ok, so my crop is going extremely well....so sorry about not posting pics yet. I'll take some before (in flats)and after I set them out .
The plants are now going on 6 weeks old and I have given some a haircut and within 2 days the new growth that sprang forth was outstanding . I haven't lost one single plant yet (knock on wood). Additionally ,I have yet to even see one yellowing out. Last year I turned off the bottom heat (mats) and I think thats where the yellowing and plant loss came from,dreaded root rot.
I have kept the heat mats on and the full spectrum fluorescent lights down close and before watering I let the soil in the cells kind of shrink away from the sides a bit . Then each (bottom) watering since sprouting anything green, I have fed with Superthrive and a weak Miracle Grow mixed with slightly warm water ,and just about enough MG to turn the water blue.
My best growers (leaf size) so far in the flats is Colombia Garcia ,Comstock Spanish and Perique .
Replanting the Criollo Ti1376 deeper was the best thing I have done. The other day the plants were top heavy and had laid over. I thought they were going to bend the stalk and pinch off the nutrient path . Planted deeper as I would tomatoes , they are now more upright and sturdy. Might give them a haircut to help the roots and stalk bulk up .
Little Sweet Orinoko is small but the leaves are a deep green. Reminds me a lot of the Little Dutch growth habit. This plant will go on the west most side of the plot since it seems like it will be the shortest of what I'm growing.
Even my Ct Shade that I thought was doomed from the start has perked up nicely. The first transplant takes up almost the entire cell while the 2nd transplants ("back-ups") are about half the size of those but catching up.
I will probably give one more haircut to the bigger ones today and a feeding ,hopefully get them out soon. Rain coming Tuesday through Friday this coming week.
I also acquired the EZup canopy 10 x10 ft frame from a friend. Free. My 20x36 shade cloth is to arrive June 8 or sooner. I will support the shade cloth on the frame and the frame if need be will be used to support the Habano 2000 and Ct shade leaf plants on wires/strings hung from the insides. I will put an anchor cable down from the middle peak to secure it from any high winds we may get, and we do.
The place in the garden plot I plan to put this structure is shaded heavily in the morning until about 9 am to partially shaded up to about 11 am , the rest of the day it is in full sun and wind protected . I'm hoping this combination will yield me some nice clean wrapper leaf.
*So I'm hoping ,since the summer sun sets around 8 or so ,this is enough full sun(40% shaded) to allow sufficient growth.
Question on this - Will it be enough to allow at least one of these plants to go to seed under the shade canopy or should I set one plant of each in full sun for seed production only?