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
Great to see the plants settling in their new air pots Rick, good work on the stripping, loads of new growth nodes down the stems.
All a nice healthy dark lush green.
Keep up your good work Rick
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All a nice healthy dark lush green.
Keep up your good work Rick
Sent from my VFD 900 using Tapatalk
Superhot Sim said:
Cheers Sim!
PaulG said:You are going to have some bushy monsters, Rick!
Finally a chance to catch up on your grow log - as always
impressed by the methodical manner in which you approach
your gardening.
S'right brother... OCD isn't necessary to growing chiles, but it helps.
Devv said:
Cheers Scott! There really isn't a control group since I'm pruning my grow back to 12-13 plants. The three cropped seedlings are all of my first-round C. Chinense varieties. I won't be cropping the second and third round seedlings since they won't have gotten big enough to grow out side branching before I set them out to harden off. Most will go into the ground in the raised bed behind the heat exchanger for the mini-split. The ones that don't fit there will go into 3-gallon airpots alongside the south side of the house.
Hi folks!
The MoAs I'm growing for the Biggest Bonnet Pod challenge are growing a bit quicker upstairs as compared to the growbox down cellar, but one is still more than twice as big as the other. I think the largest plant is just about ready to fork.
The warmer temperatures and rain we had yesterday thawed the soil in the community garden enough that I could get a soil sample to send off to Logan Labs. Two cups of soil taken from 16 random places in my raised beds as per.
Gotta get this in the mail today!
The MoAs I'm growing for the Biggest Bonnet Pod challenge are growing a bit quicker upstairs as compared to the growbox down cellar, but one is still more than twice as big as the other. I think the largest plant is just about ready to fork.
The warmer temperatures and rain we had yesterday thawed the soil in the community garden enough that I could get a soil sample to send off to Logan Labs. Two cups of soil taken from 16 random places in my raised beds as per.
Gotta get this in the mail today!
PaulG said:Bonnets looking nice, Rick.
Good to hear you can actually get cups
of soil out of your garden plot, now
It's a huge relief Paul! I've been itching to get my hands in the dirt for weeks now. Cheers!
Devv said:Some really nice looking soil Rick!
Please post the results
And next year less plants for me too, it just gets too crazy.
Between one thing and another I didn't get the sample in the mail today Scott, but it's boxed up in a SFRB with the worksheet and payment, sealed and addressed. I hope to have the results by this time next week so I can knock together the last raised bed in the veggie garden and do soil prep before planting. Cheers!
Howdy Rick!
I've been working my way through your glog for weeks on my downtimes. I always start on your glogs too late into the season and your pages are so high it takes forever!
Anyway, things are looking great. Nice to see those plants fill in so thick after you stripped them.
Your soil in your raised beds looks beautiful. Nice and dark. You've got me thinking about getting some DE both for pests and plant nutrition (and the chickens) but I am going back and forth, since my pest problem isn't bad and I don't want to kill off the good bugs. I think at the very least I can do a mix for the chicken run as they like to dust in it and deal with any mites.
Your pizza looks amazing. My stomach was growling. Well done. I mean if you're ever passing through Michigan and just really want to make a pizza, look me up!
Finally, that Aji Oro looks really cool. I'm interested to see how that turns out.
Take care!
I've been working my way through your glog for weeks on my downtimes. I always start on your glogs too late into the season and your pages are so high it takes forever!
Anyway, things are looking great. Nice to see those plants fill in so thick after you stripped them.
Your soil in your raised beds looks beautiful. Nice and dark. You've got me thinking about getting some DE both for pests and plant nutrition (and the chickens) but I am going back and forth, since my pest problem isn't bad and I don't want to kill off the good bugs. I think at the very least I can do a mix for the chicken run as they like to dust in it and deal with any mites.
Your pizza looks amazing. My stomach was growling. Well done. I mean if you're ever passing through Michigan and just really want to make a pizza, look me up!
Finally, that Aji Oro looks really cool. I'm interested to see how that turns out.
Take care!
Pulpiteer said:
Cheers Andy... thanks for stopping in!
Sounds like a good idea with the DE for the chickens. Yeah, the Aji Oro has a perfect "tree" shape ATM, but that'll probably go out the window once it gets transplanted outside. I hope it does well here. Alana in Sweden grew one last year and seemed to do pretty well there, so I have high hopes.
I'm finding the recipe for the perfect thin-crust pizza is to weigh out the dough after the first rise, roll it out and let it relax for around 10 minutes before giving it a final stretch. Use the tines of a fork to make lots of vent holes in the dough so the steam doesn't make big bubbles in the crust when it cooks. Don't add too much pizza sauce or add toppings that have lots of water (like fresh tomato slices) if you want to avoid a soggy crust with the leftovers. With the mob you have at home, there probably aren't any leftovers anyway...
I got the SFRB with the soil sample in the mail this morning, so hopefully I'll have an Email with the results by this time next week.
Hi Folks! It's been three days since I last pictured the cropped first-round chiles, and I'm amazed how fast they are putting out leaves on the axillary growth. I don't think cropping them will have caused much of a delay in their development by the time I finally get them in the ground in another 2-3 weeks.
P. Dreadie Select Bonnets today
Cheers!
P. Dreadie Select Bonnets today
Cheers!
Hi Folks, and TGIF! The Aji Oro is beginning to sprawl, but it's a strong-looking plant so I'm not worried. I've been pinching flower buds each time it forks.
It's also the first plant to punch roots through the bottom of its Airpot, and they're white and nice and fat!
The Mini-Eggplants all have their first pair of true leaves, so I potted them up in 16 ounce cups and retired the Aerogarden for the season. They always wilt a bit when I pot them up, but after a good watering, they perk back up in about an hour.
Sweet peppers are chugging along
Moved Tomatoes downstairs to the grow-box now that they're putting out true leaves.
Since I moved the Aerogarden out of the top of the grow shelves upstairs, there's room for the taller Chinense plants where it's warm.
Have a great weekend all... April's here tomorrow... dirt day in less than a month!
It's also the first plant to punch roots through the bottom of its Airpot, and they're white and nice and fat!
The Mini-Eggplants all have their first pair of true leaves, so I potted them up in 16 ounce cups and retired the Aerogarden for the season. They always wilt a bit when I pot them up, but after a good watering, they perk back up in about an hour.
Sweet peppers are chugging along
Moved Tomatoes downstairs to the grow-box now that they're putting out true leaves.
Since I moved the Aerogarden out of the top of the grow shelves upstairs, there's room for the taller Chinense plants where it's warm.
Have a great weekend all... April's here tomorrow... dirt day in less than a month!
Great photographic update MoA and P. Dreadie really pushing on ... impressive cropping and recovery will be following their bushy growth compared to those that have been left to grow naturally... your soil Rick looks perfect to me but will be interesting to see what the results show
Trident chilli said:
Cheers John! I've been amending my soil every year of the last 6. When I started I knew I had some macro-nutrient deficiencies, but the UMass extension didn't test for micro-nutrients, and I've been learning that they're no less important for my plants well-being. This'll be a report card on how my amendment efforts have been doing, and I'll start filling in the gaps this year.
Devv said:Everything looks good from my house Rick
The cropped gals are putting it on!
Cheers Scott! I'm pretty happy with the way things are going so far.
Blitz527 said:
I love them Alex! I've grown in both the Air-pots and the Smart pots made of felt, and both seem to work equally well, but the Air-pots are more durable, easier to keep clean (important to prevent disease) and just more cool-looking.
I know they're working as advertised because I tried to move a plastic marker in one to a different place inside the pot and couldn't insert it through the mass of roots. It probably looks pretty much like the picture in the Air-pot website http://air-pot.us/hydro/My potting medium is a roughly 50/50 mix of what's left of an old bale of Pro-Mix BMX and coco coir, large perlite and mycos. I see that Pro-mix started selling their own peat/coco medium this year, and when I've used up what I have on hand will probably go with that in future.
Thanks for sharing the video, that is one of the coolest things I have seen. I will be sure to get a couple for next year. Who knew that it would "naturally" prune the roots. you learn something new every day.... Food for thought. Would I be able to somewhat copy this effect if I did this with my solo cups I am using this year?...... More air flow=more aeration which in turn lets the soil breathe and dry faster so it doesn't sit too long being wet. Im sure the textured sides help a bit with the direction of growth but I wonder if i can somewhat replicate it.....