Trent's 2014 Grow Log - COLD COLD COLD

Figure I'll keep track 2014 on here. At least then all my data will be in one place instead of scattered around on slips of paper.
 
First; PSA.
 
I'll *never* use the Jiffy starting pods / soil again.
 
I lost 95% of the plants in these two trays:
 

 
The roots wouldn't form. They couldn't get any nutrients out of the soil, whatsoever, and tried to suck what they could from the layers of paper. 
 
Burpee trays with compressed peat were planted 3 weeks later and within 3 weeks were quadruple in size.
 
Finished transplanting all sprouts on Saturday (4-5-2014).
 

 

 
I might lose a couple transplants but here's the current count (all in 3" paper cups)
 
7 pod Barrackpore - qty 6
7 pod Brain Strain, Yellow - qty 5 
7 pod Brain Strain, Red - qty 11
7 pod Chaguanas - qty 7
7-pod Jonah - qty 4
7-pod Long - qty 11
7-pod Original Red - qty 7
7-pod Primo - Qty 3
 
Bhut Jolokia (brown) - Qty 2
Bhut Jolokia (indian carbon) - qty 6
Bhut Jolokia (red) - qty 9
Bhut Jolokia (yellow) - qty 7
Bhut Jolokia (white) - qty 6
 
Brown Moruga - qty 6
 
Carolina reaper - qty 23
 
Cayenne (Sweet) - qty 3
Cayenne (large) - qty 6
Chili de Abrol - qty 10
 
True Cumari - qty 1
 
Datil - qty 3
 
Dedo De Moca - qty 3
 
Dorset Naga - qty 3
 
Fatali, Yellow - qty 4
 
Giant mexican Rocoto - qty 4
 
Goats weed - qty 3
 
Habanero (big sun) - qty 8
Habanero (chocolate) - all died / no sprouts
Habanero (orange) - qty 4
 
Jalapeno (black) - qty 8 
Jalapeno (early) - qty 14
Jalapeno (giant) - qty 15
 
Mako Akokosrade - qty 3
 
Naga Morich (orig) - qty 6
Naga Morich (monster naga) - qty 3
Naga morich (bombay morich) - qty 6
 
Pimenta de Neyde - qty 3
 
Tobago (seasoning) - all died
 
Tobago Scotch Bonnet (red) - qty 3
Tobago Scotch Bonnet (yellow) - qty 5
 
Trinidad Scorpion (butch T) - qty 8
Trinidad Scorpion (Cardi) - qty 4
Trinidad scorpion (douglah) - qty 3
Trinidad scorpion Moruga - qty 7
Trinidad scorpion (orig) - qty 3
Trinidad scorpion (PI 281317) - qty 3
Trinidad Scorpion (smooth) - qty 1
Trinidad Scorpion (yellow) - qty 4
 
PI 281429 - qty 1
 
surviving overwinters in large pots:
 
7-Pod (orig) - qty 1
Bhut Jolokia (red) - qty 2
Bhut Jolokia (giant) - qty 1
Yellow Bhut jolokia - qty 2
Carolina Reaper - qty 4
Cayenne - qty 1
habanero (golden) - qty 3
habanero (tazmanian) - qty 3
Naga morich - qty 1
naga Viper - qty 2
Trinidad Scorpion - qty 1
Butch-T Trinidad - qty 2
Trinidad scorpion moruga - qty 3
Yatsufusa - qty 1
Scotch Bonnet (red) - qty 1 (sole 2012 survivor)
 
Total 3" pot transplants: 264
Total overwinters surviving: 28
 
 

 

[TrentL]

I took this last night thinking it was cute.
 
30 seconds later all hell broke loose. The string has kept "casual wolfhound trespass" under control, but ... was NOT an effective barrier to prevent the dog from chasing prey.
 

 
(The cat is named bonkers, he's an indoor/outdoor cat that spends all day hunting outside.)
 
Three cucumber plants were destroyed about a minute after that picture was taken.... ripped right the hell out of the ground as the cat dodged UNDER the ropes between the trellises (not pictured), and the dog charged THROUGH them ripping the whole rig out of the ground.
 
Fortunately, no peppers were harmed.
 
Laid down a thin layer of triple shredded hardwood today.
 

 

 

The mulch is to protect the weed barrier material I put down - it's UV sensitive and would break down too quickly. (I opted for a very water permeable weed barrier; water just goes right through it; but it's all pretty "fragile").
 
 
At the end of the year the mulch, weed barrier, and staples will come up. Mulch will get composted for a year then get added in to the soil the year after.

 

[millworkman]

That is a gorgeous sight trent!

 

[TrentL]

That is a gorgeous sight trent!

 
Smells good too. I can't post the "smell of shredded hardwood" but it's .... pleasant.
 
I was thinking of doing a layer of RCW but I deep till so it wouldn't do much good.  RCW only really works if you don't till or do very shallow tilling (1-2").
 
I'll directly till the north half of the mulch in to the garden soil - it's very dense clay (think BRICK), so the mulch will help to start amending that soil. 
 
Speaking of. 
 
Something those wilting tomatoes have in common is they are planted in unmodified heavy clay soil which was lawn last year. I tried to weed it yesterday before laying down the mulch and I couldn't pull weeds; the ground around those tomatoes is now the consistency of hardened concrete. I had to hoe the weeds then spread the mulch.
 
I didn't do any soil amendments; never amended the soil when I extended the garden before, as it never seemed to affect the plants. But I still think I did this to myself; I believe I created a root barrier. The base of the tomato plants were in the original 1 gal potting soil from growing them indoors, but were surrounded by heavy clay. I'm betting the roots got bound up inside that clay chamber I effectively made, and not venturing out .... never thought about it before this weekend but that concrete consistency when weeding got me thinking about what's going on underground.

 

[Jeff H]

 
 never thought about it before this weekend but that concrete consistency when weeding got me thinking about what's going on underground.

 
Very likely Trent. I could easily see that happening with the midwestern clay. We have a ton of it here too.
 
Other than the tomatoes dying, everything else is really shaping up. You'll have a bumper crop this year for sure as long as you keep that dog out. .

 

[TrentL]

4 tomato plants are wilted now.. all in a row in fresh turned (used to be) lawn.. all Romas.
 
I took the hose out and basically super-saturated the worst of them. I tried poking a bamboo stick through once it was saturated, and the damn thing poked THROUGH... and drained ALL the water that was pooled up around the plant (a few gallons). There's a mole city under the damn plants!
 
With the 6" of rain we got, I'm betting all of the potting soil that was in there washed away down the mole tunnels leaving a clay cavern with loose roots in it.
 
The worst one is in REALLY bad shape. So I figured "what the hell" and made a great big mud/mulch pit around it's roots, washing clay away with the hose,and letting the clay and mulch settle down together. The mulch clogged the hole to the mole tunnels and it's holding water again. Going to check it in a couple hours and see what it looks like.

 

[TrentL]

Sigh. I think these four are toast.
 

 

 
My giant Jalapenos are coming in partly black??? 
 

 
(The black Jalapenos in the next row are maturing and HOLY CRAP they're hot. Gave me the hiccups and a gut burn today.)
 
Speaking of black jalapenos... they're going nuts.
 

 
First Habanero!!!! From that overwinter I've been posting about for the last couple weeks that took off crazy.
 

 
I can't begin to count the number of flower buds on this thing... going to be a monster producer for a potted plant, if I can keep it watered and fertilized. It's in 1 year old soil.
 

 
First Yatsufusa pod (from an overwinter I put in the dirt)
 

 
Green beans. In three weeks I'm going to be cussing about green beans. I have 3 rows 22 foot long, planted 3" apart, and each plant is already kicking out dozens of beans.... sigh.
 

 
Peppers in the rock garden are growing lanky in the shade, but they seem to be pretty healthy regardless. (Also what happens when my wife is taking pics...)
 

 
Another big picture shot.
 

 
Everything is doing good, and summer is starting to get HOT. 95F yesterday. 90-something today.

 

[tctenten]

Looking good. Beautiful garden.

 

[TrentL]

Looking good. Beautiful garden.

 
Thanks! Everything is working out really well this year except the tomatoes... which is unfortunate since I really like tomatoes.
 
The good news is my neighbors garden is going well, except his beans. The rabbits ate ALL of his bean plants. But his tomato plants are doing well.
 
I see veggie trading in my future.

 

[Sm1nts2escape]

Very nice looking garden. keep up the good work

 

[Devv]

Everything is looking great Trent!
 
\The season is just under way for you and you have a great start!
 
Can't wait to see how it progresses.
 
Moles? That's crazy!

 

[millworkman]

I must say that this is my favorite glog this year. Mainly because you update everyday! Love it.

 

[Zoli]

If you want to keep away moles get a few Euphorbia lathyris/mole plant. I just planted 7 a few days ago. They don't even look bad

 

[TrentL]

Tomatoes still look like crap so no pics of them.
 
Here's an example of what happens when you forget to pull flowers off when transplanting (or miss some).

 
Two Giant Jalapenos, same size when they went in. One on the left I cleaned flower buds off of.. one on the right, I must have missed. Notice how much smaller it is? Yeah, it's got a half dozen pods hanging off of it, but that's caused the plant to quit growing. By the time a couple months rolls around, the one I picked buds off of will flat out steamroll the other one in production.
 
(Those are going in my dinner tomorrow night, I ate one and WOW they're ready.. mouth still burning a little a half hour later)
 
 
 
Three spares got potted up in 14" pots, to go to work with me. Got a table by a big window set up there. Picked out a Carolina Reaper, Bhut Jolokia Indian Carbon, and 7-pod Chaguanas to take in.

 
 
This Giant Bhut Jolokia overwinter is doing OK.  Still a little lanky but starting to fill out OK.

 
 
This Naga Morich overwinter is also doing Ok. I thought I was going to lose this one. It still shows signs of some sort of disease or nutrient deficiency on some leaves.

 
 
Yellow bhut jolokia overwinter. It's going crazy and starting to bud up.

 
 
This moruga scorpion overwinter was all but dead stem a month ago - I soaked it with Hydrogen Peroxide and it's going good now!

 
 
This sad little reaper plant is still really struggling. I've done everything including H2O2 treatment, transplanting to fresh soil, and hitting it with root stimulant (couple weeks apart each) - just can't get it to take back off.

 
 
This is another moruga scorpion that I transplanted to fresh soil a few weeks ago. It got hit hard with that damn weed killer shit, but it's recovering nicely now. Had to prune the crap out of it for a couple weeks but now all new growth looks normal.

 
 
Habanero overwinter; transplanted to fresh soil, pruned of weed killer damage, hit with root stimulant; doing just fine now!

 
 
Another habanero overwinter; same story. Got hurt by weed killer bad, pruned of abnormal growth, repotted in fresh soil, hit with root stimulant, and doing great!

 
 
That's 10!

If you want to keep away moles get a few Euphorbia lathyris/mole plant. I just planted 7 a few days ago. They don't even look bad

 
Wow, I've never even HEARD of that before... off to do some googling. I'll border my entire damn yard with that stuff if it works.

Everything is looking great Trent!
 
\The season is just under way for you and you have a great start!
 
Can't wait to see how it progresses.
 
Moles? That's crazy!

 
Oh man I have more moles here than you'd believe. I forgot to spread grub killer last fall and an entire ARMY of the bastards invaded my property this spring.
 
They're so bad I started carrying my sidearm on me when I garden, so I can shoot the ground when I see it move.
 
(Yes, I warned the neighbors about "random and sporadic gunfire, and not to worry")

I must say that this is my favorite glog this year. Mainly because you update everyday! Love it.

 
Thank you! Each year I find myself going back over last year's pictures trying to see where things are in comparison, etc. This Glog thing is a handy tool for that. I'll be able to come back here next year and remind myself about things.
 
Also, reading other peoples Glogs has helped me a TON!!!! 
 
I've learned more about the "science stuff" behind the "green stuff" this year than I ever knew existed and I also know I'm just barely starting to scratch the surface. I've found myself really kicking myself in the ass this year for not paying better attention in Biology class in High School 20 something years ago.
 
The only real big disappointment this year has been the tomatoes. Last year they got hit by blight, this year by some odd wilting crap.. just have bad luck with tomatoes. 
 
I'm serious about just growing volunteers next year. I *still* have tomato sprouts popping up all over the damn place. If I'd grabbed some of the early ones and relocated them, I'd have it made... 

 

[Jeff H]

Bump
 
 
 

If you want to keep away moles get a 50 cal and strafe the land

 
FIFY
 
 

Tomatoes still look like crap so no pics of them.

 
Funny, we're having the exact opposite of years. Tomatoes are doing great (same with onions and beets), peppers...meh. They are looking better the last few days though but a 1/2 dozen of the chinense look really bad. Same soil though. Weird garden I have.
 
Your peppers do look really good though. Keep it up.

 

[TrentL]

Very nice looking garden. keep up the good work

 
Doing the best I can. the heat is kicking my ass today though. Got home from putting my 8 hours in at work and feels like I've been walking around in a sauna for the last 4 hours putting around in the garden....
Thanks for the bump!
 
Finally got my daughters out to weed their flower bed, and got this pic of Marley dog giving my 5th grader a smooch
 

 
 
Yet another habanero overwinter; same story as the last two. Recovering beautifully now.

 
 
This one worried me for a bit. Was weak to begin with and got nailed bad by the auxin weed killer stimulant. It's the sole survivor of this very odd "not a 7 pot" hybrid. Was supposed to be a 7-pot, but the seeds weren't true (one of MANY not-trues I got from PepperJoe). The pods are sort of habanero shaped, but more wrinkled, very thin walls, starts light green and ripens a very pale yellow. The heat / taste is why I kept them. It's absolutely unique. The heat is immediate and intense, but fades fast like Wasabi. The smell is that distinct 7-pod fruitiness, but the taste is more like a habanero. Odd frigging plant.

 
 
Reaper overwinter, also badly afflicted by auxin stimulant. Like the others in this set, was transplanted to fresh soil (each had roots fully washed /detangled), then pruned heavily to get rid of abnormal growth, all old leaves removed, and hit with root stimulant. Now doing great!

 
 
This is a double-overwintered 2012 Scotch Bonnet which I saved from imminent death with a gallon and a half of H2O2 in April. After it recovered enough to mess with, I depotted, washed it's roots out, detangled them, repotted in fresh soil. Then it got hit by frigging weed killer on the breeze. So lots of pruning, and root stimulant went in. It's now growing fantastic again!

 
 
This is that Butch-T overwinter that I posted pics of a few weeks ago that was sending out 20+ flower buds per node after getting hit with weed killer auxin stimulant. Pruned, root stimulant, pruned again.. pruned AGAIN.. Pruned YET AGAIN... and now it's growing normally.

 
 
Here's a 2013 yellow Bhut Jolokia. Didn't get beat up TOO bad by the weed killer but still needed a little pruning. Hit it with root stimulant "just because". It's going to be a BEAST in a month. Sooo much branching.

 
 
That's the last of the transplanted overwinters. I was afraid a month ago I'd lose ALL of them, but managed to keep that growth under control until the plants went back to normal. Glad there's a happy ending!!!!
 
Intermission here for a Giant Mexican Rocoto. Living up to it's name... never seen a pepper plant get this sprawling large, this damn fast. These things grow like crazy. This is one of the 30 spares that I potted up to 5 gallon cloth bags.

 
 
Moving on to hydro-in-soil overwinters next. They're doing surprisingly well, but with the hardcore nutes I've been giving them.. they SHOULD be.
 
This Carolina Reaper overwniter is already growing monstrous. This is what those transplanted ones SHOULD have looked like if they weren't hit with 2,4-D. The row of overwinters back here missed the cloud on the breeze.

 
 
Trinidad Moruga Scorpion overwinter also showing great growth. This one DID show one small branch that looked to be hit by mites (gnarled leaves); so I cut it off (after dealing with all the other stuff, to avoid spreading the bitches). Otherwise looks great.

 
 
That's 10 again. Time flies.

 

[tctenten]

Good stuff with your daughter helping out. I have a fifth grader too, she isn't as enthusiastic about helping dad.

 

[Swartmamba]

great glog.
 
love it

 

[TrentL]

Good stuff with your daughter helping out. I have a fifth grader too, she isn't as enthusiastic about helping dad.

 
"Whoever pulls the most weeds gets $5!"
 
And they dive in like crazy people....
 
My older high school boy even got off his computer and ran outside to pull weeds in the flower garden.

Ok enough of the overwinters. I have more but the story is the same; they're doing great, survived the great weed killer epidemic, yadda yadda yadda....
 
Time for the in-ground main event plants.
 
I have posted lots of photos but never identified them all to anyone on here. So I got off my duff and made a map, took a fresh round of photos, and labeled them.
 
Remember, 3 short weeks ago these were pruned down to bare stems + 2 or 3 leaves each, because of the weed killer event.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Oops that last photo what reads Large Cayenne x4 should be "Giant Jalapeno x4"
 
Otherwise looks correct.

That's all the photos, time for TV and R&R.
 
Thanks for visiting! 
 
Mouth finally quit burning from the Jalapenos. I'm surprised they're so hot, so early this year.
 
Tomorrow night I'm kicking back and catching up on other Glogs.
 
 
EDIT: OK I lied one more pic. Nuked a pic of annuums to bring you dinner!
 

 
Yeah, it's frozen burritos topped with shredded cheese, but at least the Jalapenos are freshly picked within the last hour.
 
NOMNOMNOMNOM... love fresh Jalapenos!

 

[Sm1nts2escape]

My favorite Glog besides my own! lol. Love how you have a nice diversity of plants. Never knew that moles eat the grubs. I hate those bastards lol.

 

[TrentL]

No updates tonight for sure. Got a phone call from a buddy of mine today and cleared my evening plans. Getting interviewed on camera by Adventure Sports Outdoors (TV show) to talk about Illinois Concealed Carry. 
 
... And they gave me all of 5 hours notice... sigh.