Thanks dude! Just separated everything tonight!magnificent pepper-guru!
Thanks I love eggplant. Eggplant parm, stir fry, casseroles, all the above, just to name a few...They are very similar to zucchini and squash, so the dishes are endless. I like to cut things up the way I want them, blanche, ice bath, then freeze. Keeps a great flavor for a long time and you just use as is the day of cooking. Same with all the collards...my collards did fairly well this yearNice haul. What are your plans for the eggplant.
Yeah dude, some of that was the aphid toxin distortion too. Ahipds can almost sense when a plant is weak and start infesting. I use to terminate and get all upset until I actually found out what was going on. It can be very frustrating to a grower spending months on bringing up plants like these, only to have them get real sick, real fast. Once you learn to recognize the symptoms, it won't bother you again. That is another very important reason I choose to grow organically. When your soil is colonizing its own microbes and beneficial fungi/bacterias, there is hardly no chance of a bad hit. Synthetic chemicals and nutrients basically strip the soil of its natural "body parts" within the food soil web. This leaves the medium free for attack by any bacterial/fungal diseases wanting to colonize when conditions are optimal for it. Also, feeding and foliar feeding with Actively Aerated Compost Teas (aact) work wonders for plant health and immunity. Its gods way manMy Morouga Scorp was perfect when it was inside. After a month outside it looked like this pic you showed
Never could get it right and finally dug it up!!! Didn`t think of fungus as the cause
Thanks Al, honestly I pick some up whenever I need some from either a local nursery, hardware dept store, or order over the internet. Any simple search for "sulphur powders/sprays/concentrates etc" will turn up thousands of results. Whos ever price is the best and thats the one I go with, unless I think their "source of mineral" sounds sketchy. For instance, I normally like to buy a good bit and have it to mix different batches, but I do find that most lowes or homedepot have some stuff made by bonnide that I like. I think they label it fruit nut and orchard spray. It has some pyrethrins in it too, which is natural as well. Really, the only two things I ever need for disease and pest are right there in a 1-2 punch. That bottle will run about 20 bucks at your nursery or dept store, which is why I prefer to make up custom sprays with bulk bought products. You also won't be limited to the manufactures product and what it can achieve in its own right. The important thing to remember, as with all spray sessions, do it after the sun has set and allow the plants to air dry over night. Sun + foliar spray = bad. Get everything saturated; top of leaves, bottom of leaves, branches, base, ground and soil around the plant...all of it. In humid and rainy weather, more applications will be useful and wise, and the opposite with dry weather. In dry weather, this stuff will go a LONG way. The stuff smells like...well....sulphur...so don't be a sissy Other than that its organic, natural, and safe all the way up to harvest. There are "plants" that I wouldn't spray this with once they have started "stetting fruit" but thats a whole other flower.... Here is what wholesome-food.org has to say about sulphur...:Where are you getting sulfur from and how do you mix it. Great job on harvest.
Wow..
just went through the 10 pages.. and man i have learned a ton.. so much so that after this post i think i will have to turn the internets off.. cant learn anything better. lol.
I thought that pictorial on the cuttings was great.. Then i read the post on overwintering.. and honestly its not something i really thought of doing.. i am very new to the pepper growing. And i was planning on trying to keep the 2 plants i have alive over the winter. Now i have more confidence that i can do it and they will be fine.. Hopefully produce some real pods next year too.
Thank you very much for all the information you have provided.
edit: and that fat is crazy man.. nice job with it.
Thanks man, it won't be too long and I'll be posting a comprehensive overwintering tutorial. I'll just document the transplant this fall and post it. The benefits of over wintering FAR outweigh the fears or ill conceived notions some growers have regarding the matter. If not for the plants sake, at least for the grower's, one should consider the facts.
I am VERY excited to see your overwintering tutorial. I have overwintered plants for the last 3 years. Aphids are my #1 problem indoors. They kill about 2/3 of the plants I over winter. CAN NOT wait to see your tips and tricks - especially how to avoid and/or destroy the little F'ers!!
I was able to completely avoid the aphids indoors this year with my overwintering. I don't remember it was Guru or someone else here that recommended a *complete* washing of the root ball before potting down with fresh soil.
I can't say that's what kept them away for me, but it certainly couldn't have hurt.
Enjoy THP!
Aphids along with White Flies are rough to deal with organicly, Ortho makes a spray ( claims safe for tomatoes and peppers) that lasts for 30 days, and it does, I haven't had that problem in the last few but have had Gnats, and Mealy Bugs, the spray takes care of both
Ya know...you guys have just made me stumble upon a revelation. I think I know why I don't get heavy aphid problems...lol Sometimes When I cut back I go for the GUSTO. I take em back to the main biggest branches and leave VERY few leaves. No leaves = no aphids. Within a month or two all nymphs/eggs/mature aphids are dead via starvation and multiple sulphur/pyrethrin treatments...lol After that 30 day mark is when the MAGIC happens (so long as the light allows it). Once a few weeks go by your plants will begin to explode with new growth. Thats when the flower set comes, then thats when christmas peppers come
Always a good practice to "cleanse" before bringing in any plants in from the outdoors, I use to take two 5 gal buckets, one has a mix of Neem/Insecticidal Soap, water mix and the 2nd was filled with water and the garden hose placed inside (constant flush), Especially with my over-wintered peppers and flowers (Martha Washingtons/ numerous Coleus over 200 cuttings) I run them through the buckets , 30 sec. in 1st and a few dunks in the water, plus i'm really starting to hate this part but I feel its needed to hand wash with liquid soap and water all my trays and pot's from 3' on up to 3 gal. ,rince then run through a bleach water mix, rince then dry in the sun, Use to be able to do all that in a day, now it takes 2 to 3 sessions, and I'm not done yet! After all you can do sanitizing, that also includes lights, lamps, tables, ....you stillneed to by a good indoor seeding mix, My sis who writes for the "Chicago Organic mag" "Chi Trib" " and also speaks at many seminars, feels that indoor infestation during a new grow is mainly caused from unsterile soil...what do I do...bake it, na, as much as I purchase through the winter grow, I couldn't keep up with it. If there are pests than out come the yellow sticky sheets, then if its bad I'll use the "Ortho" spray.....it does work...good luck
^^^This is hard core. I should cleanse my balls even better. it's all about cleanliness...