Super Hots Canada - Grow 2014-2015 (Starts on Page 12) - I have a greenhouse now! YAY! :D

I suppose rather than starting a new topic each time I update you all on my progress, it's better to stick to one...
 
So to begin with, I just have a small update for today:
 
My largest Cayenne (which I just pruned back in the past couple of weeks) is finally growing it's very first flowers. This is one of six Cayenne's that I originally bought as seedlings. This one has taken off the best. The rest seemed to have struggled to grow.
 

 
One of my young Jalapeño (I believe) plants is also starting to flower. This is one that I started from seed and it's showing a good many more flowers than the Cayenne, shown above, even though it is far smaller and younger.
 

 
Seeing them start to flower, I decided to add some more Tomato mix (5-7-7) to all my plants to hopefully help them along the way.
 
I water my plants with a 20-20-20 plant feed every couple of weeks, occasionally I'll spray them down with an epsom salt mix and if the roots start to show I'll add some 3-in-1 (or 4-in-1) soil blend to top them off.
 
How often ought a person add tomato mix/bone meal/soil to their planters (indoors) to keep them growing and healthy - any suggestions?

 

[Super Hots Canada]

On further inspection in the past couple of days I've come to find my largest Cayenne is sprouting up plenty of flowers, as is the other plant I mentioned in the last post. And on top of that, I discovered that at last 2-3 more are starting to flower -and- my mature Super-Chili is starting to go all-out with flowers again!
 
Many of my Naga Jolokia need transplanted at this point. They're growing great, getting thick stems and big, full leaves and even starting to fill out down the stem. The ones that need transplanted are getting such big leaves that they are overlapping. I'll work on posting some photos later on today (hopefully).
 
And last night while I was checking on my plants I spotted a toadstool beside one of my Ghost's that wasn't showing out of the soil even a day ago - yet, there it was standing nearly 1/3 the height of my Ghost.
 
Any suggestions on how to be free of these nasty buggers?
 

 

[newpeppergrower1105]

nice healthy looking plants!

 

[Sawyer]

I can't speak to that particular cap, but having mushrooms in general isn't necessarily a bad thing.  If you aren't seeing any negative effects, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Super Hots Canada]

nice healthy looking plants!

 
> Thanks! .. Fungus gnats seem to be my biggest trouble, though, hopefully they'll be a thing of the past soon. Most of my plants seem to keeping nice, vibrant leaves and in the past week or so my Naga Jolokia seedlings have -really- started to take off. At this point I need to work out more space and at least another fluorescent light fixture. lol
 
 

I can't speak to that particular cap, but having mushrooms in general isn't necessarily a bad thing.  If you aren't seeing any negative effects, I wouldn't worry about it.

 
I just find them mighty irritating. Someone told me they can be a sign of too much Nitrogen in the soil. And given that my plants are indoor plants, I don't much like 'em leaching up the nutrients meant for my plants. lol
 
I used compost taken from our backyard for most of my early plantings, which seems to be the source of them and the fungus gnats. I'm sticking to store bought soil mixes for now on. *firm nod*
 
Shortly after I purchased my mature "Super-Chili" from a Farmer's Market, I had a small infestation of aphids, but I sprayed the plant once with soapy water and there hasn't been a hint of them ever since.
 
-----------------
 
No photos yet, but I started tonight to convert a small hallway in my upstairs into another small "grow room". A couple different times since I started learning back in the early summer I had used this area, but ended up moving back to my current small room. The last time was because our cats kept managing to get in and killed many of my plants and almost killed my three Habanero seedlings (which have since recovery and are doing -great-).
 
After transplanting four of my Naga Jolokia plants tonight I realized the current room hasn't the space for how quickly so many of my plants are starting to grow, so it's time to bring back the hallway space.
 
If I can get it setup properly and get some of my plants moved over, then I'll work on posting some photos of the fresh "new" grow area.

 

[Super Hots Canada]

Below is my Carolina Reaper (HP22B), how's it looking?
 

 
 
.. And this is one of my Naga Jolokia seedlings that I transplanted last night: 
 

 
.. Do they look like they have grown too tall, too quickly, or am I on the right track? I have them under 4' fluorescent T8's that are using Sylvania GroLux bulbs (~3000 lumens, I believe). Most of my plants, including these, are starting to branch out from the stem, so I'm hoping that means they are on their way to filling out.
 
Also, this tiny Jalapeno (perhaps Cayenne.. guess I'll find out) is one of my first to start flowering (that I have grown from seed/seedling) and amazingly, right now, it has the most buds of any of them:
 

 
.. It's a bit thin and lop-sided.. Think I didn't quite prune it back properly, so instead of branching out on both sides of the stem it has primarily grown out to one side. But it's buds seem to be doing great!

 

[Super Hots Canada]

Following up on my post yesterday: Converting my upstairs hallway into another small "grow room"
 
After working on and off on this, I finally have it setup. It took a good bit of thought because I was looking to avoid making holes in the walls (i.e. nails) and the ceiling is a mess so I had to work around that. In addition, the hardest part to work out was how to wall off the area in a way that I can keep our cats out.
 
The last time I attempted to wall off this hallway I used plastic and packaging tape. The cats tore through the plastic -and- they also found a way to "open" the make-shift doorway. This time around rather than using plastic & tape, I used an old blanket and used a staple gun to tack it to the wall and floor. On one side of  the "doorway" I wrapped the blanket around a board and stapled the blanket to the board. Then with the board & the wall I setup a hook to hold it closed, with another board pressed up against it to keep it secure.
 
In order to put up the light fixture I had to cut a board just over 6' in length and attempt to nail it to the window frame at one end of the hall and then to the ceiling (where there is an exposed board) at the other end. I believe it'll hold and be strong enough to last so long as the cats don't interfere. And due to the shortage of ceiling hooks & chain I had to use thick twine to tie it into place.
 
And since my plants are various sizes I'm just collecting up random boxes & containers from around the house to prop up the smaller plants.
 

 

 
* Far left, beside the window: My mature Super-Chili and 3 Habanero plants.
 
* On the white make-shift stand: 4 Naga Jolokia (I have plenty more than need transplanted), and - on the far right - my Carolina Reaper.
 
* Reflective emergency blankets were used on one wall and the ceiling (so far) to help with the lighting.

 

[Super Hots Canada]

So, after my last post I went and watched a movie and some episodes of classic TMNT. But then I got frustrated at not being productive, so I went upstairs and moved a planter holding 4 of my Naga Jolokia babies into the new hallway setup. And while I was in there I realized most of the plants needed elevated closer to the lights..
 
So here's the setup as it stands now:
 

 
 
Oh, and this little fella is my accidental little bonsai (not sure if it's a Jalapeno or Cayenne):
 

 

 

[Super Hots Canada]

 
A couple examples of how my Habanero & Naga Jolokia's are progressing. The bottle is placed beside each to give an idea of the size. My Habanero's were bought as seedlings. The Naga Jolokia were all planted from seed.
 
How are they looking?

 

[Super Hots Canada]

So 5 out of 6 of my Cayenne plants have started to bloom, but I'm a bit worried that they possibly aren't getting pollinated even though I've tried a couple different methods (lightly shaking/tapping and using a small paint brush) because when I check the brush I don't see any pollen on it. I've tried with both fully-open and partially-open flowers, including ones that were angled more upwards.
 
I'm just concerned because with the "Super-Chili" plant I have all the flowers (and resulting pods) grow upwards and whenever I've attempted pollinating them I've been able to see the pollen on the brush.
 
Do you suppose they'll do alright?
 
Pictured below is my largest Cayenne, at this point:
 

 
[[ UPDATE: Oct 4 2013 - After a couple days the flowers just seem to drop off. *sad* ]]

 

[southerncanada]

I wouldnt be too worried with flower drop off. I have a 4 ft tall red hab that Ive had growing for a year indoors that drops flowers every day, but for every flower that drops eventually you'll have some poddage. When I pollinate the hab the flowers only give off a few grains of pollen at a time whereas my thai chili I can see the pollen floating through the air in a small dust cloud.

As far as waiting for pods goes, keep up the good work and fruit will set when its ready. Then the wait for ripening begins...

 

[Super Hots Canada]

I wouldnt be too worried with flower drop off. I have a 4 ft tall red hab that Ive had growing for a year indoors that drops flowers every day, but for every flower that drops eventually you'll have some poddage. When I pollinate the hab the flowers only give off a few grains of pollen at a time whereas my thai chili I can see the pollen floating through the air in a small dust cloud.

As far as waiting for pods goes, keep up the good work and fruit will set when its ready. Then the wait for ripening begins...

 
Thanks for the advice!
Maybe with a little luck it was just the first wave of buds.. I'm noticing in the last couple of the days that the same plants are starting to growing a ton more buds, so maybe they were just "testing the water". lol
 
*crosses fingers*
 
I have good confidence in them once they go to pod since I've already done good with the "Super-Chili". Of all the pods I've gotten from that so far (around 40-60) I only saw one pod that didn't make it and I'm fairly certain it was because I didn't water it well enough, at the time.

 

[Super Hots Canada]

Small update..
 
As mentioned in another topic I started (regarding dropping flowers), I finally am starting to see flowers turning to peppers on my Cayenne's - AND the plants seem to be growing like wildfire!
 

 
 
Today I started transplanting my Bell pepper plants I've grown from seed indoors.. Up until today they were in very small starter pots, such as these:
 

 
I noticed in the past week that almost every 2nd day the leaves were dropping and I was having to water them again, which seemed like a clear sign that they need more room to grow.
 
As I was transplanting the first (I managed to transplant around 6 out of 8-9), my theory proved correct:
 

 
.. Just look at that cluster of roots!
 
.. And here is a photo of the first three I transplanted.. I think they'll be nice & cozy in their new homes for a little while, at least:
 

 
(they're pretty thin on leaves.. but not much I can do until I can work out getting the better lighting.. *sigh*)

 

[Hammerfall]

change your bulb in you fluo lamp...
 
 
try to have a 4100K and a 6500K buld in th same fixture.. your plant will grow bigger and not too tall and skinny.
 
you can also cut the head on some that are too tall.. they will branch in the base that will give you monster plant later

 

[Super Hots Canada]

change your bulb in you fluo lamp...
 
 
try to have a 4100K and a 6500K buld in th same fixture.. your plant will grow bigger and not too tall and skinny.
 
you can also cut the head on some that are too tall.. they will branch in the base that will give you monster plant later

 
The latter is my only option at this time - which I've done in the past with some of my others and recently did a second time with a Habanero.
 
The former simply isn't a realistic option due to financials and lack of availability.. My next goal, if/when money comes in, is to step up from fluorescent to HPS.. I've gone into a lot more detail on that in another topic I started: http://thehotpepper.com/topic/42487-basement-grow-room-planning/
 
Thanks for the advice.
 
.. and it's nice to see a bit more Canadians seeming to post on here as each day goes by!
 
(p.s. awesome grow list you have going on in your profile!.. I hope to someday giving crossbreeding a shot)

 

[Penny]

Great looking plants you've got there, well done!!
 
Have you signed up for the Canadian seed train?

 

[Super Hots Canada]

Great looking plants you've got there, well done!!
 
Have you signed up for the Canadian seed train?

 
Hi Penny,
 
I've looked at the topic about that, but right now the only I have producing peppers, so far, is one mature Super-Chile and my Cayenne's are -just- starting. Aside from that, all I have growing is Naga Jolokia, "Habanero Red" (tag didn't indicate specifics), Jalapeno (Walmart-bought), and one Carolina Reaper.. I recently purchased Naga Viper seeds & the "Volcano in a Box" from Pepper Joes, so I have around 9-10 more types of Super-Hots and 4 mild-to-hot types that I have yet to plant.
 
So with such a limited variety (and limited finances) I didn't want to sign up just yet.. but I hope to someday down the road.. No point in holding up the train for my minuscule selection. lol  

 

[Super Hots Canada]

So.. a bit of an update for this past day (was actually a rather busy one for me!)...
 
First up:
While checking on my plants this morning I spotted a ladybug sitting on a leaf of one of my Jalapeno plants.. Quite unusual since I haven't seen one in weeks and the most I've seen in either of my "grow rooms" has been the rare housefly, spider and fungus gnat (since I learned to control them).
 

 
 
Next up:
Over the past couple of days I worked at transplanting around 15-20 of my plants, including 9 Bell Pepper, 4 Naga Jolokia and a number of Jalapeno.. Bit tedious work, but definitely worth it. I think they'll appreciate it since many of them were starting to have their roots rather tightly cramped.
 
Here's a side view of most of the plants I transplanted:
 

 
 
.. and below are the 4 Naga Jolokia that I transplanted today sitting under my most recent fluorescent light fixture purchase (last month) that I finally installed. The one on the far left in the photo was planted much later than the rest:
 

 
 
Following that:
The photo below shows (rare poorly in my opinion) my Cayenne plants (along with a few Jalapeno). In this photo they're looking rather cluttered (and they were). Later in the night I moved my largest Cayenne over by the window, beside the stand holding the newly-transplanted Naga Jolokia. This way it has more space to grow, can make use of the sunlight from the window (along with the newly-installed light fixture) and left more space for me to also spread out the other plants shown in the photo (which I also did).
 
P.s. The tiny plant in this photo is the sole surviving Cayenne that was outside in my garden up until this past week.
 

 
 
And finally, here is a more "full" view of the section of this room.. As mentioned, since taking these photos I've since moved my largest Cayenne over between the Naga Jolokia stand and the window.
 
This photo also highlights the fact that I have more work to go in terms of putting up more reflective material. Namely, I need to cover the right wall and ceiling.
 
 

 

[megahot]

Your plants are looking very healthy, looks like you're off to a great start for next yr. Keep up the good work!

 

[Super Hots Canada]

Your plants are looking very healthy, looks like you're off to a great start for next yr. Keep up the good work!

 
Well my goal is year-round, indoors.. Can't wait till I can get better lighting (and figure out more space lol).