Fear of Clowns

My hot lemon pepper a few weeks ago - came back from having no leaves due to neglect in a flood and drain system - after 1 week in the deep water culture system:

Two weeks:

Three weeks:

From seeds purchased on eBay, "Punjab small hot". This pepper seems to be low growing and bushy, unlike most hot peppers. At two weeks in DWC:

Three weeks:

Naga jolokia, in DWC since seedling stage, a week ago:

Today - dozens and dozens of flowers:

All eight of my hot chilis in hydroponic deep water culture today. I added some bloom nutrients as most are budding now:

Labels: chili peppers, diy, gardening, hydroponics, peppers

// posted by Erik @ 8/07/2008 10:13:00 PM
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My purple American pitcher plant is doing rather well. Unlike other American pitcher plants, S. purpurea collects rainwater in which to drown its prey. I have read that its digestion is aided by mosquito larvae and bacteria living in its pitchers. However, with no larvae and only the bacteria that came with it turned a large cricket into a translucent film on the top of the water in a short week. I first filled the single pitcher with water at the same time I fed it a cricket - a few days before the second following photo was taken.

Here it is at week 0, just planted from bare-root,

Week 4, digesting its first cricket - it was not until it was fed that the faintly darker green veining became strikingly purple and pronounced,

Today, a bit shy of week 8,

Labels: carnivorous plants, gardening, photos

// posted by Erik @ 5/15/2008 07:57:00 PM
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One's first thought about the plants in this picture isn't "They eat meat."

Labels: botany, carnivorous plants, gardening, photos

// posted by Erik @ 4/29/2008 10:37:00 PM
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Two of my pings are in bloom and hopefully will give viable seeds. Based on its distinctive flower, I believe this first one is P. vulgaris,

It has a very long quick growing stem,

I didn't see roots on this, my first ping so pulled off half the leaves in an attempt to root them aqnd planted the rest what seemed right-side-up to me. It's regenerating,

Here you can see some fruit flies I crushed until barely alive and let this P. moranensis (I think) finish them off.

Labels: carnivorous plants, gardening, photos

// posted by Erik @ 4/28/2008 11:22:00 PM
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My eBay auctions.

The famous Dorsert naga, various jolokia strains and other chilis among the worl;d's hottest peppers.

Labels: chili peppers, eBay, gardening, peppers

// posted by Erik @ 4/20/2008 06:40:00 PM
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The following pictures of Abu Dhabi are from an email forwarded to me by Rami in Syria.

Now a metropolis of nearly half a million people, the first paved road on the island was laid in 1961.

Also from Rami,

Labels: gardening, photos

// posted by Erik @ 4/17/2008 11:44:00 PM
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I started 5 flats of pepper seedlings for myself and my friends but mostly for selling on eBay. This round, it's

Dorset naga, bih jolokia and various habaneros:

The Dorset Naga seedlings are grown from seed purchased directly from the breeders of the famous Dorset Naga, holder of the Guinness World Record for hottest chilli pepper. Others claim that a pepper from the jokolia strain is actually the world's hottest pepper. I purchased seeds of the varied jolokia strains from The Chile Seed Company.

Here are my seedling chili plant auctions,

• Bih Jolokia & Chocolate Habanero
• Dorset Naga Jolokia & Scotch Bonnet
• Bih Jolokia & Orange Habanero
• Dorset Naga & Bih Jolokia

Labels: chili peppers, eBay, gardening, peppers

// posted by Erik @ 4/11/2008 07:54:00 PM
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I intend to collect all species native to North America in the following five genera: Darlingtonia, Dionaea, Drosera, Pinguicula, and Sarracenia. Blue means I have it, purple means I've ordered it.

• Darlingtonia californica
• Dionaea muscipula
• Drosera
  • D. anglica cp, BT, RES
  • D. brevifolia BT
    • D. annua (pink flowers)
    • D. leucantha (white flowers)
  • D. capillaris
  • D. capillaris "gulf giant"
  • D. filiformis var. tracyi
  • D. filiformis var. filiformis
  • D. intermedia
  • D. linearis
  • D. rotundifolia
• Pinguicula
  • P. caerulea
  • P. ionantha
  • P. lutea
  • P. macroceras cp
  • P. planifolia
  • P. primulifora
  • P. pumila
  • P. villosa
  • P. vulgaris RES
• Sarracenia
  • S. alata
  • S. flava
  • S. jonesii (S. rubra subsp. jonesii) cp, ecp, lsh
  • S. alabamensis
  • S. leucophylla
  • S. minor
  • S. oreophila hcp, ecp, RES, BT, lsh
  • S. psittacina
  • S. purpurea
  • S. rosea (S. purpurea subsp. venosa var. burkii) lsh
  • S. rubra ssp. rubra
  • S. rubra ssp. gulfensis

Labels: botany, carnivorous plants, gardening

// posted by Erik @ 3/31/2008 02:15:00 PM
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To measure Lux with a camera's light meter, use the equation above. Taken from this page.

Here are conversion factors from Lux to Photosynthetic Photon Flux for varius light sources.

Sunrise or sunset on a clear day - 400 Lux
Sunlight on a cloudy day - 5,000 Lux
Sunlight on an average day - 32,000 - 100,000 Lux

Labels: gardening, hydroponics

// posted by Erik @ 3/22/2008 12:28:00 AM
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My order of carnivorous plants came yesterday. The only one recognizable as such is the Venus fly trap,

The rest are in the genus Sarracenia (American pitcher plants). Most carnivorous plants live in low-nutrient acidic wetlands - thus their adaptation of acquiring nutrients from insects and other small animals digested in modified leaves. The bog-like environment is simulated by creating a peat moss and sand mixture which is kept wet by standing a pot in water, reversing the intended function of the pot's drainage holes.

The pitcher plants came as rhizomes with a small strawberry-like crown.

Labels: carnivorous plants, gardening, photos

// posted by Erik @ 3/21/2008 08:38:00 PM
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No doubt about it, chili pepper seeds germinate quicker and at a higher rate with 6.0 pHed 100 ppm giberillin solution than with plain water when using the paper towel method. I used this method exclusively with 51 Dorset Naga seeds 10 days ago (2/26), as of today 46 have sprouted.

Side by side comparisons with many chili varieties showed similar results: greater than 90% germination a week or more earlier compared to about 75% germination with plain water. The most drastic example was with a variety I purchased on eBay as "Jamacian yellow Scotch bonnet": 8/10 in the group in giberillin solution had germinated by the 11th day, while 3/10 of those in plain water have germinated as of today, the 21st day.

The deluxe paper towel method:

• With water purified by reverse osmosis or distillation, make a 100 - 150 ppm giberillin solution. If you don't have a ppm meter, follow the mixing instructions on the label.
• Place seeds and the solution in a small and tightly covered transparent or translucent plastic container. Chili pepper seeds like light while germinating. I use the 1/2 cup kitchen storage containers with blue tops you can by in grocery stores. Some people use sealable plastic bags in which case you'll have to use a different container for soaking. Place the container in a warm area, ideally 85-95 degrees F. I use a seedling heating mat. The warmest place in most homes is on top of a water heater or refrigerator.
• After 24 hours, fold a single (or half) paper towel (called "kitchen paper" outside of the US) small enough so it provides a flat surface when placed in your container. Saturate the paper towel with the same solution you've been soaking the seeds in.
• Place the seeds on top of the wet paper towel and seal the container, returning it to the warm area.

Labels: chili peppers, gardening, germination, peppers

// posted by Erik @ 3/07/2008 07:06:00 PM
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I kept two strawberry plants from half a year ago to produce runners - just vegging under 18 hours of light a day. They simultaneously went into bloom without a change in the light/dark schedule. The fruit tastes nice!

Here's a close-up.

Labels: gardening, strawberries

// posted by Erik @ 3/05/2008 08:16:00 PM
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I just opened up my container of apple seeds stratifying in the refrigerator since this past fall ...

I intend to use some of these for bonsai.

Labels: apples, gardening, germination

// posted by Erik @ 2/17/2008 05:06:00 PM
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Started soaking 5 Japanese laceleaf maple and 5 Japanese red maple seeds today - in the refrigerator. Started soaking 64 coastal redwood seeds, at room temperature.

Labels: gardening, germination

// posted by Erik @ 2/17/2008 04:52:00 PM
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Today, I began soaking some chili pepper seeds in 6.0 pHed 100 ppm gibberillan R/O water. Generally from hottest to mildest,

• bin jolokia
• bhut jolokia
• naga jolokia
• Red Savina
• chocolate habanero
• Jamaican yellow Scotch bonnet
• orange habanero from Summer Habiscus
• Burpee orange habanero
• red habanero
• tepin
• Cayenne long slim
• Punjab

They will soak for a day after which I'll place them on paper towels in plastic containers. Hot chili peppers can take a lot longer than bell peppers to germinate. Out of the 12 tepin seeds I placed in paper towels 25 days ago, only two have sprouted.

Labels: chili peppers, gardening, germination, hydroponics, peppers

// posted by Erik @ 2/15/2008 11:30:00 PM
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• Greek oregano - 2 sprouts out of approx. 20. One each from the buried and surface sown.
• French rosemary - 1 sprout out of 10 or so. Surface sown.
• lemon basil - 10/10 - surface sown and buried
• Italian pesto basil - 10/10 - surface sown and buried
• Italian sage 3/10 so far
• Teppin chilis - 0/4. I've since read that most chili germination problems come from peat being in the medium. And these are in peat pots.

For my "just soak them in giberillin solution and wait," I've moved four seeds of each species into rockwool cubes, two cubes/two seeds. Nothing sprouting other than ones I had to mark "??" as I didn't label them and I don't recognize them. They could be roma tomato all puffed up, but I believe more than the two would have sprouted by now.

The string beans got mushy.

Labels: chili peppers, gardening, germination, hydroponics, peppers

// posted by Erik @ 2/14/2008 07:49:00 PM
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I failed horribly last December. The sinicuichi and oregano are the only survivors. I believe the pH of 5.0 was too acidic to allow most of the seeds to sprout. The kratom - the final and third species that did germinate out of the nine - was killed by death from a spray I intended to kill only fungus and mold.

This evening in peat-pellets, I sowed,

• Greek oregano
• French rosemary
• lemon basil
• Italian pesto basil
• Italian sage
• Teppin chilis

I saturated the peat pellets with R/O water with giberillin to 100 ppm. Two pellets per cultivar, one with seeds pressed into soil, one with seeds exposed on top.

In the same pHed giberillin solution, I began to soak seeds of,

• star apple
• miniature pink pomegranate
• Philippine lime
• cantaloupe
• Amy Mellon
• Roma tomato
• Kentucky Blue string bean

I recently performed an experiment on notoriously hard to germinate Sceletium tortuosum seeds by just letting them sit in a giberillin solution. It's about three weeks later and 80% of them have germinated so far while the control group (just in rockwool) has sprouted 20%. I don't have a control group this time, mostly because I'm lazy and take up enough space as it is but also because I had little more than 12 of many of the seeds, so it would be difficult to say which seed's germination was hastened or improved by the giberillin.

UPDATE 2/16: decided a 10 day soak in giberillin solution was a better idea than an experiment with no control that would give me sprouts I want to grow or drowned seeds. Placed all that batch of seeds in wet paper towels inside 1/2 cup plastic containers. Placed all of them in a paper towel on top of the refrigerator where it's a bit warmer.

Labels: gardening, science

// posted by Erik @ 2/06/2008 08:10:00 PM
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I just started germinating 6 Bhut Jolokia and 12 Tepin chile pepper seeds. The Tepin is sometimes referred to as "the hottest" and it may well be the second hottest, but the Bhut ("Ghost" in the Assamese language) Jolokia ("chile") is clearly the hottest in general, consistently ranking double that of other hot peppers and half that of pepper spray.

I placed the seeds in paper towels saturated with gibberellin @ 150 ppm in R/O water. They are in an 80 °F environment.

UPDATE 2/16 2 tepin have germinated - transfered to rockwool. Bhut abandoned.

Labels: chili peppers, gardening, peppers

// posted by Erik @ 1/23/2008 07:41:00 PM
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Here are sinicuichi and kratom sprouts from even tinier seeds,

The basil sprouted in just three days,

The tomatoes and melons are running wild,

Here's that first cucumber,

Labels: gardening, hydroponics

// posted by Erik @ 12/29/2007 11:56:00 AM
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Today my Christmas present to myself came - new and exciting seeds.

This evening, I seeded in rockwool cubes "Greek" oregano, "pesto" basil, rosemary, sage, intoxicating mint, kanna, and sinicuichi. Half of the cubes were soaked in plain reverse osmosis water, half in r/o water with 70 ppm B'cuzz root and 40 ppm gibberellin and pHed to 5.0. The sinicuichi seeds are as small as large specs of dust - I sprinkled these on a 1" thick slice of a large rockwool cube and tried to push some of the specks into the wool with a fork. I can't imagine such small seeds could grow to seedlings on such a minuscule endosperm, so I just used the weak B'cuzz/gibberellin nutrient solution.

I also started some larger non-herbaceous plants - wild dagga and kratom - again experimenting between plain reverse osmosis water and the weak nutrient solution pHed to 5.0. The kratom seeds are as large as the smallest wood sliver you could get under your skin.

The seeds with hard coats - the intoxicating mint and kanna - were soaked in near-boiling water for 2-3 minutes.

Kanna seeds naturally contain a germination inhibitor which gives the species the advantage of a generation of seeds germinating over time. The germination inhibitor can be overcome with gibberellin at a higher dose than I used this time, but as the plant's natural germination inhibitor is water soluble I'm soaking 15 seeds in r/o water. The high concentration of gibberellin required to overcome the germination inhibitor would possibly have unwanted side effects - such as elongation of roots and stems.

Labels: botany, gardening, hydroponics

// posted by Erik @ 12/20/2007 07:40:00 PM
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Here's my recirculating deep water culture hydroponic garden. It's called "deep water culture" because the roots are completely submerged in water and it's called "recirculating" because water constantly flows through each bucket (as opposed to aerating water in individual unconnected buckets). I spent $150 - 175 on the parts, less than half what one would pay for an equivalent pre-made system.

To emphasize that the system will grow garden-fresh winter produce I chose to "set out" my seedlings on Thanksgiving Day - our culture's harvest celebration.

1. 

   Rinsing landscape "lava rock". This will support the roots.

    

2. 

   Assembled buckets, tubes, pipes and grommets from Home Depot, Menard's and a hydroponic specialty store. Water comes in through 1/4" pipe, exits through a 1" grommet on the opposite side.

    

3. 

   The reservoir. A submersible pump pushes water out to buckets, gravity returns water to reservoir.

    

4. 

   Air wands from aquarium shop in the reservoir. The water must have a lot of dissolved oxygen in it it or the roots will drown.

    

5. 

   Can't have too many bubbles. The more oxygen in the water, the faster nutrients are absorbed through the roots.

    

6. 

   Covering the reservoir. If light hits the water algae will grow, wasting nutrients and looking scummy.

    

7. 

   Seedlings dropped into the contraption.

    

8. 

   Two weeks later.

    

Labels: gardening, hydroponics

// posted by Erik @ 12/06/2007 08:46:00 AM
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