Nee's first pepper season. (Australia) Pics, vids & banter.. yey! \\(^o^)//

Hi all! Although i've been into hot sauces / chillies for a long time, a Google regarding "growing chillies in Australia" led me to this site......and onto amazing people here in Australia, who have inspired me to grow my own!
There's not a lot to report as of yet, but here's my story so far! Please feel free to give advice to a newbie, as i really want this human vs chilli relationship to work out!

The story so far....

Pre-soaking my chilli seeds. I have 14 or more varieties to sow: From top left to bottom right....

Habanero Chocolate
Scotch Bonnet TFM
Bhut Jolokia
Macedonian
Pimenta da Neyde
Magnum Habanero
7 Pod Jonah

Habanero White Giant
Hot Fish
Cili Goronong
7 Pod Red crossed Yellow
Manzano
Fatalii
Habanero White JellyBean

Cutting the seeds from a Yellow 7 Pod....this time with GLOVES!! lol I have a load of extra seeds saved...just in case the winter grow doesn't work out, and i need to replant in the spring.

Week 1....seeds are in a propagator, kept at a constant 25 degree's thanks to the cable modem it's sat on! I don't expect any change for 4 weeks or so....fingers crossed!

 

[DocNrock]

Great update. Can't believe you already have pods and its not even spring yet down under. Your growing season is going to be huge! Best wishes.

 

[JungleRain]

Hey Neil, 'perhaps potting up the 7pot/pod might fix the problem?????

 

[nee]

Hey Neil, 'perhaps potting up the 7pot/pod might fix the problem?????

Yeah, going to give that a go Grant Nice one mate..

 

[Mezo]

Yep time fly`s when your old Nee.

Remember how it all started on the cable modem.

Your plants are looking so healthy now.

Mezo.

 

[nee]

Haha!! Yeah Mezo!! Seems like just yesterday!!!

Well, i've still not gotten round to potting up the plant that was drooping, but after watering everything again yesterday it's perked right up since....so in the next day or 2 i will just make sure it's got enough water and pot it up sometime soon.

I have had about 4 pods show up on my Macedonian over the last day or 2. One HUGE difference i have noticed with this plants flowers compared to my Hot Fish (which is the only other one to have had large flowers) is that when i was hand pollinating the Hot Fish, there were no signs of pollen at all.. ie, if i flicked the flowers on the Hot Fish, i could see no evidence of pollen....whereas on the Macedonian, if i flick the flowers there's pollen everywhere, like you can actually see bucketloads of the stuff dropping. Not sure if the Hot Fish is just one of those flowers that doesn't give oodles of pollen? Or maybe just that one plant i have??

Also, if someone can give me some info on the following...

I am aware of cross pollination, but what i wondered is....say if the pollen from my Macedonian hits a flower on a Fatalii.....will the pods on the Fatalii be different this season, or would it just affect the seeds of the Fatalii if i tried to grow from them next season?
(hope that made sense!?)

Many thanks....and i will post some pics of the new pods forming tomorrow!

Neil

 

[DocNrock]

Also, if someone can give me some info on the following...

I am aware of cross pollination, but what i wondered is....say if the pollen from my Macedonian hits a flower on a Fatalii.....will the pods on the Fatalii be different this season, or would it just affect the seeds of the Fatalii if i tried to grow from them next season?
(hope that made sense!?)


Neil

The Fatalii pods should be unaffected. It is the seeds in those pods that will be crosses. When/if you grow them, you will have an F1 cross. Its the F2's where things get interesting. I've not crossed peppers, but I have a significant background in genetics/molecular biology. Think of it this way: If an interracial couple procreates, the Mother doesn't change, it is the baby who shows the mixed features. The phenotype of the pepper is determined by the genetics of the Mother plant. The seed is what is formed by the cross-pollenation.

 

[PaulG]

Great progress, Neil! That grow box you built is money; the
plants look like they loved it! Good luck when plant out time
comes. It better get here soon, or you will have to camp out
and let the plants have the house!

Good growin' down your way, mate!

 

[nee]

I ordered some Chilli Focus from WA, which has now turned up here, so i'll be giving the plants a dose of the good stuff when i water next.

Here's a few pics from tonight....

I've just spotted my first flower on my Manzano tonight...

A couple of the new pods on my Macedonian. There's 5 in total now

The larger pod on my Hot Fish is speedily going red now! Love the look of it...

 

[stickman]

Hi Neil
So the Macedonians grow with an upright habit... that's cool! I'll be waiting to see what they look and taste like when ripe. Cheers

 

[nee]

Hi Neil
So the Macedonians grow with an upright habit... that's cool! I'll be waiting to see what they look and taste like when ripe. Cheers

Hi Stick!

Yeah, they are uppies! No idea what the taste is like, being my first year etc...but will let you know

I'm really surprised how well this Macedonian is doing. Pretty much every flower is turning into a pod...and there are a LOT of flowers!

Well, it's quite a momentous occasion for me...as i have my first ever ripe pod grown from seed! The Hot Fish pod has turned completely red now. Quick Q...once it's completely red, do you guys leave them on there for a bit or remove straight away? If it's beneficial to leave it for a bit then i will...but if not i will pick and devour!!!

Everything else is going ok...no problems currently, and everything seems to be happily growing away which is great!

I think i spotted my first Bhut coming through tonight, but it's very early stages, so not worth a photo just yet.

Thanks for stopping by,

Neil

 

[cbradac]

Awesome shots Neil! Your guys are coming along very well. I've only managed to get pods on my thai chilli plants.

They mature quite earlier, much earlier than the habanero and super hots.

I have started a mini grow log of a purple bhut that I've taken to work. I'm growing it up a little CFL desk lamp, it's going really well.

Check it out!

http://thehotpepper.com/topic/33786-cbradacs-office-purple-ghost-chilli/page__gopid__686870#entry686870

Btw Neil, did you manage to fix your 7 pot. A shame to see that guy become unhealthy! as 7 pots are my favourite!

when that happens to my plants I generally give them a good water through and leave them in the dark for a while untill the leaves become firm again. I dont know if potting up will be the fix for that prob. (Definitely won't hurt to do it though).

On another note how is the drainage of your soil?? do you use vermiculite and perlite? - the mix I'm using seems to be really good for the plants.

oh... I"m sorry I didn't get a chance to send you any seeds yet.. but on another note I sowed manage to get 3 yellow manzana's to pop out of 5 seeds that I sowed from you. Thank you very much!

 

[Mezo]

Well im not sure about anyone else Nee but i leave mine until they go a little soft.

Mezo.

 

[Lavatung]

Here's a quick shot on my indoor plants Neil. (don't mean to highjack your thread)

haha this room looks like the dog house. It where your mrs makes you keep all your stuff. Guitars, golf clubs, chilli plants ect.

Your plants are looking great Nee Man too by the way.

But serious cbradac you have no shame plugging your own glog. Bad form

 

[nee]

Well, this evening i pulled my first ripe Hot Fish pod and chopped it over some mince & pasta that we had for dinner!! (sorry it was nothing grander......i see posts from the US guys with these delicious looking dishes....hahaha)
Yeah, it was hot, but not too hot...and very nice tasting Saved the seeds for future use. Thanks again JR for those seeds (oh and i need to replenish sauces...im totally out!)

Awesome shots Neil! Your guys are coming along very well. I've only managed to get pods on my thai chilli plants.

They mature quite earlier, much earlier than the habanero and super hots.

I have started a mini grow log of a purple bhut that I've taken to work. I'm growing it up a little CFL desk lamp, it's going really well.

Check it out!

http://thehotpepper....870#entry686870

Btw Neil, did you manage to fix your 7 pot. A shame to see that guy become unhealthy! as 7 pots are my favourite!

when that happens to my plants I generally give them a good water through and leave them in the dark for a while untill the leaves become firm again. I dont know if potting up will be the fix for that prob. (Definitely won't hurt to do it though).

On another note how is the drainage of your soil?? do you use vermiculite and perlite? - the mix I'm using seems to be really good for the plants.

oh... I"m sorry I didn't get a chance to send you any seeds yet.. but on another note I sowed manage to get 3 yellow manzana's to pop out of 5 seeds that I sowed from you. Thank you very much!

Thanks for the info.... what mix are you using? The stuff i use seems to drain ok...although i guess adding some Perlite etc could help..

The 7 pot came back to me!!! Even after a heavy watering, it stayed limp for 2 days...so i took it right out of the pot to see what was going on with the fella, and it was bone dry.. (odd!)
So i watered it again and its doing fine now

 

[cbradac]

haha this room looks like the dog house. It where your mrs makes you keep all your stuff. Guitars, golf clubs, chilli plants ect.

Your plants are looking great Nee Man too by the way.

But serious cbradac you have no shame plugging your own glog. Bad form

Lavatung, it's not really the dog house. Was suppose to be my guitar room. But over the winter it turns into my chilli room too.

Only sent a link to my little glog because Nee was asking about it. Didn't want to annoy anybody by adding a link. Apologies.

 

[Lavatung]

Lavatung, it's not really the dog house. Was suppose to be my guitar room. But over the winter it turns into my chilli room too.

Only sent a link to my little glog because Nee was asking about it. Didn't want to annoy anybody by adding a link. Apologies.

haha I'm just shit stirring dude. My guitar room got turned into a kid toy room about 4yrs ago. Now my axe is collecting dust in cupboard

Did your plants sleep outside Nee?

 

[cbradac]

Well, this evening i pulled my first ripe Hot Fish pod and chopped it over some mince & pasta that we had for dinner!! (sorry it was nothing grander......i see posts from the US guys with these delicious looking dishes....hahaha)
Yeah, it was hot, but not too hot...and very nice tasting Saved the seeds for future use. Thanks again JR for those seeds (oh and i need to replenish sauces...im totally out!)

Thanks for the info.... what mix are you using? The stuff i use seems to drain ok...although i guess adding some Perlite etc could help..

The 7 pot came back to me!!! Even after a heavy watering, it stayed limp for 2 days...so i took it right out of the pot to see what was going on with the fella, and it was bone dry.. (odd!)
So i watered it again and its doing fine now

My mix is majority potting mix from bunnings (organic maybe), perlite, vermiculite and a bit of lime. (70%,15%,15%). Works quite well for me. Glad the 7 pot came back!! So during your heavy watering, the water was definitely draining right through? Just strange that the bottom was bone dry - I guess that's the good thing about the perlite and vermiculite which has both good drainaing and water holding properties.

haha I'm just shit stirring dude. My guitar room got turned into a kid toy room about 4yrs ago. Now my axe is collecting dust in cupboard

Did your plants sleep outside Nee?

Haha, no worries. All my axes are collecting dust!! which I'm not happy to say. Going to pull them out tonight and have a good play. As I know about a couple classical guitar competitions which I definitely want to start preparing for

 

[PIC 1]

Hi Stick!

Yeah, they are uppies! No idea what the taste is like, being my first year etc...but will let you know

I'm really surprised how well this Macedonian is doing. Pretty much every flower is turning into a pod...and there are a LOT of flowers!

Well, it's quite a momentous occasion for me...as i have my first ever ripe pod grown from seed! The Hot Fish pod has turned completely red now. Quick Q...once it's completely red, do you guys leave them on there for a bit or remove straight away? If it's beneficial to leave it for a bit then i will...but if not i will pick and devour!!!

Everything else is going ok...no problems currently, and everything seems to be happily growing away which is great!

I think i spotted my first Bhut coming through tonight, but it's very early stages, so not worth a photo just yet.

Thanks for stopping by,

Neil

Hey Neil,
As far as the "Fish Pepper", I pick the chili's at the state that yours looks. The skin of the chili is still firm and the pod is plump. Any futher along the color will darken red, the skin will thin out and at that point I'd cut them off the plant to either sun dry or dehydrate. I actually like to slice them up while they're green.....scatter them on top of a fish bake.....slice the up like green scallions

Greg

 

[Mezo]

Yep i suppose that makes sense, im dehydrating mine & powdering them.

Mezo.

 

[el hombre chilli]

Did Amber and the kids eat the hot fish as well? How hot was it in comparison to a hab or jalapeno? What was the flavour like?

Mate, if you're headed to Grant's can you pick me up some seeds please:
Bolivian Rainbow
Habanero White Jellybean
Tabasco
Cayenne

We'll be down in a few weeks and will fix you up then if that's ok.