Gassy's 2012/2013 Glog thingy

Well, Spring has arrived here in the Land of Oz and it's all starting to happen. I thought I would quit being a lazy bones and start a glog this season. Even though I'm so far behind where I had planned to be at this point, things are running along smoothly enough. I released some Neoseiulus californicus predator mites about a month ago to take care of my broad mite problem and so far, they are being amazing. A month later and I have yet to see any new signs of broad mite activity. It is still early days though and time will tell just how effective the little buggers are. And of course, I still have to get on top of the fruit fly problem (not looking forward to that one). With Spring here and new pods forming, the little bastages can't be too far around the corner.

A few piccies to get the show on the road. Not gonna backtrack or anything now... just some random shots of some of what's going on.

Rooster Spur - putting out first pods:

Aji Amarillo x Yellow Trinidad Scorpion F2's:

Naga Jolokia Purple x Hot Summer F1:

Naga Jolokia Purple x Hot Summer F1:

No chemicals in use here anymore - ladybug and lacewing eggs:

Overwinters...

NOT Dorset Naga - coming into third year:

Trinidad Scorpion ButchT - coming into third year:

CGN 21500 - coming into second year:

CGN 21566 - coming into second year:

Pimenta da Neyde - coming into second year:

Thanks for looking!

 

[Pr0digal_son]

Looking good gassy. Hope the mites help you out. I know you have had some issues in the past.

 

[Portuge]

Looks awesome gassy, lookin forward to seein those wild ones grow...

 

[geeme]

Very nice grow there, gassy! Good to hear you are finding some working solutions to the bugs.

 

[pogeys]

NICE

 

[gasificada]

Thanks guys!

Yeah, Pr0ds, it's been a never ending problem up until now. I just hope the Californicus mites keep up the good work!

One pest down, one still to go, g! It sounds like the only workable solution against fruit fly, besides chemicals, is exclusion (bagging). It's gonna be a whole lot of fun this season.....

 

[FadeToBlack]

Everything is looking good! I hope you can keep the mites away.
I'm very cautious with me plants, I thought i saw a few small signs yesterday so I sprayed everything.


Good luck to you! Looks like we will be growing along the same pace


-Brent

 

[gasificada]

Thanks Brent!

Hope the buggers stay clear of your plants too! (It was a false alarm what you saw, I tell ya!)

You are coming into the, uh, "cool season" over there, aren't you? That probably means perfect growing conditions as far as the climate there goes, I take it?

 

[DocNrock]

Looking great there. Overwinters are already covered in foliage. Very nice. Hope the predatory mites work well for you. Just got hit with plant mites, myself, so if these work they will be used by me next year.

 

[nee]

Great that you've started a glog now...I'll be following this one for sure

Best luck for the season Gas, and hope the pests keep away for ya!

 

[gasificada]

Looking great there. Overwinters are already covered in foliage. Very nice. Hope the predatory mites work well for you. Just got hit with plant mites, myself, so if these work they will be used by me next year.

Thanks Doc. The overwinters have had all Winter to start growing back so I would hope so! Now that Spring is here, they have picked up the pace though. I was just gonna say too to make sure you get a predator mite that does well in your climate, but then I noticed you are in California... a place where Californicus occur naturally. The good thing about 'em is they are quite versatile. They prefer to feast on spider mite but will also go for other nasties such as broad mite and cyclamen mite. They can also survive on pollen as an alternate food source for a short time too if nothing else is available to them.

Have you identified what kind of mite you are up against? Really hope you get 'em sorted! I know all too well about what it's like to have mites.

Great that you've started a glog now...I'll be following this one for sure

Best luck for the season Gas, and hope the pests keep away for ya!

Thanks nee! I am usually quite hesitant in starting glogs considering my record for disasterous seasons. Now I feel like I can't let anyone down.

 

[DocNrock]

Have you identified what kind of mite you are up against? Really hope you get 'em sorted! I know all too well about what it's like to have mites.

It's looking like broad mites...and whiteflies. Need a predator for the broad mites and to hit the whiteflies with a combo of neem, malathion, and bifenthrin. Maybe a splash of Potassium fatty acid spray for good measure. Did I mention that I hate whiteflies?

 

[gasificada]

Yeah, taking care of whitefly too if they are around is a must when dealing with broad mite. They are notorious for spreading the buggers. Broad mite just love to hitch a ride on 'em!

Something to keep in mind if you plan on using predators though, you shouldn't use pesticides, "safe" or chemical, after release, or for a time prior to release, as you might end up killing your new friends too! I have been quite hesitant to use predators up until now for that reason alone. I kinda feel powerless ATM!

Oh well... the predators seem to be doing a better job than I ever did with pesticides anyway.

 

[gasificada]

Some more random shots....

Spanish Naga Morich:

Trinidad Scorpion:

Rocoto Aji Largo:

Holland Hot Fingers:

CGN 16941:

Aji Amarillo x Yellow Trinidad Scorpion:

Aji Amarillo x Yellow Trinidad Scorpion F2 flower - with baccatum markings, unlike the F1:

NuMex Halloween flower:

Naga Jolokia Purple x Hot Summer flower:

Thanks for looking!

 

[DocNrock]

Flowers and early pods at the beginning of spring. Awesome!

 

[gasificada]

The climate here has it's advantages. It evens out though when the heat really kicks in and can really knock plants around. Not to mention certain pests that thrive in the conditions here.

 

[Spicegeist]

Spanish Naga Morich:

Aji Amarillo x Yellow Trinidad Scorpion F2 flower - with baccatum markings, unlike the F1:

Naga Jolokia Purple x Hot Summer flower:

Spanish NM, I'm curious how this will turn out, I was interested in trying those out bud didn't...

Wow nice baccatum cross with the marking too!

Purple naga cross thingee, that is very cool! Nice pods and beautiful flowers...

 

[gasificada]

Spanish NM, I'm curious how this will turn out

Me too. I've heard they are very tasty! Being a big fan of Nagas/Bhuts, I'm really looking forward to 'em!

Wow nice baccatum cross with the marking too!

Just playing around with crossbreeding ATM. Such interesting stuff! I have two F2's of this one going right now. One has the baccatum markings (the one in the other pic), and the other is pure white:

(no pods yet though)

I'm thrilled that one turned out to be, what looks at this stage, baccatum dominant and the other what appears to be chinense dominant.

What's really interesting though is that I overwintered the F1's and they appear to have done a switch. In their first year, the F1 flowers had no baccatum markings (or very little) but the pods looked mostly Aji Amarillo-ish (with the exception of a small few), and now in their second year, the baccatum markings are appearing but the pods look like they are shaping up to be more Yellow TS-ish!

I've backcrossed some with the Yellow TS so it'll be interesting to see how they turn out.

Purple naga cross thingee, that is very cool! Nice pods and beautiful flowers...

I love the colour when the sun hits them:

Again, just playing around/experimenting with crossbreeding. I love the look of the Hot Summer pods (crinkly cayenne-type shape) and I was curious to see if I could get something of similar shape but purple. I'm happy with the results at this stage.

(Just to clarify too, it's only the C. annuum "Naga Jolokia Purple".)

 

[Portuge]

Looks good Gassy, how does it taste?

 

[gasificada]

Looks good Gassy, how does it taste?

The Aji Amarillo x Yellow TS or the Naga Jolokia Purple x Hot Summer?

I'm not good at describing tastes so I will just say the Aji Am x Yellow TS F1's had a typical florally/fruity yellow/orange chinense taste. Fairly hot too! The Aji Amarillo parent actually tasted chinensey to me to begin with so the taste was no surprise to me.

In actual fact, I wasn't really a fan of the flavour of the parents or the F1's (but then I prefer the annuum taste when it comes to my chillies). I am continuing to grow it out purely for study/curiousity-sake. More than anything it was an opportunistic cross. Despite the flavour, I'm happy with my selection though. Two different species, two different enough pod shapes, one with distinct flower markings (the other without), and one that grows ridiculously tall and the other nice and compact-ish.

Sorry, I'm rattling on....

I have yet to try the Naga Jolokia Purple x Hot Summer pods. I will probably end up picking an immature pod at some stage and trying it though... I can never help myself!