I got one of them 'Grow it' kits to start with because i've never done it before. They came with the straw-esque pot things and the 'hard soil' that expands when you add water. I planted them almost 2 weeks ago and the only thing that's happened in that what can only be described as mould fluff has formed on top of the soil. I assume this isn't supposed to happen. How can i stop it happening in the future?
The 2010 Chilli growing thread - it's scorching!
- Thread starter NickK
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You would be better off with normal plastic plant pots, rather than these biodegradable pots which always seem to go mouldy. Also make sure to get some decent quality peat based compost. Reason I say peat based is because its better than peat free from what ive read. If you care about conservation then you could get peat reduced but tbh a small bag for a few plants wont make a big difference.
Start them off in some damp kitchen towel and put them in an airtight box or freezer bag to stop it drying out. Once they have germinated you can stick them in the peat pellets (hard soil), just make sure to keep the soil damp but not too wet.
So, put the seeds (only) between some damp kitchen towels in an airtight box and somewhere warm for a couple of days until they swell/sprout, then plant them? Is it correct they should have just a little bit of soil on top - so they're really close to the surface of the soil?
Also, i know watering amounts varies on location / particular type of chilli but is the best way to spray it on top on the soil when it looks a bit dry, yeah?
Also, i know watering amounts varies on location / particular type of chilli but is the best way to spray it on top on the soil when it looks a bit dry, yeah?
Soldato
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Mine are growing like crazy, well a nice growth anyhoo! Have flowers on a lot of plants now and the Serreno's have about 10-15 chillis on and the scotch bonnet about 10. The others are budding so hopefully some more soon!
update on mine these were plugs purchased from wilkinsons around the middle of april they were around 3 inch high with 6 true leaves
they are starting to get what i can only imagine are flower buds (never noticed they were so hair until i opened the pic in photoshop to resize it)
heres a shot of the long root coming out the bottom of a pot i talked about before lol
the pots more than big enough for the growth they have so far so i dont know wether to repot or not from 6-7inch pots to 9inch.
next time ill cover over the drainage wholes so the main root tap bit doesnt escape.
here they are back outside in the sun
i am growing some from seed aswell that were planted around april 10 i believe they are mainly bell peppers, a few should be tobasco but i dont know which
they are starting to get what i can only imagine are flower buds (never noticed they were so hair until i opened the pic in photoshop to resize it)
heres a shot of the long root coming out the bottom of a pot i talked about before lol
the pots more than big enough for the growth they have so far so i dont know wether to repot or not from 6-7inch pots to 9inch.
next time ill cover over the drainage wholes so the main root tap bit doesnt escape.
here they are back outside in the sun
i am growing some from seed aswell that were planted around april 10 i believe they are mainly bell peppers, a few should be tobasco but i dont know which
I planted my chillis at the end of March, and last week I got my first flower open. The flower fell off and revealed my first chilli. I've now got numerous other flowers and another chilli. I planted 5 different varieties but didn't keep track of what is what so I have no clue what type of chilli it is, but I'm starting to think it could be a Jalapeno.
Soldato
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One of mine has a few, one more is flowering and the other is a bit stumpy but looks in good health. I'm not sure if I'll get many off that one. They are visibly growing very well in this weather though!
My over-wintered tepin has 2 blossomed flowers and many buds. It's grown like mad since moving to a flat that gets constant sun from 1pm to sunrise.
My other 3 (Birds Eye, Prairie Fire, Demon Red) are all still tiny by comparison, I just hope the weather keeps more like this weekend, they will be pretty well grown by July I think.
My other 3 (Birds Eye, Prairie Fire, Demon Red) are all still tiny by comparison, I just hope the weather keeps more like this weekend, they will be pretty well grown by July I think.
I've got a couple of flower buds that look like they're about to open 
.
Should I be feeding the plants now? I re-potted them last week so they now have an extra 2 litres of fresh compost in there so not sure if they will need feeding yet?
. Should I be feeding the plants now? I re-potted them last week so they now have an extra 2 litres of fresh compost in there so not sure if they will need feeding yet?
My thought is that the flower has 'resources' generated by the leaves and roots. The plant finds itself with an excess of resources initially and creates flowers early. The early flowers take the resources but soon the demands go beyond the young plant's maximum resources at which point the plant aborts the flower and it drops.
Only once the plant is producing enough resources does the production of flowers/fruit fit into those resources.
It would also explain why after the flowers are dropped when there's not enough sun etc.
Only once the plant is producing enough resources does the production of flowers/fruit fit into those resources.
It would also explain why after the flowers are dropped when there's not enough sun etc.
Anyone else with chillis on the plant aready?
Mine aren't playing ball - think it's my watering/food regime. I can never get it right immediately.
I have fruit set on the Joe's Long, Fuego and Royal Black. Some of the Chinese varieties are starting to bud.
They should be ok if you've just added additional fresh compost.
The water usage will increase (especially with fruit) so keep an eye on that.
Awesome. Last year the Jalapenos had flowered and set fruit completely (no new flowers!) before the nagas (a Chinese variety) had even started holding on to it's flowers!
I moved all of my plants onto my balcony again today and after around 30 minutes i noticed what i believe to be a honey bee buzzing around my chilli plants , it seems very intrested at first i moved it on but it came back and sat on the underside of a leaf.
i watched it from within the safety of my house for what seemed to be around 5 minutes just hoping it was having a rest and it would soon buzz off.
it did not...
i knocked the leaf with a broom to clear it off and moved all of my plants back indoors upon examining the leaf i found this.
now im assuming honey bees dont lay eggs on leaves and they have a queen that lays eggs in a hive or whatever.
so is it beeswax? the start of a nest?
im obviously going to remove it anyway im just curious.
btw if you didnt work it out thats a very close macro shot, they are not much bigger than a pinhead but around 2mm long and they are not joined together
i watched it from within the safety of my house for what seemed to be around 5 minutes just hoping it was having a rest and it would soon buzz off.
it did not...
i knocked the leaf with a broom to clear it off and moved all of my plants back indoors upon examining the leaf i found this.
now im assuming honey bees dont lay eggs on leaves and they have a queen that lays eggs in a hive or whatever.
so is it beeswax? the start of a nest?
im obviously going to remove it anyway im just curious.
btw if you didnt work it out thats a very close macro shot, they are not much bigger than a pinhead but around 2mm long and they are not joined together
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i saw the honey bee on the leaf doing it they definetly arent catterpillar eggs
they do look quite like some catterpillar eggs on google images though. im 99% sure they arent as i check my plants over a lot for aphids etc and im positive nothing were on any of the plants before they went outside and they werent out for long before the honey bee came (not to be confused with bumble bees they look like wasps)
they do look quite like some catterpillar eggs on google images though. im 99% sure they arent as i check my plants over a lot for aphids etc and im positive nothing were on any of the plants before they went outside and they werent out for long before the honey bee came (not to be confused with bumble bees they look like wasps)
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So are you saying that you shouldnt start plucking flower bud off as the plant will drop the flower if it deems it nessessary?
I dont know If i can bring myself to start plucking off flower buds, just incase it doesnt produce any more and I end up with no chillies
.Thanks, I'll leave them for a few weeks before feeding then, should (hopefully) have a few chillies growing by then.
I know what you mean about water useage, seems to go dry on top very quick in this sun. It doesn't help that all my pots are black either, wish i'd have thought about that before buying them. Ive taped A4 paper around all the pots as they were getting too hot to touch and that cant do the roots any good.