bpiela's 2017 glog

floricole · Mar 22, 2017

bpiela said:
I thought they would, but it doesn't seem like they do a good job on them. Maybe they aren't as tasty as aphids so they are eaten last... They could be the "insert least favorite green vegetable here" of the ladybug diet.

I already had success against the spider mite with the one predator "Stethorus Punctillum "

Stethorus punctillum: S. punctillum is a small black lady beetle (about 1.5 mm long), which feeds mainly on spider mites. The adult is as much predator as the larva. It flies well, allowing it to spot spider mite infestations in crops and to lay its eggs in the colonies. This predator may be ineffective on some host plants with sticky hairs (eg, tomato plants).

bpiela · Mar 22, 2017

floricole said:
I already had success against the spider mite with the one predator "Stethorus Punctillum "

Stethorus punctillum: S. punctillum is a small black lady beetle (about 1.5 mm long), which feeds mainly on spider mites. The adult is as much predator as the larva. It flies well, allowing it to spot spider mite infestations in crops and to lay its eggs in the colonies. This predator may be ineffective on some host plants with sticky hairs (eg, tomato plants).

Very cool. I might have to give these bugs a try.

bpiela · Mar 29, 2017

Haven't updated in a bit. Just a reunion tour of some of the plants that I had posted pics on earlier.

Here is a TC07246 standing alongside a Tshololo Orange. The Tshololo is nice and purply.

Here is a slightly blurry look at the top of the TC07246. It is flowering and well protected from pests.

Here is a pick of the CAP501's, a CAP691 and a CAP1144...

The one CAP 501 on the right was so tall, it was not in the picture. So, here is another pic... My weber grill patiently sitting in the background...

Here is a closeup of the tall CAP501 from the top. Got some buds formin'.

And a closeup of the top of the CAP 691. I hope to get a ton of those little red bastids...

Lastly, a pic of my Aji Lemon Drop. Still very far away from producing anything resembling a pepper.

I did pick up a used and very old Aerogarden. Seemed like the thing to do. It is a Classic 7 from 2009! I paid $25 for it. I plan on using it for herbs and maybe a pepper clone or two. Loved the video Peter Stanley did.

Devv · Mar 29, 2017

Looking good Ben!

I see a really nice season in the making

stickman · Mar 30, 2017

Good on ya Ben! Fingers crossed for you this season. :dance:

bpiela · Apr 7, 2017

Had my soil tested by Rutgers. Seems like I did ok. I need to address my soil pH by adding powdered elemental sulfur into the root zone. That should be fun. My macro and micro nutrients are good, so that is cool. Just got to add a wee bit of Nitrogen and things will be fine. I also found out my plant out date is May 4th instead of May 15th. I did not know that. I better get started acquiring some sulfur... Here is a copy of the report...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/nwgex91sxqxl9b6/R58495_2017-04-06_14-32.pdf?dl=0

stickman · Apr 8, 2017

Excellent soil test results Ben! 8.8% organic matter is an exceptional result! Usually 5% is considered good. Our results are pretty similar, though I have more sulfur and you have more magnesium. The cold soil of early spring doesn't show much microbial activity, and that's where most of your nitrogen comes from. You might want to put a few tablespoons of fast-acting nitrogen in the hole under your transplants when you set them out. Bat guano is a good one for that, and it'll add some sulfur as well. Keep up the good work!

bpiela · Apr 8, 2017

stickman said:
Excellent soil test results Ben! 8.8% organic matter is an exceptional result! Usually 5% is considered good. Our results are pretty similar, though I have more sulfur and you have more magnesium. The cold soil of early spring doesn't show much microbial activity, and that's where most of your nitrogen comes from. You might want to put a few tablespoons of fast-acting nitrogen in the hole under your transplants when you set them out. Bat guano is a good one for that, and it'll add some sulfur as well. Keep up the good work!

Thanks for the tips! I greatly appreciate it!

PaulG · Apr 9, 2017

Great, Ben - gives you a sense of peace of
mind knowing exactly what you have. Can't
wait to see how your grow goes this summer!

And, good advice, Rickster!

Superhot Sim · Apr 9, 2017

Plants are all looking lush Ben , nice to see you got a lady bug aboard :lol:

, always a welcome vistor. Looking forward to see you plant out and watching your grow through to pods , keep up your good work.

Devv · Apr 14, 2017

Glad your soil test came out so well Ben

I'm going to spring for that too next season, I think after this one I'll be where I need to be :cheers:

tctenten · Apr 14, 2017

Soil looks pretty good. I want to send a sample to Rutgers too. One of these days I will get around to it. How long did the whole process take?

bpiela · Apr 15, 2017

tctenten said:
Soil looks pretty good. I want to send a sample to Rutgers too. One of these days I will get around to it. How long did the whole process take?

Wasn't bad at all. About a week. I did pick up some powdered sulphur so I hope to add that this weekend. I have had a gout flareup this week so I have been doing nothing. Eeesh!

bpiela · Apr 15, 2017

Wow. You get gout and you avoid the plants for a few days and it is amazing how things can go bad so fast.

For starters, although I have used Lady Bugs to control aphids in the past, the bottom line is aphids will not be denied. I have never seen so many. When I buy bug killer at the gardening store, it is like aphids have built up a tolerance and kinda laugh at that stuff. Lady Bugs seem to work for a week or two but then forget about it. Aphids will come back stronger.

Second, it seems like something I tried this year turned out to be a major mistake. I had seen a video where a guy claimed that putting neem cake on top of the soil in his containers pretty much got rid of aphids for him. So, sounded good. I did that with all of my annuums. Well, for one thing, aphids couldn't care less about neem cake. Second, when the neem cake gets wet, it melts a little bit and then forms an almost solid hard layer on top of the soil, This creates a wonderful opportunity for plants to rot, in a dampening off kinda way. So, not only did this stuff make the whole basement smell like poop, it assisted in killing a bunch of plants.

As far as not learning from last year's mistakes, I have a bunch of baccatum plants that have not grown straight and are growing in an "S" shape. I picked up a bunch of 18" stakes and am up potting them to a 1g or a 2g pot for the next few weeks.

On a positive note, my chinense plants didn't seem to be affected, although it seems like aphids like chinense plants better.

So, I think since we are a few weeks from plant out, I am going to go with one more round of Lady Bugs, probably go overboard and get like 3,000 of them. Next year, I think I need to shrink down the grow somewhat. I just cannot handle over 300 plants. I was hoping that I could sell some plants locally for like $3 a pop and make enough to cover the costs, but that doesn't seem like a possible reality. Next year I think I need to just grow what I plan on using myself and that is it.

stickman · Apr 16, 2017

Sorry to hear about your trials with those little bastiges Ben, I've got 'em too... and +1 on them liking Chinense varieties over Annuums. My own personal observation is that they like Pubiscens varieties even more. Thanks for sharing your experience with Neem cake so others don't make the same mistake.

I'm not sure how to get your spare plants out where interested people would see and buy them unless you could work something out online, but Cross-Country Nursery seems to have that niche covered.

bpiela · Apr 17, 2017

stickman said:
Sorry to hear about your trials with those little bastiges Ben, I've got 'em too... and +1 on them liking Chinense varieties over Annuums. My own personal observation is that they like Pubiscens varieties even more. Thanks for sharing your experience with Neem cake so others don't make the same mistake.

I'm not sure how to get your spare plants out where interested people would see and buy them unless you could work something out online, but Cross-Country Nursery seems to have that niche covered.

On the plant selling, last year I posted "Free Pepper Plants" on the town facebook group page and I gave out around 60 plants. I am sure the "Free" bit was an added incentive for some but I thought if I made a small effort, I could make things happen. If folks wanted plants that I didn't have, I would recommend CCN, Refining Fire Chiles, Juanitos, etc for the good stuff.

PaulG · Apr 23, 2017

Damn those aphids! Sorry to hear you are having difficulties, Ben,
but it sounds like you are gaining some ground. 300 plants? Holy moley!

bpiela · May 1, 2017

So, I ordered up some ladybugs to kill the aphids. I ordered them from Amazon. They did a good job the few other times I used them this year... Anyways, this past week, I had a business trip that parlayed into a guys weekend away in DC. The ladybugs arrived after I left for the trip. I asked my wife to put them in the grow area. Seems like at least half of them were dead. I arrived today to take a look and it is as if nothing had been done. I have never seem such a mess before. Here are a few pics

I am not sure what to do except by tons of Insecticidal soap, neem oil, etc and hit as many plants as I can daily. Ordering more ladybugs would be a waste. Takes about a week to receive them.

SavinaRed · May 1, 2017

wow I've never seen an aphid infestation that bad

Devv · May 1, 2017

Sorry Ben, I simply hate the bastages!

I tried some triple action neem oil made by Ferti-loom, it seems to work well! Any ants around? They mine the Aphids, so if around they need to go too.

Good luck buddy!