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How do I turn my inferior jalapeño into a thick bush?

M

map4455

I am new to chilli growing and started my jalapeño 4 months ago. It is now 35 cm high with a few leaves but not very bushy. I had put out a few fruit. It is in a 25cm pot. I have fertilised with thrive fertiliser once a month. What can I do to get a thriving bush plentiful with fruit? Bigger pot. More water? Less water?
Help please
 
Bigger pot always better, Can't recommend the water as I don't know how much water it gets. Pictures help. 
 
How much soil does that 25cm pot hold? 12L?  If so that is plenty.
 
I do not know what Thrive fertilizer is, but what I can say is that if you want top growth then you need to be feeding something that has Nitrogen (N) in it.
 
You also need plenty of light.
 
And you can also try topping the plant, forcing it to bush out.
 
The problem: Australian commercial standard potting mix. That or a combination of that and Australian summer (and the bloody heat!).
 
Just out of curiousity, what potting mix are you using? Is it really as chunky and under-composted as it looks?? Not having a go or anything... sadly, pretty much every commercial potting mix here seems to be of terrible quality... kinda hard to avoid (unless you're willing to do a bit of searching for something half decent or start making your own potting mix).
 
gasificada said:
The problem: Australian commercial standard potting mix. That or a combination of that and Australian summer (and the bloody heat!).
 
Just out of curiousity, what potting mix are you using? Is it really as chunky and under-composted as it looks?? Not having a go or anything... sadly, pretty much every commercial potting mix here seems to be of terrible quality... kinda hard to avoid (unless you're willing to do a bit of searching for something half decent or start making your own potting mix).
Click to expand...
Also if I were you I'd definitely get a bigger pot.
 
 I grow in similar conditions and jalapenos hate heat above 90 and high humidity.
 
Hang on a while and it should start to pump out fat pods once the mid summer heats goes away . 
 
romy6 said:
 I grow in similar conditions and jalapenos hate heat above 90 and high humidity.
 
Hang on a while and it should start to pump out fat pods once the mid summer heats goes away . 
Click to expand...
most definitely!!!
 
romy6 said:
I grow in similar conditions and jalapenos hate heat above 90 and high humidity.
 
Hang on a while and it should start to pump out fat pods once the mid summer heats goes away .
Click to expand...
That's good to know about the jala. my supers took a break during the triple digit weather here last summer then bounced way back when it started cooling down
 
You may have to do something about that potting soil, or change up your fertilizer.
Also recommend you top it to force it to branch out more. That means cut right above the big Y. Take away those two growth nodes and it'll force new branches to grow lower down on the main stem.
 
Here's a pic of one of my Fatalii plants from last year. Grown in an 11 liter fabric pot. I also used commercial potting mix but amended it with composted cow manure. the final width was just over 3 feet and put out way more pods than I could use. I let mine grow out naturally, but I imagine if I had topped it, then It would have grown out way bushier.
 
j9BFYoJ.jpg
 
pot up to 20L - 100L pot. start  fertilizing him every 2 weeks.
If you're unsure what you soil / plant needs i'd suggest getting a complete fertilizer that has micro/trace as well as the big npk. something like this or like this
 
Aside from more root space you really just need more time. Let those branches grow out a little more before topping them would be my advice. To be honest, as long as your plant is healthy, you could cut it or leave it and it will deliver many delicious pods in time.
 
Doesn't look too bad to me. I also agree about a bigger pot and maybe some N fertilizer (or balanced N-P-K) like many have said. The pot is probably the biggest thing holding it back. Annuums don't get very big or bushy. My best jalapenos generally don't get much taller than 2 1/2 feet. Even at that size they can put out a lot of fruit
 
pretty sure if it's tossing pods right now it is diverting its energy into fruit development instead of growth. Picking what fruit is growing and pinching off flowers will help it divert its energy back into vegetative growth.
 
So my opinion is larger pot, eat the jalapeno that's growing on it and increase fert regimen.. Also try not to over water it as that can stunt its growth. Other than that it's a great looking plant. 
 
Thank you. I also have red bell peppers and a birds eye chillies all in the same size containers with the same potting mix and about the same size. How big do these varieties grow given the right conditions?
 
gasificada said:
The problem: Australian commercial standard potting mix. That or a combination of that and Australian summer (and the bloody heat!).
 
Just out of curiousity, what potting mix are you using? Is it really as chunky and under-composted as it looks?? Not having a go or anything... sadly, pretty much every commercial potting mix here seems to be of terrible quality... kinda hard to avoid (unless you're willing to do a bit of searching for something half decent or start making your own potting mix).
Click to expand...
I will make my own mix and repot. Thank you.
 
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