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Aji Limon keeps on dropping fruits shortly after they begin forming.
- Thread starter Takanotsume
- Start date
So neem kills bugs in two ways, contact and ingestion, you're still going to see a few bugs on the leaves but it shouldn't be a ton of them at one time. Again, not seeing any insect damage on yours, a few white flies won't hurt anything. I created my own soil, 1/3 vermiculite 1/3 peat moss 1/3 compost. I'm just using a 10/10/10 diluted liquid fertilizer, I typically feed them around every 3 weeks but honestly it's just whenever I remember to do it. I water every few days with a hose if it hasn't rained. I used to micromanage, test, and measure everything when I first started, I don't anymore. The plants are good at telling you when something is wrong, when starting out it's good to be more reactionary. It's easy to kill a plant by giving it too much attention.Takanotsume said:
Doelman said:
Not saying that you're wrong here, but Neem's primary method of action is ingestion. You must never rely on it as a contact, unless you are applying it as a horticultural oil. (basically, painted on)
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Will it kill some bugs on contact, when emulsified and diluted? Probably. Would I count on it? Nope.
Well, now I feel stupid for not staking the bigger plant sooner because I should've realized with it growing a new main stem out of the topped-off stem that it was getting extra weight on one side, so the whole plant ended up tipping over as a result of some light rains adding water to the leaves that pushed it past its limit (The Promix Ultimate being so light likely didn't help any in that regard, either).
The new main stalk is now tied to a plastic pole using some plastic wrap. Hopefully it'll be okay since it was only in its uncomfortable position for a few hours before I noticed. I think I ought to add a layer of mulch for extra weight, too.
The new main stalk is now tied to a plastic pole using some plastic wrap. Hopefully it'll be okay since it was only in its uncomfortable position for a few hours before I noticed. I think I ought to add a layer of mulch for extra weight, too.
Lucky it didn't snap anything off, plant should be fine regardless. Did the bag tip or just the plant? If the plant fell over with just rain water, imagine how top heavy it's going to get with pods on it.Takanotsume said:
Hmmm plastic wrap, is that going to stretch enough for the plant? You don't want to use anything that will constrict the stem. I always use loose twine.
The plant itself tipped over. It looked pretty bad at first, but come morning it straightened itself out. I assume it was just because it "went to sleep" with its leaves and stems at a strange angle and folded them in to compensate.
It's very loosely bundled plastic wrap, so I think it's pliable enough to permit growth.
I've been hearing people saying that the Aji Limons often only start putting out fruit in the tail end of summer when the temps cool down, so I guess I'll just play the waiting game for now and maybe give a light dose of calcium to the spindly plant because the top growth is showing signs of deficiency with the small, curling leaves and brown patches. I don't think it's a pest issue with the spraying routine I've been maintaining.
It's very loosely bundled plastic wrap, so I think it's pliable enough to permit growth.
I've been hearing people saying that the Aji Limons often only start putting out fruit in the tail end of summer when the temps cool down, so I guess I'll just play the waiting game for now and maybe give a light dose of calcium to the spindly plant because the top growth is showing signs of deficiency with the small, curling leaves and brown patches. I don't think it's a pest issue with the spraying routine I've been maintaining.
I don't know, it's just a bit frustrating to not know exactly what is wrong with a plant.
I guess I should leave them alone as far as the nutes go and try to give them more sun (The lousy weather lately has not been helping with that).
At least I have plants that are producing to tend to in the meantime (Though the accursed mites are trying their darndest to impede that...).
I guess I should leave them alone as far as the nutes go and try to give them more sun (The lousy weather lately has not been helping with that).
At least I have plants that are producing to tend to in the meantime (Though the accursed mites are trying their darndest to impede that...).
spray potash
I started mine March 1st, planted out April 30th, they started producing two weeks after, each one put on about a dozen pods. There was a brief lull, now they're all producing again and it's been between 85-95 every day here for the last month. I don't know of a single pepper that only produces at the end of summer and if it existed, you shouldn't grow it. Well I guess in Hawaii you could, but in most places you shouldn't since you would never get a ripe pod.Takanotsume said:
You could always cut off the leggy stems, it'll still grow fine and get a bit more bushy. There's a good chance they'll just break off in the future anyway when they get laden with pods since you're staking and not caging.
Takanotsume said:
What makes you think that you'll ever know *exactly* what's wrong with a plant? They're complex biomechanical/bioelectric systems. Most of us - if we're being honest - know approximately what's wrong, sometimes, at best. And you know what? That's usually good enough.
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I have said this so many times, and I'm going to say it again... Focus on the basics. If you can get all of the basics right, almost all of your other issues will take care of themselves. Get the plant growing at a basic level well, keep pests off of it, make sure it's not subject to undue treatment, and it will reward you. It's really just that simple. You seem to be frustrated in all of your posts - but until you make the conscious decision to just learn the basics, without being tempted by every bit of garden porn that you see/read, you're going to be stuck here. Decide with me right here today, that you're going to stop being frustrated and twitchy. You are going to be a great grower...
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Basics. It's 90% of the battle to become a great grower.
I think the main thing I find concerning right now is the stunted top growth on the plant that's putting out several blooms, particularly because it's coupled with curling and/or browning of the new leaves. Some of the young buds have also turned black and died off, which as far as I'm aware suggests that there is/was a calcium deficiency as do the previous symptoms (The new lower growth is not exhibiting any of this, however).
I feel like that Black Gold potting mix I neglected to remove from the plant's roots is probably still inhibiting its growth for some reason because every plant I have/had growing in the stuff eventually started exhibiting the same symptoms coupled with bolting, though I'm not sure as to why because the plant's root system looked decent enough when I transplanted it. Maybe I ought to PH test the run off from my pots to see if there's any major imbalances.
I feel like that Black Gold potting mix I neglected to remove from the plant's roots is probably still inhibiting its growth for some reason because every plant I have/had growing in the stuff eventually started exhibiting the same symptoms coupled with bolting, though I'm not sure as to why because the plant's root system looked decent enough when I transplanted it. Maybe I ought to PH test the run off from my pots to see if there's any major imbalances.
Here's the thing about using a good potting soil like promix, it has everything your plants need in it for several months, you really should stop messing with your plants and let them do their thing. Too much fertilizer can burn them, curling and browning of new leaves can be a symptom of that. Do not fertilize plants in a potting mix that has fertilizer in it already, not until it gets used up. No shade cloth, support, no fertilizer, don't over water, no foliar sprays. That's all you need to be doing, neem spray is fine if you want to continue that.Takanotsume said:
The only nutes I gave the plants since I potted them up to seven gal pots was a diluted kelp foliar spray.and a single dose of 10-15-10 Schulz liquid plant food at about one-fourth strength. They've just been getting sparse waterings and neem spraying for the past three weeks or so.
Prior to the transplanting, the nicer-looking plant was in pure Jiffy Starter mix and received naught but a pinch of Gro Power fertilizer (Which has had really good results on the three plants I applied it to). That one is the only one that was potted up into the Pro Mix.
The spindly looking plant was in Black Gold Organic potting mix with a touch of Jobe's organic Tomato/Vegetable fertilizer.added. As with every plant in that combination, it looked okay up until it got to around eight inches tall, then the growth started bolting and became scrawny. The plant was stuck at a pale green color until I potted it up into a peat/bark-based mix with a small amount of slow-release fertilizer pre-mixed into it.
I'd be surprised if both plants don't end up covered in fungal or bacterial disease with how wet it's been lately, though...
Prior to the transplanting, the nicer-looking plant was in pure Jiffy Starter mix and received naught but a pinch of Gro Power fertilizer (Which has had really good results on the three plants I applied it to). That one is the only one that was potted up into the Pro Mix.
The spindly looking plant was in Black Gold Organic potting mix with a touch of Jobe's organic Tomato/Vegetable fertilizer.added. As with every plant in that combination, it looked okay up until it got to around eight inches tall, then the growth started bolting and became scrawny. The plant was stuck at a pale green color until I potted it up into a peat/bark-based mix with a small amount of slow-release fertilizer pre-mixed into it.
I'd be surprised if both plants don't end up covered in fungal or bacterial disease with how wet it's been lately, though...
I guess the neem would protect them from that to a degree.
They didn't get as wet as they could've due to the shade cloth blocking a lot of the rain coupled with the leaves directing the water away from the soil, but I eventually moved them under full shade because it started pouring for hours on end.
Noticed that the healthier-looking plant is dropping the flowers before they even have a chance to bloom, but I'll just be patient and try to get them what little sun they can in this dumpy weather.
They didn't get as wet as they could've due to the shade cloth blocking a lot of the rain coupled with the leaves directing the water away from the soil, but I eventually moved them under full shade because it started pouring for hours on end.
Noticed that the healthier-looking plant is dropping the flowers before they even have a chance to bloom, but I'll just be patient and try to get them what little sun they can in this dumpy weather.
Fungal/bacterial disease is far less of an issue with container plants with store bought soil on a hard surface. Most of that stuff is soil born. How you try to prevent fungus and bacterial disease with plants is to space them properly so air can circulate around them and dry them off, and mulch the soil so you don't have any soil splash onto the plants when it rains. Very easy to do all of that with container plants, the fact that store bought soil is sterilized also helps a ton.
So it turns out that despite the repeated neem sprayings, broad mites had actually managed to settle in on both of my plants, and that they were the culprits behind the "calcium deficiency" I mentioned earlier.
The symptoms the older plants were exhibiting were very different from the ones the younger plants that had been attacked were showing, so I had doubts that they were actually the cause.
These things are so damned persistent that I'm feeling half-ready to just give up on growing in this area or to just resort to indoor growing instead. Even a thorough bi-weekly spraying schedule doesn't seem to be working.
The symptoms the older plants were exhibiting were very different from the ones the younger plants that had been attacked were showing, so I had doubts that they were actually the cause.
These things are so damned persistent that I'm feeling half-ready to just give up on growing in this area or to just resort to indoor growing instead. Even a thorough bi-weekly spraying schedule doesn't seem to be working.