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

TXCG · Jul 17, 2013

It's been unseasonably cool & wet the past few days here & the plants are loving it. I think I may see some more fruit set on the ones that had been dropping flowers due to the heat. *fingers crossed*

Group shot of the plants. Everything is getting huge & for once all the new growth on every single plant looks happy. No bugs, no deficiencies, etc. Even the plants that were originally damaged by insects & cut back have recovered & are flowering. The cut back trinidad seasoning even has a few pods on it.

The sweet datils are continuing to produce like crazy. They're also a big hit among my less heat-tolerant friends, they are a delicious little sweet pepper.

Moruga is starting to blush! Should be ripe in a day or two....now I have to figure out which of my friends I'm gonna talk into trying it

Small harvest from the other day. 1 Fatalii, 5 lemon drops, 3 sweet datils & 2 "cumari"s

Looks like the rain may clear up this afternoon & if so I'll have to get some pics of the raised bed garden & some better shots of the other plants.

GothicGrower122888 · Jul 17, 2013

Where did you get your moruga? Im trying to find some seeds/plants for next season! Lovin the pod porn!

Devv · Jul 17, 2013

Good deal on harvest!

Poddage is looking great!

I'm loving this rain, stuck in the house at the moment, it's training right over us...

wahlee76 · Jul 24, 2013

Looking good, perfect Moruga :fireball:

Are Sweet Datils just a milder version of Datils, or are they different in more ways?

TXCG · Jul 24, 2013

wahlee76 said:
Looking good, perfect Moruga

Are Sweet Datils just a milder version of Datils, or are they different in more ways?

These sweet datils are pretty awesome, they have a good habanero-ish flavor but literally 0 heat. Like as mild as a bell pepper. I think they're delicious, most of them don't even make it inside. They're quite prolific too & one of the few plants that produced through the heat of summer so I'm definitely growing these again next year!

I've never had a fresh pod from a regular datil just datil hot sauce so I couldn't say for sure what the flavor difference is. I plan on growing them next year though since I like these sweet ones so much.

Pepper-Guru · Jul 25, 2013

TXCG said:
It's been unseasonably cool & wet the past few days here & the plants are loving it. I think I may see some more fruit set on the ones that had been dropping flowers due to the heat. *fingers crossed*

Group shot of the plants. Everything is getting huge & for once all the new growth on every single plant looks happy. No bugs, no deficiencies, etc. Even the plants that were originally damaged by insects & cut back have recovered & are flowering. The cut back trinidad seasoning even has a few pods on it.

The sweet datils are continuing to produce like crazy. They're also a big hit among my less heat-tolerant friends, they are a delicious little sweet pepper.

Moruga is starting to blush! Should be ripe in a day or two....now I have to figure out which of my friends I'm gonna talk into trying it

Small harvest from the other day. 1 Fatalii, 5 lemon drops, 3 sweet datils & 2 "cumari"s

Looks like the rain may clear up this afternoon & if so I'll have to get some pics of the raised bed garden & some better shots of the other plants.

Hell yes! GREEN How ya like those air pruning containers?

Trippa · Jul 25, 2013

Looking good ... You have some sweet pods coming in there ... Keep on growing !!

WalkGood · Jul 25, 2013

Great looking plants and pics, love the ripening progression shots ... very nice!

TXCG · Jul 25, 2013

Well my phone was crapping out on me this morning so most of the pics I took got corrupted somehow but enough made it to post an update.

First up are the 5 plants that don't give two shits about no 100 degree temps & are still continuing to pump out pods. Sweet datil, trinidad seasoning, aji lemon drop, "cumari", and Texas chiletepin. I have another plant each of the sweet datil & trinidad seasoning that both finally have their first pods of the season after recovering from bug damage early on. Maybe 5-10 pods on each, nothing worth reporting yet but at least they're finally geting started.

My two Trinidad Seasoning plants. One on the left is in a 15 gallon root pouch and has been loaded with pods all season. The one on the right was topped & cut back pretty heavily awhile back. If I didn't know better I'd say the one on the left was the topped one since it's fatter & bushier. In my experience peppers don't need topping to encourage branching, they'll send up a shitload of tops all on their own. They don't exhibit the same degree of apical dominance as cannabis which seems to be where most people get their ideas for pruning & "low-stress training" techniques.

Topped plant about ~3 weeks ago:

Topped plant today:

I had a bunch of picture of my non-producing plants but they all got corrupted except for this Fatalii in the 20 gallon root pouch. Earlier this week I moved all the lazy plants into the shade for science since the highs are in the 100s. This giant Fatalii has produced about 4 pods all season & it looks like it has about 1 forming right now. Flower dropping like crazy. It had an issue with what I think is broadmites a month ago but I've removed all the deformed growth & it's looking healthy as can be. It's friggin huge too, that's a 32 gallon trashcan it's sitting next to. Now if I could just get it to start making pods....

The other plants that are just dropping flowers like crazy are my other yellow fatalii, my "red" fatalii that makes yellow pods, my moruga & my trinidad scorpion. I got 2 pods off the moruga early in the season & it's dropped every flower since, only got one off the scorpion before it started dropping flowers. My 2nd yellow fatalii has produced exactly 0 pods, and my "red" yellow fatalii has produced about 5, the first 3 being gigantic early in the season & a single pod popping up here and there since.

I wish they'd take some cues from my sweet datil:

Or my lemon drop

Hell even the crappy looking little Trinidad Perfume plant in my raised bed is throwing out pods:

I've got my fingers crossed that once it starts cooling off I start seeing some pods. I figured between two yellow & two "red" Fataliis I'd get plenty of pods to experiment with, I've never had much luck growing them in the past and it drives me crazy because they're by far one of my favorite peppers.

GothicGrower122888 · Jul 25, 2013

I might try the fatalli's next season (or if I start early this season and carry to next year) in my hydro, after I have everything down to a science. If it turns out, I will definitely be sending some your way! Sic pods going on your plants! have you tried cross pollinating one of your other favorite high producers into the Fatalli? Perhaps you might end up with a similar plant and more stable pod growth... Personally i have never tried genetics, but i wonder if it would help...

Devv · Jul 25, 2013

I think you're in the same boat as me with, this 100 degree heat won't let pods set.

For me it's my fault, I started too late. My goal is make 'em grow like hell until fall and hopefully capitalize.

So when did you start yours?

BTW...they do look mas happy

Pepper-Guru · Jul 26, 2013

TXCG said:
In my experience peppers don't need topping to encourage branching, they'll send up a shitload of tops all on their own. They don't exhibit the same degree of apical dominance as cannabis which seems to be where most people get their ideas for pruning & "low-stress training" techniques.

EXACTLY right.

Hey man, on the flower drop you're getting, do me a favor. In the middle of the day go out and reach down under the mulch and feel the soil. If its warm at all...your root zone temps are too high. You mix up the soil yourself? If so, whats your ratio of aerator material?

I have no issues with pod set during near 100 heat. Don't get me wrong, there are aborted flowers out there if I looked hard enough, but there are thousands that are holding on and pollinating.

Its all about root zone temps. Bigger the plant has a chance to get before REAL heat moves in, the shadier the container will be naturally. Then it becomes an exponentially decreasing issue as the season progresses.

TXCG · Jul 26, 2013

Pepper-Guru said:
EXACTLY right.

Hey man, on the flower drop you're getting, do me a favor. In the middle of the day go out and reach down under the mulch and feel the soil. If its warm at all...your root zone temps are too high. You mix up the soil yourself? If so, whats your ratio of aerator material?

I have no issues with pod set during near 100 heat. Don't get me wrong, there are aborted flowers out there if I looked hard enough, but there are thousands that are holding on and pollinating.

Its all about root zone temps. Bigger the plant has a chance to get before REAL heat moves in, the shadier the container will be naturally. Then it becomes an exponentially decreasing issue as the season progresses.

I'm using pretty much straight Promix BX with a bit more chunky perlite added. Most of the containers have a couple inches of cedar mulch on the top too. A couple pages back I have some pics of the temps I measured with my IR thermometer in 96 degree weather in the middle of the day. Link However we've had highs around 102 for awhile now, since at least the beginning of July.

It seems that certain plants may be more susceptible since it's pretty consistent for each variety. For example, my lemon drop at home is huge & shades out its whole container and is loaded down, the one in the raised bed is tiny, doesn't shade anything but is equally loaded with pods. My moruga at home and in the raised bed both drop all their flowers. All three of my fataliis that produce yellow fruit (two yellow ones and the "red" one), drop almost all of their flowers but the one in the raised bed that actually produces red fruit sets most flowers. Both sweet datils and both trinidad seasonings set fruit now that the bug damaged ones have caught back up. My chiletepin has dropped maybe 1 flower all season & the one I gave to my friend is the same way.

Doesn't seem to matter if they're in a root pot or a 5 gallon bucket, I have some producers and non-producers in each kind of pot.

Can't think of anything else that would be causing all the flowers to abort besides maybe overfeeding, that was the problem I had in hydro at first but I don't think that's the problem here.

Devv · Jul 26, 2013

Very interesting Rich, I'm having the same issues in a dirt grow. The plants are really dense so we have full shade in the root zone. However I did not mulch.

TXCG · Jul 27, 2013

So I don't think I'll have many more pics until I get a new phone, mine has officially shit the bed. However, I'm pleased to report that my "move the lazy plants into the shade" experiment appears to be a resounding success. Just got done tying ribbons to mark all the set flowers so I can keep an eye on em but preliminary count shows EIGHTEEN pods on my "red" yellow fatalii! Got 2 set on the giant yellow fatalii, 2 set on the cut back yellow fatalii, & 1 trinidad scorpion set! Moruga may have one set but I couldn't tell for sure so not counting it. However, all the plants I moved to shade have tons of flowers & all the flowers actually look large, healthy & fully open. Previously the flowers were a bit small & never really spread wide open before falling off.

I also had my first good harvest of the year yesterday, filled up a quart baggie off my lemon drop, sweet datil & cumari. I'll have to borrow a friend's phone to get a pic of that before I turn em into sauce. Lemon drop for sure is getting made into hot sauce, I think i may pickle the cumaris & I'm not 100% sure what I want to do with the sweet datils. I may just eat em straight, they're delicious little things.

Devv · Jul 27, 2013

Congratulation on the pod setting!

Can't wait to see the pics when you have the means!

Scott

TXCG · Jul 27, 2013

Managed to get my phone working again, turned out it was just the battery going out. Time for pics!

Now this is what I'm talkin about:

"Red" yellow fatalii

Each of those ribbons indicates a set pod:

Cut-back yellow fatalii

Trinidad Scorpion

Moruga Scorpion

My chiletepins & cumaris have a similar growth habit. Short, fat & dense:

Yesterday's harvest. Top = Cumari, middle = Sweet Datil, bottom = Lemon Drop, left side = Trinidad Perfume

stc3248 · Jul 28, 2013

Everything picking up some steam for a push in the second half of the season! Gonna be a hot one!

Pr0digal_son · Jul 28, 2013

Plants have come out of the closet! Really going off now. Sometimes chinense are alittle pickier about food and will abort flowers. Up here,my plants love full sun over shade,we don't get long runs over 100 degrees though. I have my containers lined up so the sun goes directly over top of them and doesn't hit the sides of them. When the plants get bigger,they help shade each other roots and containers even more.

I should have some fatalii pods to share pretty soon if you need some.

Devv · Jul 28, 2013

Your plants are looking really good! Mine suffered with Vay-K time, but survived. Now just to get them cranking again...

So are the plants in the felt grow bags doing better than the 5gal containers?

So how do you feed them?