• Blog your pepper progress. The first image in your first post will be used to represent your Glog.

Spicegeist 2018

I started a few plants in the fall and have been overwintering them.  I'm mostly focusing on a handful of my special bhut crosses.  Bottom left in this photo is a Chiltepin.  Bottom center is a coffee plant I grew from seed.  I spent a good part of this weekend squishing aphids.
 

 
Here's a C. galapagoense that's spent most of its life under grow lights after I started it in the fall.  It flowered and produced fruit without any pollinators present:

 
I know these don't look very impressive, but I'm just trying to keep them alive until warmer weather.  They are 1/2 C. galapagoense x Chiltepin and 1/2 Superhot (my own mostly bhut cross):
 
 
Click to expand...
Looking good for mid-winter Charles! I can sympathize about the aphids on your over-wintered plants... this is the first year that I haven't had that problem, but that's because I kept the OW plant inside from germination on. Do you feed your OW plants anything, or are you just watering them until you can set them outside? I read somewhere that excess Nitrogen in your plants will make them more attractive to aphids.
     I've got some of your cumari pollux seeds soaking tonight, and I'll break dormancy with the wet paper towel method tomorrow. Looking forward to growing it out. :)
 
Looking good Charles!
 
I too have thought about growing coffee. It should grow here, we have the warmth. I went to Puerto Rico a few years back for a wedding, their coffee is simply amazing. Alto Grande, pricey but the best IMHO. Don't buy it, because if you do, you'll be hooked.
 
Good luck this season!
 
Remember when I said I wasn't starting any seeds... well, yeah... I lied.  Here are a few C. galapagoense from my awesome plant:
0215181149 by Charles de Souza, on Flickr
 
I also have two of these 75% C. galapagoense, the remaining 25% is ~12.5% Chiltepin and ~12.5% Superhot cross (mostly my favorite bhut varieties with a little seven pod moruga).  Can't wait to see the fruit if these survive:
0215181150 by Charles de Souza, on Flickr
 
stickman said:
Looking good for mid-winter Charles! I can sympathize about the aphids on your over-wintered plants... this is the first year that I haven't had that problem, but that's because I kept the OW plant inside from germination on. Do you feed your OW plants anything, or are you just watering them until you can set them outside? I read somewhere that excess Nitrogen in your plants will make them more attractive to aphids.
     I've got some of your cumari pollux seeds soaking tonight, and I'll break dormancy with the wet paper towel method tomorrow. Looking forward to growing it out. :)
Click to expand...
 
 
Essegi said:
Good luck, looking forward to your crosses!
Click to expand...
 
 
Datil said:
Looking good Charles!
Have a nice season!
 
Click to expand...
 
 
Dinsdale said:
Nice!
 
I'd like to try and grow coffee too. Where did you get the seeds?
Click to expand...
 
 
Devv said:
Looking good Charles!
 
I too have thought about growing coffee. It should grow here, we have the warmth. I went to Puerto Rico a few years back for a wedding, their coffee is simply amazing. Alto Grande, pricey but the best IMHO. Don't buy it, because if you do, you'll be hooked.
 
Good luck this season!
Click to expand...
 
 
jedisushi06 said:
A pale bhut seed just sprouted from you.  
Click to expand...
 
 
Thank you, thank you.  About the OW, I just keep them alive, well, try to at least.  They get nothing else from me.  The coffee plant was funny, I ordered plants just to have as house plants.  But when I left it outside for the winter it flowered and gave me fruit.  The seed was viable, it sprouted and, well, there it is.  One of my neighbors is convinced I'm going to start a local coffee project, lol.  Way too cold here for that.  Awesome about the peach bhut!  That and another peach cross I have are some of the varieties I'd definitely grow if I weren't trying to be more disciplined about the number of plants I'll end up with on the patio.
 
Got this off of a seed train, maybe out of jedisushi's bag because I labeled it with both of your names. I think there might have only been the one seed

KIMG1224.JPG


Peach x Jay's Peach x Peach Bhut
 
Aphids. F*ck aphids. 
 
I had aphids bad in 2014-2015 on my overwinters. 

I walled off the room with plastic sheeting and ordered in 5,000 lady bugs and let them loose in my basement.
 
UOhY0tb.jpg

 
They were EVERYWHERE. Both aphids, and ladybugs. I couldn't *believe* how fast the aphid population exploded. There were millions of them.
 
 
Rob6YNO.jpg

 
But the ladybugs ate well.
 
3fGFqNQ.jpg

 
And they frolicked.
 
fhk3qzA.jpg

 
And they had big orgies.
 
U0pE49G.jpg

 
And they made baby ladybugs.
 
And baby ladybugs are ugly sonsabitches, but they ate all the aphids.
 
About 3 months later I had another aphid explosion but the plants were ready to go out for hardening. ONE DAY outside and the potter wasps outdoors took care of them.
 
Problem is, when the plants came back in, so did the potter wasps. :)
 
By the time spring came, my wife was ready to kill me. Not only did I let loose 5,000 lady bugs in the houes (which, of course, were most CERTAINLY NOT CONTAINED by the plastic sheeting...)
 
But then I brought a few dozen wasps back inside with my overwinters when I was hardening them off.
 
She just about kicked ME out with the PLANTS.
 
 
 
I see you had a lot of dead leaves on top of your soil.
I read somewhere that decaying organic material makes a good breeding ground for some pests like aphids. Is it true?
 
Walchit said:
Got this off of a seed train, maybe out of jedisushi's bag because I labeled it with both of your names. I think there might have only been the one seed

attachicon.gif
KIMG1224.JPG

Peach x Jay's Peach x Peach Bhut
Click to expand...
 
 
U)<now said:
I also have some of the Peach Ghost x JPGS going. Got them from Jedi this season. I'm excited to try them later this year!
Click to expand...
 
That's great you guys are growing these out.  Will be cool to see how they turn out for you.  Should be very interesting.  Hope you save some seed.
 
TrentL said:
Aphids. F*ck aphids. 
 
I had aphids bad in 2014-2015 on my overwinters. 
I walled off the room with plastic sheeting and ordered in 5,000 lady bugs and let them loose in my basement.
 
UOhY0tb.jpg

 
They were EVERYWHERE. Both aphids, and ladybugs. I couldn't *believe* how fast the aphid population exploded. There were millions of them.
 
 
Rob6YNO.jpg

 
But the ladybugs ate well.
 
3fGFqNQ.jpg

 
And they frolicked.
 
fhk3qzA.jpg

 
And they had big orgies.
 
U0pE49G.jpg

 
And they made baby ladybugs.
 
And baby ladybugs are ugly sonsabitches, but they ate all the aphids.
 
About 3 months later I had another aphid explosion but the plants were ready to go out for hardening. ONE DAY outside and the potter wasps outdoors took care of them.
 
Problem is, when the plants came back in, so did the potter wasps. :)
 
By the time spring came, my wife was ready to kill me. Not only did I let loose 5,000 lady bugs in the houes (which, of course, were most CERTAINLY NOT CONTAINED by the plastic sheeting...)
 
But then I brought a few dozen wasps back inside with my overwinters when I was hardening them off.
 
She just about kicked ME out with the PLANTS.
 
 
Click to expand...
Great post loved reading it and the pics are great [emoji221][emoji221]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top