Trent's 2014 Grow Log - COLD COLD COLD

TrentL · Jul 12, 2014

maximumcapsicum said:
Just got caught up. Garden is looking great man. You're quite fastiduous... I got a bunch of little spots on a bunch of my plants. I just kind of let 'em fly unless they seem to be hindering the plant. Hard to tell what is the result of insect meddling and what is a legit problem. The only plant I am really sure is having disease issues is the datil, which is a shame because the pods are amazing.

Anyway, keep the pics coming! Enjoying the shots of your garden. Looks like you're coming through the herbicide storm.

Well, now the plants are doing it all on their own. Had quite a bit of leaf drop since I went out yesterday.

Daughter snapped a pic of me this afternoon before I started sweating my arse off. I'm 6' tall so to give a sense of scale.

I had a black Jalapeno fall over, I staked it up a few days ago. Found this, this afternoon. Frigging moles. They dug an exit hole RIGHT next to the stem.

Didn't seem to affect the plant at ALL.

Devv · Jul 12, 2014

TrentL said:
Oooh !!! I got a care package from Tejas!!!

If you get time... to ID the unlabeled ones Devv?

Gonna be HOT tonight lol. Mouth watering... nomnomnom.

OK. first off I'm glad they got there in two days!

The Habs, the darker ones (2) are JA Habs from seeds Walkgood sent (Jamaican Habs from Jamaica) The other one a red Caribbean. Left Yellows are Bonda, small reds to the right are my Funky Reapers, Browns are Brown 7 pots from seeds I received from John (Sawyer). A White Bhut, yeah they have the Hab look, but I've found thats how they got them white , crossing them with white habs. Seeds from Ramon. They are a really nice pod.

The large yellows: the one on the left is a yellow brainstrain, the one on the right is a YB or a giant yellow 7. Sorry 18 or so SFRB's went out in the last two weeks :shh:

The far right yellows are trinidad perfumes.

Enjoy!

TrentL · Jul 12, 2014

OK here begins a photo journey in to the depths of Brown 7 pot that Devv sent.

I'm still in "wuss mode" because none of my ultrahot pods have ripened yet and all I've eaten this grow season is Jalapenos. So I don't yet have a tolerance built up....

Went to Caseys to buy some beer and found a suitable test lab sitting on the shelf.

"Medium... My Ass!"

"Holy ***** those are dense pods... I better only use half of one."

(Oh my god you can't believe the feeling that ran through me when I cut the top off and smelled that distinct 7-pot smell. It's beyond mere words. They would not do the feeling justice!)

Slicing and dicing...

Payload delivered.

Bon apetit!

As far as I got (about 2/3) before calling it quits. The taste was AWESOME. Every chip I had with a piece of that was *very* sweet - those are some DAMN good tasting peppers.

The burn was isolated around the sides of my tongue and throat. Very intense.

My oldest boy joined in on the treat, he made it through a half dozen chips before he went for the fridge...

Many thanks Devv. You've brought me great joy, and suffering. Many a "fourth meal" will be had in the coming week because of you.

TrentL · Jul 12, 2014

OK my wife must not be too mad at me.

Fresh picked jalapenos and bacon for the fourth meal... Guys, this is why when you find a good woman, you beat her over the head and drag her in to your cave...

Devv · Jul 13, 2014

Glad you're enjoying the peppers!

I haven't tried the Brown 7 pot yet glad to read it's good. I did sample a Jigsaw this morning, about the time I was focusing on the taste it slammed me with the heat. Cut some up for an omelet, it's a really sweet tasting pepper with loads of flavor!

The didn't say anything about the reds 2 are labeled and of course I forget which we labeled. But the 3 long reds that look so similar are Jigsaw's, Bhut x Yellow 7, and Bhut x Yellow7 X Bhut x Douglah. Crosses grown from seed Charles sent.

Jeff H · Jul 13, 2014

TrentL said:
To the deer that ate 1/2 of my really nice moruga scorpion overwinter this morning... you've been warned, pal.

(Fresh tracks next to the plant confirmed the pest....)

I've threatened the deer many times, but they just come in the middle of the night while I am sleeping so I never get a chance to take them out. I finally put a fabric fence over the tomaoes to keep them out. So far (only day 2) it has worked.

They ate the tops of my poblanos and cayenne and of course the beans, but so far have left the chinense alone.

TrentL · Jul 13, 2014

Devv said:
Glad you're enjoying the peppers!

I haven't tried the Brown 7 pot yet glad to read it's good. I did sample a Jigsaw this morning, about the time I was focusing on the taste it slammed me with the heat. Cut some up for an omelet, it's a really sweet tasting pepper with loads of flavor!

The didn't say anything about the reds 2 are labeled and of course I forget which we labeled. But the 3 long reds that look so similar are Jigsaw's, Bhut x Yellow 7, and Bhut x Yellow7 X Bhut x Douglah. Crosses grown from seed Charles sent.

Man those browns were good. But... Not so good on the rear end this morning. Quite a bit of cussing at 7:30 AM. Followed by a slow painful limp from the bathroom, and a VERY careful sit-down on the recliner to drink some coffee and try to forget the pain I'd just gone through.

Did I mention those bastards are FRIGGING HOT?

East Texas Heat · Jul 13, 2014

Ouch! That couldn't have been fun. Hope the pain was short lived!

TrentL · Jul 14, 2014

Yeah this wasn't "day after moruga scorpion" or "day after Reaper" level of bad, but decidedly painful nonetheless. At least I couldn't feel that 7-pot brown moving through my gut and intestines like I do some of the 2-mil SHU level stuff. Still, that brown 7-pot pepper has to be a good 800k to a million SHU. It was definitely on the "this is nuts" side. The pinky-nail sized chunk I took from around the stem after lopping the top off, before halving, was enough to cause an intense burn for a good 10 minutes. Which is why I diced up the rest and mixed with salsa.

(My original plan was to eat half, then mix half in salsa... to hell with that.. lol)

For some reason my sphincter doesn't get the same tolerance to heat that my mouth does each year. No matter how many ultrahot peppers I eat, or how much of a tolerance I build up in the mouth & throat, it always hurts the next day. What made things worse this time was my wife hasn't stocked the cabinet for the "harvest season blues" like she usually does yet. My secret weapon was missing (baby wipes).

Bowl of milk to dip TP in is a decent Plan B though.

Anyway, on to more pleasant topics... lol.

Got 2" of rain again last night according to the gauge on the deck. Going to make my fungus/mold/bacteria problems even worse.

BUT.. I have the perfect storm brewing.

The good news is this week we have lower temps. Meanwhile I have a HOST of bees moved in (the gigantic rose of sharon next to the garden FINALLY bloomed... that brings every bee in for miles, it seems.)

And... *All* of the dirt plants are getting ready to flower on the 4th through 6th (some have 7th) nodes. That means awesome levels of production, since they'll set pods like crazy in these conditions. If things stay the course, that first real harvest will easily see 80-100+ pods per plant. (I don't count the early 1st-3rd node picks as a "harvest", more of a "sampler.. lol)

Which ... times 90-something plants ... good grief. I'm going to be wading in pods. I could probably skip the next two or three years of growing after this and not run out of spicy stuff to eat.

(Assuming the roots have all taken as I hoped (some I hit with root stimulant), and I keep them fed properly...)

Might be in for a bumper crop.

It's been a crazy year so far.

And there's still plenty of time for things to go sideways, so I'm not counting my pods before they ...errr. ripen.

kgetpeppers · Jul 14, 2014

Same here on the rain. I was like c'mon nature why Me. Plants are startimg to bud and flower but I been picking diseased leafs for days now. Serenaded and compost tea is helping a little but only for the plants that aren't affected yet. The rain needs to stop then control will happen

Jeff H · Jul 14, 2014

We're getting that rain now. Started last night around 7PM with some hard thunderstorms, but now in the morning it is just a steady light rain all day long. We didn't really need this.......

TrentL · Jul 14, 2014

kgetpeppers said:
Same here on the rain. I was like c'mon nature why Me. Plants are startimg to bud and flower but I been picking diseased leafs for days now. Serenaded and compost tea is helping a little but only for the plants that aren't affected yet. The rain needs to stop then control will happen

Yeah rain is screwing things up on more than one level here.

I added weed block cloth and mulch to the pepper garden to deter weeds and keep more moisture in the ground earlier this year. But with so much rain, that's now working against me. I fear root diseases if it doesn't dry out soon.

The bacterial / fungus / whatever infections, and the mold in the bean rows, is growing worse. The ground was still saturated under the bean canopy for several DAYS after the last rain, it just got refreshed and is 100% saturated again. I'm strongly considering pulling out the middle row entirely to air it out.

Jeff H said:
We're getting that rain now. Started last night around 7PM with some hard thunderstorms, but now in the morning it is just a steady light rain all day long. We didn't really need this.......

My thoughts exactly. Not only will too much water cause my fast growing plants to suffer (water forms a barrier that deters nutrient uptake, and all of mine in the dirt are showing signs of various deficiencies), it's pointless to fertilize when it's this saturated or with rain in the forecast. You might get lucky, or you might just have it pool up in the same place and create over fertilized hotspots, regardless of whether it's liquid or solid fertilizer.

The other problem here is pests. I can't control the asian beetles without putting out sevin dust, and they're starting to do some damage.

Same with the miniature pests (bacteria, etc). I can't control it without using copper spray and it's been raining too frequently to even think about doing that effectively.

Just got to wait it out and hope it dries the hell out.

Imagine the soybean farmers around here are all sweating it too. Corn farmers are probably dancing about now. Saw some 6" long ears already formed on plants on the way back from town the other day, they're going to have a bumper crop, and damn early, it looks like.

kgetpeppers · Jul 14, 2014

Im feeling for you trent, Just now getting ANOTHER batch of storms roll in. I feel like I am in the worst little pocket or something. I may have to rake some mulch up just to get more airflow which is very annoying as I never could expect all this rain we have had in june and july.

The battle continues.

TrentL · Jul 16, 2014

She's getting "fuller" (my wife would yell at me for using a non-word, so I try every chance I get)

The volunteer tomato I left in is eating a couple square yards of space now..

I left this hoping it would be a cherry tomato plant but it must have crossed with something else I had growing. It's still growing cherry tomato "strings" but the fruit is 3x the size of cherries. That's OK, I could use a "salad tomato" plant lol.

Reaper Overwinter:

Taz. Habanero overwinter:

Moruga Scorpion overwinter (what's left anyway, after the deer ate half)

Bhut Jolokia overwinter

7-Pot overwinter

Naga Viper overwinter (these look painful)

My rows are growing together now.

Yellow Bhut overwinter.

And that's 10, again!

millworkman · Jul 16, 2014

They are growing great Trent, keep it up!

Physics202 · Jul 16, 2014

Looking good ^^

Slizarus · Jul 16, 2014

Man, the hot pod next day shits. I am just starting to understand the phenomenon. I wasn't sure how true it was, but with superhots.. It's only a matter of time, isn't it?

Plants look amazing, the waiting game is so hard. Tell me those plants were just tiny seedlings one day too, I want mine to grow into perennial monsters like y'all

TrentL · Jul 16, 2014

Thanks for the bumps guys! Had to run off to the eye doc so had to pause on updates.

Slizarus said:
Man, the hot pod next day shits. I am just starting to understand the phenomenon. I wasn't sure how true it was, but with superhots.. It's only a matter of time, isn't it?

Plants look amazing, the waiting game is so hard. Tell me those plants were just tiny seedlings one day too, I want mine to grow into perennial monsters like y'all

You learn to cope with "The Day After" over time. You'll also find out how ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL it is to wear gloves and (if you suspect ANYTHING got on your fingers) to wash your hands with rubbing alcohol before taking a piss.

Read that again. You'll thank me.

(Capsaicin is HYDROPHOBIC, repels water, so using soap & water WILL NOT get the "hot" out of your skin. Rubbing alcohol will - same for cooking utensils, cutting boards, etc.)

To the second part; yes those overwinters were raised from seeds.

I've tracked one of them (have a 2012 scotch bonnet still growing strong)

Started here:

Managed to survive the damn cats:

Managed to survive rabbits and deer:

Managed to survive mishandling all winter. Horrible conditions. Stuck a pot by the window, watered too much, didn't cut it back...

Sprung back the next year (2013) (the Bhut Jolokia "stick thing" also survived, barely. All other overwinters died)

Even thrived a little...

Came back inside with the rest of the overwinters...

Survived FOUR waves of aphid infestations (with a little help from these horny buggers.)

*BARELY* survived root rot last winter- flushed it with 1.5 *gallons* of H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) to revive it.

And still alive today (taken 20 mins ago)

Whoops. That's 10 again (fun trip down memory lane though.)

Slizarus · Jul 16, 2014

Lol! Thank you, that is quite an adventure. And yeah, I tend to get the oil in my nostrils by touching them.. I'll be buying some gloves for sure

TrentL · Jul 16, 2014

Soaking up the morning rays:

In-the-dirt plants are FINALLY getting pods.

Thankfully we got cooler temps this week since they are flowering like crazy.

Pimento De Neyde is doing REALLY well. This thing is a giant, standing taller than any other pepper plant in the garden.

Most are forming up beautifully, averaging waist high.

Except for four, in one row. All next to each other.

I need help ID'ing this malady. (Can take closer pics if needed)

One of the diseased plants I pruned heavily is springing back. (Naga morich)

It's herbicide-induced "supernode" that I missed culling is getting stranger by the day...