Man AJ you really give a young gun something to strive for, i'm humbled to be here! Rock on look forward to those puppies go on sale, I'm going to have a late start this year so hopefully i can get some babies that will put off some fruit during the crawfish season! take care man and keep on keeping on!
I, sometimes am not a good example...
... but thanks man...the plants will be ready sometime about the middle to end of March...
Wow! This is the first time i've browsed through this thread and i have to say that i am thoroughly impressed!
And inspired to step my pepper growing game up too!
Thanks for showing us how it's done AJ.
dvg
thanks dvg but remember, this is not HOW it is done, this is just how I do it...
OK...decided this morning when I got up at 3am to think and get ready for the day...got a gig at the Elephant from 2-6 this afternoon which is always fun during the Fort Worth Stock Show...may even get a little advertising in while I am there...
so....I decided to transplant my first overwintered Trinidad Scorpion plant...sure hoping it produces like my orange hab did two years ago...three now I reckon...
this is a pictorial tour of what I did...
Pulled the plant out of the 5 gallon container...it is totally rootbound with the roots growing around the sides of the container...this action is a limiting factor for the size and production of the plant...
you can't really tell, but I have cut a slice out of the rootball like a piece of cake to show the "rootboundness" of the plant...
then I completely cut the rootball down...
then I "fluffed" the roots up...if you are gentle with the roots now that they are exposed, root growth stimulation will occur...(that is my opinion, I have not done any reasearch to confirm/deny it)..these roots are very healthy and have a nice white color to them...unhealthy roots will be darker in color and if you can "slip the skin" down on your roots that is a sign of root rot...
I had a solution of 8-14-9 for aftrican violets and sat the rootball in it...I figured it was time to jump start the growth on this baby...
I prepped my 1 gallon self-watering container...
made up an aggressive formula of Botanicare Pro-Gro 3-2-4....
and just for preventative measures, I sprayed the whole plant down with this natural insecticide...even the soil and pot...everything got a good coat of it...
and now she is at home under 3K lumens/ft2...
and this is what I told the plant after this ordeal was over...
rest easy baby, I tried to be as gentle as I could, but I had to cause you a little pain by trimming your roots a little...please forgive me and grow strong and tall this season and produce lots and lots of pods...if you do, you MAY get a chance next year...but if you don't, remember this...I brought you into this world and I can take you out just the same...