Try Turbo-1's Habanero Sauce - Hot Stuff!

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In summary, turbo and his wife spent the day canning and pickling various types of peppers, including habaneros, jalapenos, lipstick chilis, and a variety of red peppers. They also made a flavorful pepper relish using peppers from their neighbor and Astronuc. Their neighbor is also a pepper enthusiast and turbo's wife brought some extra jars to the store owner, who loved it and may want to start selling it. They also made jalapeno poppers, which were a hit with everyone except for the hot-averse members of the family. They also started a batch of tomato and pepper salsa to be canned the next day.
  • #876
I was poking around and found this place:

http://gardeningzone.com/

WAY less expensive than the last place I bought from. I might try ladybugs, lacewings, and mantises this summer. There'll be plenty of bug pests for them to eat. I hope that the common yellow-throats and phoebes do well this summer, too. They eat tons of bugs.
 
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  • #877
My periodic neighbor just called (on an unrelated matter) and told me that the ghost seeds are in the potting soil (have been for a few days). I hope we get a nice crop. She loves gardening and hot stuff as much as I do, and we're looking forward to getting these chilies in the ground. She's in Mass, and probably will get a jump-start on the season, but if we get a hot summer, it will probably be a wash. They have a garden in Mass and one a few hundred yards from here in ME, so we'll be able to compare and contrast.
 
  • #878
WAY less expensive than the last place I bought from. I might try ladybugs, lacewings, and mantises this summer. There'll be plenty of bug pests for them to eat. I hope that the common yellow-throats and phoebes do well this summer, too. They eat tons of bugs.[/QUOTE]

Ha, I love preying mantis, I would buy one or two just to keep as pets, they are the coolest insects on the planet. Last year on the walking trail I saw a few, on one occasion it was on a bush and two people were admiring it, I picked it up for them and they used their cell phone to get a close up picture of him. He even turned his head and smiled. Very cool.

Rhody...
 
  • #879
Just a note this is about the 8th or 9th time I have had Turbo's relish. It is holding up over time, with no sign of going bad so far. Cheers, Turbo... to a successful growing canning season.

Rhody... :-p
 
  • #880
It won't go bad, rhody. The acidity is sufficient so that if you keep it refrigerated, you'll be fine. I generally have two jars on the 'fridge door at all times. Jalapeno/garlic for my wife and habanero for me.
 
  • #881
A word of warning, do not put super hot pepper plants outside until the temperature reaches at least 60 F. I thought it was such a nice day, full sun, little wind, temps in the low 50's that it would be good to give the plants some light, and exposure to the outside environment. BAD IDEA... In less than two hours, to my horror, I found the leaves drooping. I ran this by my pepper growing friends who said that at first, don't put plants out in mid day sun and at temperatures less than 60 degrees fahrenheit. They recovered once I brought them back inside. I tell if they need water by leaf droop or by lifting the pot to see how light it is. If I had left them and gone away all afternoon, I don't know what would have happened. Keep a wary eye on them the first time you put them out, even under idea conditions. The watering with the pressure sprayer seems to be working, no bugs so far. Crazy, huh ?

Rhody...
 
  • #882
I decided to conduct an experiment, I want to see if some claiming high end growth media is really any good or not. I am using Vital Earth's organic, Manna Mix, ingredients: coconut pith, sphagnum peat moss, perlite, peatmoss, Mega worm@earth worm castings, Vital Earth Organic Compost OMRI, Vital Earth Rose and Flower Mix, Vital Earth Powdered glacial rock dust. I am going to use it on new seedlings, small, and large plants to see if it makes a difference in any of the growth cycles of the plants I have, which are all doing, well, bug free as well.

I just realized from reading my last post that I never told you about the pressure sprayer and watering technique, well, I will now, lol.
I also purchased a one gallon pressure sprayer (cheap) from Home Depot. I use it to water my large plants down near the roots and the soil on top stays dry, hopefully, fungus, bug, and larvae hatch free. It is working well so far, the real test will come when the inside temperature approaches 80 degrees Fahrenheit, that us when lots of these things like to express themselves, hatch and cause problems, just in time to take advantage of the plant when it is flowering and fruiting. Mother nature is devious isn't she, natural selection being brutally efficient and all. I will post before and after pictures if there are significant results in growth. Stay tuned.

http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/8220/manamix.jpg

Rhody...
 
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  • #883
Well my jalapeno at the office appears to be successful! I have had flowers for several weeks, but vibration wasn't getting the job done, so I reverted back to my old trick of tickling the flowers with a small piece of torn paper towel for pollination (since I don't have a paint brush here). I now have bitty peppers! The plant is not as healthy as I would wish due to a broken blind, but nothing hazardous to the health of the plant.

And on the home front, I never did get more than two plants (out of the dozen jiffys planted) to sprout. Not sure if it is too hot, or too cold, but they just don't want to sprout. Did anyone that had good sprouting rates scarify or anything to the seed before planting? My hectic life is about to calm back down to normal, so I probably will be attempting more seed here soon so I would appreciate any tips for increasing the sprouting rate.

Just a little background of what I did, I don't have a soil thermometer. I used a meat/candy thermometer, and it said high 70s in the center of the pellet, while my laser thermometer said low 80s on the top surface of the jiffy pellet, and closer to 90 at the bottom of the pellet. I have only used bottled water for watering, so there shouldn't be any chlorine etc. If it was too hot, they may sprout better when I lower the temperature for other seeds. If it wasn't hot enough, I don't know how I can raise the temperature any higher. And it is hard to know what the true soil temperature is when both thermometers show such different temperatures.
 
  • #884
Ms Music said:
... I never did get more than two plants (out of the dozen jiffys planted) to sprout. Not sure if it is too hot, or too cold, but they just don't want to sprout.

Ms Music, and to all having a tough time starting supers:

See the two pics below, the holes in the top of the tupper ware like container, the seed tray goes inside, with light fluffy soil mix, then at about a 3 mm level (the size of the lead on a tip of a pencil), push the seeds in and lightly cover and flatten the soil, put water in the bottom of the container, not too much, then spritz the top of the soil just a bit, cover it, then onto the heat mat, about 80 degrees Fahrenheit. I did not soak my seeds before starting them, you can up to three days, and put chamomile in the water if you want (keeps fungus down). You should see drops on the top of the tupper ware container. Five of my six seeds sprouted in 7 days this way, I spritzed lightly on top every way, not soaking just damp, and put water in the bottom of the container after 3 or 4 days.

See the third pic below. I thought I did all the seeds the same depth, the same amount of water, but can't be sure, I didn't give up on the one that didn't sprout, I kept misting it. Low and behold in another 7 days it sprouted too, so 100% germination using this method, I never have had less than 90%, so I am pretty confident it works, used tap water too, nothing special. Funny thing about the purple bhut straggler, (see bottom pic, left rear) it has almost caught up with the others, you can barely tell the difference. I believe if the soil around the seed stays too dry it won't sprout. I proved it this time by not giving up on it, it may have been too deep as well hard to say for sure. Try for consistency, getting the same amount of water to the seed at the same depth. I hope it works for you, for many on the THP forum all of most of my ghost seeds sprouted, except for Don and Ms Music, so I have to believe it is technique. If anyone wants to buy super hot peppers by the pound you can try BakersPeppers, he will have close to 10000 plants to harvest from in the coming months, some early ones are ready now. Dale is a nice hard working guy, 3rd generation Nursery wholesaler out of Tampa, Florida. If you buy from him tell him ghosty sent you, he will get a laugh out of it and appreciate the business. He should have peppers year round, that is his goal.

http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/2433/starter1.jpg

http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/9200/starter2i.jpg

http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/627/transplant1.jpg

Rhody...
 
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  • #885
Rhody, if you stick a thermometer inside one of those cells, what does it read? I truly think that is my issue. If I use my meat thermometer, it is usually about 76. After I posted last, I did get a few minutes and put the two seedlings into a bigger cup, but they still are not growing, and new seeds haven't had time to sprout yet. I was talking to my brother this morning, and he has a heating pad that you can adjust the temperature on, I think I will steal that for peppers, then use mine for regular vegetables. This is all that I have: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000KL76S8/?tag=pfamazon01-20 which claims it heats the soil about 10 degrees above room temperature. Not enough!

Also, since you are talking about expanding your selection, if you ever try tepins (or chiltepins) I read last week that in the wild they sprout after a freeze followed by hot weather. So I stuck them in the fridge.:smile: Might not have been cold enough in there, but I won't give up on them yet! I will keep going from the fridge to a (hopefully hotter) heating pad until I get my tepins!
 
  • #886
additional thought...

What is the age of the seedlings in that last picture? That is what my ghost looks like, (STILL!) although there are actually 3 sets of teeny tiny leaves. The mysterious pepper still only has one full set of leaves. I think if I can increase the soil heat they will grow faster.

Also should let you know, I have a t5 light, so that doesn't add any heat to the grow house. I think if I were to do this again, I would get a hotter heating pad, and hotter lights. But this setup should work fine for starting normal seeds this weekend.
 
  • #887
Ms Music,

I think I use T5's but can't be sure, here is a spread of the kinds of bulbs you can purchase. You are correct in stating that unless you have both air and soil temps of 80F or more that supers grow agonizingly slow. See my latest pictures below, the seedlings have just started to take off, temps in the high 70's low 80's account for the growth. The window I believe to grow supers is 80 - 94 F above 95 and no pods will form, below 80 and the flowers will not set to form pods, lots of fun, eh ?

Seriously, if you want the fastest growth for supers and other plants get some kind of grow enclosure, control the temps during the day to the low 80's, get a constant circulation of air moving in it and keep the moisture below 50% above 30%. Mist the seedling roots lightly at the end of every day, and as you see in my pics with low intensity florescent bulbs keep them 3 to 5 inches away from the leaves. Your biggest enemy is aphids, gnat flies, and God forbid if you keep the roots too dry you can get a fungus that turns the leaves yellow brown. Damned if to wet, and slightly damned if too dry. Are you beginning to appreciate why growers of supers get so much for them ?! They are a big challenge to grow just right and avoid all the pitfalls along the way. I pinched off the damaged leaves and the plant is sprouting new growth with no ill effects, but the wounds leave it open to virus attack, so far, so good. They are just like kids, huh ?

I just checked the dates between the last picture of the seedlings and now and it has been a week. That being said I have seen supers on the pepper forum grow about 1/3rd more in the same time frame so you do the math, more expense for grow tent, fan, heat mat, lights or 1/3rd slower growth with temps below 70F. Take your pick. I will spring for a great setup maybe later this season, and consult the experts on the pepper forum for the best products at the lowest cost. I will report back when I do.

http://img807.imageshack.us/img807/4043/starter3.jpg

http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/7907/starter4r.jpg

Rhody...
 
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  • #888
rhody said:
The window I believe to grow supers is 80 - 94 F above 95 and no pods will form, below 80 and the flowers will not set to form pods, lots of fun, eh ?

Oh boy, I got to figure out how on Earth I am going to get air temps that high! I figured it would work as long as the soil temp was right. :redface:

Did you over winter any of last years plants? If so, how big are they now? (that will help me figure out how big to make a hot house...)
 
  • #889
Ms Music said:
Oh boy, I got to figure out how on Earth I am going to get air temps that high! I figured it would work as long as the soil temp was right. :redface:

Did you over winter any of last years plants? If so, how big are they now? (that will help me figure out how big to make a hot house...)
Three plants survived the winter I cut them all back like 60%, and unfortunately all three were infested with aphids. Two also developed a fungal infection, I have one left, and it too is looking pretty bad, I put it outside lest it infect my good plants inside. If your plants are not bug infested, I would say that they will be about two feet high and one and a half feet in diameter per plant.

You can make a small grow tent or buy one fairly reasonably, considering the trouble I had last winter, the only way I would try to winter a plant is if it was bug free and remained bug free once taken indoors. Make sure the heat mat, and lights are all UL listed, wouldn't want you burning your place down with cheap junk. They will tolerate temps as low as 60F without dropping leaves so that should be your set point.

The main issue for you is, how many plants, and of how many types do you want ? mediums, supers, etc... I am discovering there are so many hybrid varieties that I want to try some of them, for their color, taste and heat, and of course growing characteristics.

Fatalli's and Datil's seem to be favorites on the chili forum, I don't have any of those started but plan to next season. Post some pics of what you come up with.

Rhody...
 
  • #890
I am tickled! I had looked at the 3 jiffys that didn't sprout, and only one had a seed in it. :confused: After my last post I made 4 new pellets with new seed, and one sprouted within a few days, before I even got them on the hotter heating pad (I took a few days trying to get the temperature right before I put seeds and plants on it). Well, this last weekend I finally got the seeds and plants on the hotter pad. Yesterday morning I found one seed sprouted. Last night the other two were also sprouted! 100% germination rate this time! And so quickly. So I am now the proud mom of 5 ghosts. And my first born is finally looking nice, the leaves are getting big. Still don't compare to your pictures, but such an improvement those 10 degrees made!

Now if only I could get those tepins to sprout. Haven't figured them out, but it sounds like they like hot and dry, freezing cold, and hot and moist before they will sprout. Another possibility is some kind of scarification to mimic birds digestive system. So I guess I haven't abused them enough. I have heard it can take a couple of months. I will keep you posted, I think I remember seeing tepins on your wish list? If I can figure out the sprouting and make sure this seed is viable, I can send you some.:smile:
 
  • #891
Ms Music,

Satisfying isn't it, when you tinker and try different approaches and then find what works for you. Glad you had 100% germination with the ghost seeds. Tepin's and Fatalli's are two more types I would like to try in the future, I will ask if there is a trick to started Tepin's on the pepper forum and get back to you. I am in the process of taking a portable shelf system, 5 racks, 15 inches high 36' wide 24' deep and getting a lighting system going to 3 tiers, I have an old light for the top, and I will leave the bottom empty for now. I may put it indoors, or if in the garage, build some kind of inner reflective tent system around it, not quite sure yet, but the lights are the first thing, going to see about those today, and do a little on line price comparing as well. Will post pictures when the lights are installed. With this system, I should easily be able to start hundreds of seedlings. Once that happens, there will be endless amounts of work and expense to get them to produce pods. Take it one step at a time and everything will work out in the end, fingers crossed. Thanks for the tepin seed offer, hope you get them to germinate and grow pods.

Rhody...
 
  • #894
rhody said:
What is a pech tree, haven't heard of those before, lol.

Rhody... :redface:
Lol. Fixed.
 
  • #895
Here are some recent pics of my 6 starter plants, not much growth since April 10th, right ?

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/4043/starter3.jpg

I want to be able to start these things and get to the point of transplant in at the most 60 days, starting them in March versus December, the only way to do that is some serious hardware. My answer, grow tent, High Pressure Sodium (HPS) 1000 watt bulb and selectable output, see ballast pic, 500, 750, 1000, and super. This bulb should keep the reflector tent at least 80 - 85 F. I am thinking of getting a data gathering temp, and humidity setup, and maybe a controller too so I can regulate it to what I find really works.

Four months of TLC is too much, this is my third year doing this now and I know how to grow them with weak fluorescent bulbs. Some folks on the Pepper forum think I could have used a 500 watt bulb and been fine, time will tell, notice the hood and the tent have vent outlets for cooling, which I think I am going to need. I can always trade the bulb for a weaker one and smaller ballast if needed. I will probably need to wear sunscreen if in the tent for any amount of time. I am not kidding either. The hood lowers on a two line ratchet setup so height is adjustable.

http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/2028/growlabtent.jpg

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/3306/lightsy.jpg

http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/1556/lighthood.jpg

Rhody... sunburned...

P.S. Ms Music, I asked about tepin germination, I am told they are native to Texas, and you start them just like the bhuts, you may just have bad seed, they should start in the same amount of time. I am told from sprout to green pod takes 120 days and 200 to ripen to maturity, so plan accordingly.
 
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  • #896
rhody said:
http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/2028/growlabtent.jpg

Judging from the proportions of the tent it is designed with a specific plant on mind.
 
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  • #897
Borek said:
Judging from the proportions of the tent it is designed with a specific plant on mind.

In versus "on" mind I agree, but I am only growing PEPPERS, got it, open for inspection 24/7 anytime. Hey I am a poet. I am using what works best.

Rhody... :biggrin:
 
  • #898
Does anyone have an idea how I would gauge how close to keep my plants in a reflectorized grow tent being bathed in either 500, 750, or 1000 watt HPS Light ?

I want to maximize growth using as little light as possible, I can safely put mature plants (top branches) about 2 feet away in the 500 watt setting, but at 750, I am getting leaf burn. I realize each plant has unique needs. It appears the tropical hot peppers, the trinidad scorpions are less tolerant of light that the jolokia varieties, so they need to be placed lower in the tent. The plants are on shelves offset by 15 inch height settings.

I need to establish safe limits of exposure to the light (in a pimpled reflective grow tent) without resorting to trial and error. If there are tables or formula that can be brought to bear to assist with this problem, I am all ears.

Rhody...
 
  • #899
Since my last post I put some full grown and half grown pepper plants in my tent, at 500 and 750 watts at different heights and for different intervals all with the same result, leaf burn. About 10% damage I would say. I since have bought a light intensity meter, and have 40% shade cloth and grommets to suspend it below the light (on order haven't gotten it yet)

Below the grow tent picture is the plants after all the burnt leaves have been removed, they seem to be recovering nicely. The plan is to get a decent yield from them, and then put them in the grow tent over late fall and winter to see if I can get more flowers/pods from them. People will go nuts for them from late November through March. They sell for 30% more than in prime season.

The second piece of news is that by chance I met up with an old friend who lives close by and has been keeping bees and selling organic raw honey for about 10 years, he has over one thousand hives and eight thousand pounds of fresh honey. He rescues local bees, puts them in his homemade hives on farms all over town, and then periodically harvests and spin centrifuges the honey. It is awesome, good for folks with local allergies too because of the plants the bees collect the nectar and pollen from. He and I are going to experiment with making varying degrees of hot honey. I have fresh powders now, and will have fresh pods soon from Florida from another collaborator who has ten thousand of the hottest pepper varieties in the entire world, and in huge quantities. My beekeeper friend can build and wire anything and has indoor grow space as well, and access to land and greenhouses (naturally, he is a beekeeper, and former plumber and contractor, cool guy, we have known each other for over thirty years so there is level of trust there as well. I have been videoing bee rescues as well, and only got stung once. Get this, he is allergic to bees, and carries EPI pens where ever he goes for protection, crazy huh.

I have a number of rare pepper types started white buts, (Evo you have one of those),
black naga, yellow 7 pot, trinidad cherry, sweet trinidad, brain strain, purple bhuts, 7 pot douglah op. There are so many strains, emerging strains and crosses (not stable), is is hard to track them all. I can safely say there are well over two hundred and growing all the time.

Has anyone ever had a Fatalli pepper ? People rave about their flavor and medium heat level, however, outside of the chili heads in the know they are unheard of. If you can get your hands on some, try them and report back please. That's it for now. As you have read, I have been quite busy and for the most part happy with the way things are unfolding. One step at a time. Later all.

http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/9807/tentcomplete.jpg

[PLAIN]http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/3071/pepperplants.jpg

[PLAIN]http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/3071/pepperplants.jpg

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/8721/bhutafterpruning.jpg

Rhody... :wink:
 
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  • #900
Plants look great rhody!
 
  • #901
My ghost plants are tiny, and just starting to get their first true leaves.
 
  • #902
rhody said:
The second piece of news is that by chance I met up with an old friend who lives close by and has been keeping bees and selling organic raw honey for about 10 years, ...
I'm curious. What is "organic" honey?
 
  • #903
dlgoff said:
I'm curious. What is "organic" honey?
No processing as it comes from the hive, he heats it to about 125F for six hours to completely liquefy it before bottling it, that's it. No processing, preservatives. It tastes rich, like the wild flowers in the area that the bees gather the nectar from. If order some, tell him you know me and that you are a first time buyer. He always packs a special surprise. Cool guy, enough said.

I was at his place today and a friend came buy who happens to work at a nursery, after hearing the pepper saga, she said, well, I have a flat of sweet pepper seedlings in the back of my car, and I said if you aren't going to plant them, and so I have sweet peppers. I told her I would bring her some when the pod. Pretty cool story, serendipity at work once again.

Rhody...
 
  • #904
rhody said:
Get this, he is allergic to bees, and carries EPI pens where ever he goes for protection, crazy huh.

Tell him to make sure he has this weed growing near his hives: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantago_major

There are two different types (broad leaf and narrow leaf), they both work well.

I have known about this weed all my life, but one story that stands out:

We were at the lake, and a kid that was highly allergic was stung. They stuck him in the car for the 30 minute ride to the hospital, and before they left, my mom handed them plantain. By the time he got to the hospital, he no longer needed the shot. But I do believe they gave it to him out of precaution.

You chew it up a bit (or roll it between your fingers if it isn't clean) then put it as a poultice on the sting. Works on bees, wasps, mosquitoes, stinging nettle, etc.

I need to take a picture of my ghost plants and post it.

Some day...
 
  • #905
Ms Music said:
Tell him to make sure he has this weed growing near his hives: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantago_major

There are two different types (broad leaf and narrow leaf), they both work well.

I have known about this weed all my life, but one story that stands out:

We were at the lake, and a kid that was highly allergic was stung. They stuck him in the car for the 30 minute ride to the hospital, and before they left, my mom handed them plantain. By the time he got to the hospital, he no longer needed the shot. But I do believe they gave it to him out of precaution.

You chew it up a bit (or roll it between your fingers if it isn't clean) then put it as a poultice on the sting. Works on bees, wasps, mosquitoes, stinging nettle, etc.

I need to take a picture of my ghost plants and post it.

Some day...
Cool, thanks, so a natural epi pen, how clever, a weed that suppresses the immune response planted close to the hives. Genius, post a pic and it's name so I can look it up.

Rhody...
 
  • #906
It is called plantain. Plantago is the latin name.

broad leaf:
http://weeds.cropsci.illinois.edu/images/Broadleafplantain/images/broadleaf plantain.jpg

Narrow leaf:
http://plant-identification.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/plantago-lanceolata.jpg

The most easily identifiable trait on both is the 5 heavy ribs running the length of the leaf.

I would still encourage him to always carry his epi pen, but to have the weed nearby also.


And on another note, I have a tiny red jalapeno on my office plant, and one that is nearly red. I think I will pop the red one in my mouth and see if it has any heat at all. I should have taken it home a week or two ago, I fear they will be very mild. I guess I will take it home tonight, and hope we get some sunshine soon.

My ghosts are begging to be repotted AGAIN.
 
  • #907
rhody said:
No processing as it comes from the hive, he heats it to about 125F for six hours to completely liquefy it before bottling it, that's it. No processing, preservatives. It tastes rich, like the wild flowers in the area that the bees gather the nectar from. If order some, tell him you know me and that you are a first time buyer. He always packs a special surprise. Cool guy, enough said.

Okay. I understand. Thanks.

Sounds yummy, so I'm bookmarking his homepage and will definitely give it a try. :smile:

Get this, he is allergic to bees, ...

I had been stung by honeybees, wasp, and spiders all my life with no problems but when I accidentally cut thorough a bumblebee nest a few years ago (only 6 stings), I ended up in the ER.
 
  • #908
I need advice, newbie to hydroponics, and an experimental setup, with HPS light overhead, on a timer has produced good results in a week with conventional veggies and herbs, the only stubborn plant that is not spewing out roots like crazy, you guessed it, a super pepper. It just sits there fat dumb and happy doing little to next to nothing, doesn't lok stressed, just not growing at a measureable rate. The sweet pepper next to it is doing great spewing roots 6 inches below the bucket and looks healthy as a horse.

Any ideas what the supers are lacking, we are using botanicare grow solutions.

Rhody... beaten down by stubborn peppers
 
  • #909
Got my first ghost peppers, after 2 years!
 

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  • #910
Evo said:
Got my first ghost peppers, after 2 years!
Now?! Dress it warmly!
 

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