PeriPeri's Grow Log 2012: South Africa

Hi All,

So I'll give it another try this year. God knows I love chillies and I would love nothing more than to have a bumper harvest... but I suspect the truth of the matter is I do not have green fingers. In fact, give me a chilli and I will be pretty guaranteed to kill it lol That's not negativity talking, that's reality based on last years experiences lol

Last year it was pots. This year its a farm east of Pretoria, here in South Africa. My reasoning for this madness is pretty much like a hunter hunting with a machine gun... out of the thousand seedlings I plant... I must walk away with something lol (I hope).

So I have a pice of land. Good soil down by a river in the african sun.

The planting area has been divided into two sections. An enclosed area (±40mx40m) with shade netting and an open area (±40mx40m). Water is limited, but there is borehole water.

Outside Area:

Inside Area:

Temps this time of the year are in the mid to high 30ºC. It's the rainy season, so there is rain and it comes in buckets and hail-stones!

So here are the pics I took of the inside and outside areas Saturday 6/10/2012. It was 37ºC that day. I have a video as well which I took last Sunday when I started the planting (to come). Luckily we have a cold front at the moment, so since monday it has been overcast, cool and we have rain (magic). I think its about 23/25ºC at the moment. I planted on Sunday (36ºC) early morning (24/25ºC) and late afternoon and pretty much watered for the rest of the day. Didn't look like rain at all... but it's here and could not have come at a better time really!

As you can see I have laid out the beds in rows. Planting is at 45-60cm intervals. I am doing a little experiment also with double planting and single planting. I suspect the yield will be lower with the bushes that have been double planted... but who knows. A different climate... maybe results will show different.

On the grow list:

Bishops Crown
PeriPeri (naturally)
Hotazel
Hot Pixie
Thaibo
Thai Dragon
Baby Belle
Cal Wonder
Yellow Scorpions
ButchT
Black Pearl
Naga Viper
White Hab
Orange Hab
Brown Hab
Red Hab
Big Jim
Long Thai
Cayenne
Cheyenne
Jalapeno
Carolina Reaper
Serrano
Pasilla Bajio
7 Pod
Bhut Jolokia
Naga King
Scotch Bonnet
Hungarian Sweet Wax
Cherry Bomb
Boriya Mirch
Brain Strain
Ring of Fire

Still to come...

Angkor Sunrise
Devils Tongue White
Barrakpore
Douglah
Jonah
JonahxButchT
Primo
Naga Morich
Infinity
Goronong
Devils Tongue Choc
Hab Choc

One or two other... but I can't remember.

First lot I planted on Sunday 7/10/2012.... details will follow...

Over and out for now!

PeriPeri

 

[PeriPeri]

Thanks guys.... I have been very fortunate to have access to the land! I can't get there today and am missing it. Theres a massive cycle race on here in Joburg and the whole city is closed off for the day... no one in or out! Glad to hear you guys reckon they are growing fast... unfortunately not fast enough for me lol. I haven't tasted a superhot for a whole year and I just can't wait!

I will try and go during the week and take some pics!

 

[wildseed57]

Defiantly a good looking garden, you can tell that you have put in a lot of hard work, and the soil looks very fertile. with all the super hots you should have enough to burn you for some time, do you plan to sell any at your local Market or just hoard them all? I bet that you will be making some great sauce when all the pods ripen.

 

[PeriPeri]

Hi wildseed57, thanks - the workload is huge when I get there. I could not go last weekend... so I am dreading to think how many weeds will be waiting for me this coming weekend lol... but yes, all things being well, I should have a motherload of chillies. I am planning on making sauce. Last year was my first year growing chillies in pots. I didn't get a huge yield, but I managed to fill two large jars with just chopped chillies... and it was incredible. I think this year I will be looking at making special sauces and also using the more everyday chillies to bulk out or make bulk chopped chillies for the supermarkets. Harvest time can't come soon enough!

 

[PeriPeri]

Ok... 24/11/2012. Its been two weeks since I was last at the plot.

We have had truly amazing weather. Hot days gentle thunderstorms with long rain that has saturated the soil.

Two weeks ago I had put down cutworm poison and Mega Seagrow fert.... and there has been an absolutely amazing transformation. Everything is now taking flight!

My help have been deweeding - so things are looking very good.

I'm happy to report that my Caroline Reapers have survived and should pull through. I had lost all bar 2. The sun fried them, even though on the inside there's shade cloth all round. The sun here is so intense, even under the shade cloth... they never had a chance. Should have aclimatised them... but then they were really quite big seedlings when I planted them. Anyway... anon with some pics!

The outside area has seriously taken root. I am totally amazed how plants that looked like they were struggling so much - that I considered ripping them out - have now grown into substantial plants. It's really looking very positive to me!

 

[PeriPeri]

And the first producer of pods? Hotazel. Was the first to flower and has a whole cluster of green pods on it already!

Good old fertile African soil...

Ok well that is it for now... more images tomorrow. Pics were taken on my cell, so apologies if not that great... but I hope its good enough.

Any and all comments are welcome.

If anyone has any info on snipping heads on the chillies to make them bushier or yield more pods... someone told me - I would like to know more?

 

[WalkGood]

... Pics were taken on my cell, so apologies if not that great... but I hope its good enough. ...

Good enough pics, lol, they’re great! Beautiful setup and amazing work, I really enjoyed reading thru your whole glog. BTW love that plot of land for your plants

 

[sicman]

nice! im planting about 1000 in the ground this year! i hope they dig this central florida soil?looking awesome bro cant wait to see them all beastly!

 

[PeriPeri]

Hey WalkGood, thanks! On the pic of the outside area you will see I still have space to plant.... got to get the guys to deweed it though.... I am guessing in about two weeks or so I will be transplanting the 2nd wave of seedlings from inside to the outside area. There is more land adjacent... which is beginning to look like it will also need turning into garden.

Believe it or not I am actually now running out of soil to plant in... lol this hobby is taking up more space than I imagined! And my propogator is still got more seedlings coming...

Wow Sicman, 1000... that is a serious amount of plants. Central Florida sounds pretty good to me - I don't know your part of the world... but I am guessing it is warm in winter? I am hoping they will be beastly - I just can't wait!

Talking about quantities... I must make a note of counting what I have in the soil next time I am there... I actually haven't got a clue lol... I suppose it would be a good thing to do! A more professional approach!

 

[DocNrock]

Looking great, man! Looks like the help has actually been helping now.

 

[GA Growhead]

Periperi,
Looking sweet!
An amazing garden!

 

[PeriPeri]

Thanks DocNrock! Thanks GA Growhead... yea I think the team is pulling together. I was blown away when I got there yesterday and without asking, Sam had deweeded the outside beds.

 

[saugapepper]

Absolutely wonderful pepper patch you got there! That is a lot of man hours worth of picking though... do you have lots of help? Once those pods start turning colour your probably going to be picking every third day or so to keep the work to a minimum.

What are your plans for all these peppers? Sauce? Powder? Ruining your internal organs?

 

[PeriPeri]

lol Saugapepper... going to be harvesting seeds for sale and using flesh from special chillies for sauce and more common hot chillies for chopped chilli for cooking... to be sold in supermarkets. I have a contact who had a foot in the door with a lot of the retailers. Although I quite like the idea of doing punnets of mixed special fresh pods and selling them at a premium as Coniseur chillies maybe.... not got that far yet. Don't want to count my chillies before pod lol

 

[stickman]

Hi Periperi
If you're looking for a non-chemical way to deal with cutworms, try using cheap bamboo skewers laid alongside the seedling stems. I had problems with them until a THP member put me onto this method. Apparently the cutworms are too stupid to tell the difference between a young plant stem and a bamboo skewer, so they leave it alone. Hope this helps...

 

[saugapepper]

Didn't know that about the bamboo... good tip!

Lourens, you have no idea how many bloody peppers you are going to have... LOL

 

[PeriPeri]

Hi Periperi
If you're looking for a non-chemical way to deal with cutworms, try using cheap bamboo skewers laid alongside the seedling stems. I had problems with them until a THP member put me onto this method. Apparently the cutworms are too stupid to tell the difference between a young plant stem and a bamboo skewer, so they leave it alone. Hope this helps...

Wow Stickman - thanks for this info... that is a majorly important tip! Thanks dude - I seriously owe you one for this!

I love the tunnel set up you have going there... impressive!

PeriPeri

 

[stickman]

Hi Lourens

Wow Stickman - thanks for this info... that is a majorly important tip! Thanks dude - I seriously owe you one for this!

No problem guy, we're all in this together... I had about a third of my chiles last year taken down by cutworms so I grabbed onto this organic method of dealing with them with both hands!

I love the tunnel set up you have going there... impressive!

Thanks, this far north I need to extend my season any way I can... especially for the long-season chiles. It works for the tomatoes and eggplant too. Really nice grow you have there, good luck with your season!

 

[PeriPeri]

Hi Conor, yea... that's going to be quite a few... and I still have in the propogator... including yours lol... going to be a feast!

Stickman, I was saying to Saugapepper also, I have no idea how you guys up north do it. Hats off to you! Last year, despite a full summer from August - April, I still had chillies that never turned red lol... but yea, we are fortunate to have such a long summer. Our winters are also relatively warm with temps ranging 17 - 21ºC during day time. But we can get frost at night with temps dropping to -4ºC... we are about 4000ft above sea level here in Joburg... so its the frost that usually is the killer. I managed to get my California Wonders, Baby Belles and Jalapenos to overwinter outside from last year though - even a Black Pearl made it, which I thought was quite amazing.

 

[PeriPeri]

Ok, so in Africa things always tend to be a little bigger... You think you have snail problems, meet the African Giant Land Snail lol and this is the smallest one I found to date...

Actually, they are pretty much harmless... good thing though, couse the snail pellets to kill these buggers would have to be the size of Footballs I reckon...

Some more pics of the plants...

Red Fatalii

 

[sicman]

those snails be crazy! looking good in the ground.