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

yezhead · Jan 16, 2014

awesome grow!
dunno if this is a good idea to increase humidity but maybe you can spray your plants with plain water? i do it al the time, not yet having any flowers tough

grtz

Penny · Jan 16, 2014

Nice....those jalapenos look great....gonna pick them soon?

Super Hots Canada · Jan 16, 2014

yezhead said:
awesome grow!
dunno if this is a good idea to increase humidity but maybe you can spray your plants with plain water? i do it al the time, not yet having any flowers tough

grtz

That's an idea, but right now I haven't got a bottle that has a "mist" setting.. I'll have to get one

Penny said:
Nice....those jalapenos look great....gonna pick them soon?

I'd rather wait till they ripen. Jalapeno's turn red when they mature, don't they? The more heat out of the little buggers, the better. That and I want to be sure the seeds are developed.

Super Hots Canada · Jan 17, 2014

A lower leaf on my Butch T dropped off yesterday, which convinced me that it's time to transplant him to a bigger home. I noticed in the last little bit that it felt like he wasn't growing quite as much (which was another sign).

Here's a picture of his roots.. how are they looking?

The container behind it in the photo isn't what I moved him into. I moved 'em into a container about half that size - giving him plenty room to grow before the next upgrade.

Here's nearly the grand total of all the food supplies I have for my plants at the moment:

.. I haven't used any of the granular seaweed (big bag on the right) on any of my plants in months (forgot I had it). The garden center/greenhouse I purchased it from (same one where I got my huge bags of professional grade soil a little while back) told me it's really good for plants - though, I really don't know much about it.

When I transplanted my Butch T tonight I gave him a mix of the Granular Seaweed, Blood & Bone Meal and the 5-7-7 (orange bag) and watered him with the the 20-20-20 Plant Prod (hopefully he likes it lol).. The bag on the left is "Super Phosphate". I tend to only add some of that when I'm planting new babies.

-----------------------------

And here is an update on my Brown Naglah:

Super Hots Canada · Jan 18, 2014

So I went out and bought a humidifier tonight.. Walmart's selection was rather expensive and didn't appear to have one that I thought would fit my needs, so I headed over to Canadian Tire. They had a much better selection of more powerful ones -and- many of them were 25% off (and still cheaper than Walmart at regular price).

I still couldn't decide so went up to customer service to see if they had anyone that could help - and I'm glad I did. The lady that came around to help was very knowledgeable and previously worked for West River Greenhouses (where I recently got my professional quality soil), being that she's family of the owners.

In the end, I went for this one:

.. I'm hoping I made a good choice. It's "ultrasonic", so it shouldn't overheat and doesn't require expensive filters. It was one of the more expensive ones, but it was also 25% off. And unlike most of the others that I could find around here it wasn't restricted to maximum setting of "50% humidity" - it has a "stay on" option. I guess that means I'll have to keep an eye on it, but I'm hoping it'll pay off.

p.s. yezhead - I gave your suggestion a shot. Well, sorta. I filled a 2l pop bottle with hot water and set it on the "mist" setting and sprayed the plants -and- the walls. It helped bring up the humidity a few % for a little while, at least.

Super Hots Canada · Jan 21, 2014

So, based on advice on another topic I decreased the temperature in my plant room around 2-3*C, giving it a range of around 24-26*C instead of 26-28*C. So long as I keep the humidifier filled the humidity seems to hold steady around 58-62% and, already, I'm noticing a difference - many of plants are flowering much easier/faster. And I -think- one of My Naga's is finally producing some pollen. *crosses fingers*

Also, last night I soaked a couple seeds each of 007 Red and 7 Pot Bubblegum (both from Buckeye Pepper Company) and planted each individual seed in a small pot of its' own - since I have a limited supply of seeds. This way, if more than one seed of each type sprouts then I don't have to worry about separating them. I also covered them with plastic wrap to retain their moisture and limit the chance of possible fungus gnats getting in.

On that note - I haven't really spotted any fungus gnats in the past few days. Maybe the shot of cold the other day when the power went out, coupled with the spray, knocked them flat. Hopefully so.

Super Hots Canada · Jan 23, 2014

Hey folks.. So when I got up this morning I noticed an issue with the small little planter cups where I planted some 007 Red and 7 Pot Bubblegum seeds the other day. I had them covered over with plastic to keep out fungus gnat/aphids and to keep the moisture in, but now there is mold growing on them.. I uncovered them and they're right near the fan so hopefully it'll clear up.. Any suggestions on how to avoid/limit this or treat it? (the same issue happened when I planted my Butch T and I lost a sprout from it)

This little Jalapeno plant is starting to produce buds and I figured I'd share a picture since the little bugger was nearly giving up before I moved all the plants into the basement and then he just seemed to shot up and fill out and I didn't notice till the other day.. At this point, he's the most healthy looking of my Jalapeno plants:

Up next: My Super Chile.. I'm discovering this bugger doesn't seem to care what climate it's in.. It just keeps expanding. The Pepsi bottle kinda gives an idea of its' size:

Speaking of my Butch-T.. It doesn't seem to be doing quite so well ever since I transplanted it into a larger pot. Perhaps I went overboard with the feed & stuff. Hopefully it'll rebound. I snipped off it's top a couple days ago in the hopes that it'll fill out some more since it's looking rather sparse:

And finally, my baby Brown Naglah.. It seems to be absolutely loving life. I rotate it once a day to help it grow up-right (since it keeps leaning towards the light) and I think it's leaving are looking pretty good. It's right next to the Butch-T, so maybe it'll cheer up the Butch-T lol

.. Oh, and I watered all my plants last night with an Epsom Salt mix. I haven't given them an Epsom in a long time and I want to see if it'll make a difference. I think I'll also try adding some of the granular seaweed to many of them (and maybe look for some seaweed spray) because I think they might be lacking in potassium and it's a worth a shot to see if it helps them improve.

Devv · Jan 23, 2014

When you hit that Butch T with ferts what strength did you use?

I'm a fan of more frequent 1/3 to 1/2 strength feeds as I feel if offers more control. I also don't feed until they have pencil diameter stems, you know just getting woody..unless they look anemic.

I feel you're doing one heck of a job here, plants look happy and green!

Back there when you asked about the roots, I like to transplant before root bound, and when they are full enough to hold the shape of the pot they came out of.

Also you mentioned heat and humidity, I know you mentioned the grow area size, but not the basement size, unless I missed it. Maybe a sheet of something to enclose the area. I grew up in the north and we used to hang blankets to keep the living room warmer during cold spells. This could also aid in the humidity issues and perhaps keep costs down some?

My grow is in a 12x12' extra room. Kids are grown and gone, I took it over. I have 70 plants in one gals and 40-50 or more in 16oz solo cups. Heats at 68° in the house and that room is 70° or above, sometimes 80°. I have 2 lights both 4 bulb 4' units a T5 and a T8. I feel it's plenty humid in there all the time.

It looks like you use jiffy pellets, I recommend cutting the netting off when you move them to pots.

Keep up the good work, I'm super impressed at your cold of the winter effort and progress!

Super Hots Canada · Jan 23, 2014

* Responses in red

Devv said:
When you hit that Butch T with ferts what strength did you use?

I'm a fan of more frequent 1/3 to 1/2 strength feeds as I feel if offers more control. I also don't feed until they have pencil diameter stems, you know just getting woody..unless they look anemic.

-> When I transplanted it I used "Sunshine #4" soil, along with a couple handfuls of Blood & Bone meal mix, and probably around a handful of the granular seaweed. I watered it using the 10-52-10 feed (around 5ml in 2 litres, but definitely didn't use the whole bottle lol)..

I feel you're doing one heck of a job here, plants look happy and green!

-> Thanks! For the most part, yeah, it feels like I'm doing good.. Most of my Jalapeno's and some of my Cayenne's just seem to be troubled, but they are improving.

Back there when you asked about the roots, I like to transplant before root bound, and when they are full enough to hold the shape of the pot they came out of.

-> I attempt to do that.. but I'm really not sure how to tell when they've reached that point. I kinda just keep an eye on them and if I find them suddenly eating up water a lot faster, and slowing in growth, then I give them a bit longer and -then- transplant.

Also you mentioned heat and humidity, I know you mentioned the grow area size, but not the basement size, unless I missed it. Maybe a sheet of something to enclose the area. I grew up in the north and we used to hang blankets to keep the living room warmer during cold spells. This could also aid in the humidity issues and perhaps keep costs down some?

My grow is in a 12x12' extra room. Kids are grown and gone, I took it over. I have 70 plants in one gals and 40-50 or more in 16oz solo cups. Heats at 68° in the house and that room is 70° or above, sometimes 80°. I have 2 lights both 4 bulb 4' units a T5 and a T8. I feel it's plenty humid in there all the time.

-> I think the humidity issue is resolved. I got the humidifier (shown in one of my posts above) and it's managing to keep the space somewhere around 50-60% humidity, so long as I keep the tank filled. And the temperature is kept pretty steady at around 72*F to 77*F (high end with the HPS light on, low end with it off). I -think- the space is around 14' 1/2 - 15' long, and around 7' wide overall.

Two of the walls are actually the basement walls and the other two walls (and the door) I built primarily with wood, as the frame, we had lying around in the basement with plastic tarps used to fill in the walls. I've sealed the room fairly well (the rest of the basement is clearly cooler) - the only gaps are where piping and wiring that run along the basement ceiling and exit the space.

.. And wow.. that's a lot of plants. I have no intention of putting my plants outside. Nova Scotia climate isn't really conducive to having a productive season for peppers.. Our summers are far too short and our winters are far too damn long. My -hope- is to somehow upgrade to an actual greenhouse at some point (the sooner the better lol) and turn this into a year-round business.

It looks like you use jiffy pellets, I recommend cutting the netting off when you move them to pots.

-> My Brown Naglah is actually the very first time I've tried one of those jiffy pellets. I didn't really have a container I could use for planting using just the pellet, so I figured I'd give a shot at "filling in the blanks" with soil.. I was actually wondering about whether I ought to have removed the netting. Ought I do that with my Naglah sooner than later or will it be alright for now?

Keep up the good work, I'm super impressed at your cold of the winter effort and progress!

-> Thanks! .. I like to think I'm fast at learning.. At the least, I do know I've learned a lot since I first started back in the late-Spring, early-Summer. Having only ever grown pumpkins before, the best I know before this year was "1. Plants the seeds in the soil. 2. Water once. 3. Let Nature take over.".. it always worked for my pumpkins.. quickly found out the same rules don't apply to peppers in our climate. lol

Devv · Jan 23, 2014

Whoohoo got my likes back

I would leave it alone, that was for future reference. I've seen roots struggle to get through the netting (pics posted here on THP).

And my responses were to answer your questions, and they are "what I would do", someone else may do things differently. What I'm trying to say is I don't want you to think you should "do it this way". Choices are good to sort through...

Once again, I feel you have it whipped! I know you're always thinking and problem solving.

Continue on!

Super Hots Canada · Jan 23, 2014

Devv said:
Whoohoo got my likes back

I would leave it alone, that was for future reference. I've seen roots struggle to get through the netting (pics posted here on THP).

And my responses were to answer your questions, and they are "what I would do", someone else may do things differently. What I'm trying to say is I don't want you to think you should "do it this way". Choices are good to sort through...

Once again, I feel you have it whipped! I know you're always thinking and problem solving.

Continue on!

Thanks

When I plant/transplant I experiment with adding different amounts of what I have access too (i.e. bone meal, granular seaweed, etc), because, frankly, I have no clue have much to use. lol .. The bag of granular seaweed at least says to use it as around 1/10 of a soil mix... When it comes down to it I'm really just hoping I don't starve or overfeed my babies. I'm sure as the months go on I'll get a better feel for refining what works and what doesn't.

"I know you're always thinking and problem solving." .. That right there is the result of my rather conflicting personality. In many ways I'm random & chaotic, but at the same time I can be a bit much of a perfectionist and I have a habit of analyzing (often overly). I think all-too-many years of coding has just got me warped - which my brother tried to warn me about. He had to take C++ in university and -hated- coding.. probably the one thing he's found that really hurts his head. lol

Thanks for the motivation and support!

Devv · Jan 23, 2014

Ah, I do IT, and some basic PHP coding, is that what's eroding my brain? could be the Rum & cokes :shh:

Gardening is a good release for all that, just give me a shovel...I've worn out two here in the last 25 years...

Super Hots Canada · Jan 23, 2014

Devv said:
Ah, I do IT, and some basic PHP coding, is that what's eroding my brain? could be the Rum & cokes

Gardening is a good release for all that, just give me a shovel...I've worn out two here in the last 25 years...

I think that working in IT, in general, probably does that to the brain.. coding - likely more-so lol

And I'm quickly learning that - yes, gardening certainly is a good release. It's a bit like graphic design & coding in that creativity & problem solving certainly factor in, BUT it has so many added bonuses - home-grown supply of oxygen, fresh food, getting to have a hand in creating life -and- plenty more time under the sun (real or artificial lol).

Super Hots Canada · Jan 25, 2014

I grabbed a short video tonight, giving a small tour of my grow room.. There's sound, but I didn't speak - didn't get up the nerve/was too lazy. lol

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7MIvRoaBQg[/media]

Super Hots Canada · Jan 26, 2014

So.. I just killed off 4 of my plants (Jalapeno & Cayenne) that haven't really been showing improvement in the past few weeks.

I'm thinking I am going to narrow down my Bell & mild peppers down to 2 of each. I already have 2 Cayenne plants that are growing very well. I have one Jalapeno that is producing and another that is not only recovering, but also showing healthy leaves -and- filling out nicely (a first for my Jalapenos).

And then there are the Bell peppers - I have, I believe, 9 of those plants. This includes my sole survivor of all the pepper plants I started in my garden. Only, with that one I pruned him down around a couple weeks ago and though he's showing new leaves they're coming up far too clustered - which is the reason I pruned him in the first place (his flowers weren't have room to spread out & produce)... I don't want to lose that one, but at the same time - its' the least healthy of them all. As for the rest of the Bells - I think I'd do away with the largest (even though it's the first to flower) because it hasn't really filled out like the rest.. and then it's a matter of which of the rest to say good-bye too..

If I go ahead with narrowing down to 2 of each that'll make room for them to each fill out -and- make room for the super-hots I'm attempting (Butch T, Brown Naglah, 007 Red and 7 Pot Bubblegum).. And it'll also give me back some soil to re-use to upgrade some of my other plants to the largest containers (or should I just use fresh soil since their soil isn't professional quality [no perlite, etc]?).

.. Just tough deciding to make the move..

.. I'm also thinking of pruning back most of my Naga's & then elevating them so they'll hopefully bush out more instead of being barren all the way up their stems.

Thoughts?

p.s. My girlfriend sent me an update on "Frank" (the Super-Chile) just a few minutes ago.. He was last seen on post #67 of this topic.. Here he is now:

Super Hots Canada · Jan 29, 2014

So, the pruning issue has been sorted in another topic that I posted.. Here's the resultant photo from that topic:

After that photo I also went ahead and pruned 3 more of my Naga's. *crosses fingers*

Penny · Jan 29, 2014

Did you get the mold issue cleared up yet? If not, try sprinkling some cinnamon (just a little) on the top....does the trick.

Super Hots Canada · Jan 29, 2014

Penny said:
Did you get the mold issue cleared up yet? If not, try sprinkling some cinnamon (just a little) on the top....does the trick.

Really? Never knew to try that before

.. I just left them uncovered and I add a bit of water each night to keep them from drying out. One of the fans is nearby where I have them, and so is one of the heaters, so that seems to have resolved the mold so long as I keep them uncovered.. My worry now is that, with them uncovered, fungus gnats kill them.

I've sprayed them a couple times in the past week with the spray I have in the hopes of limiting that possibility.

If I sprinkled a bit of cinnamon, would that make it reasonably safe to cover them back up again? I know from past experience that they retain heat better and sprout MUCH faster if I have them covered.

Penny · Jan 29, 2014

I've sprinkled mine in the past and covered them back up, mold hates cinnamon and its harmless to the plant. :dance:

Super Hots Canada · Jan 29, 2014

Penny said:
I've sprinkled mine in the past and covered them back up, mold hates cinnamon and its harmless to the plant.

Well, I'm giving that a shot.

I just went and checked on them...

- One of the 7 Pot Bubblegum didn't take (yet) and the other is just missing from the pot
- One of the 007 Red seeds looks to have been cracked open and eaten and the other is missing

.. So I just re-planted. This time with 2 seeds each, sprinkled cinnamon and covered and put over a warm spot. *crosses fingers*