My carolina's reaper plants difficulties...

T

tomume

Hello everyone !!!
 
I'm having some trouble with my plants I have ordered from www.pepperlover.com/.
 
I'm pretty sure it's because of my inexperience...
 
Well, I have started from the seeds in january this year and the plants are still very small... I live in Geneva so the weather is not so hot...Clearly not tropical...
 
I had no problem in growing poblano's pepper last year
 
I just put my plants near the windows, where generally it's other and there is light. But there are still pretty small.
this one is outside at the moment, on the balcony
http://i.imgur.com/jC8JHKN.jpg
 
this one is close to the window
http://i.imgur.com/PwDEdC2.jpg
 
Do you guys have any advices ?
 
Reapers are indeed slow growing and should be started 3-4 months ahead of planned planting(final pot,bucket or in ground)
I grew them for two seasons and wasnt impressed,there are many other strains that bring solid heat,larger pods and grow faster
Keep the temps up over 80*F and give them good light,your plants look to small to use fertilizer just yet,so apply plenty of patience with that strain.

FWIW,Im in Texas and started my second season with Reapers in November,got clipped by a freeze in Oct and never saw a red pod
from 12,four foot tall plants
 
TNKS said:
Reapers are indeed slow growing and should be started 3-4 months ahead of planned planting(final pot,bucket or in ground)
I grew them for two seasons and wasnt impressed,there are many other strains that bring solid heat,larger pods and grow faster
Keep the temps up over 80*F and give them good light,your plants look to small to use fertilizer just yet,so apply plenty of patience with that strain.

FWIW,Im in Texas and started my second season with Reapers in November,got clipped by a freeze in Oct and never saw a red pod
from 12,four foot tall plants
Click to expand...
agree ! slow growing . their o.k. but like tnks said to many other varieties to be had . like jays peach scorpion / ghost !       :onfire:
 
moruga welder said:
agree ! slow growing . their o.k. but like tnks said to many other varieties to be had . like jays peach scorpion / ghost !       :onfire:
Click to expand...
+3 (also agree that Jay's Peach is a great one to grow)
 
Definitely a slow grower.  I got mine under 600W Metal Halide 82 degrees, 70% humidity 6.5 weeks since germination and they are just now getting their second pair of true leaves.  Water from the bottom.  I am very new to growing hot peppers as well, but I found that young plants don't like the top of the soil to be moist, so use 2 solo cups, top one with holes in the bottom and add water to another cup, drop the plant into the water and let the bottom half of the soil get soaked, dump the excess water out, and let it drain back down.
 
Thanks,
 
so what should I do now ?`I also have 3 manzano pots growing. They are a little bigger but not much.
 
SHould I buy something to make them grow bigger ? I don't wanna buy light or weird stuff... maybe a greenhouse ? what kind ?
 
WhatYouKnowAbhutThat said:
Definitely a slow grower.  I got mine under 600W Metal Halide 82 degrees, 70% humidity 6.5 weeks since germination and they are just now getting their second pair of true leaves.  Water from the bottom.  I am very new to growing hot peppers as well, but I found that young plants don't like the top of the soil to be moist, so use 2 solo cups, top one with holes in the bottom and add water to another cup, drop the plant into the water and let the bottom half of the soil get soaked, dump the excess water out, and let it drain back down.
Click to expand...
Slow yes, but that is an extreme slow, something else is in the soup.
 
tomume said:
Thanks,
 
so what should I do now ?`I also have 3 manzano pots growing. They are a little bigger but not much.
 
SHould I buy something to make them grow bigger ? I don't wanna buy light or weird stuff... maybe a greenhouse ? what kind ?
Click to expand...
What else of your conditions? temp, soil, watering practices, feeding and schedule etc etc.
 
Please define weird, and what you are attempting to achieve with what you have. This may be the best starting point.
 
tomume said:
Hello everyone !!!
 
I'm having some trouble with my plants I have ordered from www.pepperlover.com/.
 
I'm pretty sure it's because of my inexperience...
 
Well, I have started from the seeds in january this year and the plants are still very small... I live in Geneva so the weather is not so hot...Clearly not tropical...
 
I had no problem in growing poblano's pepper last year
 
I just put my plants near the windows, where generally it's other and there is light. But there are still pretty small.
this one is outside at the moment, on the balcony
http://i.imgur.com/jC8JHKN.jpg
 
this one is close to the window
http://i.imgur.com/PwDEdC2.jpg
 
Do you guys have any advices ?
Click to expand...
I use heat sprout mats that hatch chicken eggs. If Your root temp is higher a reaper will grow quicker. Look around to see if you can purchase a mat.
 
I tried that heat mat thing on my second grow and didnt get much better results during early stages
 I changed my ferts to a fish/kelp mix on the second run and they took right off like crazy
Had several 4+' and two just under 5'.
They all dropped nickle to quarter size pods and sat green for nearly 2 months,then the frost hit in Oct and 4 days later I kicked the buckets over
and composted the entire lot.
I kinda have a "hate" for that strain now :snooty:
96strat said:
I use heat sprout mats that hatch chicken eggs. If Your root temp is higher a reaper will grow quicker. Look around to see if you can purchase a mat.
Click to expand...
 
TNKS said:
I tried that heat mat thing on my second grow and didnt get much better results during early stages
 I changed my ferts to a fish/kelp mix on the second run and they took right off like crazy
Had several 4+' and two just under 5'.
They all dropped nickle to quarter size pods and sat green for nearly 2 months,then the frost hit in Oct and 4 days later I kicked the buckets over
and composted the entire lot.
I kinda have a "hate" for that strain now :snooty:
Click to expand...
thats odd , cause i had a heat mat under mine and definitely helped them take off .   did you up the potash after they started flowering ?   :onfire:
 
I just pulled my 3 Reapers.I had them in 13,17 and 29 Gallons.They all  produced around 2Kgs each while my Dorset Nagas produced 5 & 6 Kgs and my Yellow Moruga 9kgs.
They are seriously slow growers and low producers compared to many super hots
 
CAPCOM said:
Slow yes, but that is an extreme slow, something else is in the soup.
 
What else of your conditions? temp, soil, watering practices, feeding and schedule etc etc.
 
Please define weird, and what you are attempting to achieve with what you have. This may be the best starting point.
Click to expand...
 
Temperature from the pot inside the house, near the window is around 19-26. The pot outside is between 11 to 24.
I water them generously once every 3 days. I don't feed them with fertilizers.
 
OK, That was a partial of what I asked for, but its a start. for one, you are watering on a schedule, dont do that! Your soil looks to be compacted and wet in some pics and the other pic it appears to be yard dirt. When growing super hots as well as really any other peppers you want a relatively good soil that retains some moisture yet drains well. in other words you want a mixture that holds only what is necessary to sustain the plant. If you are watering every 3 days because the plant is saying it needs it, that's great, other wise you are over watering.
You mentioned inexperience, you picked a real winner to start with in the reapers. I will give you high marks on your choice of supplier though.
 
Your location, the Philippines should provide excellent outdoor growing conditions, I call into question your temps though. They seen awfully low for where you are. I have temps like that here and we are just into spring weather.
 
  1. Your plants are going to want to be warm 27-37 is great and even higher wont hurt as long as you provide everything else they need.
  2. Watering to be done when the soil is dry at the roots area and mature plants show signs of wilting, you will get familiar with this as time passes. Young plants or slow to develop ones such as your are tough to gauge this way and experience is the best tool. The thing to remember is if you think it is time to water, it probably isn't. they like to be dry at the roots.
  3. They will require food(if you are growing them for any substantial harvest) they will require more food. this is where things can go bad too, over feeding is worse than over watering. Read and learn!
  4. They need light, if you are not going to invest in weird stuff and dont have a green house, they will need to be outdoors.
 
 
My advise is to use this forum for the pepper growing encyclopedia it is. It would have been better if you had lurked for a while before jumping into the deep water.
 
In a nutshell, get better soil, get them warm, reduce their water. Light and food we will address in time.
 
those are indeed a bit small. I wouldn't set them out that young. Not until 4 sets of leaves.
Last year mine got to be about 2 feet tall by June, but it was a very slow growth in the beginning and then a sudden burst when it got heat. Under 22c they probably won't grow much at all, they need warmth and sun. I think you should fertilize (not yet) once they are a bit bigger they will need food.
 
Thanks guys for the answers !!!
 
I'll try next week !
 
I don't live in the philipines !! jajajaja
 
I live in Geneva, Switzerland... It's colder (much) than in the philipines...
 
Sorry, Google ginebra and I got Philipines. That'll be 1 more thing working against you. Heat is very important.
 
I have the same problem as you do! I started in february and all my peppers look like yours, not just Reapers which I also grow. With the help of this sites kind users I came to a conclusion that the soil is the problem here! I used coco peat mixed with peat and vermiculite and there you go, recipe for disaster. Soil is compact and moist all the time. I can leave them alone and they would still be moist after 2 weeks. This moisture stunts the plant. Young plants need lighter, dry soil, older plants are not so picky. I messed all my plants for this year, I hope they will get better and I am even germinating fresh ones but the damage is done, I will have only few if any fruits to harvest this year. Practice makes perfect I guess.
 
See this thread: http://thehotpepper.com/topic/54314-stunted-growth-and-curled-leaves-couple-of-theories/
 
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