How r ur peppers going in Perth west oz?

Krissyme1 - nice set up, that shade cloth is pretty immense.  Did you get much fruit from the plants this year?
 
I've spent the past couple of days preparing for next year with this raised bed.  I've sunk the bed sides about 400 mm to stop the damn grass runners (hopefully).  Copper tape for slug prevention (will be taping the walls of the shed too when I get more tape).  Will need about 1 m3 of decent soil to blend in and top up to finished level in about 2 months, so if anyone has any good recommendations That would be most welcome!
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New greenhouse is up... finally (not the best instructions for this one).  Hoping it will prolong the season for a few more weeks as I've got a lot of pods and heaps more flowers now.
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My five chosen over-winters:
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Autumn pods on my red and choc habaneros:
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nemspy said:
 
Mine haven't. My entire collection completely carked it about a month ago with the exception of a large red hab and a large cheiro goias which are still going ok. The stuff I started from seed in Sept last year never really took off at all, got ravaged by aphids, or scorched by the wind. Then, when you'd expect them to have been past the worst, they spontaneously dropped all their leaves like it was the end of the season. Moved a few of them back up to Perth to see if they would recover at Mum's place, but the sticks either seem to want to die off completely or bring back a few crinkly, mutant leaves. No idea what happened this season. Right now I'm asking myself if i can be bothered next season.
 
Hey sorry mate I never got back to you on this, my phone and internet has been playin up(had no phone for a couple weeks) and used all my mobile data up.
Man how are u supposed to look at porn hahahahaha
 
Sounds like you have had a real bad run this season. I have been having the same and i have been growing for over 10 years.
I have noticed that certain spots
I grow in don't fair as well as others.
I'm talking about growing in pots and have been growing at home, mums place and work.
The ones at my Mums and work do way better than the ones at home. Ones at the front of my house seem to do better than the main ones out the back.
Really the ground or raised garden bed is the best for soil and hydro is the ultimate.
Maybe experiment a bit. Try using Coir/perlite/wormcasting mix(soiless) and water with a weak dynamic lifter solution(pellets soaked in water).
At the end of the day it can be pretty disappointing when you put lot's of effort in. just need to find their sweet spot!
 
Micca
Thirdegree said:
A question for the Perth growers that grow in the soil outdoors. 
 
Which month do you start your seedlings from seed?
 
In the past, I have purchased nursery seedling in early September and planted.
This year, I want to acquire some more exotic seeds and start from scratch, just not sure when to start. 
 
Howdy Mate and welcome to the forum :P
 
With planting outside from seed the general rule is to plant after the first frosts of Spring. The seeds need a warm temp to germinate, the more constant that temp is the better and quicker the germination.
Some of these Chilli's can be a pain to germinate(like Bhuts etc) so people growing the Chinense variety(bhuts, Scorpions etc) usually start them early indoors and use a heat pad to keep the temps up.
That way by when spring kicks in they are already seedlings then they can be hardened off(transitioned) to go outside.
Germinating inside only needs a heat source but when they sprout they need light so people use grow tubes for that.
Hope this helps you a bit.
 
Micca
 
Rainman said:
Krissyme1 - nice set up, that shade cloth is pretty immense.  Did you get much fruit from the plants this year?
 
I've spent the past couple of days preparing for next year with this raised bed.  I've sunk the bed sides about 400 mm to stop the damn grass runners (hopefully).  Copper tape for slug prevention (will be taping the walls of the shed too when I get more tape).  Will need about 1 m3 of decent soil to blend in and top up to finished level in about 2 months, so if anyone has any good recommendations That would be most welcome!
3_zpsf61896ee.jpg

.
2_zps16c499b1.jpg

 
New greenhouse is up... finally (not the best instructions for this one).  Hoping it will prolong the season for a few more weeks as I've got a lot of pods and heaps more flowers now.
4_zps967a5141.jpg

 
My five chosen over-winters:
5_zpsbf64d452.jpg

 
Autumn pods on my red and choc habaneros:
6_zpscbff97df.jpg
 
 
Looks like you are getting all sorted for Winter Mate :P
 
The greenhouse can be a real help to finish off the Chilli ripening and keeping them dry in Winter.
 
Micca
 
Just thought I would post some pod piccies-
 
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Brain Strain
 
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Supposed to be White Bhut. Goes yellow then to a white colour, has a similar shape to a Bhut but no lumps/bumps.
 
Happy Chilli Growing,
Micca
 
Micca302 said:
Looks like you are getting all sorted for Winter Mate :P
 
The greenhouse can be a real help to finish off the Chilli ripening and keeping them dry in Winter.
 
Micca
 
Hey Micca - some nice looking pods, the Bhuts have an awesome shape.
 
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I'm getting all prepared for next year nice and early.  Just built a germination station type thing for the seeds out of a second hand wooden chest (one side removed) and added 2 x 55W T5s and a load of reflective material from the wife's sun shield from the car (she doesn't know yet).  I'll get some photos up when its light out back.
 
Going to try growing some thai basil and some red jalapenos from seed over the winter, just to get a feel for how high to have the lights and watering, etc. so that come July / August I have a better idea when I try to grow some other chillies from seed.
 
Found a crappy old raised planter (half falling to bits) on hard rubbish, so I nabbed that and will get another 3 plants in there too...  need to rig up a shade cloth though as it'll get too hot scorched where it's going.
 
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I wasn't planning to grow from seed this year (all my plants this season came from Masters / Bunnings), but the gardening bug hit me harder than I thought!  If anyone in Perth/WA has any spare seeds that would be awesome. I'm not sure where to buy seeds  for varieties like brainstrain, reapers, different types of bhuts, naggas, etc. and get them past customs?  I stupidly froze all my pods from this year so unfortunately I cant trade :(  
 
OK, better get to bed. Cheer,
Rainman
 
Rainman said:
 
Hey Micca - some nice looking pods, the Bhuts have an awesome shape.
 
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I'm getting all prepared for next year nice and early.  Just built a germination station type thing for the seeds out of a second hand wooden chest (one side removed) and added 2 x 55W T5s and a load of reflective material from the wife's sun shield from the car (she doesn't know yet).  I'll get some photos up when its light out back.
 
Going to try growing some thai basil and some red jalapenos from seed over the winter, just to get a feel for how high to have the lights and watering, etc. so that come July / August I have a better idea when I try to grow some other chillies from seed.
 
Found a crappy old raised planter (half falling to bits) on hard rubbish, so I nabbed that and will get another 3 plants in there too...  need to rig up a shade cloth though as it'll get too hot scorched where it's going.
 
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I wasn't planning to grow from seed this year (all my plants this season came from Masters / Bunnings), but the gardening bug hit me harder than I thought!  If anyone in Perth/WA has any spare seeds that would be awesome. I'm not sure where to buy seeds  for varieties like brainstrain, reapers, different types of bhuts, naggas, etc. and get them past customs?  I stupidly froze all my pods from this year so unfortunately I cant trade :(
 
OK, better get to bed. Cheer,
Rainman
 
Cheers Mate.
I have been liking the flavour of these not Bhut's and it has been a great producer.
 
Looks like the bug has really hit you, way to goooo  :cool: . It can be fun watching your little babies sprouting, getting home from work and seeing which ones have popped....................
Hey Wildfire Chilli here in WA has some fantastic seeds and all the nice hot ones.
Just drop me your addy sometime Mate and will hook you up with some seeds. most of mine are open pollinated so could end up being crossed but growing around other nice ones so could end up with an interesting one.
 
Micca
 
Micca - For me it's 99% about the taste as I've been eating all the pods I get, or freezing and turning into powder / sauces.  But its always nice when the pods look different from the garden variety store bought peppers, and those 'not Bhut's' have a cool crazy look to them.
 
I don't know why I didn't think to check out Wildfire for seeds... I'll also send you a pm too - thanks mate.
 
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So here are the photos of my germination station.  I'll be using the heated green seed tray / indoor greenhouse thing I bought from Bunnings to germinate the seeds.  
 
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Then, when they are ready for light, I figured I'll remove the plastic lid and away they go.  I toyed with the idea of attaching the lights using chains so they could be lowered / raised as needed, but it's the end of my time off work, so I opted for raising the seed tray if I need them closer to the lights, which is not as cool as chains, but probably more functional.
 
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I'm planning on using a pedestal fan to add the air circulation, which has a slight drawback as the front door will need to be opened.
 
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Lastly, I've filled the raised bed with the flower and vegie soil mix from 'Soils Aint Soils'.  Unfortunately, the mix is way heavier than I imagined it would be, so its going to need amending before it's ready for the chillies in Spring.  I've cut in about a 100 L bag of perlite and watered the soil, but moisture penetration below the top 15 cm is still non-existent!!!
 
I might buy some bags of the cheapest potting mix I can find (Coles brand?) and cut that in.  I also might get another 100 L bag of perlite   If anyone else has any ideas for improving the drainage of a heavy soil I'm very open to suggestions.
 
Cheers,
Ranman
 
The setup is looking great there.
Definitely need to add air circulation too. I ended up using a small desk fan for my bookcase germination closure.
 
I have never really liked the soil from Soils aint soils, just hasn't worked for me.
Adding perlite is definately a help.
Iv'e been experimenting with fine pine bark in my potting mix and it seems to be adding more drainage. As I said it is an experiment and not too sure how good it is yet.
 
Good luck there Mate.
 
Micca
 
Micca, Nice pods on the white BJ.

Some thing I have found with my BJ is that some of the pods are super gnarly with bumps and others on the other side of the bush are smooth like a Hab. It could be a cross polination issue as none of my plants are isolated. But it could also be due to the amount of sunlight cast on the different parts of the plant. The bumpy side gets more sun than the other.

Rainman, Setup is really coming a long. Cheers for the message and I look forward to hearing back from you. Regarding your soil issues I have a heap of Perlite/potting mix (4:1)mix that we can work out a deal on. I have around 250L at home. Something else to consider to aid in your drainage is Coco coir. From what I have seen it has worked well in my soil mix this year. Just remember, you get what you pay for with the pre mixed soils, a few bucks extra can make a big difference to the outcome.

Some Bumpy BJ's from the other night

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And playing around with the torch.

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Hey Highlucks, yeah I am liking the gnarly looking pods on these Not White BJ.
Yours is looking preety damn nice too Mate.

I think it is just the weather at the moment with the smooth vs lumpy skin. Like you said it will be the sun helping to get those lumps/bumps.
i have had the same on my Primo plant with some coming out really small and smooth skin and some coming out like they should.
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Micca
 
Not too many pods left now, another half a doz of these balls of fun and couple of Dozen Jalapenos and that's me done for the year.
 
Found some nice seedlings at the local Masters, picked up a very healthy Fatalli and a TS Yellow Cardi that I will baby till September.
 
These couple of Jonahs ended up in a batch of Beef Jerkey -
Unfortunately it turned out too hot for the wife and kids, so I will have it all to myself ( or anyone brave enough to try.)
 
 
 
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I've seen one of them before, I have no idea what it is but I can't picture that its a foe.  Not enough colour, looks like something thats doesn't like light and is a bit of a ground dweller, but thats just a guess
 
A nice plate of Jalapenos there  :P
With the sandgroper I have never seen one before. Maybe worth while looking it up and finding out if it is friend or foe?
 
Micca
 
My most recent harvest.
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The last of the late Autumn pods starting to ripen. 
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Unfortunately, the red savina has a black fungus creeping up the stems and is on some of the leaves.  I was thinking of just letting all the pods ripen / drop, then cut it back for overwintering and give everything in the greenhouse a copper spray. Would that be a good idea or should I just write the plant off?
 
The rest of the overwinters... A lone choc hab pod ripening.  All the new growth has been since I cut it back for over-wintering, it just went crazy for a few weeks (unlike the ones at the back).
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A nice harvest there Mate  :P
 
With the infected Savina I would try to separate him from the others that you are over wintering and treat him with a coppper spray.
Fungal diseases are a pain and can be a pain to get rid of.
You will need to remember to keep some ventilation happening in that tent too. leave the window or door or both open during the day.
 
Happy Chilli Growing,
Micca
 
Good advice - I'd left the doors and windows closed to keep the heat in, but I guess that's helping the fungus?
 
Also, the fungus seems like its already on the other overwinters to some degree or another :(
 
Bugger about the "Black Fungus", hope the Cu spray knocks it on the head.
Lots of pods still hanging on the Savina - looks like a great yielding plant.
 
Couple of Question on overwintering:
Do you find that the yields improve the following year for the plant that was overwintered?
When is the best time here in Perth to give them the "Chop".?
 
Thanks Mica for the advice on germination - have setup an indoor grow room and have just had an assorted batch of seedling pop their heads out. Will try to keep them in good shape until I drop them in the ground in spring.
 
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