Growing Jalapenos - when to transplant & fertilizing question

[solid7]

Hi pepper brothers,
 
In your experience what is the best way to apply neem oil? Full blown or somehow to dilute it?
 
There are only little 50ml bottles available around here.
 
 

 
In my experience, the best way to use it, is per bottle instructions, but with one little caveat - I ALWAYS emulsify the oil in separate container, with about 2 Tbsp of non-scented, plant safe dish soap.  ONLY when the oil is fully emulsified, do I add the mixture to the recommended amount of water.
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If you don't emulsify it first, good luck getting it to mix...

 

[jalapeno15]

Thanks for the advice Solid I emulsified it very easily using your method.
 
Now, how often should I apply neem oil? Two of my plants are pretty ravaged by aphids, I want to protect other ones..
 
 
Here is a picture of attacked jalapeno plant -
 

 
 
 
Btw, take a look at the size of the biggest leaves, is this normal? Reminds me of palm tree leaf a bit
 

 
 
 
 
Here are the pics of all my plants, for the sake of GLOG.
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 

 

[solid7]

Your plants look really nice.
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Big leaves are very normal for plants that are growing well in the early, "explosive" stage.  They will normalize, as the plant grows up.
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For Neem - it can be used as a preventative, not just a treatment.  I believe the application was something like every 2 weeks, but you'll have to check the instructions.  Remember not to put the plants under direct sun right after applying. (best to spray at night, anyway, when the leaf stomata are closed)

 

[ShowMeDaSauce]

Btw, take a look at the size of the biggest leaves, is this normal? Reminds me of palm tree leaf a bit
 

 
My chichimeca jalapeno gets massive leaves too. I wasnt sure if it was just a fluke last year but the one this year has them too. They are as large or larger than any leaf ive seen on an annuum. Mucho Nacho leaves were pretty big too and my Early's have pretty much always been typical.

 

[jalapeno15]

Hello hello
 
Today I woke up to this beautiful site - looks like plant is shooting flower buds. Are they buds or I am talking out of my noobie ass?
 

 
 
 

 
 
One question I have is - should I continue to give the plants NPK?
To be honest I only gave them boost once so far and it was a very small amount since I was concerned I would overdo it.
 
 
 
 

 

[bongcloud]

Yes, it's a flower bud. Some pinch them off at that stage, so that, in theory, plant puts more into growing before it starts producing.

 

[ShowMeDaSauce]

A pic of my chichimeca leaf. Many of them on this plant are LARGE. It was a tad droopy today because i didnt water yesterday and this mix drains fast.

 
A pic of a MOA leaf for comparison because they are also large.

 

[jalapeno15]

Hello hello,
 
I am wondering what is the best course for my plant now. It started flowering but the plant itself isn't very big..should i pluck first flower buds or not? I mean letting the nature do it's course is always my preferable course but I do not know if this is the best way to go.
Below is the picture of bud and the size of the flowering plant, it started branching out a bit
 
 

 

 

[bongcloud]

 
Hello hello,
 
I am wondering what is the best course for my plant now. It started flowering but the plant itself isn't very big..should i pluck first flower buds or not? I mean letting the nature do it's course is always my preferable course but I do not know if this is the best way to go.

 
I've allowed all my plants to bud, flower and fruit while still a foot tall on average. Some already produced nice fruits and the plants themselves are continuing to branch out and grow. The way I see it, it's one of those age old "to top or not to top" kinds of questions, and by that I mean it's mostly down to preference and not really conclusive, production and quality-wise. If a plant is budding at a younger stage, it's likely due to some kind of stress. The main reason for pinching (buds, flowers and fruits) seems to be (supposedly) redirecting resources from fruiting to growth. If your plants for some reason can't produce at this stage, they'll drop the flowers, sometimes small, underdeveloped fruits as well. Of course, it also depends on the variety. If you decide to pinch them off, there's no defined stopping point, some will pinch off for a few weeks, others for months. Again, it's experience and preference. I prefer a more "hands-off" approach, so I vote for "leave it", but it's up to you. Won't be detrimental either way.
 
I'm a newbie, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

 

[jalapeno15]

I'll leave it as it is and see how it goes

 

[jalapeno15]

The boys are growing! 
 

 

[luvmesump3pp3rz]

Nice! that`s great that you got the critters under control. i have two regular jalapenos and one Mucho Nacho growing now and they have some pods ready to harvest. are all of your plants jalapenos?

 

[jalapeno15]

Nice! that`s great that you got the critters under control. i have two regular jalapenos and one Mucho Nacho growing now and they have some pods ready to harvest. are all of your plants jalapenos?

 
Yes jalapenos only I have few plants started from mixed seeds in a smaller container so Im yet to see what will sprawl out.
 
Share some photos buddy, it would be good to see how your jalapenos are doing.

 

[luvmesump3pp3rz]

they look scrawny but are between 2 and a half and 3 feet tall. all 3 plants are putting out pods nicely. can someone tell my how to insert picture upright? for some reason it rotated my photo.

 

[jalapeno15]

Hey this has been bugging me lately - as my plants are beginning to grow pods I am wondering if it is still good practice to continue give them nutrients and especially calcium (to avoid blossom end rot)?
 
Lemme know pepperheads

 

[solid7]

Hey this has been bugging me lately - as my plants are beginning to grow pods I am wondering if it is still good practice to continue give them nutrients and especially calcium (to avoid blossom end rot)?
 
Lemme know pepperheads

 
You never stop feeding plants.  But you have to do it properly.  What are you feeding now, and how often?
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Calcium doesn't need to be dumped on by the truckload.  But it needs to be continuous throughout the life of the plant, yes.  Also, there have been some interesting discussions regarding BER lately, suggesting that many growers mistake BER for calcium deficiency. 
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Are you having an issue with BER right now?

 

[jalapeno15]

 
You never stop feeding plants.  But you have to do it properly.  What are you feeding now, and how often?
.
Calcium doesn't need to be dumped on by the truckload.  But it needs to be continuous throughout the life of the plant, yes.  Also, there have been some interesting discussions regarding BER lately, suggesting that many growers mistake BER for calcium deficiency. 
.
Are you having an issue with BER right now?

 
Not so often, every 3 weeks or even more I didn't want to make noobie mistake and overdo it. Im giving them NPK  and spraying foliar calcium.
 
No BER problems so far..what causes BER btw? Literature I found online always focused on calcium deficiency as the primary cause.

 

[solid7]

 
Not so often, every 3 weeks or even more I didn't want to make noobie mistake and overdo it. Im giving them NPK  and spraying foliar calcium.
 
No BER problems so far..what causes BER btw? Literature I found online always focused on calcium deficiency as the primary cause.

 
I can't remember which thread, but juanitos posted an interesting article which (as a sidenote to the main issue) suggested that foliar calcium spray is 100% ineffective.  But the main article gave a very nice write-up of the causes.

 

[Doelman]

 
Not so often, every 3 weeks or even more I didn't want to make noobie mistake and overdo it. Im giving them NPK  and spraying foliar calcium.
 
No BER problems so far..what causes BER btw? Literature I found online always focused on calcium deficiency as the primary cause.

the most frequent cause of BER is over watering.  I've also learned from the fine ladies and gents on here that drastic changes in soil moisture can also cause it.

 

[AndyW]

I personally try not to worry about problems I'm not having yet. Prevention is obviously good practice, but I try not to go overboard.