and replace it with a sheet of styrene foam that has holes in it for the plastic cages that hold the sponges. The MiracleGro people sell a kit to do the same thing for $25 that has 50 holes in it, but you still have to buy replacement sponges separately for $25 or so. I'd also save money on the liquid nutes by using Neil's (Blister) mix of liquid nutes instead of buying from MiracleGro. The 3 oz bottle of nutes supplied with the unit costs $8 to replace and a quart runs $22. MiracleGro recommends adding 8ml every two weeks at the start, and more as the plants get bigger. That's with a 6-cell unit. More seedlings would use more nutes. By the way, these prices are the discount rate from the MiracleGro website which is having a 20% sale this week. They usually cost more. You're a handy guy, so I think you could get the same results with a modified picnic cooler, air pump, air stone, tubing and grow lights on a timer... most of which you already have on hand. I have mine, so I'll continue to use it until it breaks down, but I won't replace it.
In other news... Charles Naga King fully popped today, so there's only one holdout in the round-three sowing, and the C. Galapagoense may take a bit more time.
I made a pizza for supper tonight that came out spot on! I spread basil pesto from the freezer on the dough instead of sauce then added grated Parmagiana and Romano, sliced sweet onions, red bell pepper strips, julienned sun-dried tomatoes, shredded chicken, black olives and fresh mozzarella. Magnificent!
Havea great week all!
Devv said:You're correct, that paper is a bit over written
Plants are coming along, and that pizza! What do you use for the pizza dough? I'm always looking for something better.
Keep it green!
Cheers Scott!
I've had the best luck with the whole wheat variation of this recipe for pizza dough from Father Dominic Garramone. He had a cooking show on PBS a number of years ago called Breaking Bread with Father Dominic, and I absorbed a lot from him. http://www.breadmonk.com/basic-american-pizza-crust.html
Things are moving along here... Looking in on the plants in the grow box down cellar I see the Aji Oro has forked at the fifth node! It's already got the start of side branches going, so it looks like once it takes hold outside it'll be a bushy little plant.
If the weather co-operates my target date for D(irt)-day is April 15th, about 7 weeks from now. Our taxes are already filed so it'll all be good.
Wow... today is Mardi Gras! Have a great Fat Tuesday all! Tonight's gonna be Jambalaya with rice, Okra on the side and a big salad. Maybe I'll mix a couple of Hurricanes a la Pat O'Brien's...
Lassez le bon temps rouler!
If the weather co-operates my target date for D(irt)-day is April 15th, about 7 weeks from now. Our taxes are already filed so it'll all be good.
Wow... today is Mardi Gras! Have a great Fat Tuesday all! Tonight's gonna be Jambalaya with rice, Okra on the side and a big salad. Maybe I'll mix a couple of Hurricanes a la Pat O'Brien's...
Lassez le bon temps rouler!
DE is fantastic. Have you ever used it as pest control, Stickman?
RaelThomas said:
I have Rael... It's a great deterrent to slugs and soft-bodied insects because it cuts them up and they bleed out. It also cuts up the mandibles of the leaf-chewing insects. Until this year I didn't know that it was a soil-builder too.
To be fair... there are other organic sources of Silica like rice hulls, but they're kinda hard to find around here except in brewing supply shops, and those are too expensive to use for compost unless they're left over from brewing Weizens of course.
Grow bed is looking awesome Rick and loving the new soil , looks super rich and ya peppers are going to love it ......Pizzas are to die for your flying and heading for a fruitful season , fun watching your grow buddy..
your flying and heading for a fruitful season , fun watching your grow buddy..Indeed more of a deterent. I found it helped when I had a few aphids about, too. But it wasn't what I would call an infestation.stickman said:
I have Rael... It's a great deterrent to slugs and soft-bodied insects because it cuts them up and they bleed out. It also cuts up the mandibles of the leaf-chewing insects. Until this year I didn't know that it was a soil-builder too.
To be fair... there are other organic sources of Silica like rice hulls, but they're kinda hard to find around here except in brewing supply shops, and those are too expensive to use for compost unless they're left over from brewing Weizens of course.
I didn't know rice hulls were a good source of silica, but I do like a good Weizen! So, that's good to know!!
All the best for your grow, I look forward to seeing it flourish when the cold has long set in here!
Hey Rick. I missed all the action. Only had one day off this week. Plants are looking amazing. Beds look good as well. My Galapagoense hasn't popped yet. I may try and sow some more. I'll keep the ones I have on the side, just in case they are late. I think I will pull out the Aerogardens. I have tree now. All of my seeds from Charles, Frank and Jason have popped. I'll put some of each in there to get a jump start. In two weeks they will be caught up with my soil babies. I have one more to sow of Chinese. Pumpkin BBG. I will leave them in for awhile to catch up with the others. From here on out. Aero garden for starts. Still have next round of Amarillo, Sadabahar, Chi-Chien, Gochu, and Goats Weed. They will catch up quick. If all goes well maybe I get them outside in April. Better then May. I think they will take off once I get them under LEDs. Trying to be patient right now. Little ones in soil need more root mass before transplanting to bigger container.
Take care my friend. Enjoy the rest of your week.
Take care my friend. Enjoy the rest of your week.
Superhot Sim said:Grow bed is looking awesome Rick and loving the new soil , looks super rich and ya peppers are going to love it ......Pizzas are to die for
Cheers Sim! You're making me blush.
RaelThomas said:
Cheers Rael! Are you situated on the North Island?
OCD Chilehead said:
Thanks Chuck! I'm not giving up on my Galapagoense yet either, but I won't cry (much) if they don't germinate. There's gotta be a way to increase the capacity of the Aerogardens for germination. Only six at a time is way too few when you want to start enough for a season. I'll be checking into that this week. How are your overnight low temperatures looking? We're all over the map, with an average in the low 20s (-6 Celsius).