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First Grow, Low Budget Chilli Grow

Well a little about me : http://thehotpepper.com/topic/58566-greetings-from-sunny-durban-south-africa/
 
And now the Rules/ Constraints:
 
1) I want to keep it as low cost as possible - initially. I want to at least make sure I can grow the plants and have fun before I start sinking big bucks into it.
2) I am growing the easy to acquire, cheap peppers first. I want to experiment.
3) I am growing them in an area where there is a lot of wind, a lot of sun and little rain.
     3.1) As such I have created a "shelter" for them made of some excess things I had lying around in the garage.
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The White Table on its side and the old dog basket are removable to allow as much light in as possible. The Grass is terribly dry at this time but It has been so hot and we have had just so little raid at the moment. Hosepipe bans are in place in certain areas so it feels a bit wrong for us to water our garden.
 
4) My First Grow List
1 x Jalapeno Plant - With one Flower and one Pod:
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1 x “Paprika”  (Although it is 2 plants but too tangled to separate) * completely separated them now:
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They have been put in 2 x 2L Ginger beer bottles. They look really sad but both those plants were in one small pot half the size of one of those bottles they are in now. Their roots were so tangled and they were forced to grow away from each other just to make sure they got sun. As such their leaves are bent to those sides and I think they will just need time to recover. They did have pods (1 on each plant) but they were shriveled, green and one fell off, so I took the other one off too.
 
7 of 12 x California Wonder:
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8 of 12 x Chilli Long Slim
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They are planted in 1L bottles. The whiter ones are Long Life Milk bottles and the other slimmer ones are concentrate juice bottles. 
The remaining ones will soon be replanted as I consume Milk and Juice.
 
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10 x Habanero Seeds in 5x Styrofoam cups – Planted 01-01-2016 - Nothing yet
10 x Serrano Seeds in 5x Styrofoam cups – Planted 01-01-2016 - Nothing yet.
 
5 x Habanero Seeds sitting on a wet paper towel covered by cling-wrap. “Planted” 02-02-2016 -  3/5 Have now sprouted.
5 x Habanero Seeds sitting on a wet paper towel covered by cling-wrap after being soaked in tea. “Planted” 02-02-2016 - 1/5 Have now sprouted.
5 x Serrano Seeds sitting on a wet paper towel covered by cling-wrap. “Planted” 02-02-2016 - 5/5 Have now sprouted.
5 x Serrano Seeds sitting on a wet paper towel covered by cling-wrap after being soaked in tea. “Planted” 02-02-2016  - 5/5 Have now sprouted.
20 x “Hot Pepper, Hot Chilli Mix” seeds sitting on a wet paper towel covered by cling-wrap after being soaked in tea. “Planted” 04-02-2016 - No sprouting yet.
 
I am hoping by the end of 2016 I have been able to experiment with a lot of these plants and hope to whittle them down to 2 of each species as I think the amount that is growing is a bit much, but It will let me experiment, I am hoping to bonsai, cross, graft and make Powders and Sauces. I will however make sure that every thing happens over the period and not all at once, I do not want to burn my self out(Work load not the Chillies).
 
Please if you see that I am doing something wrong, tell me. I am hoping to make this year a massive learning year, There is a wealth of knowledge on these forums and I am hoping to learn as much as possible.
 
It wont be the most exciting Glog BUT over this year you will hopefully see someone who is slowly but surely learning more and more and developing into a reasonably okay chilli grower.
Regards,
    Argonaught.
 
Click to expand...
So here are a few pics for this week:
 
Jalapeno:
Its been flowing a few times now but the last 2 flowers dropped off. Now there are 4 Flowers and about 4 buds as well as the big green pod that has been green since at least the 20th of December.  
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The 2 x Paprika's:
The Left one is showing small growths on the bare branch.  And the other one seems to be growing well.
 
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The Chilli Long Slim:
All but 2 have been planted into old bottles, There is some Wilting and some leaf curling but I assume that is because of the rains that we have had. I have done my best to prevent the rain coming in and it seems to have stopped.
 
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The California Wonder:
The growth since they have been planted is actually great. They are getting quite big.
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I am 90% sure that the insect marks on the leaves came from when they were at the Nursery. 
 
 
 
The remaining 5 seedlings I put in some decorative pots for a bit of experimenting later on. They where wilting really badly and as soon as I put them into the pots and gave them water they were great. 
 
Chilli Long Slim and 2 x California Wonder in the long pot. One of each in the horrible orange pots.
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Seeds:
Serrano's:
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The Habaneros and the Mixed seeds are still sprouting.
 
So the questions I have are:
1) The Jalapeno flowers, How do I get them to stay on and turn into pods.
2) Will the Jalapeno pod turn Red, or is it ripe already.
3) Am I correct in assuming that the leaves are wilting because of heavy watering?
4) At what stage do I move the seedlings into a Styrofoam cup. I don't want to move them too early.... or to late.
5) Also what are the pros and cons of mixing pepper plants in the same pot. I have 1 x Chilli Long Slim and 2 x California Wonder in that long elongated pot.
 
Any help would be great, 
Regards,
   Argonaught.
 
*edit* no idea why Photobucket deleted the images.
 
Another question I have, The Nursery had "Thai Chilli" seedlings 12 for R12 ($0,72). What are they likely to be and should I think about getting them, Or do people think  I have enough at this stage. Don't want too many too quickly.
 
Also small update. 
The 10 x Habanero Seeds in 5x Styrofoam cups – Planted 01-01-2016 and 
10 x Serrano Seeds in 5x Styrofoam cups – Planted 01-01-2016
 
Showed no sign of any growth or change, a small bit of mold on some of the seeds, could that indicate too much water/ too damp soil? But it was okay as I still have another 10 Habs and 10 Sers that have actually sprouted using damp paper cloth method, so actually a good thing I think.
 
Regards,
   Argonaught.
 
Argonaught said:
 
So the questions I have are:
1) The Jalapeno flowers, How do I get them to stay on and turn into pods.
2) Will the Jalapeno pod turn Red, or is it ripe already.
3) Am I correct in assuming that the leaves are wilting because of heavy watering?
4) At what stage do I move the seedlings into a Styrofoam cup. I don't want to move them too early.... or to late.
5) Also what are the pros and cons of mixing pepper plants in the same pot. I have 1 x Chilli Long Slim and 2 x California Wonder in that long elongated pot.
 
Click to expand...
 
1) You can gently tap the stems or even the flowers themselves to encourage self-pollination, but there is no way to eliminate flower drop that I know of. It's just something that happens.
 
2) Normal Jalapenos ripen to red, yes. Just be patient. :)
 
3) That is usually my first assumption if a plant is wilting, either too much or not enough water. If soil is not bone dry and plant is wilting, then likely it is too much. Be sure there is enough drainage on those containers.
 
4) I assume you are talking about the seeds you germinated on the paper towels. You can plant them in a cup as soon as they germinate.
 
5) There are no pros that I am aware of. The plants will likely crowd each other, resulting in smaller plants. I wouldn't do it. If you want them to reach their potential, put them in good sized containers, one plant per container, but don't put a tiny seedling in a gigantic container. Pot size has a big influence on how large the plant will grow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URPPQi903ZY
 
 
Argonaught said:
Another question I have, The Nursery had "Thai Chilli" seedlings 12 for R12 ($0,72). What are they likely to be and should I think about getting them, Or do people think  I have enough at this stage. Don't want too many too quickly.
 
 
Click to expand...
 
Thai peppers are nice. I personally prefer the Orange Thai over the Reds. Strangely, the Orange seems hotter to me than the Reds I've tried.
 
Really appreciate your answers BlackFatali.
 
Using the tapping method I seem to have had some success with the Jalapeno.
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It seems to be getting bigger and is firmly on there.
 
There also seems to be a lot more Buds sprouting.
 
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I ended up buying some of the Thai Chillies.
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6 for R12($0.72). I have a question about the one in the front left. One of its lower branches is dangling low. Should I remove it or prop it up?
 
 
The Paprika's are showing a lot of new growth, specially on the bare branches
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But I am a bit concerned about the brown/ black area at the top of the branch. Could that just be because the plant doesn't have enough leaves?
 
 
Here are all the bigger chillies:
Been using a watered down Garlic and Cayenne mix to prevent bugs.
Top Left Box - California Wonders
Bottom Left Box - 2 x Paprikas and 6 x Thai Chillies.
Top Right Box - Chilli Long Slim (What ever those are)
And the Jalapeno plant in bottom Right.
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Now for an autopsy:
 
I decided to replant the sprouts from the paper towel. They were looking big and I thought they would be okay.
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And after 4 Days this is what they look like:
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'
 
They dropped down after about 2 hours, some bent their stems. Some still have reasonably strong stems but none are upright. I replanted them on an over cast morning thinking it would be cold. It ended up being 31 degrees C (87,8 degrees F). I put a fan on them in the hopes that they would be ok but they do not seem happy at all. I am chocking these up to rookie error and going to leave them and watch them in the hopes I can learn something and maybe some will live. But I wondering what I could do differently. Did i do it too early, Did i do it on a hot day ( should do it on an afternoon or rainy day instead.) Too little water, although they had plenty of water. They are in just regular Styrofoam cups and regular potting soil.
 
I already have more seeds sitting on a damp paper towel. But I am hoping to learn from this mistake.
 
 
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
    Argonaught
 
Don't give up! Your making some mistakes. First, you have a aphid outbreak. You can rinse the leaves in the sink to knock lots off. Spray your leaves with dr bonners Castile soap or azamax/ neem. They will take over VERY fast if not dealt with.

Secondly, you are overwatering! Soil looks too wet. Your roots are drowning. They will rot and die. Only water right before your plants when they start to wilt from no moisture. What soil brand are you using?
It doesn't look like there is any perlite in it, which help aerate your soil.

Your seedlings are stretching looking for light. What light are you giving them? Drop sufficient light toward the plants. When planting your sprouts just leave the the first leaves barely above the soil line. Fill the cups up to the brim of premium potting soil.
 
Lovepeppers said:
Don't give up! Your making some mistakes. First, you have a aphid outbreak. You can rinse the leaves in the sink to knock lots off. Spray your leaves with dr bonners Castile soap or azamax/ neem. They will take over VERY fast if not dealt with.
 
The specs in these pictures:
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are not aphids they are small bits of garlic and pepper that didn't get sifted out. Under normal conditions the leaves are clear. But we just had raid yesterday so I had to reapply the pepper/garlic solution.
 
Secondly, you are overwatering! Soil looks too wet. Your roots are drowning. They will rot and die. Only water right before your plants when they start to wilt from no moisture. What soil brand are you using?
It doesn't look like there is any perlite in it, which help aerate your soil.
 
The reason they look watered is because we have had rain recently so that's why they look so wet. The soil is actually dry nearer the bottom but will do my best to prevent any more rain contacting the soil/plants.
No there is not perlite, I am using the dual cup method, and water seems to get through quite quickly. But when I do repot them I will put gravel in the bottoms of the bigger pots.

Your seedlings are stretching looking for light. What light are you giving them? Drop sufficient light toward the plants. When planting your sprouts just leave the the first leaves barely above the soil line. Fill the cups up to the brim of premium potting soil.
 
They get exposed to sun-light  through glass each day, I thought that would be enough. They look shriveled, not like plants that are chasing light. But I guess the picture does not show it properly.
Click to expand...
 
 
Thank you so much for your input, I will keep an eye out for aphids, the only bugs I have seen are rose chafer beetles(at least I think they are, the bugs are small white/grey). I will do my best to keep them dry and I am hoping for some hot sunny days Durban is known for. And I will do my best to give the seedlings more sunlight. 
 
Regards,
     Argonaught.
 
I see what appears to be garlic, not aphids then. Most of us have all have made mistakes growing. I wanted to point out the most common problems and corrections that it looked like you possibly could be having.
Do you have a fan blowing on your plants?
I always keep one on as it replicates nature, it strengthens the stems to keep them strong and upright. I keep my 250 hps light just low enough, not to burn my plants, but not to high where my plants will stretch searching for more.

I hope you have a great season!
 
Lovepeppers, Thank you so much for your advice and help. I do appreciate it a lot and hope that my previous post did not come across as defensive etc.
 
I don't have a fan blowing on the plants that are outdoors. The ones outdoors are regularly moved into sunlight and get a natural breeze flowing over them. The sprouts had a fan blowing over them. I do not have a light bulb over the sprouts as well.
 
Once again Thank you for your helpful responses.  :clap:.
 
I hope you have a great season too!
Regards, 
    Argonaught.
 
Looking good.
I like your attitude: throw any and all seeds into all available containers.
 
You learn a lot from growing a lot of plants.
 
Next part of the addiction will be hotter and more exotic varieties.
 
PM me your postal address and I will post you a few seeds to try out.
For free no guarantees.
 
I am a new grower myself and before joining the awesome community of THP I grew thai chilies my buddy gave me. Loved them and got a ton of pods from it and love the flavor. I have grown one of my habs in a clear cup and noticed algae growing with the soil. I see you have clear containers as well. Not sure if that's a bad thing maybe a pro can chime in on that. I like the fact you can see the root development but not sure if light getting to the roots can cause problems. Looking forward to your grow!! :onfire:
 
Adamkaijorg said:
I am a new grower myself and before joining the awesome community of THP I grew thai chilies my buddy gave me. Loved them and got a ton of pods from it and love the flavor. I have grown one of my habs in a clear cup and noticed algae growing with the soil. I see you have clear containers as well. Not sure if that's a bad thing maybe a pro can chime in on that. I like the fact you can see the root development but not sure if light getting to the roots can cause problems. Looking forward to your grow!! :onfire:
Click to expand...
 
 
My understanding is that light causes algae, this happens a lot in hydro grows if you don't make sure it's dark. Also, the roots don't like light, I believe they die off from exposure. 
 
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