Year 0

Eberry787 · Mar 21, 2020

I got them outside for a couple of hours yesterday so here are some updated pics.

PaulG · Mar 21, 2020

Looks like your plants are digging the fresh
air and natural light!

Eberry787 · Mar 24, 2020

PaulG said:
Looks like your plants are digging the fresh
air and natural light!

Yeah, they've really taken off the past couple days. I will upload some more pics soon. Cannot wait to start seeing some flowers, I probably need to ease up on the nitrogen soon

PaulG · Mar 24, 2020

Eberry787 said:
Yeah, they've really taken off the past couple days. I will upload some more pics soon. Cannot wait to start seeing some flowers, I probably need to ease up on the nitrogen soon

How far away are you from actual plant-out?

Eberry787 · Mar 25, 2020

PaulG said:
How far away are you from actual plant-out?

I've been wanting to do it for the past week and a half. But, we've had so much rain recently and the weather has only been nice a handful of days. I plan to start being more aggressive with hardening them off in the coming days and hope to be able to pot up to bigger pots next week. Looking ahead at the weather, it's supposed to be nice this weekend. Then after that it's going to cool off again and more rain.

My concern is, I pot them up and then run into a extended period of weather and not have room in the tent. I have considered the idea of hanging the light in my basement in that scenario. But, my light is really for a 3x3 tent, so they would be getting less light.

My first grow, so I am anxious to get them outside. But, I think realistically I could go a couple more weeks in the tent if needed. In two weeks the roots are probably going to be cramped though in their current pots.

I'm taking it a day at a time and we'll see.

PaulG · Mar 25, 2020

Great that you are that close to plant-out.

It’s always a good feeling to get the plants
out in their final spots.

Eberry787 · Mar 31, 2020

Hey everyone,

I wanted to post an update as to the plants progress and what I've been doing to get them ready for plant out. I have been hardening them off and it's going well. I am at the point where I am leaving them out all night now and they are thriving in the fresh air and sunlight. Water intake has increased quite a bit on a few hotter days. I plan to plant them out this upcoming weekend (4.2.2020).

Here are a few pictures of them today, back in the tent as it has cooled off and been an ugly rainy day.

I'm looking forward to giving their roots some more room and continuing to let them have natural sunlight. The tent and grow light have been great, but simply cannot beat the sun.

Thanks,
-Evan

PaulG · Mar 31, 2020

It's easy to see that your plants have really
responded to the natural surroundings, Evan.

Good luck during plant-out. We are still 6-8
weeks out here, so I will have to get vicarious
thrills from your grow log!

Eberry787 · Mar 31, 2020

I hate to hear your a few weeks out... as a first timer it would be nice to mimic someone more seasoned. Looking forward to seeing your progress!

The_NorthEast_ChileMan · Apr 4, 2020

Eberry787 said:
Hey everyone,

I wanted to post an update as to the plants progress and what I've been doing to get them ready for plant out. I have been hardening them off and it's going well. I am at the point where I am leaving them out all night now and they are thriving in the fresh air and sunlight. Water intake has increased quite a bit on a few hotter days. I plan to plant them out this upcoming weekend (4.2.2020).

Here are a few pictures of them today, back in the tent as it has cooled off and been an ugly rainy day.

-Evan

Eberry787 · Apr 5, 2020

Hey everyone,

I hope everyone had a great weekend... I've heard there was some colder weather and even snow in parts of the north, so I hope no one was negatively impacted by that.

One of the best weekends I've had in some time. My wife and I got to play in the yard and with our son Ben (2yo) basically all weekend. Some much needed family time before I return to work.

I'll stop rambling and get to the pictures...

This was the Tuesday morning (3.31.20) before my anticipated plant-out day. I took it as a good sign (Groundhog) a little uncommon to see where I live.

And so it begins official plant out date Friday (4.3.20)... I managed to score some potting soil in all the madness and was pleased with the pH. Limiting the number of customers to 100 at my local Home Depot, but I arrived early enough to not have to wait.

I'm really enjoying these fabric pots with handles. They will make it easier for me to transfer to the basement if the weather turns cool again. I am currently clearing our side yard (full of highly invasive ivy) and plan to construct a raised bed or two for their final destination.

We were enjoying the fresh air so much we decided to dress our beds

We're fortunate to have lots of pollinators around our house, but I sewed a couple bags of pollinator's flower mix to ensure they hang around following the clear out of the side bed I mentioned previously. Plus it will be a nice pop of color in the beds.

My son was victim to a home haircut and I couldn't help but to share

Want to thank everyone for their continued guidance through "Year 0" I had a blast and really enjoyed connecting with everyone. Looking forward to seeing some pods hopefully in the near future. I apologize for the lengthy post, but I'm very excited to see all the hard work starting to be rewarded. I welcome any feedback or advice.

Your friend,
Evan

PaulG · Apr 5, 2020

Looks to me you don't need too much advice, Evan,
Your plants look great, and will thrive in those bags
and the sun. I have used those cloth bags before,
and really liked them. Very easy to move around,
and produce nice, bushy root balls.

You have a lovely home!

Eberry787 · Apr 5, 2020

PaulG said:
Looks to me you don't need too much advice, Evan,
Your plants look great, and will thrive in those bags
and the sun. I have used those cloth bags before,
and really liked them. Very easy to move around,
and produce nice, bushy root balls.

You have a lovely home!

Thank you Paul,

I've enjoyed the new (obsession) it's had positive impact throughout my life. Any threads you would point out regarding making a nice hot sauce for the variety I'm growing? (reaper, scorpion and ghost)? I like it pretty hot, Dave's Insanity is not absurd heat for my taste's. Just don't prefer the artificial taste of liquid capsaicin. Also, I want to increase the quantity/yield of my sauce as much as possible without a major dilution in potency. I've heard people recommend Aleppo pepper to add complexity. I've also heard people suggesting that reaper is not a very fruity or even pleasant tasting pepper. I plan to small batch ferment and really experiment with various flavors/potentcies. Is there something I could supplement my sauce with at a local grocery store that would maintain my previous mentions and add volume?

Also, thank you regarding our home, it has certainly been a labor of love. The house is ~83 years old and we've put a tremendous amount of sweat equity into it. Buy a house they said, it'll be fun they said. :rofl:

Eberry787 · Jun 5, 2020

Hey Everyone,

It's been a while since I've updated. Figured I would share a couple of pictures I took yesterday. The heavy rains in May slowed things down a bit, but it appears everyone is happy and starting to produce.

Little man, helping me weed the beds

Scorpion is starting to get some larger leaves

The Reaper's are starting to grow again and produce flowers

The Ghosts are starting to produce some pods

More Ghost pods, love that gnarly look to them.

Lucky to have a few of these guys around, doing what they do.

Had one one smaller ghost ripen (probably wasn't fully ripe).

I had to try it... I could tell it could have used a few more days on the plant as the inside was still pretty green. However, great flavor and brought some nice heat.

Eberry787 · Jul 16, 2020

Hey everyone, quick update

Trinidad Scorpion

Reaper

Funky looking bhut jolokia...

I have been able to eat a few that have rippened early and their delicious and super hot. Excited to get a big batch to ferment for sauce

Thanks,
Evan

The_NorthEast_ChileMan · Jul 17, 2020

Sorry - Mispost!

Eberry787 · Aug 4, 2020

Update,

Small harvest the other morning, had one that had some rot on it.

Decided to use a scorpion to make some spicey pickled okra

Turned out delicious, the heat is less intense to you can really get the fruity taste of the scorpion

Ordered some of this off Amazon and loved it. Nice tomato based habanero sauce great for an everyday sauce and pretty affordable

ahayastani · Aug 4, 2020

How would you describe the taste of okra (pickled or not) to someone who doesn't know?

Eberry787 · Aug 4, 2020

ahayastani said:
How would you describe the taste of okra (pickled or not) to someone who doesn't know?

Maybe a green bean with the consistency of eggplant? Very unique, some people don't enjoy the "slime" like innards. I personally love okra in any application

Eberry787 · Aug 10, 2020

Decided to make a fermented hot sauce

Carrots
Onion
Garlic
~lb. of reaper, scorpion and ghost
red and green bell pepper
2 large tomatoes
3% salt solution
white wine vinegar
black pepper corns
dry mustard

I will let it ferment for ~6 weeks probably. I hope it's good