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educate a newbie on growing the hottest :)

C

canuckheat

Hi there, first time poster here! (Nice to find a place to talk about one thing I love--heat) This is my first year growing hot peppers, I have the following,
Cayenne
Apache chili
Red habanero
Scotch bonnet
Devils tongue
Fatalii
Red bhut jolokia
Yellow bhut jolokia
Trinidad scorpion moruga
Trinidad scorpion butch T (x2)
And carolina reapers
Here's my question ( s)

All are about 1 foot in height and are beginning to produce flowers, my scotch bonnets have about 5 peppers currently starting. The rest seem to be blooming. I am feeding a 20:30:20 fertilizer as recommended by the guy at the green house. How can I get larger plants with more fruit yield versus small plants with little fruit yield?

I have read mixed opinions on pinching the first set of flowers to allow more growth and higher future yield, is this true? How do I do this?

My scotch bonnets have good foliage for a small plant with lots of buds but I would like to see them taller and sturdier. How can I do this in Alberta's(Canada) short growing season. I plan to bring them into our south facing window before frost to continue indoor growth if possible


Any help is greatly appreciated as the more I yield the more I can keep my self warm this winter ;)


Here's my plants currently


And here's one of the scotch bonnets starting. This plant is 3rd from the left in the above image
 
Plants look good, keep it up. With your short growing season I might leave them alone. Not knowing much about growing in
Canada I'm sure someone from your area will chime in.
 
NattyPepper said:
Plants look good, keep it up. With your short growing season I might leave them alone. Not knowing much about growing inCanada I'm sure someone from your area will chime in.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply, I know my carolina reaper got hit with some pea sized hail last week but still looks strong aside from a few holes in the leaves. Ive since moved them under the awning so they still get full sun but are protected from the elements
 
Looking good!! Your containers will, largely, determine the size of your plants. Generally speaking - the larger the root ball, the larger the plant. With your short growing season, I agree with Natty to leave them alone. You seem to be getting good production so far  :)
 
meinchoh said:
Looking good!! Your containers will, largely, determine the size of your plants. Generally speaking - the larger the root ball, the larger the plant. With your short growing season, I agree with Natty to leave them alone. You seem to be getting good production so far  :)
Click to expand...
thanks again, yes looking closely I have 5 red habs starting as well as many buds, 6 scotch bonnets and this plant is going into full bloom a few trinidads and one reaper starting! I can wait to mash them up and make a killer sauce lol
 
Welcome to the forum!  Get those babies in 4-5 gallon pots.  If you compost, mix it with some sand, and use that as your filler.  Good compost is free...and beats the dog out of ferts.  Also, if you have an aquarium, or know someone that does, use the mucked out water to feed your babies.  They love it.
 
I actually just moved them from 1/2 gallon to 2 gallon pots last friday, will moving them so soon be stressful? Also we have a koi pond would this work the same way?
 
Koi pond water would be great for your plants.

As for picking the first pods, I usually leave the c. Chinese pods since they take a while to ripen. I pick all the early pods on my c. annums and other quick podding varieties
 
Just re-read your grow list, everything but cayenne is a Chinese I think. I'm not sure about the apache. You should try growing some annums next year, they do pretty well with our short season
 
fireface said:
Just re-read your grow list, everything but cayenne is a Chinese I think. I'm not sure about the apache. You should try growing some annums next year, they do pretty well with our short season
Click to expand...
Thanks I plan to now. I'm just south of edmonton btw in wetaskiwin. Nice to see a local!
 
I say move them to bigger pots ASAP.  Soak the current containers during the next watering cycle.  A couple days later, when everything is compacted together but not soggy, move to the big pots.  Any fish water will serve you well...try to get some of the scum off the bottom to use...lots of dissolved nutrients.  Also...at the stage in which your plants appear to be...I would make sure to water them every 5-7 days starting about a week after you stick them in bigger pots.  After about a good month in the big pots, I'd cut back watering them to once a week unless or until you see wilting.
 
Looking good though...as a noob, you seem to have done some homework.  Last bit of advice...and I learned it here:  the plant's stress is only compounded by the parent's stress.  Worry about them less...hell...damn near ignore them.  Toss them a random scrap here and there...and they will grow strong and mean.
 
Pruning can help with large yeilds. If your bring them inside, maybe you can get some grow lights. Check out this guys youtube video. He explains it pretty well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XmfoASl_Lg
 
LunchBox said:
I say move them to bigger pots ASAP.  Soak the current containers during the next watering cycle.  A couple days later, when everything is compacted together but not soggy, move to the big pots.  Any fish water will serve you well...try to get some of the scum off the bottom to use...lots of dissolved nutrients.  Also...at the stage in which your plants appear to be...I would make sure to water them every 5-7 days starting about a week after you stick them in bigger pots.  After about a good month in the big pots, I'd cut back watering them to once a week unless or until you see wilting.
 
Looking good though...as a noob, you seem to have done some homework.  Last bit of advice...and I learned it here:  the plant's stress is only compounded by the parent's stress.  Worry about them less...hell...damn near ignore them.  Toss them a random scrap here and there...and they will grow strong and mean.
Click to expand...
You've got some great advice here. I'm a little further south than you are, but still zone 5a. My first year growing in pots too, and they're doing great in 20 liter "shoes". Here's a recent pic of a Douglah to illustrate the point...
SANY1003_zpsde33dab6.jpg

 
I also did some judicious pruning to encourage growth and let light and air into the "understory" of the plant.
 
stickman said:
You've got some great advice here. I'm a little further south than you are, but still zone 5a. My first year growing in pots too, and they're doing great in 20 liter "shoes". Here's a recent pic of a Douglah to illustrate the point...
SANY1003_zpsde33dab6.jpg

 
I also did some judicious pruning to encourage growth and let light and air into the "understory" of the plant.
Click to expand...
 
That is a good looking plant...low, compact, and exploding topward.  And look at all those buds!  20L is a good size...that's about what I use (4.5gal pots) on my container plants. 
 
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