DMF 2020,21,22,23 - What's the definition of insanity?

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DMF
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DMF 2020,21,22,23 - What's the definition of insanity?

#1

Post: # 15888Unread post DMF
Thu Apr 02, 2020 4:11 pm

I have a south-facing 3rd floor balcony, lots of pots, and thousands of seeds. In 2017 everything I planted started (and finished) dying, including some well-established over-wintered plants. I've dumped most of the old soil and this year the plants I do have in what's left of the old soil hasn't started dying! So let's see if I'm actually insane.

In germinating baggies:

Uluru Ochre (tomato)
Apple Pimento, C. annuum - sweet
Fatalii, yellow, C. chinense - v. hot
Grenada Seasoning, C. chinense - delicious!
Jay's Peach Ghost/Scorpion, C. chinense - nuclear!
Mako Akokasrade, C. chinense - med. hot
Scotch Bonnet, yellow, C.chinense - hot (I like these)
Shattah (arabian), C.annuum - med. hot (first time with these)

These seeds are all 2015 and 2016. They were well dried and have lived in the fridge since. I expect germination will go well.

Current:
Screenshot_224.png
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Last edited by DMF on Mon May 01, 2023 3:10 pm, edited 7 times in total.
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Re: DMF 2020 - What's the definition of insanity?

#2

Post: # 15938Unread post Setec Astronomy
Thu Apr 02, 2020 9:44 pm

DMF wrote: Thu Apr 02, 2020 4:11 pmThese seeds are all 2015 and 2016. They were well dried and have lived in the fridge since. I expect germination will go well.
Wait, what? Am I supposed to be keeping my seeds in the refrigerator? Mine are all ones that I bought, not that I saved myself.

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Re: DMF 2020 - What's the definition of insanity?

#3

Post: # 15947Unread post MissS
Thu Apr 02, 2020 10:20 pm

[mention]Setec Astronomy[/mention] No you do not need to keep your seeds in the fridge. Tomato seeds will store very well at room temperatures. Most tomato seeds will remain viable for 10 years kept in an envelope or bag at room temperature.
~ Patti ~

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Re: DMF 2020 - What's the definition of insanity?

#4

Post: # 15951Unread post DMF
Thu Apr 02, 2020 11:11 pm

So long as they're dry. Fridge is dry - and cold.
Stupidity got us into this mess. Why can't it get us out?
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Re: DMF 2020 - What's the definition of insanity?

#5

Post: # 16090Unread post DMF
Sat Apr 04, 2020 1:30 pm

48 hrs in the the bag

Ladies and gentlemen, we have .. mold. Expected -- some of the Grenada Seasoning pods were .. uh .. past their prime. A shot of H2O2, and only the black spots remain for now.

And a tail in each of the Fatalii and Scotch Bonnet corrals. Both 2015 seeds Age won't be a problem.
Stupidity got us into this mess. Why can't it get us out?
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Re: DMF 2020 - What's the definition of insanity?

#6

Post: # 16099Unread post DMF
Sat Apr 04, 2020 2:28 pm

I should record that I'm using a slightly different and hopefully improved baggie construction this year.
  1. The soak.
    I used to use shot glasses but I had to divest the collection. Now I use 2.5 oz. metal sauce cups. Each is labeled with a strip of magic tape folded over on one end so it can be removed easily.
  2. The germ (germinating) bags.
    Previously, I would lay the seeds on a paper towel with corral boundaries and contents labeled with a Sharpie. This year, pencil boundaries only. [Update: Add a reference mark. Without labels it's too easy to get the thing upside down and backward.] Larger corrals - only 4 per baggie. Note that a half-width paper towel is just the width of a ziploc sandwich bag.
    Using a single half-width paper towel and two coffee filters trimmed square to the size of half the towel, lay the towel width-wise, a filter square on the top half, scribe the corrals, and moisten to hold everything together.
  3. Add the seeds.
    One at a time, drain a soak cup into a small sieve and rinse. invert over a corral and knock the seeds out. Spread out the seeds. Unpeel the tape label and stick to the bag where the corral would be were the towel laid flat on it.
  4. Finish the bag.
    Lay the second filter square over the seed and fold up the bottom half of the towel over the top half. (Fold an edge over so it's easier to find when everything is wet.) Moisten to hold it all together.
    It's still too big to fit in the bag, so fold once like a book. Slide it into the bag. It should just fit. (If necessary, fold again.)
  5. Place in a nice warm spot to cook.
    The best place I've found is a gas oven with a pilot light. Top of a fridge is okay. I haven't found a heat mat necessary, but if you use one, get one that is thermostatically controlled and manually adjustable. Add a thermometer and monitor closely, for the first couple days.
  6. When checking on the livestock
    Use the fold (you remembered the fold from #4, right?) to separate the filter sheets, but peel them apart slowly and carefully. Some of the seeds will stick to the upper sheet. A maverick seed is an unknown seed and thus worthless. Throw them away. (Unless you branded yours.)
My biggest change this year is using the coffee filters as liners. A towel itself works okay, but the weave is coarse so seeds - and especially seed tails - love to tangle in it. The filters are much finer. We'll see how well they work...
Last edited by DMF on Mon Apr 06, 2020 11:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
Stupidity got us into this mess. Why can't it get us out?
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Re: DMF 2020 - What's the definition of insanity?

#7

Post: # 16212Unread post DMF
Sun Apr 05, 2020 4:11 pm

Many tails this morning: one Uluru Ochre (there's only a couple more realistic candidates for this tom), a Grenada Seasoning (one of the ones I though was mold-compromised), four Shattah, and five more Scotch Bonnet.

Starter flat starting to look overpopulated like in the old days! Love it!

Update:
Another GS, a SB, and 5! more Shattahs this afternoon.
Stupidity got us into this mess. Why can't it get us out?
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Re: DMF 2020 - What's the definition of insanity?

#8

Post: # 16432Unread post DMF
Tue Apr 07, 2020 9:19 am

Shattah and Scotch Bonnet pulled as over-germinative (10+ each!); Grenada Seasoning will follow tomorrow. They will have been replaced by Hatch, Charleston Hot, and ?.

Got another Fatalii today, and the normal suspects are being slow - Jay's and Mako.

I think the tomato is done, too. The seeds really weren't very good. I think I'll queue up what I have left.
Stupidity got us into this mess. Why can't it get us out?
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Re: DMF 2020 - What's the definition of insanity?

#9

Post: # 16506Unread post DMF
Tue Apr 07, 2020 11:14 pm

<table><tbody><tr><td style="border:1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);padding:3px;" align="center">Variety</td></tr></tbody></table>

TJ bbCode doesn't support tables. (No table-type tags.) Nor HTML. Oh well.
Stupidity got us into this mess. Why can't it get us out?
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Re: DMF 2020 - What's the definition of insanity?

#10

Post: # 16640Unread post Rajun Gardener
Thu Apr 09, 2020 10:30 am

I installed a tables extension, you can see it in the toolbar of the full editor. Once you figure it out post a how to use it and I'll move it to the proper forum for future use.

Here's what I installed so you can read it and learn how to use it. https://www.phpbb.com/community/viewtop ... &t=2386686
Zone: 9A
Climate: Hot and Humid
Avg annual rainfall: 60.48"

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Re: DMF 2020 - What's the definition of insanity?

#11

Post: # 16646Unread post DMF
Thu Apr 09, 2020 10:50 am

I don't see a table icon on the toolbar. Here's a simple table:

[table][tbody][tr][td style="border:1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);padding:3px;" align="center"]Variety
[/td][td align="center" style="border:1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);padding:3px;"]Heat
[/td][td style="border:1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);padding:3px;" align="center"]Comment
[/td][td align="center" style="border:1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);padding:3px;"]Year
[/td][/tr]
[/tbody][/table]

I'll take a look at the link later today.
Stupidity got us into this mess. Why can't it get us out?
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Re: DMF 2020 - What's the definition of insanity?

#12

Post: # 16647Unread post Rajun Gardener
Thu Apr 09, 2020 10:59 am

image.png
It's the table icon all the way at the end.---------------------------------------------------------------^
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Zone: 9A
Climate: Hot and Humid
Avg annual rainfall: 60.48"

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Re: DMF 2020 - What's the definition of insanity?

#13

Post: # 16648Unread post DMF
Thu Apr 09, 2020 11:04 am

Nope. I don't have that in either editor.

Logged out and back in - no change.
Stupidity got us into this mess. Why can't it get us out?
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Re: DMF 2020 - What's the definition of insanity?

#14

Post: # 16674Unread post Shule
Thu Apr 09, 2020 6:03 pm

I'm not seeing the table button on mine, either. Is anyone else seeing it?
Location: SW Idaho, USA
Climate: BSk
USDA hardiness zone: 6
Elevation: 2,260 feet

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Re: DMF 2020 - What's the definition of insanity?

#15

Post: # 16675Unread post DMF
Thu Apr 09, 2020 6:18 pm

Digging a little deeper into the past - some 2013 Alma and Faludi paprikas.

A couple more micro-dwarf toms. And a restart on the Mako Akokasrade peppers. Great little peppers but they can be a pain to get going.

[ IMO, nothing is as hard to get going as C.pubescens - Manzanos. Not even gonna try again. ]
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Re: DMF 2020 - What's the definition of insanity?

#16

Post: # 16680Unread post pondgardener
Thu Apr 09, 2020 7:54 pm

Shule wrote: Thu Apr 09, 2020 6:03 pm I'm not seeing the table button on mine, either. Is anyone else seeing it?
I don't see it either when making this reply...
It's not what you gather, but what you scatter, that tells what kind of life you have lived.

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Re: DMF 2020 - What's the definition of insanity?

#17

Post: # 16739Unread post MissS
Fri Apr 10, 2020 11:20 am

Nope, I don't have one either no matter how hard I try.
~ Patti ~

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Re: DMF 2020 - What's the definition of insanity?

#18

Post: # 17908Unread post DMF
Mon Apr 20, 2020 4:31 pm

Updated spreadsheet (first post).

The paprikas are not cooperating. Nor are Hatch, though they are good looking seeds. Perhaps irradiated?

Otherwise I already have too many plants!
Stupidity got us into this mess. Why can't it get us out?
- Will Rogers

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Re: DMF 2020 - What's the definition of insanity?

#19

Post: # 17922Unread post MissS
Mon Apr 20, 2020 7:11 pm

Ah, smart man! The old screen shot worked great.

I like your spreadsheet. You are having some interesting germination results.
~ Patti ~

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Re: DMF 2020 - What's the definition of insanity?

#20

Post: # 19925Unread post QAGUY
Thu May 14, 2020 2:30 am

DMF wrote: Thu Apr 02, 2020 4:11 pm I have a south-facing 3rd floor balcony, lots of pots, and thousands of seeds. In 2017 everything I planted started (and finished) dying, including some well-established over-wintered plants. I've dumped most of the old soil and this year the plants I do have in what's left of the old soil hasn't started dying! So let's see if I'm actually insane.

In germinating baggies:

Uluru Ochre (tomato)
Apple Pimento, C. annuum - sweet
Fatalii, yellow, C. chinense - v. hot
Grenada Seasoning, C. chinense - delicious!
Jay's Peach Ghost/Scorpion, C. chinense - nuclear!
Mako Akokasrade, C. chinense - med. hot
Scotch Bonnet, yellow, C.chinense - hot (I like these)
Shattah (arabian), C.annuum - med. hot (first time with these)

These seeds are all 2015 and 2016. They were well dried and have lived in the fridge since. I expect germination will go well.

Current:

Screenshot_224.png
You don't need to dump the old soil. Add some new organic material and some fertilizer and you should be jus' fine. I used to dump the old soil when I grew in containers, but that got expensive. Started adding organics and fertilizer and there were no problems.
QAGUY
Glendora, CA
Pride of the Foothills
Sunset zone 21
USDA zone 9

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