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

DocNrock · Feb 9, 2013

Firstly, that is a crazy aphid infestation. Sorry to see it. But that is weird how they dance around like that. I've never seen that before. If I was going to toss plants like that, I'd at least burn them and listen to the little bastages pop, or spray them with harsh chemicals first and watch them seize and suffer. At least you have other plants to keep you going. The 7's look good!

megamoo · Feb 9, 2013

Aphids are crafty. If you pick a leaf with aphids on it the big ones will drop off cos they know they're about to be squished. Not like caterpillars who hang on because they are too stupid to know better.

If you are going to cut the top off the plant put a plastic bag on it first so they can't fall onto the soil and crawl into a new position.

Mezo · Feb 9, 2013

That`s a real heavy infestation Nee, i lost half my plants to Aphids by spraying them with harsh chemicals (that`s what killed the plants, not the Aphids) so ive used soapy water since to keep them at bay, still a daily fight though.

I guess growing so many plants was a bonus in the end for me.

Mezo.

gasificada · Feb 9, 2013

Neee, good to see you are seeing some podly goodness, mate! :party:

nee said:
OK, i have had a couple of plants go a bit weirdy on me....like, the top lot of leaves have gone, but don't seem to be replaced with anything. It's been suggested that mites might be the cause, but if so, it's odd that it's just happened to a couple of my plants and not the majority. What do you guys reckon?

You have the mite.

Can't say for sure with the pic above (although it's consistent with broad mite damage) but the Maceodonian deffo looks like it has come under attack. That style of munting of the new growth and that strange corking/scarring of pods is a dead giveaway.

nee said:

To answer your question about it only happening to some of your plants and not others, broad mite seem to be more attracted to some than others. Annuums in particular are their absolute favourites. They are always some of the first plants here to "catch the mite" and always end up with severe infestation. As the population grows, you will see them spread, no worries about that.

Under the right conditions, i.e. high humidity, it wouldn't be unusual to see your entire crop come under attack within a week. It's not usually very humid down there though is it? Still, I would be hitting your plants with sulfur or something ASAP!

nee said:
(Stickman....your Macedonian seeds were posted 2 days ago...really sorry for the delay on this, but trying to get a chance to get to the PO has been a trial.....and i'm also a bit slack Hopefully these are sent in time for you to still be able to grow them for your coming season, and that my slackness hasn't stuffed it up for you)

You sound as bad as me!

Dot Com · Feb 9, 2013

never had aphid probs yet (fingers crossed & its only my 2nd season) but I have had crown rot set-in at the end of the growing season. Maybe the plants know the season is coming to an end because of the diminished sunlight?

gasificada · Feb 9, 2013

Those dancing aphids are bizarre! I've never seen 'em do that before..... but then aphids are one pest I usually don't have a lot of trouble with.

(don't worry, it more than evens out though.... I'll trade you some of my fruit fly for some of your aphids.

)

nee · Feb 11, 2013

Hi Gassy...

Yeah, i'm deffo coming to the conclusion of mites, although i have looked pretty thoroughly and can't spot anything at all.
A couple of questions for you if you could answer them for me....

I know you're pretty clued up on mites due to your battles with them, and i did a load of reading late last night but all of the info started becoming pretty blurred...

In a nutshell, what do you recommend to be the solution to getting rid of them?

Also, when you say "hit my plants with sulphur"...exactly how do i do that? Spraying? If so, with what product?

Thanks in advance.

I'm probably going to write this season off in the sense that i will be happy enough with what i get and know that next season i will have a lot more knowledge to spot stuff like this early on and be able to deal with it a lot better. It's not over yet though, as i still have a load of flowers producing pods...

Here's a couple of shots from todays slim pickings!

Below are a few Red x Yellow 7's and my first ripe Bhut Jolokia Assam

The Assam is my biggest pod so far

Trippa · Feb 11, 2013

Wettable Sulphur http://www.searles.com.au/PestDisease.html (something like this)

Or Lime Sulphur http://www.yates.com.au/products/pest-control/insects-concentrates/yates-lime-sulphur-spray-fungicide/ like this

Just be careful on your dosages especially with the wettable sulphur as it is strong stuff and can burn your plants

Or beneficial predatory mites http://www.bugsforbugs.com.au/product/montdorensis-predatory-mite or http://www.bugsforbugs.com.au/product/Californicus-spider-mite-predator

nee · Feb 11, 2013

Mezo said:
That`s a real heavy infestation Nee, i lost half my plants to Aphids by spraying them with harsh chemicals (that`s what killed the plants, not the Aphids) so ive used soapy water since to keep them at bay, still a daily fight though.

I guess growing so many plants was a bonus in the end for me.

Mezo.

Meeeeez! So are you finding the soapy water to be just as effective? Or is it just minimally better as it means at least your plants are not subjected to chemicals?

I don't mind a daily fight as long as i know it's going to work out in the end!

Anyway, we live and learn.....and i'm just stoked that i have a load of pods in the freezer....some more growing now....and anything else i can look on as a bonus.

Thankfully when i started my grow last year i didn't have any goals or expectations (although i bet i will next year!!) so it's all good! At least i managed to keep some plants alive and see some fruit, which is something that a couple of years ago would never have happened, and with the great advice on here i'm sure that next year i'll go into it with so much more knowledge and be able to start my grow with confidence rather that "i wonder if i can do this!!?"
So thanks again to everyone for their advice.....and it ain't over yet

megamoo · Feb 11, 2013

Trippa said:
Wettable Sulphur http://www.searles.c...estDisease.html (something like this)

Or Lime Sulphur http://www.yates.com...pray-fungicide/ like this

Just be careful on your dosages especially with the wettable sulphur as it is strong stuff and can burn your plants

Or beneficial predatory mites http://www.bugsforbu...-predatory-mite or http://www.bugsforbu...r-mite-predator

The place that breeds predatory mites recommended wettable sulphur because it isn't residually toxic to beneficial insects like lime sulphur.

nee · Feb 11, 2013

Trippa said:
Wettable Sulphur http://www.searles.c...estDisease.html (something like this)

Trippa...with the list of Searles products on the link....which one is THE one to get? (ie..is it the first one on the list?)

****doh.....lol....edit edit.....don't tell me....it's the one that says "Searles Wettable Sulphur" isn't it....? hahaha

Trippa · Feb 11, 2013

the Wettable Sulphur 3rd product from the bottom

nee · Feb 11, 2013

Thanks Trippa! Yeah, i spotted it just after i posted....oops!

Trippa · Feb 11, 2013

megamoo said:
The place that breeds predatory mites recommended wettable sulphur because it isn't residually toxic to beneficial insects like lime sulphur.

I don't know to be honest if this is the case but I know that both knock the crap out of beneficial fungi, microbes and insects... I used lime sulphur for the added anti fungal properties as I had some suspected Powdery Mildew on one of my over winters when I needed the sulphur

megamoo · Feb 11, 2013

Trippa said:
I don't know to be honest if this is the case but I know that both knock the crap out of beneficial fungi, microbes and insects... I used lime sulphur for the added anti fungal properties as I had some suspected Powdery Mildew on one of my over winters when I needed the sulphur

Also the lime sulphur stinks of rotten eggs far more and the smell lingers on your hands for at least a day so everyone thinks you've farted..... so I've heard.

Mezo · Feb 11, 2013

nee said:
Meeeeez! So are you finding the soapy water to be just as effective? Or is it just minimally better as it means at least your plants are not subjected to chemicals?

I use that earth dish washing liquid (i think i mentioned that?) i only target plants that have been invaded by the ants/aphids, it does work if you hit the underside of the leaves (where they hide & lay eggs) and if its heavy i rub my thumb over them as well.

What ive found is the ants give up with that farm & go looking for a new one, so its just a matter of keeping an eye out to see where they are & repeating the process, its not 'nuking them' more pissing them off but its worked so far.

But for sure its easier going on the plants.

Mezo.

nee · Feb 12, 2013

OK, here goes!
I have sprayed my plants with some Yates Lime Sulpher and have fingers crossed....

How often do you guys repeat the process, bearing in mind the fact that as you can't easliy see them it's hard to know if they're gone or not? At least with aphids you can kind of see what you are dealing with!
After spraying with lime sulpher, should i expect things to start looking worse before they get better? (if they get better!)
I'm just trying to prepare myself just in case!

Dot Com · Feb 13, 2013

I'd be interested to see if you get a pod off of there as well. I have a seedling just a couple weeks old and would be quite happy if I could get it to grow like yours. The leaves & flowers look healthy to me.

nee said:
Here's a few from this evening...

I was thrilled to see that my 7 Pot "Madballz" is now flowering....hoping for some nastiness from this quite soon!

That is all... lol

nee · Feb 16, 2013

Holy moly!!!!!!! The crazy stuff continues here in Australia for us!!!!

I submitted one of my sons old ping pong tricks videos to Channel 9's "Australias Funniest Home Videos" show late last year, and totally forgot about it...

My wife received a phone call on Wednesday to say that our clip had been reviewed and that it will be shown on tv this Saturday (today)

So we all settle around the tv at 6:30 to watch our son nail some ping pong tricks, and once it's shown we proceed to go out into our garden for our bbq dinner....for us the show was over...our sons video had netted us a good $250 for being aired on the show, and that was the end of it...

So here we are 30 minutes later, with me cooking our dinner on the bbq, when Tom comes running out saying that we'd won $5000 as we'd gotten the "video of the week" due to the studio audience liking our video!!!!

OK...NEVER EXPECTED THIS!!!!!!! And we are now automatically into the final to win $250,000....so i am warning you all to expect a link to vote for our vid in the near future!!!!

Here is a vid from the telly tonight!!! http://youtu.be/mxwNEviAtgo

stickman · Feb 16, 2013

That's a nice bonus Nee! You're going to put it in his college fund, eh?