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How r ur peppers going in Perth west oz?

Id say its too early, especially if they have to be outside. We havn't hit our coldest weather yet, a little seedling might not make it through.
They would be fine if you could keep them indoor under a light.
I think the sun and the heat does have a little to do with how fast things ripen, be patient though, they always get there!
 
ChrisG said:
is it too early to start seeds for next season already?? I put a few in 2 weeks ago and they've sprouted! I was expecting it to take a month or two from what I've read about these superhot seeds (it's my first time growing superhots from seed) so was pleasantly surprised. I'll have to leave them outside though and look to bring them in overnight when (if?) it starts to get too cold at night. When do you all start your seeds for next season?
 
Also do pods take longer to ripen around late autumn?? I've got some choc bhut jolokias that have been on the plant for over 4 weeks with nothing yet and some tiny habanero pods that don't seem to be growing much at all anymore...
 
Thanks!
 
Hi Chris,
 
I wouldn't start any seeds yet unless you have a greenhouse or planning to overwinter them inside under lights.
 
With the temps starting to fall now you might see pods(fruit) taking longer to ripen and also will grow slow and can be smaller than usual.
In general the chilli pods do not form or grow too well with temps getting 10Deg.C and lower. Frosts(0Deg.C) will also kill little babies if not under some covering.
Also with pods from the chock bhut they usually take around 3 months(12 weeks) to ripen.
Hope this helps.
 
Happy Chilli Growing,
Micca
 
My plants are starting to shut down now.
 
All in all it's been a fun first season but I wish I knew why I had so much blossom drop. Some plants were covered in pods, others got zero or perhaps one or two all season with all the rest of the flowers falling off. Superhots were the worst offenders here but I have four poblano plants that would have 1-2 huge, healthy pods on each but that would be it. Yes, they are in pots, but I'd still expect more action than this. My Jalapeno and Cheiro Goias both went absolutely gangbusters.
 
What do you guys do with your plants after they shut down completely? Do you trim them back to being just sticks? If so, how high do you keep them?
 
Yes mine are pretty much done now, no more new flowers. Just ripening up whats left.
Last year I didn't cut anything back, but this year I'll take them down to sticks.

Super hots are very fussy when it comes to holding onto flowers! All my non super hots hang onto almost every flower, no matter what I do to them!
If I hold my tongue the wrong way with my super hots they drop the lot! Although I must admit I have made some rookie errors with my nutrients and ph levels.
once I discover the winning combination to keep my plants hanging onto flowers I'll let you guys know.

This is my indoor Carolina Reaper.
I thought it was big before but it just keeps on going! Its loaded with flowers right now, hundreds. Hopefully it hangs onto a few more flowers. Only three so far converted.
Photos dont do this thing justice.

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Most of my potted ones put out a handful of pods each.  Pretty disappointing.  There are some smaller bushy ornamental types that are fine in pots but most want more room.
 
I turned off the retic for my plants about a month ago and they've been getting by with only dew and rain.  Some have withered, but with all the sunny days a lot are still pushing out pods.  Can find only 2 plants in the whole garden that have flowers though so its almost over.   :(
 
Because I planted all mine too close or in bad positions I'll be pulling them all up in a week and starting again from scratch next season.  If I cut most back to sticks I'm sure they'd survive winter and sprout again.  I'll probably do a final video and last harvest, then cut everything down. 
 
With all the mistakes I made and bug attacks, I still got a stack of pods, can't complain :)
 
I'm planning next season's seeds to start mid July if I can finish the new grow chamber in time.
 
So,
 
When should I get some started for the next season? Wife probably won't dig an indoor setup but I have a downstairs storage room with a light where I could put my little electric incubator thing to start the things off. Turn the lights on when I go to work and off when I come home - or longer if needed?
 
My hopes for next season.
 
1. Plants actually holding fruit rather than dropping flowers.
2. More actual pods.
3. Fewer of those pods that start off ok but then turn sort of soft and stop growing
 
Does anyone have any advice on how to achieve some of this? How should I prune my "sticks" once they all shut down? Is there a secret to bigger fruit?
 
My planned start date of mid July will only work if my first grow chamber in the cold garage retains some heat at night.... AND if I get a covered greenhouse thing built outside to keep them warm at night and harden them off during the day.  
 
With neither of those I'd have to wait until the weather warms up in September.
 
 
1. Plants will hold fruit if the temps are in the right zone.
2. Increased water will increase yield to a point, root zone must be well drained. 
3. I think the soft pods are because of too much water causing fungus but I really don't know, had a bit of that myself this season.  It started happening a lot more when the weather cooled down, I think because the water wasn't evaporating off during the day??
 
Wish I knew the secret for massive fruit, probably to do with healthy bacteria in the soil etc ? 
 
I think we need to keep this thread active during the winter. My family is sick to death of hearing about my plants and this has died of in much the same way the crops are lately :)


I'm a little bit worried about how I am going to get new seedlings going this year. Balcony tends to scorch the little things, even when already hardened off. The current season's crops were all started at my Mum's place which was nice and sheltered. Hope the ones I have in pots somehow survive the winter as sticks and resprout. My best hope, I reckon.
 
my chillis still producing, they didnt produce over summer but are now....
 
good to finally see some results.
 
I have trimmed them all back and now they are resprouting already
 
Wondering if anyone can help me out, living in Perth and planted some trinidad scorpion a few months ago (similar to ghost chillies), I know it was a bad time but I was just excited and if they fail I'll try again in spring/summer. They were doing fine until recently a leaf on each of them has begun curling up, and it had two leaves on the lower stem that have fallen off. A week or two ago this one was at a healthy 6 leaves, then 2 leaves fell off at the bottom but 2 new ones are sprouting, however its biggest leaf is curling up and brown spots are appearing. They are planted in regular potting mix stuff, always outside in the sun/weather.
 
 
 
 
 
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Hi and :welcome:
 
 
This is the most common first problem that people encounter.  Too much water, or soil that doesn't drain well enough.  With soil that doesn't drain, even if you barely water the roots will drown and the plant looks real sick.  What is the soil and how often do you water?
 
The problem is that most potting mix that is sold is made to hold water because that is good for most other plants, but not chiles. 
 
oh wow, yea I water 1-2 times a day if its not raining. It's fairly chunky soil, just regular potting mix from bunnings (not the bunnings brand, funnily enough the salesmen steered me away from it). Should I bring them in on rainy days? and how long can they last without water?
 
I would say it drains well though, as soon as I start pouring in water it doesnt take long for it to come out the bottom of the pot, so I usually water until it looks all soaked, this usually happens daily like I said before.
 
Only water once every two days and see how they go.  That includes any rain they might catch. 
 
But like you said its the wrong time of the year for starting plants.  Most larger chile plants can survive winter in Perth with no attention, they'll loose lots of leaves and stop making flowers and pods, then resprout when it warms up...  but your small seedling probably won't make it.  If you can find a warm spot inside, maybe near a sunny window it might keep going.  Just take it outside on sunny days and bring it in at night if its going to get cold.  Or you could just wait until spring. 
 
lozzajp said:
It's fairly chunky soil, just regular potting mix from bunnings (not the bunnings brand, funnily enough the salesmen steered me away from it).
 
There's your problem right there. Nothing good comes out of Bummings. ;)
 
:welcome: from Brissy, BTW!
 
a bit upset that curled leaf has just fallen off. So im keeping it under cover, i think it might rain tonight and tomorrow, so just let it dry out for a couple days then goto watering every second day?
 
last year was my first chilli year....
 
terrible until now to say the least. It took me a year to learn how to do it properly.
 
The answer is, plant them in the garden then leave them be. dont water until all the leaves curl up and looks like its dieing. Once you water them the next morning they are good to go.
 
I have also found some of the new strains are a bit harder to grow..
 
Things like cayenne etc are still smashing out pods at my house.
 
 
 
Also as some say its best just to make your own soil, or if you are planting in the ground ive found they love chick poo, dynamic lifter, blood and bone. I mixed all that up in mine and planted my sick potted chillis in there. Within a month they were waist high and powering along.
 
Counting down the days till I can get started again.
 
Going to really pick and choose what I plant this year. Wife isn't going to let me completely fill our balcony with plants. lol.
 
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