The 2010 Chilli growing thread - it's scorching!

[zipp0r]

those plants are tall and spindly, stretching like they dont get enough light. how much direct sunlight do they get? mine get about 8-9hrs like 12pm till sunset, grow like crazy, but not stretchy.

 

[RiPz]

Still no flowers on mine but the top has gotten much bushier in the last week or two..

Before i was just getting pairs of leaves off the main stem... now the main stem has split into 3 stems at the top, each with leaves growing and even more on the way...

still potted in canna coco and using canna A & canna B feeds

i might decide to put it under a friend's flower lighting soon to see if i can improve the odds of it flowering, the weather has turned rubbish here over the last week or so.

Question - the leaf size on my plant seems disproportionate to the size of the plant itself to me.. not sure what type of chilli plant it is - either jalapeno or cayenne (though the leaves look nothing like any on pictures found on google images).. am i wrong, or is this a result of the feed(s) i'm using?

 

[zipp0r]

ripz it will take about another 2-4weeks before it has flowers and then opens them. looks like it gets good lighting to me, so i dont think a growlamp will make it go much faster. repotting can speed it up, go for a 5L pot.

 

[arknor]

all my chillis are still green so i picked one anyway just to see if it was hot, i cut it in half down the middle removed the seeds from my half but my step son wanted to be manly so just shoved the whole thing in his gob and started chewing , props to him for managing it but about 10seconds later he was running to the fridge for milk rofl

im suprised they are hot while still green no colour change at all but they have been on the plants for weeks now...

on the picture they are orange , they were labeled as "chayenne" which i guess is really cayenne

 

[NickK]

I'm really confused.

My tepin is fruiting like mad, about 14 3" peppers, but none of them are ripening. All still green, when they should be going to yellow and then red.

Plant itself is healthy, and I feed once a week with Chilli Focus.

What gives?!?!

They can be green for a while and then suddenly change over a couple of days..

 

[NickK]

I've been over harsh on plant #3 ... just discovered 7 fruits on it.. they're smaller and just extremely well hidden!

So that'll hopefully give me 30+ chillies

 

[Mark A]

Anyone else having a problem with caterpillars? I thought I had killed them all untill I looked inside a flower and they were all hiding in them. There was at least 1 in each flower and sometimes up to 4. Then there were also some flowers with loads of green flies in .

On the plus side, I have 122 chillies now .

 

[Oh Ed not again.]

My flower pods keep dropping off, every time I think one is going to open it falls off the next day. Sulking a little over here.

 

[Mobius 1]

ok, so i got some really good news! both plants have about 20 or so chillis on them, flowers are dropping off everyday and new chillis keep popping up! i dont think im gonna be able to use them all lol i got so many. these little plants certainly give an excellent crop!

i took the plunge and decided to pick a couple off the plant. as they dont seem to be turning red, yet... anyhoo, they smell like they're ripe, you know, pepper smell to them. i bit into it and wow, what a kick! (rather hot!) these things must be ready. for size comparisson here is a pic.

sorry if i sound over excited, this is the first thing i've ever grown

 

[zipp0r]

My flower pods keep dropping off, every time I think one is going to open it falls off the next day. Sulking a little over here.

lol, i feel your pain. mine go one step further and open into pretty flowers and then just fall off im still getting quite a lot that are staying put and fruiting, so its not too bad.
the reasons for them dropping supposedly are, too hot, too cold, too much water or too much fertiliser.


ive got about 20 jalapenos growing so far and about 3 scotch bonnets started growing this week.

ive been wondering what i can do with all the jalapenos, since no point preserving them since they arent very hot so i googled for stuffed chilli recipies and they look quite good, so thats what i will do with alll the jalapenos and maybe mix in a scotch bonnet into the stuffing forsome extra heat

if there any good i might try keeping my plant alive under a growlight so i can make them all year round, is it easy to do? just keep temperature above 20c under a hps lamp? will they fruit under constant light or do they NEED darkness as well?

 

[NickK]

if there any good i might try keeping my plant alive under a growlight so i can make them all year round, is it easy to do? just keep temperature above 20c under a hps lamp? will they fruit under constant light or do they NEED darkness as well?

They'll want 8 hours of darkness otherwise they get exhausted. Often they grow more during the night than during the day!

There are two forms of grow lamp:
* CFL - cheaper to buy and usually 125-250W but you can put them closer to the plant tops. Less heat generated.
* HPS - expensive to buy, 250+W. My 400W needed a good 4-5 foot gap between the bulb and the tops of the plants. They produce a considerable amount of heat.

However they both will suck electricity and you'll need a reflector and a ballast possibly. My 400W HPS was working at something like a £1 per day. So that's £30 month.. not including night time heating to keep them above 20degC. I used a 5 amp timer to trigger a 10 amp switch to switch the load. Do not use a normal timer unless it's rated at switching above the load of the lamp! Most can't!

You will need airflow or the humidity will cause issues. This is more of a problem if you use a tent/box. For me I used my airing cupboard..

You can get inside green houses that maximise the light by reflecting it and provide the ability to control the airflow. This is where is gets more expensive.. you can make your own but you'll need to treat the HPS as a fire risk..

 

[krooton]

Woohoo!! Finally some ripening!

And my Bird's Eye

 

[h00fzilla]

I came back from a month in South Africa yesterday to find that my lovely lady has been taking good care of my chillies. They were only flowers when I left, but now I have some decent fruit. They're a mix of Santa Fe Grande, Jalapeno and Twighlight.

My Paper Lanterns haven't begun fruiting yet

 

[CHokKA]

lotus7, your greenhouses look really good quality, especially the one on the right in your picture. Where did you get them from? I haven't seen ones like that before...

 

[zipp0r]

I came back from a month in South Africa yesterday to find that my lovely lady has been taking good care of my chillies. They were only flowers when I left, but now I have some decent fruit. They're a mix of Santa Fe Grande, Jalapeno and Twighlight.

you have aphids, see the white thing on the stem and the actual aphid on the chilli ?

i've been battling them too, but touch wood i think i managed to wipe them out with "bug clear for fruit and veg". you need to make sure the plant gets coated everywhere with it and every leaf top and underneath gets a good spraying.

 

[Pulsar_GTI]

Hi All,

Sorry i know sod all about going chillis but have been giving it ago! The stems where they split in to branches have gone black (sorry not the best description)? Any ideas?

Thanks

 

[zipp0r]

Hi All,

Sorry i know sod all about going chillis but have been giving it ago! The stems where they split in to branches have gone black (sorry not the best description)? Any ideas?

Thanks

sure its not just a deep purple colour ? on my plants at each node where they split into 2 its dark purple. as long as your plant looks healthly and still growing, it should be okay.

 

[lotus7]

lotus7, your greenhouses look really good quality, especially the one on the right in your picture. Where did you get them from? I haven't seen ones like that before...

Most garden centres stock them, try wyvale or blooms.

cheers

Martin

 

[Pulsar_GTI]

Hi All,

Sorry i know sod all about going chillis but have been giving it ago! The stems where they split in to branches have gone black (sorry not the best description)? Any ideas?

Thanks

Thanks, will have a look later and take a photo too

 

[zipp0r]

some pics of mine:

scotch bonnet:

jalapeno (look abit mutated compared to other peoples ):

not a chilli, but a 3ft and growing eggplant: