Alright guys, I brought in my few surviving plants of the year. They were the runts that never made it out of cups, but damnit, they're alive and they shall be the vanguard of my glorious pepper army for next year!
I found aphids on one. That plant has been stripped bare and is now a Stikinacup™, and on the opposite corner of the table. I am going to give them all a shave eventually but have two more plants that I will be bringing inside. These are well established plants that I gave to my cousin at the beginning of the season and he doesn't have the capability or interest to overwinter them. They do have peppers waiting to ripen on them, however.
Now, what should the proper procedure be? Should I let everything keep their leaves until the peppers ripen, cut off any affected leaves until then, and then begin Operation: Shaved Wood? Or if I let the aphids establish a beachhead will they swarm the area enough that nothing I do to the plants will be enough, and they'll just survive in the area until the plants can feed them well enough again?
My theoretical checklist:
1. Get larger plants inside, keep them in 5 gallon buckets with outside dirt.
2. Wait till peppers ripen, plucking any flowers, and cutting off any leaves with aphidsign on any plant.
3. After all peppers are plucked, prune the pestiforous plants until every persistent petiole has been purged.
4. Post-purification, pull the plants (damnit, enough alliteration) and give every single one a rootbath and replant with new soil
5. Move newly planted sticks to some far, dark corner of my basement for three days to allow any flying aphids to die off.
6. Put plants back under the light.
7. Notice aphids in 2 months and weep silently into my pillow as the shame of my failure sweeps over me in waves.
8. Travel back in time and abduct a young Drew Barrymore, locking her in my basement.
9. Piss her off.
10. Run.
Any amendments to my list that could possibly turn my eventual murderous aphidicidal rage into fluffy puppy hugging smiles?
I found aphids on one. That plant has been stripped bare and is now a Stikinacup™, and on the opposite corner of the table. I am going to give them all a shave eventually but have two more plants that I will be bringing inside. These are well established plants that I gave to my cousin at the beginning of the season and he doesn't have the capability or interest to overwinter them. They do have peppers waiting to ripen on them, however.
Now, what should the proper procedure be? Should I let everything keep their leaves until the peppers ripen, cut off any affected leaves until then, and then begin Operation: Shaved Wood? Or if I let the aphids establish a beachhead will they swarm the area enough that nothing I do to the plants will be enough, and they'll just survive in the area until the plants can feed them well enough again?
My theoretical checklist:
1. Get larger plants inside, keep them in 5 gallon buckets with outside dirt.
2. Wait till peppers ripen, plucking any flowers, and cutting off any leaves with aphidsign on any plant.
3. After all peppers are plucked, prune the pestiforous plants until every persistent petiole has been purged.
4. Post-purification, pull the plants (damnit, enough alliteration) and give every single one a rootbath and replant with new soil
5. Move newly planted sticks to some far, dark corner of my basement for three days to allow any flying aphids to die off.
6. Put plants back under the light.
7. Notice aphids in 2 months and weep silently into my pillow as the shame of my failure sweeps over me in waves.
8. Travel back in time and abduct a young Drew Barrymore, locking her in my basement.
9. Piss her off.
10. Run.
Any amendments to my list that could possibly turn my eventual murderous aphidicidal rage into fluffy puppy hugging smiles?
