TXCG's 2013 grow log - Big harvest (9/7)

Two gardens this year: 1 4x8' raised bed in the community garden at work & a container garden at home.

Peppers:
Live plants from cross country nurseries shipping 4/1/2013:
Containers:
Texas Chiletepin (2)
Cumari (1)
Sweet Datil (2)
Fatalii (2)
Red Fatalii (2)
Lemon Drop (2)
Moruga Scorpion (2)
Trinidad Perfume (2)
Trinidad Seasoning (2)
Trinidad Scorpion (1)
Raised Bed:
Red Fatalii (1)
Lemon Drop (1)
Moruga Scorpion (1)
Trinidad Seasoning (1)
Rescued Mystery Annum (99% sure its a jalapeno) (1)


Non-Peppers:

Basil:
Lemon-Lime Basil (some hybrid of my Lemon Basil & Lime Basil that volunteered)
Beans:  
Bush:
Purple Queen (P: 4/12 S: ??)
Burpee's Stringless Green Pod (P: 4/12 S: ??)
Pole:
Rattlesnake (P: 4/12 S: ??)
Kentucky Wonder
Cantaloupe:
...TBD
Corn:
On Deck Hybrid
Cucumbers:
...TBD
Peas:
Sugar Daddy snap peas (Planted: 2/15, Sprouted: 2/27)
Mammoth Melting Sugar snow peas (P: 2/15, S: 2/24)
Oregon Sugar Pod II snow peas (P: 2/15, S: 2/25)
Tomatoes:
Mountain Magic Hybrid (3)



Updates:
2/15/2013
Peas planted in containers.

4/5/2013
Pepper plants arrived & started hardening off

4/12/2013
Beans planted in raised bed

4/13/2013
Planted in 1 gal containers
Peppers:
Texas Chiletepin (2)
Cumari (1)
Sweet Datil (2)
Fatalii (2)
Red Fatalii (1)
Lemon Drop (1)
Moruga Scorpion (1)
Trinidad Perfume (2)
Trinidad Seasoning (1)
Trinidad Scorpion (1)
Tomatoes:
Magic Mountain Hybrid (3)

4/15/2013
Planted in raised bed
Red Fatalii (1)
Lemon Drop (1)
Moruga Scorpion (1)
Trinidad Seasoning (1)

 

[stc3248]

I used to live smack dab in the middle of where the hole is burned in that TX weather map! Haha...
 
You're gonna need that ladder in the second pic to harvest them tomatoes and probably some of you peppers at the rate they're going! Heck you're even hiring GG to post updates for ya! I need to go check in on his grow, haven't been over there is a while. Stay cool brother. I feel ya on the heat!!! I have two more days of 100+ temps before it cools down a bit. Beavis and Butthead hit the nail on the head!
 
That Fatalii turning yellow is a good thing. I grew the red ones out last year and they were just aight...the yellows are freakin amazing!!! 

 

[Devv]

Grow looks great!
 
Did you get any of this cooler weather we're having this morning?
 
Edit: Read up on the fert station, I could use one of those!

 

[Pr0digal_son]

Plants are looking great and setting up for some big hauls. Really dig the fert station,I have no need for it but I might build one for something to do.

 

[GothicGrower122888]

BTW your Jal is pushin a second pepper and a few flowers, and the moruga seems to be setting fruit after i tickled the flowers yesterday.  plot to the left of yours definitely seems to have a few fat jal's growing, and you got a handful of ladybugs frequenting your plants.  saw another red and black cricket lookin thing on the front right plant, but couldnt get a decent shot of it.  Probably gonna water tonight on my way out, they are starting to show droopage and the soil is gettin pretty dry.  I just checked them to make sure they are good, but I didnt want to water them in the morning with the sun still coming up to fry everything.  moruga is puttin out some pretty damn good flower buds too!

 

[TXCG]

BTW your Jal is pushin a second pepper and a few flowers, and the moruga seems to be setting fruit after i tickled the flowers yesterday.  plot to the left of yours definitely seems to have a few fat jal's growing, and you got a handful of ladybugs frequenting your plants.  saw another red and black cricket lookin thing on the front right plant, but couldnt get a decent shot of it.  Probably gonna water tonight on my way out, they are starting to show droopage and the soil is gettin pretty dry.  I just checked them to make sure they are good, but I didnt want to water them in the morning with the sun still coming up to fry everything.  moruga is puttin out some pretty damn good flower buds too!

 
Did it look like the red and black ones in the bottom of this pic? If so they turn into those leaf footed stinkbugs.  Kill it and all it's friends.
 

Grow looks great!
 
Did you get any of this cooler weather we're having this morning?
 
Edit: Read up on the fert station, I could use one of those!

 
It was quite nice out this morning, and it felt good in the shade all day. I used the opportunity to give the fert station its first run. Ran 20 gallons through it , watered a bunch of plants and hardly broke a sweat.
 

I used to live smack dab in the middle of where the hole is burned in that TX weather map! Haha...
 
You're gonna need that ladder in the second pic to harvest them tomatoes and probably some of you peppers at the rate they're going! Heck you're even hiring GG to post updates for ya! I need to go check in on his grow, haven't been over there is a while. Stay cool brother. I feel ya on the heat!!! I have two more days of 100+ temps before it cools down a bit. Beavis and Butthead hit the nail on the head!
 
That Fatalii turning yellow is a good thing. I grew the red ones out last year and they were just aight...the yellows are freakin amazing!!! 

 
Yellow fataliis are definitely one of my favorites so not going to complain one bit haha. My real yellow fatalii is growing a lot smaller, pointier pods. The ones on this "red" yellow fatalii are massive. Can't wait til they finish ripening so I can try one. We'll have to see how the other "red" fatalii in my raised bed at work turns out. They're in full sun unlike my container garden so they get that good rude afternoon heat but don't seem to mind one bit. Haha I volunteered GG for watering duty while I'm out .Looks like even with this heat with that mulch they're only needing water 1-2x a week. Not bad. 

Couple pod shots I didn't have room for yesterday:
 

 

 

 
3 sets of crazy leaves on my yellow fatalii in the 5 gallon bucket that I cut back due to aphid problems. 
 

 
Different set even though it looks similar to the 1st pic

 
 

 

[WalkGood]

Loving dem pod shots, great job & lovely plants ^_^

 

[GothicGrower122888]

They looked a lot like this.   This is a pic pulled off google but yeah.  Watered yesterday afternoon, and everything picked up pretty quick.  Started trimming toppers off basil on you plot as well as untended plot to left of yours.  figured id help take care of them all while i was out.  Got more pods popping on your fatalli, possibly a nother few coming on your mystery jal, and your moruga seems to finally be holding its own.  no pods yet, but definitely some promising flowers that havent fallen off yet.  only one flower fell off this morning, but the rest seem fine so far.  

 

[TXCG]

First harvested ripe pod of the season: "Red" fatalii. I'll be slicing it up & eating it later today I'll have to report back on taste. Look hot as hell.
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
Been getting a slow trickle of ripe tomatoes for a couple weeks now.
 

 

[TXCG]

So after using that irrigation system I built for a few waterings it's working out quite well. It looks like it will work best to mix the nutes as I need them & try to use up the whole batch. I tried mixing a batch and letting the pump stir it overnight & the pH rose from 6.5 to 7.3. EC stayed the same at 1.2-1.3. Don't see anything settling out of the mix either so not sure why the pH is rising so much in such a short time. Oh well, it's just as easy to mix as I go so I'll stick to that. I just use a 5 gallon bucket as a measuring cup & then mix the nutes in the last 5 gallon bucket before dumping it in the res. 
 
More "red" fataliis ripening. Real dark yellow, almost orange. 
 

 
 
Standing strong in the 100 degree weather. It even looks hot outside in this pic.
 

]]

 

[Spicegeist]

Yellow Fatalii is better than red anyway

 

[TXCG]

8/9 tomato clones rooted, the only one that didn't was the tiny little cutting that I never really thought would make it anyway.13 days after cutting the remaining 8 are rooted, showing new growth & ready to be transplanted to 1 gallon containers.
 
 
 

 

 
Getting a little bit of evening sun to start hardening back off.

First true yellow fatalii is showing some color too:
 

 

[GothicGrower122888]

Could I ask to have/request a tomato clone/cutting for my 'garden'?  Figure with only 2 plants left, i have a little more room lol.  Speaking of which, I think I know what is happening to your PH.  The factory chemicals, chlorine and otherwise, tend to evap off over night, especially in warmer weather.  Could it be the loss of Chlorine or treatment chemicals affecting your balance?  if so, it should change, then level off comparatively quickly.  Trying to harden off my plants, and the JAL seems to hold naturally for longer than my 7 pot by far.  7 pot seems to take a good half hour to 2 hour shade 'beating' before it shows serious sag.  After 3 days, no real change, even after 2-3 sessions daily.  Probably didnt help that they were trying to adjust on some of the hotter days this past weekend.  Ideas?  Also, here are a few pics of your plant pods from this morning.  Watered again today, just before a light sprinkling from the weather.  all seem fine, but still waiting on fruit to set on the moruga.  Will post more pics this afternoon, as my phone died on me.  How's ur time off?

 

[WalkGood]

Nice harvest, looks like a lot of pods soon come mon \o/
 
keep up dat great grow and have an awesome week!

 

[GothicGrower122888]

Here are those pics from yesterday afternoon!

 And lastly, the neighbor mystery pepper has several pods, one turned color, but I doubt it was very good, it ended up falling off lol

 

[GothicGrower122888]

POD PORN from this morning!

got one turned yellow! should I pick it?

Also, the flowers are still falling off the moruga before they can set!  any ideas?  

 

[TXCG]

POD PORN from this morning!
 
 
got one turned yellow! should I pick it?
 
 
 
 

Also, the flowers are still falling off the moruga before they can set!  any ideas?  

 
Yeah, pick it & eat it and tell me what you think. Should be good and sweet with strong citrusy flavor & a decent burn. So good. Just don't make the mistake of eating one that's not fully ripe, they taste kinda soapy at that stage.
 
And unless you can control the weather I don't have any ideas that will work for that moruga. Both my morugas & regular scorpion are dropping flowers in this heat. Only plants still setting fruit are my texas chiletepin (of course), lemon drop, cumari, and trinidad  seasoning. 
 
Got some lemon drops turning yellow at home too:
 

 
 
Sweet datils ripening too. These are damn delicious by the way, strong habanero/fatalii-ish taste with literally 0 heat. 

 

 

[GothicGrower122888]

I've heard that a light cheese cloth to lightly shade the area can help with the heat, while still allowing plenty of sun... think it would help?

 

[GothicGrower122888]

Just tried the lemon drop, rather nice honestly, very sweet and pretty comfortable heat  Thank you!  Probably gonna water again today, they look like they could use it soon

 

[Devv]

Your grow is kicking butt!
 
Love the pod porn!
 
Plants are hanging real well in the heat, I'm ready for September!
 
The PH question:
 
I read this on a pool site about adjusting high total alkalinity, which lowers PH in the pool. They said set up aeration and it will raise the PH back up while keeping the total alkalinity correct. So it seems the simple act of aeration performs a chemical change on the liquid.

 

[BrooklynXpat]

Your grow is kicking butt!
 
Love the pod porn!
 
Plants are hanging real well in the heat, I'm ready for September!

I have to agree, you have a nice grow so far - very jealous of your texas heat and longer season 
 
Love the shot with the cat peeking through - not sure if anyone else noticed. I bet he/she doesn't dare touch your peppers!