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...)

 

[PaulG]

Awesome plants, great examples of pepperdom from seedlings to overwintered plants!
Enjoyed looking at your photos, synch!

 

[synclinorium]

Tornado sirens woke me up at 4 in the morning today... thankfully it didn't get us, but the town about an hour east of us did get hit. If it weren't for seed starting and plant-out, I'd hate this time of year... I don't even have a full season to look forward to. Oh well. I'm still calling this my trial period, feeling out a few varieties to get a sense for what I like and what does well around here.

Anyway, a couple progress shots. My lone 7Pot, chugging right along:

Cumari fanning out:

Tepin shooting up. My experience has been that Tepin doesn't really do so well on first plant out, as this area is pretty windy, but it'll perk back up in time. The scraggly growth seems to lignify quickly too.

 

[Eephus Man]

Sync,

I don't wanna bring you down more, man, but are you sure you didn't get 'hold of some Viroflay spinach, buddy? Because I feel pretty confident in saying that I have never grown a pepper plant with leaves that wide.

I'm afraid you need to check your supplier, my man.

 

[synclinorium]

Kind of looks that way, right? Haha... he is the anomaly of the bunch. Somehow, I accidentally made everything ideal for that one plant. *shrugs* Kind of wish the rest of the plants would grow that way... the Aji Amarillos are getting tall enough that the lower leaves aren't getting enough light and dropping. Oh well. I may need to pinch the tops soon to slow their growth.

On the other hand, I'm excited about my Datil overwinter... it's going to be beastly. I've been waiting for it to start dropping leaves too, 'cause I doubt much of the lower foliage is getting enough light, but so far it's still green and lush... you can see one little pod in the middle of the photo.

 

[synclinorium]

Checked the roots on the "Spinach Leaf" 7Pod yesterday, it was time for a pot up... you can tell by the surrounding plants that I haven't exactly been consistent with the care of my seedlings, but somehow I just happened to do alright with this one in particular. I'll have to watch to make sure it doesn't completely crowd out the others.

My little babies are growing up, just had my first bloom on the White Hab seedlings today...

Though the Tepin are shockingly not far behind. You can see a little bud poking out at the top.

Datils are next up for a pot up... nice healthy roots on them, but they need a bit more time.

And lastly on the not-pepper side of things, I found an ebay seller with Rooibos seeds based in South Africa. They're supposed to be annoyingly difficult to grow outside of their native habitat, so naturally I jumped at the challenge. They're only hardy to Zone 9, so, even if these are actually Rooibos plants I might have some challenges overwintering them... we'll see. It's an experiment.

 

[S.S.Tupperware]

there doin great for ya, Ever grow a Datill? I love them, plenty how, and a nice flavor...

 

[synclinorium]

I grew it for the first time last year, my overwinter is currently hogging up space in my growing area... haha *points*

On the other hand, I'm excited about my Datil overwinter... it's going to be beastly. I've been waiting for it to start dropping leaves too, 'cause I doubt much of the lower foliage is getting enough light, but so far it's still green and lush... you can see one little pod in the middle of the photo.

 

[synclinorium]

Anyone know of any sellers that stock the Nagas and don't have a massive minimum order requirement? I'm thinking about adding a Naga Morich or Dorset Naga to the mix. I guess I still have time to start from seed... hmm... decisions.

(plants, that is. I know it's not quite time for plants to go on sale yet, but I'm just thinking about the coming months...)

 

[synclinorium]

So, interesting twist: I contacted the seller of one of my plants from last year who sold me a Trinidad Scorpion, but it was definitely not the case... I overwintered the plant anyway because I never quite figured out what it was. The seller got back to me quickly and informed me that they do isolate the plants, but that it might have been a cross with an Ecuadorian Devil's Breath that they also grow. While I have good reason to doubt an ebay seller, at least his pictures appear to be of his own plants and crop and he seems relatively well informed. That cross also makes sense given the odd pod shapes, powerful pungency, along with a good amount of heat. Here's the plant currently:

I didn't even think to save seeds from it, aside from those included in a bag labeled "Mixed Bag Hot Shit." Being impatient but not impatient enough to sort through seeds, I started the annoying process of picking out seeds with tiny bits of red flesh attached. Granted, these were nonisolated, and it's kind of hard to tell red from orange, so who the hell knows what these plants will produce. My mad scientist sentiments got the better of me. I expect this experiment to go nowhere fast given my late start time and short season this year. Oh well. Guess I'll just try to keep the mother alive.

 

[MGOLD86]

Hey Sync, you Know what one of my favorite things of this forum is? Going to the GLogs and starting at the top and working your way down. You my friend have some great looking plants. That 7 pot is amazing. I don't think I have ever seen leaves like that before. You mentioned that your lights were hung at like a foot? Is that right and is that from the top of the plants? Also, have you used this height since they were seedlings?


Thanks man!
Matt

 

[synclinorium]

Right now the tops of the plants are maybe 7 inches away from the light at their minimum. When the seedlings were smaller I propped them up so they were about the same distance from the light, but I dropped them back down to make room for growth once they had their first few true leaves. Now that the plants are larger I am having some issues with light penetration to the lower leaves, but to this point it's been great.

 

[synclinorium]

Got some more seeds in the mail from Judy... I couldn't resist. It's way late to think about starting the Naga Morich but I did it anyway. The Trinidad Bean and Trinidad Seasoning are going to need to wait, but I went ahead and started the "Most prolific" Chacoense along with the Blue Mystery peppers. The crushed Blue Mystery had a delightful sort of berry aroma to it along the lines of children's fruit-flavored cereals, so I am curious to see how it turns out. If nothing else, between the Tepins, Mini-minis, and these, the birds should be eating well this year...

Also, mental note: Next year, start the baccatums later. They may be slow to ripen, but they are certainly not slow to grow... most plants are almost to flowering age, you can see a few blossoms and buds (Aji Amarillo small strain along back, Datil overwinter back right, White Hab front right, 7Pod front center, Tepins left middle (the other tall seedlings in the photo), along with a mix of Datils, Wiri Wiri, Cumari, Cumari o Passarinho, etc.)

Some of the plants are getting to the point that they're a little unhappy with the lighting situation because of their size, but they'll be fine until plant-out. I will undoubtedly need to clip the Aji Amarillos at some point, which is fine, they tend to bush naturally anyway so I would just be helping them along...

 

[PaulG]

Your grow is looking good, Synch! The plants
just keep looking better and better! Good luck
as the season progresses.

 

[jsschrstrcks]

I saw the blue mystery and it took a lot of self control to NOT buy a pack haha... I am very interested to see how they turn out though... Was quite a nice looking plant in the picture.

 

[Eephus Man]

sync,

You can always put in an order at cross country and get 'em delivered in early April. They'll be way smaller than your starts, but I think they'll be bigger than seed starts at this point. Not sure.

Lookin' good, buddy.

 

[synclinorium]

Haha, believe me, I've thought about it. I really don't need 12 more plants. I might mix and match with tomatoes and eggplants too, but I already have seeds going for both of those...

 

[Eephus Man]

lol. Yeah. I hear ya. Last year I ordered from them anyway.

This year, I'm WAY over my head with seedlings. Gonna try and give away at least a goodly amount at tha Austin GTG tomorrow.

 

[synclinorium]

I have no doubt I will acquire a few more seedlings somewhere... I'm doing better than last year; aside from the Aji Amarillos I've restricted the seedling numbers to only those I need. There are a couple people in the area that expressed interest in the Amarillos though, so I set aside extras.

Good luck sending some of yours on their way...

 

[jsschrstrcks]

I gave away two this year so far....

I visited the girl I gave them too on weds... They've septupled in size.... But are both in the same pot I mentioned this to her, and she's like "well if you don't like what I'm doing with them then take them home".

I left them there... Just a jalapeno plant... They look healthy - nice and green. But the pot is wayyyy to small for them to be happy in long term... maybe 1 gallon - and one of the rectangular kind of shallow pots to boot.

I figured I gave it to her knowing she had the capacity to kill it. If she does, then she does. Though I will hate to see it.

I hate giving plants away.

 

[synclinorium]

I know the feeling. Especially with the atypical varieties (Cumari, Wiri Wiri, Datil, etc.). This is not a plant you will be able to get from anyone else in the area and you're going to need to go out of your way to find seeds. PLEASE try not to kill it, for your sake.

I think I'm going to start including a chile care guide for any plants I give away. I think the item one will be along the lines of, "if you're thinking about watering the plant, stop. Check the soil. Is it moist? Step away from the plant, and put down the watering can. Nobody needs to get hurt."

Seriously. Overwatering = number one killer of all plants. Everyone I ever met who told me they have a black thumb, that is usually the problem.