Trent's 2015 Grow Log (potting soil probs solved!)

TrentL · Feb 14, 2015

Updated the main page w/ current grow list and what's in the dirt.

Runescape · Feb 14, 2015

TrentL said:
Habanero Antillais Carribean,Jcw10tc/SLP,2/13/2015
Habanero Antillais Carribean,Jcw10tc,2/13/2015
Habanero Cristina,tctenten,
Habanero Giant Orange,Jcw10tc,2/13/2015
Habanero Manazano,Jcw10tc,2/13/2015
Habanero Niranja Picante,Jcw10tc,2/13/2015
Habanero Niranja Picante,jcw10tc/SLP,2/13/2015
"Habanero, Black",tctenten,
"Habanero, Carribean Red",D3monic,2/13/2015
"Habanero, Chocolate",Pepperlover,2/8/2015
"Habanero, Hot Paper Lantern",tctenten,
"Habanero, Orange",ribbedturtleneck,2/13/2015
"Habanero, Paper Lantern",D3monic,2/13/2015
"Habanero, White",ribbedturtleneck,2/13/2015
"Habanero, White bullet",D3monic,2/13/2015
"Habanero, Yellow",ribbedturtleneck,

Looks like 50 shades of habanero...

Impressive list.

TrentL · Feb 14, 2015

I'm trying to talk Devv in to sending a few more.

I think I'm following in HilbillyJeff's footsteps this year, he grew out a mess of Habaneros last year; while I grew very few.

Problem is, I discovered this winter that's my "go to pepper" when I'm looking for something to slice quick and toss on a sandwich or burrito.

Practically every trip I've made to the deep freeze for peppers results in me carrying 3 habaneros inside for dinner. And I'm rapidly depleting my freezer stock at this rate.

So I'm going to grow more out this year.

I'm far less interested in the ultra-ultra hots this year - still growing quite a few but not putting an emphasis on it, because a little goes a very, very long way. Most of the ultra-hot bags in the fridge haven't even been touched since I put them in there!

The new baby kind of interfered with that, though. I don't have anywhere to do sauces right now; don't want to risk pepper-spraying the house with steam with the new baby in the house.

And it's entirely too f'n cold in the garage to do anything out there.

Best I can really hope for is a good Moruga Scorpion beef jerky as I can just slice the pods and marinade the meat in it overnight to get them imbued with heat.

Runescape · Feb 14, 2015

TrentL said:
I'm far less interested in the ultra-ultra hots this year - still growing quite a few but not putting an emphasis on it

Yeah, that seems to be the consensus in a lot of glogs this year...

Jeff H · Feb 16, 2015

Runescape said:
Yeah, that seems to be the consensus in a lot of glogs this year...

True 'dat!

TrentL · Feb 16, 2015

Got a tie on germination this year; both wilds!

Top CGN22091 and bottom CGN20812

Planted 2/8; it's been chilly in here so germination has been slow; 8 days before the first hooks on that tray of 36.

tsurrie · Feb 16, 2015

TrentL said:
Got a tie on germination this year; both wilds!

Top CGN22091 and bottom CGN20812

Planted 2/8; it's been chilly in here so germination has been slow; 8 days before the first hooks on that tray of 36.

yeah, go plants go... rise up you're gonna be treated well by your mastah

Devv · Feb 16, 2015

Seeds are in the envelope and ready to send, thing is the PO was closed for Presidents day :shh:

Plantguy76 · Feb 16, 2015

TrentL said:
Hooks!

Ok, yeah, so it's not peppers, but at least I'm growing something. In this case Thyme and Sweet Basil hooked. Also have oregano, rosemary, genovese basil, and sage in that tray. These are going to remain indoors - I don't exactly have a plan for where I'm gonna grow them yet but I'm working on it. (Sort of.)

Looking good Trent I am going to be growing some borage this year and have some spicy hot oregano outside in a raised swimming pool bed
I like what your doing plan on attempting to put a glog up soon.
Have you had any look with cilantro I tried last year but no good was wondering would just planting seeds would work other than trying to transplant some plants?

TrentL · Feb 16, 2015

Plantguy76 said:
Have you had any look with cilantro I tried last year but no good was wondering would just planting seeds would work other than trying to transplant some plants?

I grew Cilantro in pots in 2013.

Since then it has taken hold and now grows wild in my yard and garden. (From seeds which fell off the potted plants)

I no longer plant it - just let it grow and harvest as needed. (Actually have to weed the stuff now, because it's gotten in to my ornamental garden sections too...)

PaulG · Feb 17, 2015

AWright, Trent; good to see hooks making their appearance!

TrentL · Feb 17, 2015

Yeah I'm happy about it! Had dedo de moca and a few others hook today, too.

The herb tray is fully populated now

TrentL · Feb 19, 2015

Well the peppers have been damn busy for the last 24 hours!

Moved the first pepper tray under a trio of 200w equiv. CFL lights today.

Just over 50% have sprouted now, 11 days in;

datil
pimenta da neyde
mako akokosrade
dedo de moca
cgn22091
pi281429
cgn20812
tobago scotch yellow
trinidad scorpion moruga
trinidad pi 281317
bhut jolokia yellow
bhut jolokia indian carbon
trinidad scorpion cardi
trinidad smooth
trinidad scorpion yellow
trinidad doughlah
7-pod long
7-pod barrackpore
7-pod jonah
7-pod chauguanas
Several more can be seen just under the soil but until they're out I don't count them

Also 3 extra days without a light source made those first 4 that sprouted get real lanky.

Hopefully the light straightens 'em up. I'll bury them deep when I transplant them out of the peat, in a few days.

Devv · Feb 19, 2015

You said you'll bury them deep. I do that with tomatoes.

No ill effects when done with peppers? Never have tried it...

tsurrie · Feb 19, 2015

It's almost the same - I do that every year, I always bury them deep.. they grow roots just like tomatoes do

TrentL · Feb 19, 2015

Devv said:
You said you'll bury them deep. I do that with tomatoes.

No ill effects when done with peppers? Never have tried it...

Oh, no ill effects whatsoever. Whenever I transplant or plant out I always get as much of the stem below dirt as I can (being mindful not to get the roots too deep, don't want them overly saturated in the deepest soil).

Peppers will still grow roots off the stem - nowhere NEAR as prolific as tomato plants, but they'll grow some!

The obvious advantage to this is additional strength against wind/etc. There's also some advantage to hydro barriers that might form from dissimilar soils when planting in to the ground. When I transplant to dirt I break up the roots as much as possible, and put them about 2x as deep as the size of the pot. So if they are in 3" pots I dig a 6" deep hole.

I didn't have to stake NEARLY as many plants last year, or have issues with broken stalks on loaded plants in high wind, as I did the year before. (I still had to do some staking and repair work when they were 100% loaded late season, we had two nasty windy storms last year that was pretty rough on them).

I had zero loss on peppers last year at ANY point in transplanting or plant out, except for some giant jalapenos I pulled which were stunted and caught a bacterial infection from my nearby row of beans.

Also - unlike tomatoes I don't bury any nodes - the lowest leaves will be at soil level but not below it.

I don't know what would happen if you buried pepper leaves - unlike tomatoes where they transition to roots, I'd think the leaves would just rot.
OK I said I'm cutting down on spending this year but I *refuse* to use those frigging paper jiffy cups again.

From greenhousemegastore.com ..

CN-SQK 35-10 Square Injection Molded Pots - 3.5" Square x 3" tall, 10/pack 15 $46.05
CN-TRK 1835EA Square Pot Carrying Trays - holds (18) 3.5" Square pots, each 8 $16.08
Subtotal: $62.13 Tax: $5.29 Shipping: $9.99
Grand Total: $77.41

Pretty sure that the paper jiffy cups I used (which dry soil out way too frigging fast) cost more than that last year but I wasn't tracking expenses.

These should be reusable for several years to come.

(I have the 1020 trays to serve as catch basins, this order is for the 3.5" pots + 18 pot carrying trays; the 1020's I have are very flimsy on their own, makes hauling them out for hardening a real pain in the ass..)

This brings my total spent this year to $100. But this money will make life much easier than the constant micro-maintenance I had to do with those blasted paper cups.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do for potting soil, I'm probably going to need to re-use what has been sitting outside since last year. (Problem is, it's all frozen solid right now!)

Some of that potting soil I will till under, though, I've still got a large amount of hard clay soil to amend.

OK on the potting soil thing;

Think I'll try to find the shultz potting soil I've used for the last several years for the transplants. 3 cubic feet will be enough to do all of the 3.5" pots.

Too nervous about a sudden aphid incursion if I bring in soil from the outside.

If I have to transplant to 5.5" or 6" before plant out (probable, I had to do that last year) I'd need about 6x 2 cu ft. bags of soil.

Need to put 'making own soil' higher on my list for next year, although that will also involve potentially more money than I'm spending now.

jcw10tc · Feb 19, 2015

I didn't go past 3.5 pots last year. Were a little root bound but still turned out fine. The ones I got from you all did good also from 3.5" pots. I think I planted about a week before you did. This year I ordered some 3.5" square pots that are 5" deep. Figured that might help. That extra 1.5" in depth will hold a lot of roots. If they do well and don't tip out of the trays I got very easy might get more next year.

TrentL · Feb 22, 2015

Yeah the ones I had potted up further, they didn't get root bound at all.

A little more concerned about the 3.5" ones this year because I started seeds earlier. Last year, *today* was the day I planted.. (Feb 22), but this year, I've already got two full trays of sprouts under the lights.

5" deep you'll have a whole lot more roots!

I held about 40 leftover plants in 5.5" pots last year - they lived all year, stunted in size and didn't produce jack squat, but towards the end of the year they were running out of nutes in a bad way. (They were going to get re-potted and become my mini-overwinters, before I changed my mind and decided not to overwinter anything.)

Devv · Feb 22, 2015

I'm in the same boat, I spent a lot last year. Not this year, so far $100 to expand the sunshade frames by 400sf. The thing is LB tells me we save $80 to $100 a month by growing what we eat. So I try and spend half that or less on improvements. Now if the orchard would produce without the birds sampling....

TrentL · Feb 22, 2015

Well the sprouts are looking much better. Only 6 cells of 36 haven't popped yet in the first tray.

tctenten's seeds showed up yesterday so I'll be starting tray #3 tonight.

Tray #2 only has 2 cells of 36 sprouted, it was planted 2/12/2015. For 10 days in it isn't doing good. The peat is saturated badly in that one - for some reason the compressed peat pellets didn't rise much, and ended up too dense.

Kind of worried about that second tray - I might have to replant a bunch if it flops.
Second tray not doing as good.