BeagleStorm vs 2011 - My Chile Grow Log

Ok first up is some photos of my over wintered plants. Scorpion, Naga Morich, Chocolate Bhut, and 2 x Harold St. Barts. More of an experiment... I have never tried to over winter plants before. Did not super prune the plants or the root balls. I just left them in their pots out in the semi-cold during early November and most of the leaves started falling off. Then I did a minimal prune to remove any remaining leaves and to clean them up a bit. Gave them a cup of water each and threw them in my parent’s garage. I gave them a second cup of water last weekend. They seem to be doing great. One plant had what seemed to be a few Aphids so I sprayed it with Organocide but they have been bug free for the last month. I want to keep them in pots, so I think I will need to transplant them into fresh soil and maybe bigger pots this spring. Just not sure how I am going to do it or what process I am going to use. I do know that I am going to keep them at my parents so they do not pass any nasty critters to my seedlings before spring comes. Any recommendations?

 

[chileaddict]

Hey Beag. Get a few box turtles and let them roam the back yard. Mine (Bill and Ted) ate more hornworms than I could count. Great entertainment.

 

[patrick]

Head on a spike. Makes me want to drink beer and scream at the neighbors. Some serious medieval stuff man.

 

[Beaglestorm]

Ok so being a new grower I don’t have a lot of experience in the garden. Last year was a disaster but this year has gone much better… until now. There is just no substitute for experience. Once you think you have made some progress and learned a bit about growing something else slaps you around for getting cocky. LOL

Ok so I have found a few hornworms of the last few weeks. This morning I found another 3, 2 big ones on a plant I only have one of. When I got home from work tonight I decided to REALLY look for all I could find. Searched and searched and found nothing on my 50 container plants. On my way back into the house just by luck and weird brain interactions I somehow saw out of my peripheral vision a lighter shade of green that caught my eye. Sure enough it was a hornworm. Well to summarize … I found another 17 tonight once I learned what to look for. With the exception of that one plant damage was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. So for those that are new and may not know here are some tips.

The big ones live on the stems and the little ones live under a leaf(and are crazy hard to see).
The bigger ones drop a big load of black poop below them. If you see something like my photo there is probably a worm above it somewhere.
If you see stems with out leaves …. Yup
If you see green leaves on top of the soil….Yup
If you see munched leaves……Yup
If you found a few and think you found them all…. Nope

Ok so here are some photos….

 

[UrbanNoir75]

Your plants look lush and healthy, Beaglestorm. Nice progress. How did you apply the compost tea to the seedlings?

With respect to the above post, if those hornworms get out of hand (meaning beyond what is a reasonable amount of time spent plucking them off), you could try a light spray of Thuricide (or some variant containing Bacillus Thuringensis) on the leaves, an organic, people-safe pesticide. My ex-girlfriend swore by it, and she's been growing tomatoes organically for years. I've been using Neem oil on my blueberry and blackberry plants for a host of critters, but I'm not sure what it would do for caterpillars.

You sound like you do your homework, but if you haven't come across relevant info already, this link lists several natural methods for dealing with said beastie: http://www.veggiegardener.com/tips-for-getting-rid-of-hornworms/

 

[Silver_Surfer]

Spray your plants with Spinosad Mike. It's better than BT cause it lasts longer between sprays and kills much more.

"Spinosad is a relatively new insect killer that was discovered from soil in an abandoned rum distillery in 1982. Produced by fermentation, Spinosad can be used on outdoor ornamentals, lawns, vegetables and fruit trees, to control caterpillars, thrips, leafminers, borers, fruit flies, and more. Spinosad must be ingested by the insect, therefore it has little effect on sucking insects and non-target predatory insects. Spinosad is relatively fast acting. The pest insect dies within 1 to 2 days after ingesting the active ingredient. Will not persist in the environment. Sunlight and soil microbes break it down into carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. Classified as an organic substance by the USDA National Organic Standards Board. OMRI Listed for use in organic production.

You'll never find em all; spray this stuff and stop em dead in their tracks. I use it and they just sit there and shrivel as they starve to death.

 

[buddy]

looking good Beagle. kick the crap out of those hornworms. (and keep them out of illinois)

 

[patrick]

Dang those are some serious monsters! You're so right about the experience Michael, nothing compares to it. Now that you know what to look for those bastages don't stand a chance.

 

[Beaglestorm]

Hey Beag. Get a few box turtles and let them roam the back yard. Mine (Bill and Ted) ate more hornworms than I could count. Great entertainment.

I'm trying to picture this.. do they climb up into the plant? Or do you mean you hand feed them the hornworms? Sounds like fun and turtles do pretty well here in this area.

Your plants look lush and healthy, Beaglestorm. Nice progress. How did you apply the compost tea to the seedlings?

With respect to the above post, if those hornworms get out of hand (meaning beyond what is a reasonable amount of time spent plucking them off), you could try a light spray of Thuricide (or some variant containing Bacillus Thuringensis) on the leaves, an organic, people-safe pesticide. My ex-girlfriend swore by it, and she's been growing tomatoes organically for years. I've been using Neem oil on my blueberry and blackberry plants for a host of critters, but I'm not sure what it would do for caterpillars.

You sound like you do your homework, but if you haven't come across relevant info already, this link lists several natural methods for dealing with said beastie: http://www.veggiegardener.com/tips-for-getting-rid-of-hornworms/

Thanks for the info, Next year it will be Thuricide or Spinosad. My seedlings got the tea only once. They were probably 1.5 months old. Then I started using the Botanicare fertilizers which say to give at every watering so they are pretty safe. The tea is also not supposed to burn and my plants loved it. I just kept using the Botanicare because it was easier.

Spray your plants with Spinosad Mike. It's better than BT cause it lasts longer between sprays and kills much more.

You'll never find em all; spray this stuff and stop em dead in their tracks. I use it and they just sit there and shrivel as they starve to death.

And it is still organic so Spinosad sounds like a winner!

looking good Beagle. kick the crap out of those hornworms. (and keep them out of illinois)

LOL! I never thought hornworms were this plentiful in the middle of the desert.

Dang those are some serious monsters! You're so right about the experience Michael, nothing compares to it. Now that you know what to look for those bastages don't stand a chance.

I hope so, you, AJ, Chris and SS make it look so easy.

 

[Beaglestorm]

Raised garden update:
Over all the plants in the full sun are now finally coming around. I guess it just takes time to get them established then they take off. Soil seems ok now, only issue is the shade. The ones in the sun have been set it and forget it... very easy.

The pimenta Tiger was just a stick with no leaves after the winds and some sun burn but has really come back.

You can see the big difference being in the shade makes. Unfortunately ~50% is in the shade...

 

[patrick]

Remember growing peppers is a leaning experience each and every year. The things you've gone through this season prepare you for next. You're doing great Michael, keep the faith man. Someday we'll all grow peppers like the pro's around here.

 

[Beaglestorm]

Ok I applied Spinosad like SS recommended and it seems to have worked great ... no more hornworms... plus it is organic so no fears for the kids playing in the yard. The monsoons have finally arrived and we have actually had a few nice heavy rains. Plants have responded very well to the cooler temps (95-99) and moisture over the past 2 weeks. Container plants are growing well except for sporadic damage from pea sized hail 1 week ago. Still not many pods but I know they will come eventually. Only have pods on my Peach Scorpalokia and Pimenta Elise. According to the weather service this is the 3rd most 100+ days we have had in the last 100 years. So I am extremely pleased with how the plants look given that data.

My in ground plants are amazing. Now I can see why some people drop container growing for in the ground. I thought I had a bunch of issues with the raised garden but I guess it just needed some time to come together. Plants in the full sun are getting huge and podding up, and now even the ones in the shade are actually looking like they are growing with some vigor. It has been no effort to grow in the ground and I definitely will be chopping down the overhead branches to get full sun for 100% of the raised beds for next year. I don’t have enough confidence in my raised bed gardening skills yet that I would drop growing in the containers but in a few years I could totally see growing 95% in the ground only. I think managing 10 or so containers (instead of 50) would be a lot more rewarding. I would put what ever I want to isolate in the 10 big pots spread around the yard then the rest in the ground I would not have to worry about.

Ok so here are some pictures.

Peach Scorpalokia

Peach Scorpalokia

Overall shot of the container plants. (The rolling carts are awesome… saved me from devastating hail damage)

AISPES Pimenta Tiger #1 (Huge but no pods)

AISPES Pimenta Tiger #2 (Huge but no pods)

AISPES Pimenta Tiger #3 (Smaller, but… yea a few pods)

AISPES TS Morouga Yellow (This is my largest and best plant)

Overall shot of plants in the sun

Overall showing comparison of plants in the sun and shade

 

[muskymojo]

Looking good Beagle! Your raised beds turned out great! I really like the pvc frame. I would like to do something similar covered with poly to extend my season.

 

[megamoo]

That AISPES TS Morouga Yellow looks monstrous! Is it setting any pods?

 

[Silver_Surfer]

Glad to see things coming together for ya Mike and you've cured your horn worm problems.

Nice harvests aren't too far off for you; your plants are doing fine. The weather here isn't pleasant, but I surely don't envy yours.

 

[Beaglestorm]

Looking good Beagle! Your raised beds turned out great! I really like the pvc frame. I would like to do something similar covered with poly to extend my season.

The frame is a bit wimpy but got the job done. Works great with fabric only on the setting sun side of the A frame. Even with the temps in the high 90's and low 100's, it was enough to get all the plants to set pods

That AISPES TS Morouga Yellow looks monstrous! Is it setting any pods?

Thanks, lots of flowers but I did not think I had any pods yet. Went and really looked and found one lone pod. If it is the only pod I get, I will be happy as it looks like a perfect specimen. Pictures posted below.

Glad to see things coming together for ya Mike and you've cured your horn worm problems.

Nice harvests aren't too far off for you; your plants are doing fine. The weather here isn't pleasant, but I surely don't envy yours.

Thanks SS your most recent garden pics will be an inspiration for me for years to come. Now that I have a few pods set... bring on the heat... lets make the first ones of the season scorching hot.

 

[Beaglestorm]

AISPES TS Morouga Yellow

AISPES Pimenta Tiger

AISPES TS Chocolate

White Habalokia

Scotch Bonnet TFM

Bahamian Goat Pepper

 

[Beaglestorm]

Just a few pictures to update. Not a lot happening in the garden. More pods are appearing on my in-ground plants, containers still have no pods except for a random single pod here and there. Have 4 plants ripening now:

This is my best plant, it is a monster and is loaded with pods that all look the same. Taste test this weekend.

Pimenta Tiger AISPES - This plant has Dark Purple, Green, Lavender, Orange, and Red pods at the same time. Pretty neat.. No stripes yet.

Here is a bad photo of the Tiger Plant:

NOT White Habalokia from AjiJoe - Been on the plant for 10 days like this .. I think it is going to stay yellow.

 

[madhatter]

Beautiful Michael! nice pod shots. Nice to see all your work paying off after the slow start and those horn worm attacks. Dont know which one is my favorite. They all look great!

 

[buddy]

nice looking pods Beagle. hope they taste as good as they look.

 

[cmpman1974]

Nice Beaglestorm. That NOT White Habalokia may not have ripened true color, but I really like the light yellow color it does turn to. Very pretty. Really productive plant. I will surely grow again. It'll make a gorgeous powder.

Chris