synclinorium's 2012 Grow Log

I haven't actually started seeds yet, but it will be happening in the very near future... this year's growing season will almost certainly be cut short for reasons I won't go into, so I'm trying to avoid going crazy seed starting... think of this as a healthy start on my overwinters for the year.

I've narrowed down my grow list to the following for 2012. With a couple exceptions I only plan on doing 1 or 2 of each variety, and some might be cut for space reasons, TBD. The superhots will be going into the trays as soon as I get my supplies, with the rest following shortly afterwards. My setup is slightly less ghetto than last year, but don't expect anything too fancy. Anyway, the selection, including any overwinters that make it to plant-out:

7Pod Brain Strain Yellow
Aji Amarillo (3 strains)
Bonda Ma Jacques/Datil/Fatalii
Chocolate Bhut Jolokia
Cumari/Cumari Pollux/Cumari o Passarinho in some combination
Jalapeno
Limon
Prik chee fa/Prik ki nu
Red Rocoto
Tepin/Pequin
Trinidad Scorpion BT
White Habanero
Wiri Wiri

Considering the fact that this growing season will be short, I didn't really want to bother with more pubescens or baccatums aside from my overwinters, and the wilds and superhots I'm just doing for fun. I'll probably do several more Aji Amarillo plants than the rest, as they are mild enough that my housemate uses them on a regular basis, so I won't feel bad about leaving plants with her.

I'm also open to suggestions for other varieties. I'd like to have as broad a flavor profile as possible without turning my entire backyard into a pepper garden (not that I would have an issue with this if I owned property, but I don't think my current landlord would appreciate it...)

 

[Siliman]

Dang, Sync, everything looks great. It looks like all age groups are represented: kindergarten thru college. But..it's quiet....too quiet. Where's the wind, flood, pestilence and drama that really made your your plants grow big and tough last year?

Loving that year-old Datil. Your over-winter plants are primo....

 

[synclinorium]

Dang, Sync, everything looks great. It looks like all age groups are represented: kindergarten thru college. But..it's quiet....too quiet. Where's the wind, flood, pestilence and drama that really made your your plants grow big and tough last year?

Loving that year-old Datil. Your over-winter plants are primo....

Haha, it's coming, I'm sure. Probably the moment I set them out to harden them off.

Thanks. They're doing much better than I was expecting. I've only lost a few, and that's just because my housemate forgot to water them when I was out of town. Oh well.

 

[synclinorium]

I've winnowed down my grow list a bit... for now, anyway. I don't think I had any Trinidad Scoprion BTs pop, although there might be one in there that is mislabeled as a 7Pot... no huge loss. I started a few more Chocolate Bhuts since my first attempt hasn't done anything yet. Otherwise, no Cumari Pollux sprouted (though I do have Cumari and Cumari o Passarinho), and I think there is at least one more variety not represented... my fault, I accidentally cooked the seeds. Most of them made it. Anyway, here's a few progress shots of some of the varieties- note that none of the ones I saved were isolated, so I'm curious to see what becomes of them. I find it's always interesting to compare growth rates and habits.

Judy's 7Pot Brain Strain Yellow... nice and squat at the moment:

Aji Amarillo... I forget how fast these like to shoot up. I imagine I'm going to run out of headspace before long...

Cumari... sort of the same spot the Datils and Wiri Wiris are at.

Tepin, already starting to branch on me

... though not as much as the White Hab. I'm going to need to pot this guy up before long. The White Habs were sort of a test germination I did in late December that I decided to roll with... I figured they don't get to big anyway, so it can't hurt to give them a little extra headstart.

 

[wrightdaddy]

your plants look nice and healthy good luck

 

[synclinorium]

Thanks wrightdaddy. Oh, and for the moment my Rocoto doesn't seem to mind its new spot next to the Kaffir Lime. That window only gets 2 or 3 hours of direct sun a day, but so far neither of them seem to be complaining. The Rocoto is still putting out flowers even.

 

[PIC 1]

Everythings looking good, when do you usually bring out the plants to harden off?

Greg

 

[synclinorium]

I think I'll wait a little bit longer this year just because it was so cold when I did it last year, the new growth couldn't keep up with the diseases and other issues... I think most of them were hardened off by mid-April. I'll probably wait until then to start the process this year... well, assuming I don't run out of space first, which I will at some point. Looking through my photos this is what my seedlings looked like when I started hardening them off last year. Itty bitty! They're going to be huge by comparison:

Here's what the lot of them look like currently for comparison. They're already starting to crowd each other, so I think I'm going to need to either give a few away to friends or find a way to make more space....

 

[Eephus Man]

Lookin' great, sync! KUTGW

 

[romy6]

I can see you have come along way from last year. Your plants look 1000 times better this year! Okay a 100 times more better.

Jamie

 

[synclinorium]

Thanks guys. Yeah, I'm keeping a closer eye on them this year, though I'm being a bit stingy with the nutes just because I don't want them to get too out of control before plant-out... I'll probably end up clipping the tops on a few if they get too big. Worked well for the Datils last year.

I try to brush my hand over the tops of the plants a few minutes a day to help them develop stronger stems, or just leave a fan on them for a few hours if I'm busy. They already look better than they did last year.

Now I see the early signs of a pest I didn't even consider: ants. Tiny little buggers. Thinking they want to set up in my seed flat... any suggestions?

 

[synclinorium]

Really scratching my head how I'm going to deal with the space issues. I don't want to prune the seedlings if I can avoid it, but it might end up happening... most of them have started leafing out in a big way. I also need to put down some diatomaceous earth to deal with the ants who have moved in, so no fan for a while. Guess I could just smack the plants around a bit in the meantime...

The White Habs are almost ready for a pot-up, and they might as well be a little ball of leaves at this point. So much new growth on them:

I only have a few superhots started, but this 7Pod is looking nice. Tepin in the upper portion of the picture is also doing well.

The Aji Amarillos (small strain) are the biggest seedlings I have. They've been growing the fastest and have the largest leaves. Stems look a bit weak to me, but then this variety tends to be a bit spindly with the growth, so they're good for their size. I started way more than I needed and I couldn't bring myself to get rid of any of them, so now I have a bunch...

 

[Eephus Man]

Very nice, sync! I'll go back and read how much/when you're feeding them, but your leaf size is considerable larger than mine, despite us having about the same number of leaves. Lot of variables, but I can learn a thing or three from you...

 

[synclinorium]

Very nice, sync! I'll go back and read how much/when you're feeding them, but your leaf size is considerable larger than mine, despite us having about the same number of leaves. Lot of variables, but I can learn a thing or three from you...

Haha, I'm kind of shocked by the leaf size myself. They really started taking off in the last week. I haven't really been consistent with the feeding, I just give them ferts when it looks like they need it. A dangerous tactic to be sure, but so far without any adverse effects... the Cal-Mag has been a bit under a teaspoon per half gallon once every two weeks or so, and then either the Pro Grow or a 10-15-10 whenever it looks like they need it... I'm flushing them with water right now in case anything has built up given that I haven't been monitoring my rates.

(Trying to graduate is leaving me horribly distracted. Half the time I come home and can't remember when I fertilized them last... I really should start writing these things down)

 

[synclinorium]

Nice amount of purpling on a few of the seedlings. I never noticed it last year, but I've seen it on other people's plants:

Also noticed something today I'm going to keep an eye on, several of the leaves have what look like water-soaked necrotic spots on the leaves. I remember this being the start of something last year, so it probably just got overwintered in the seeds or plant debris... I remember keeping the environment relatively dry helped control it.

 

[synclinorium]

The difference in growth habits can be pretty amazing... the seedlings all sprouted at the same time but some of them are drastically different. Take this 7Pod (which is beginning to remind me of Dumbo. The leaf size just does not seem to fit with its height):

Compared to the Aji Amarillo... same number of leaves, much larger node spacing (and yeah, don't remind me, I've been way overwatering some of the plants- I just flushed the soil and I'm starting to get a regular fert routine going):

My overwintered Datil is probably the best looking of the bunch:

... and the Limon almost has more pods on it than leaves now:

Winning the most resilient award is the Rocoto. These have been receiving nothing but North-facing window light through partially closed blinds since November, but they seem to be hanging in there...

And my larger Rocoto isn't complaining about his West-facing window placement.

 

[Eephus Man]

Unreal. Seriously. I'm paying attention in here. Mine look nothing as good.

 

[synclinorium]

Honestly considering how shoddy my starting soil was (basically a mix of Miracle Grow crap I had lying around, some coco coir and perlite), and my irregularity with the ferts, I think the light may be the main difference here.... I don't know what you're using, but my sole light source has been a 4-foot T5HO fixture (this one, I believe). I was initially worried that it wouldn't provide enough light, but to this point anyway the seedlings haven't been stretching, even though they're a good foot away from the light source. We'll see how they do as they get crowded. Also keep in mind my grow setup is in my closet, which I *completely* lined with mylar sheets. Even if the plants aren't placed directly under the light, there's enough reflected light that they don't stretch much.

I've also had a fan on them pretty much constantly (while the lights are on, at least) for the past 3 weeks or so, which has certainly helped with strengthening the stems. Before I had the fan I would just run my hand over the tops of the plants for a couple minutes when I thought about it.

 

[Eephus Man]

Interesting. Next year, if I have the room, I'll see about getting some more/better lighting to them. Mine have been outside for awhile now, and they're still growing, but still not quite as fast. Very interesting.

 

[AlabamaJack]

looks like you have got a good head start to the season...good luck on your grow...

 

[synclinorium]

I'm going to see what I have in the way of larger pots today... it's just about time to pot up a few of the early starts.