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Stupid Jerk's stupid grow log for jerks

I think it is safe to say that my girlfriend now regrets bringing home a cayenne plant this July. It sparked an interest in me that has lead me to spend countless hours reading about gardening, filling the windows and balcony with plants and seedlings, purchasing a grow light, and ultimately joining a community garden. I've decided it is time I start documenting my journey.

Grow list:
7 Pot Congo Yellow (Denniz)
7 Pot Douglah
7 Pot Jonah (Denniz)
7 Pot Primo (socalchilehead)
7 Pot Red (Denniz)
7 Pot SR Congo (socalchilehead)
7 Pot Yellow
Bahamian Goat Pepper (socalchilehead)
Biker Billy Jalapeno (ajijoe)
Black Pearl
Black Cobra (smokemaster)
Bhut Jolokia
Butch T (Denniz)
Butch T x Douglah (Denniz)
Carolina Reaper
Cherry
Chile Tepin (socalchilehead)
Chocolate Bhut Jolokia
Chocolate Bhut x Yellow 7 pot (socalchilehead)
Chocolate Habanero (ajijoe)
Datil
Fatalii
Fresno (Grocery Store Pod)
Jamaican Hot Chocolate (Pogeys)
Morouga Scorpion (Denniz)
Purple Jalapeno
Red Habanero
Scotch Bonnet (Turns out to be an Anuum, so we'll call these Notch Bonnets)
Scotch Bonnet Foodorama (socalchilehead)
Scotch Bonnet Tobago Yellow (socalchilehead)
Scotch Bonnet Tobago Red (socalchilehead)
Surprise Hot Mix (ajijoe)
Thai (Grocery Store Pod)
White Bullet
Yellow Brainstrain (Denniz)



These are plants that I have obtained as adults:

Aji Yellow (smokemaster)
Habanero (home depot)
Peach Bhut (smokemaster)
White Pearl (smokemaster)
Yellow 7 Pot (smokemaster)

I have a limited amount of space, so most varieties will only have one plant in the ground.

Here is a before picture of the garden:
pwhDt.jpg

It's a 400 sq foot plot and over half of it was filled with nutsedge. I have since pulled out the nutsedge and hopefully most of the roots. Filled a massive wheelbarrow with all that I pulled out. I tried eating one of the tubers because I read they were edible, but I wouldn't recommend it. It was the consistancy of an almond, but the taste of a dirty pine needle. Maybe they are good roasted.


Growing in the ground is going to be a new adventure that I am no way prepared for. I suppose I need to do a soil test before I attempt to amend the soil. Completely organic is the plan, but I've seen a few tiny green balls in the soil, and as far as I know that means slow release Miracle Gro. On the positive side(I think?) there is a bark mulch that is mixed through the entire garden that has started breaking down throughout. You can see some of it near the pavement in the first picture. Not sure what kind of wood it is.

If anyone has any advice, feel free to chime in. I built a fence with 2x8's around the bottom. I plan on having a 2' wide 8" raised bed around the perimeter along with 3 raised beds in the center. The ones in the center may have to wait a while unless I find someone getting rid of some wood. In the mean time I plan on just mounding the ground up in those areas. I see a lot of my neighbors still have chili plants with ripe or ripening pods on them, but I think I'm waiting until mid January to early February to plant them out.(edit: planted out in March) It hasn't frosted since I moved here, but I supposed it is possible.(edit: It happened this year)
 
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What are you using for companion plants? And are they the type to attract the aphids to the companions and away from the peppers, or are they to repel the aphids alltogether?

I haven't done much companion planting, but do plan on doing more this year :)
 
Mostly herbs, some flowers. We plants things like basil, thyme, dill, rosemary, and marigolds to attract beneficial insects that eat bad guys.. Dill is supposed to be one of the best, but we actually have had our best luck with basil. We planted one of those live herb basils that you buy at Smart & Final in the produce section on our balcony and lacewings fell in love with it. Every day the porch would be covered in lacewing eggs. Once I have some good basil plants going again I might by some lacewing eggs at the nursery to help speed that process up a bit.

There are also other plants that attract the bad guys, so that they stay away from your other plants. Nasturtiums are popular for that. We're going to sow some seeds tonight, I haven't grown them before so we'll see how it goes.
 
+1 on the no drooping, Carson. Sounds like they're ready to rocknroll -pods in no time!

That looks likes like a good worm bin, probably better than my ready made Worm Factory. I use more of a coir or peat and newspaper mixture. The cardboard is a good idea, fruit flies can get a little plentiful at times but burying my food better would fix that probably. I'm thinking about doing a some type of larger scale version for my leaf pile. Haven't quite come up with a good system.
 
Pods on the Peach Bhut must be an awesome sight! Split at the cot is sweet...gonna be a bushy plant. Glad to hear the hardening off is going well. It won't be long now.
 
Have a few plants out at the garden now, they are all still looking great. I haven't put them in the ground yet, I'm a little worried about transplant shock. When I transplanted the other veggies I watered their holes with seaweed extract and that seemed to help. Any tips from anyone else?

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The plants in the ground there are broccoli, tomatillos, basil, and tomato, and massive amounts of nutgrass that never goes away. The human is my girlfriend. I think she is planting flower and herb seeds there.

I also moved this choco bhut along with a few other plants to the balcony. Let's hope I can harden it off a little better than I did the reaper and keep those leaves.
yOFf6Ej.jpg
 
A weak seaweed or compost tea would add some beneficials to the soil and give the roots a little boost. I always mix a little fertilizer (bone and blood meal or some time release), and maybe a little epsom salts into the bottom of the hole, cultivate it in a bit and throw a little topsoil over it. Make sure to dig them plenty deep/wide. I go 2 ft wide and equally deep on most of my big supers. If the soil seems compacted it will likely get that way again through the season so add some peat to the fill dirt. Your soil actually looks really good...and loose as well, so you may not need to do too much digging. You may also get your soil tested to see what nutes you may have to add. Transplant shock is just part of the game...cool temps the next several days, and some rain. Not a bad time to put plants in the ground.
 
I've done a lot of work on the soil. It's mixed and built up with composted cow manure, composted chicken manure, leaf mould, peat, and mushroom compost. It's pretty loose at this point, but I'll probably need to dig a little deeper in some spots.
 
Just put these bad boys on the balcony to start their hardening off process.
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Clockwise from 12 O'Clock: Fatalii, Choco Bhut, Scotch Bonnet, Douglah, Jamaican Hot Chocolate.

I'll probably have to bring them in tonight, it's supposed to be 41 as a low. After tonight it is ~50 and up as a low for the next 8 months or so.

I have a bunch of other guys under the light that are quite a bit smaller, I think I started them about a month later. Anyone have any idea on how big I should let them get before bringing them out? I have a few with say 10 true leaves that could veg out a lot more under the light, but I was thinking once the lows hit 55 or so the combination of the sun and warmer nighttime temps will make outside more hospitable than under the light. Not sure on this, though. Any input is appreciated.

I think I'm going to start my grow in late December next year. I'm also thinking about starting a small grow of mostly C. Pubescens this summer when it starts getting too hot for my plants to pod up. That way I can put them out when it starts cooling down in September and hopefully have a decent winter harvest. I don't think it ever gets too cold for pubes here in Porn Valley. This year the coldest day was 31 and it only lasted for about 1/2 hour. Other than that it hit 36 a couple times.
 
shoot, if it only gets to 31° one half hour per year, I would just cover the plants with a sheet or light blanket when it gets close to that temp, and you could definately grow all year.

I had pods on the plants I dug up and put in a makeshift greenhouse until it got to 7° outside and the temp in the makeshift greenhouse dropped to 20°....then the leaves fell and the pods got squishy....
They were great until that night....lol
 
You guys are probably right. I didn't get my garden space until December of last year, so I didn't have enough established plants to try. I think I might build my fence a little taller this fall and try covering the whole thing in plastic for January/February of next year. I think Smokemaster grows all year round most years, but he's had a lot of pest issues this year, so he wasn't able to do it. As far as I know he is the closest person on here to where I live.

Do you guys think I should bring those babies in tonight? They've never been anywhere colder than 68 degrees or so. Will 41 do them in?
 
Mature plants would just lose a few leaves at 31 degrees. I had a couple varieties that were still kicking after a few 25 degree nights. Frost cloth would be all you'd need.

Denniz lives nearby...up by the 10 and 605.
 
Hmmmm, I personally don't know about the young ones in 41°....all mine that I put outside during the day, and bring in at night, spent the day inside due to the cold day today....

I think I would bring them in, but that is my paranoia talking...lol
 
Yeah, Denniz isn't too far away, ~40 miles, but smokemaster is ~5 miles away from my garden.

I think it might get slightly colder in Covina, but it isn't too much of a difference. He is 10a and I am 10b or something like that.
 
Oh....on a side note, most everything you sent me has germinated :)
Red mystery habs, and yellow congo not germing yet...and haven't actually sown the fresno's yet...
but everything else :)
Thanks again!!
 
stc3248 said:
Cool...DocNrock is very near you too then...
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Doc is on the other end... CORONA area...would love to visit.. but i dont go that way.. either or... im still in the works for a SUMMER BBQ for us SOCAL people...

Carson...plants look nice.. mine arent doing so well with the hardening.. taking them out for too long...leaves are wilted to a point they are snapping ...

any reaper pods yet?
 
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