The 2010 Chilli growing thread - it's scorching!

[NickK]

Nick, I watered my plants last Saturday using the 'dunk' method. Should I wait for the soil to completely dry out before dunk watering again as it's a still a tiny bit moist, or just keep doing it on a weekly basis at this stage?

Dunking is more efficient than just top watering as the soil/vermiculite/perlite has a chance of absorbing moisture. If the soil is moist then I wouldn't worry too much about it. Once they're flowering/fruiting they may require more water.

Any idea when it will be ready to pick ?

Do you know what type of chilli it is? I would wait until it's visibly ripe - in the case of most chilli plants that's when it goes red (some chilli plants go black or other colours when ripe).

 

[NickK]

Folks if you find that they dry out too easily then try the dunk method to give them a good weekly recharge.

 

[NickK]

Ok the seeds are in the mail 1st class although they'll miss today's post. Sorry for the delay folks but they are on their way

 

[NickK]

ive found cutting a bottle horizontaly for the lid and bottom and places it over the plant retains moisture really well!

Careful trapping too much moisture as it can encourage mold or stem rot.

I remember reading that you should water in the morning. That way the water is used through the day and doesn't cause a humid atmosphere under the plant's canopy (although another way is to ensure you have some air flow if the plants are thick with foliage). Have to say the Naga's didn't seem to have any problem with this..

 

[NickK]

I think this weekend will be a fever of planting for germination

My three Nagas are doing well and are now starting to flower, I'll get some photos up later.

 

[NickK]

Got mine today! Thanks NickK!

I ran out of pot's though , so trying to germinate in an old lunch box. Should this work?

Yup, you can use damp paper towls/cotton wool in a lunch box. As long as it's clean from fungus etc and seals to keep the moisture in when it's put in the warmth. That way you don't waste a pot until you know they germinate. I just used those peat pellet things and went from there.

I'd recommend attempting to find a warm place as they seem germinate quicker in the warm (~25-27degC). They can be quite random in how long they take to germinate.

Fingers crossed!

 

[NickK]

yep I killed them.

Will start again at the weekend. Rubbish.

Should still have enough time for a good crop so don't worry!


Oh.. and it's a bit dark at the moment for photos!!

 

[NickK]

hi, i was just wondering if this seems okay to you guys? the plants seem healthy and everything, but there is a lot of white fur on and around my pots! :/

the plants seem unaffected for now... i hope it doesnt spread or anything, it has been like this for a few weeks now.. id hate for my plants to die now.

Careful - the soil looks a little too wet. You may need to let them dry out a little. Also just make sure the pot has a whole in the bottom to allow excess water to drain out as chillis don't like to be sat waterlogged (hydro systems periodically bathe the roots before allowing them to dry slightly).

Supposedly Camomile tea solution is good as a natural anti-fungal spray - just mist the outside of the pots.

It is the tannins in tea (which softens the seed casing) that is believed to be behind the success of this method. Any tea will do, but several growers have reported that Chamomile tea is particularly good as the teas anti fungal properties are said to reduce the problem of �damping off�.

 

[NickK]

Thanks for the seeds nick, really appreciate it, is the best way to germinate them, to put them in the airing cuboard win some damp cotton wool? I've got chilli left right and centre but am really excited about the naga's

That would work. As long as they don't dry out they should be fine.

 

[NickK]

Got my first flower this morning!

How many flowers should I wait for before self pollenation and what is the best method for doing this? There's about 20 odd buds with more appearing.

They've still yet to mature. They'll open and then they'll product pollen.

Couple of questions, first off I've NEVER grown chilli's before. So should I plant half of the seeds now and keep the rest for next year? (providing they will keep for 10months?)

You could do this. If you plant all of them you may have a jungle later! Unless you want to look for the strongest and remove the others.

I'll be getting my planting setup tomorrow, but other than tomato feed once there bigger, what else to people recommend feeding them to boost results?

Just leave the feed until later - once they're flowering/fruiting. Don't attempt to feed a seedling as they can't really cope with strength and the soil will provide enough until they're fruiting..

Also what mixture of soil does everyone finds best? Is the pre mixed stuff any good, or is it worth spending a bit and making my own?

I'd mix as: 1 part Perlite, 1 Vermiculite, 3 soil. Although it's not too important, as long as the soil has either perlite or vermiculite to stop the soil from compacting hard.

I've tried 1:1:2 and the result is a very quick draining/drying soil. So I'd advise a little more soil with 1:1:3.

What size pot should i re-pot to after a 9cm pot? Only re-potted them from the jiffy pods to these 9cm pots a week or so ago and now there are a few roots poking through the holes at the bottom

I'd give them a little longer!

 

[NickK]

i always put them down 2x there size.

1mm seed goes 3mm deep etc. , if they are to near the surface i always have problems with the seed casing not coming off properly and the seedlings go stupidly lanky because they still think they are under the dirt

You can presoak the seeds, or, alternatively use a scalpel to open the seed but I've had one seedling that I've accidentally torn the leaves to little stubs and it's survived..

 

[NickK]

When was it repotted? Also have you given it's put a good dunking? Say 10 mins in a bucket where the water goes up to the top of the pot. Then drain and see if that makes a difference. If it does then it looks like it needs repotting with more soil as the soil is both not holding enough water and the plant is big enough to drain the water in the pot quickly.

Also if there's a cold draught it can cause that too oddly.. but can you show me the leaf close up - the one that looks a bit yellowing.

Do you or anyone in your house smoke or handle tobacco?

 

[NickK]

Everyone in my house smokes except me. How likely is it that this will affect my plants?

Chilli plants are susceptible to the Tobacco Mosaic Virus which shows up as a mosaic mottling of light green and/or yellow on the leaves.

Info here: http://healthyhomegardening.com/Disease.php?pid=15

Now it may be just water and a cold draught but the leaves don't normally go yellow from the stem outwards.. so separate the plant away from the others and if it is looking like the above - in true OcUK style you'll need to "burn it with fire" and do not reuse the implements you may have used on the other plants.

another good photo

 

[NickK]

My Naga's went a bit yellow at one point. Turned out they needed a nitrogen fertiliser which I got from the garden centre. Diluted it with water, and now they're growing fantastically.

Hehe good point - get the fertiliser out before the kindling!

 

[NickK]

Well potted new ones uptoday. going to try the soak method and see how I get on. Maybe twice a week though. The plugs I have hold little soil, I think that's the main problem they just dry out far to fast in the conservatory.

Normal watering should be fine. What I would do if a seedling is in a dry pellet (ie the pellet is light in weight) is to give it water a bit at a time until the pellet has absorbed all the water - then give it a bit more and repeat until it stops absorbing. At this point the pellet is saturated which the plant will cope with for a short term (ie a day or two). Medium-longer term saturation would cause the roots to suffocate and rot. Oddly roots need air as well as moisture.

If they are growing quickly, it could be down to the plant or species. One of my Nagas grows extremely fast and has done since germinating - it was the tallest, the one that produced the chillis last year. The others have been slower and flowered later. Unsurprisingly that fast grower had the same issue as yours and I had to stake it and gently hold it with wire. The others weren't so bad. It's also the one that drinks like a fish - perhaps it's because it has a 1:1:2 ratio rather than the other's 1:1:3 but the others are just as strong this year in terms of producing foliage and flowers.

The dunking method is good when you have a plant that is established in a large amount of soil and top watering just runs through without being absorbed. My plants are mature, overwintered and have the same soil as last year so I'll combine a dunk with Chilli Focus to lock the nutrients into the soil.
I don't feed every watering - more like once every two or three weeks. Then I'll water as needed top down to keep the plant happy. In hot weather I may add another water-only dunk or daily watering top down.

There's no single right way for watering - in short it depends on the plant, the soil it's in, the environment. The important bit is to keep it in a happy medium without drowning or drying out. It can be a down to a bit of experimentation.

 

[NickK]

Having a hell of a time germinating any pepper or chillis this year. First the propergator i had, that sucked, the soil stayed well all the time it would never dry out and so they just didnt germ and were mushy.

Then i started trying in pots and just still didnt germ.

Just now i put in fresh new compost from a new bag. Hope they germ this time.

Btw anyone got any jalapeno seeds they would like to pass on to me? Or is it not worth germing now (too late?).

Skeeter - shoot me your snailmail in trust. I still have Caldero Jalapenos seeds from last year (original ones that I didn't plant). They're heavy fruiters. I have to send a letter out with the last of the Naga seeds tomorrow so I can send them at the same time.

What temperature did you germinate them at?

You could soak the seed over night before putting in a sealed box with damp cottonwool. Then you can pick out the germinated ones when they're ready without wasting compost.

 

[NickK]

blimey those were quick Justin (my seeds?).

Once the plant has it's first set of real leaves the seed leaves are redundant and never grow much larger.

 

[NickK]

I think i put my Chillis out a bit early the other day when it was too cold. Most of my jalapenos have started to go pale and the leaves are curling up. Is there anyway to save them from certain doom?

I noted 2degC on the way to work a couple of mornings ago. I think you'll need to either bring them indoors or make little greenhouses for them (give them a hot waterbottle too if they're already set in the ground.

They may survive but they'll probably drop all their leaves first.

 

[NickK]

That sounds like a perfect description to me!

 

[NickK]

Windowsill is getting taken over!

Junglefy!

That's a load of chilli!