So, I started my first indoor pepper crop in october. I got a Sunleaves T5 flourecent 4 foot light from a friend who didn't need it anymore, and setup my closet with the intention of moving the plants outside when the weather allows.
I have 2 pepperoncini, 1 Tabasco, 1 Thai Sun, and 1 Bhut Jolokia.
One pepperoncini is the best of the bunch, some yellowing leaves, but a number of white flowers and already has many branches, nice smooth leaves, and several full size fruits. Still, enough yellow to be of concern, maybe 20% of mostly older foliage.
The other pepperoncini is much smaller few branches, also yellow, but... also some full size fruit.
The tabasco is a mess,.... it was originally the biggest but its leaves all curled over. From the edges inward and upward. Uncurling leaves doesn't reveal any evidence of eggs or insects. Growth is slow, and all curled up. Otherwise green, with little yellowing.
The thai sun seems uneffected, but its a very small plant (the only type I have grown before, so I expected this), but green and producing several peppers.
The last, the Bhut Jolokia.... it was the biggest and strongest of its kin. It was to be the one to move on and be grown out.... but it was the first pepper plant that out cat ever saw, and she couldn't resist pruning it for us. This worked out as it has grown back lush and green, stocky and healthy looking. It is in between the thai sun and the pepperoncini in size, has 2 main branches, with new tips showing at each node.... but has not started branching yet.
This last one, aside from its health, and it is said to grow slow and be difficult.... it has a symptom that I don't see on the others.... cottony tufts (1-2 mm around) along the underside of each leaf, along the stem. The secondary veins where these tufts were largest seemed to have collapsed in the middle, causing the leaf to wrinkle.
I examined these under 100x magnification with a crappy handheld microscope. They appear to be just translucent filiments. No other structure could be identified, but, they did each seem to originate separately from the surface of the vein.
It looks a lot like mold, and I do see some white fuzz on the soil in some of them.... looking around, I see some articles that lead me to think "white mold" which comes with a recommendation of removing the plant and soil, even going so far as to recommend burning if possible. It concerns me that the closet is a wonderful place for these fungi to spread.
I have 2 pepperoncini, 1 Tabasco, 1 Thai Sun, and 1 Bhut Jolokia.
One pepperoncini is the best of the bunch, some yellowing leaves, but a number of white flowers and already has many branches, nice smooth leaves, and several full size fruits. Still, enough yellow to be of concern, maybe 20% of mostly older foliage.
The other pepperoncini is much smaller few branches, also yellow, but... also some full size fruit.
The tabasco is a mess,.... it was originally the biggest but its leaves all curled over. From the edges inward and upward. Uncurling leaves doesn't reveal any evidence of eggs or insects. Growth is slow, and all curled up. Otherwise green, with little yellowing.
The thai sun seems uneffected, but its a very small plant (the only type I have grown before, so I expected this), but green and producing several peppers.
The last, the Bhut Jolokia.... it was the biggest and strongest of its kin. It was to be the one to move on and be grown out.... but it was the first pepper plant that out cat ever saw, and she couldn't resist pruning it for us. This worked out as it has grown back lush and green, stocky and healthy looking. It is in between the thai sun and the pepperoncini in size, has 2 main branches, with new tips showing at each node.... but has not started branching yet.
This last one, aside from its health, and it is said to grow slow and be difficult.... it has a symptom that I don't see on the others.... cottony tufts (1-2 mm around) along the underside of each leaf, along the stem. The secondary veins where these tufts were largest seemed to have collapsed in the middle, causing the leaf to wrinkle.
I examined these under 100x magnification with a crappy handheld microscope. They appear to be just translucent filiments. No other structure could be identified, but, they did each seem to originate separately from the surface of the vein.
It looks a lot like mold, and I do see some white fuzz on the soil in some of them.... looking around, I see some articles that lead me to think "white mold" which comes with a recommendation of removing the plant and soil, even going so far as to recommend burning if possible. It concerns me that the closet is a wonderful place for these fungi to spread.