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Time to Turn it all Around ... It begins in Earnest... Trials and Tribulations of Trippa's Season 20

Well the least said about the 2013-2014 season from my point of view the better.  Broad Mites took a heavy toll and things just never got a start or a roll on .... I was at fault in some part by trying to grow too many plants in too small pots (a lesson I was yet to heed after 2-3 seasons), I tried to cheap on amendments just using a commercial potting mix ... never again ... and I didn't love them enough ... (I don't think I ever do although my wife disagrees ;)
 
I had some great varieties started but most I never got a single pod from, due to being in a constant flux of recovery and attack from Broad mites ... I will be holding onto a select few plants and putting them on my other balcony where I had success transplanting some other plants midway through last season ... less direct light and more weather and terracotta pots and a slightly different soil mix all added up to some semblance of harvest and my best ever harvest from my Pimenta De Neyde (confirming my thoughts that it (my particular plant) does not like the heat and full sun I had been affording it in the past 2 seasons.
 
However my main balcony will be wiped clean from this season (including being cleaned down to get rid of the pain in the ass mites and aphids) all pots removed and existing trays cleaned with bleach in the bathroom.
 
No more plastic pots will be used ... I have already purchased 10 x 10 gallon (37.85 litre) Fabric pots (got them for less then I could make them in the end) brand new with handles for shifting a little if needed although sounds like back trouble if I do it too much :)
This will give the root zones an additional 27.85 litres of space compared with last season and keep the roots cooler and give the benefit of air pruning ... an all round win!!
 
I will also be using a 25% Mushroom Compost, 25% Perlite, 25% Coir, and 15% Organic Potting mix and 5-7% Sheep Manure/Worm Castings/Rock Dust/ and the remainder a mulch yet to be determined (possibly pine bark or hardwood chips) ... But please post comments on what you think might be a good soil mix if you see some glaring omissions from my recipe.
 
I will also be companion planting with a couple of basil plants per plant along with a petunia or geranium added to the mix to hopefully boost some beneficial's in the garden and give the chillis some respite from the pest hordes.
 
 
I already have some plants started/stunted from late last season that I have been trying to hold off from going out to get infested before I can get rid of the mites and also have a bunch of varieties that I have in the heated propagator germinating at the moment (have been down 8 days and have 2 varieties hooked , Chocolate Habanero and Yellow Bhut x Primo f3 (seeds saved from my sole pod last season from Jungle Rains Yellow Bhut x Primo f2 seed)
 
I will disclose a full list of 10 plants I will be growing in the fabric pots (seriously no more) and the few that will go to the other balcony either because I need them for seed saving or because they are plants I would like to grow again but don't want to commit to starting again.
 
I also have a bunch of seeds started with the view to gifting them to a couple of people.
 
I am looking forward to the steep challenge this season ... I just want some kick ass plants and pods ... I can't promise that but I will try ... 

Just read over my 2013-2014 glog and the first few pages started much the same as this one ... grandiose Ideas ... new starts... changes ... blah blah blah ... talk is cheap it would seem :D ... but the difference is this season I already have part of the set up purchased and a disaster behind me to spur me to change everything .... haha ... check out post #370 on last seasons glog ... this year is the year ... 
 
Devv said:
For me the germ part of the grow is a favorite. Come home from work and take a peak, yes! We have yet another candidate! The comes a challenge, can we get this baby to turn into a plant?
 
It's all good, and why we do it. And then there's the end result ;)  
Exactly Devv!! You know I actually think I am the same (I think many of us are). When you guys in the NH are starting your seeds around Christmas /New Years I always tend to get itchy fingers and decide just to germinate something or take a cutting even if it is something random... haha ... I need to be back on my parents farm first 18 years on a New Zealand hill country sheep and beef farm and now in an apartment .. you can see I have outgrown this place :D
stickman said:
Oh, I hear ya brother... My name is Rick and I'm a pepperholic... :P
Haha that's the one bro :D
 
Nice additions to your grow list, Tristen!
 
Hope your germination rate rocks!
 
Just stopped by to see how the germinating seeds are doing.
I hope the bleach wash down took care of the mites for ya.
 
PaulG said:
Just stopped by to see how the germinating seeds are doing.
I hope the bleach wash down took care of the mites for ya.
Haven't seen a mite in weeks Paul ... then again I have no plants outside and the weather has been good ... but I like to see it as a positive regardless ;)
Germination has been hit and miss ... my first lot of seeds I had some germinate just last week ... what's that 5-6 weeks ? Unreal ... but shows they took a lot to break dormancy
I just put some more seeds into soak last night ... already have far too many plants but I really wanted the option of a couple more ... I still haven't decided on my final grow list and this will add to my dilemma.

By the way does anyone know of any types of chilli peppers endemic to Sicily ?
 
Never can have too many starts, then just sort them out.
 
I Googled "native peppers from Sicily", along with a few other combo's,  and the results were poor :confused:
 
Trippa said:
Haven't seen a mite in weeks Paul ... then again I have no plants outside and the weather has been good ... but I like to see it as a positive regardless ;)
Germination has been hit and miss ... my first lot of seeds I had some germinate just last week ... what's that 5-6 weeks ? Unreal ... but shows they took a lot to break dormancy
I just put some more seeds into soak last night ... already have far too many plants but I really wanted the option of a couple more ... I still haven't decided on my final grow list and this will add to my dilemma.

By the way does anyone know of any types of chilli peppers endemic to Sicily ?
 
I don't know of any varieties endemic to Sicily, but I know they grow Annuum varieties there... probably whatever is available from Italian seed companies. You might like this tract on the history of Sicilian food...
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=12&ved=0CFYQFjAL&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.umass.edu%2Fjournal%2Fsicilyprogram%2FPDF%2Fsicilian_food.pdf&ei=y37yU-u_DZKPyAST84DwDQ&usg=AFQjCNHtcj8JCAWy_mzqhFw4cefOjDCGxg&bvm=bv.73231344,d.aWw
 
and this page of Sicilian pepper recipes
http://www.siciliancookingplus.com/Peppers-Recipes.html
 
Cheers!
 
Devv said:
Never can have too many starts, then just sort them out.
 
I Googled "native peppers from Sicily", along with a few other combo's,  and the results were poor :confused:
Cheers Devv ... yeah you are right ... never have too many starts ... :D
stickman said:
 
I don't know of any varieties endemic to Sicily, but I know they grow Annuum varieties there... probably whatever is available from Italian seed companies. You might like this tract on the history of Sicilian food...
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=12&ved=0CFYQFjAL&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.umass.edu%2Fjournal%2Fsicilyprogram%2FPDF%2Fsicilian_food.pdf&ei=y37yU-u_DZKPyAST84DwDQ&usg=AFQjCNHtcj8JCAWy_mzqhFw4cefOjDCGxg&bvm=bv.73231344,d.aWw
 
and this page of Sicilian pepper recipes
http://www.siciliancookingplus.com/Peppers-Recipes.html
 
Cheers!
Cheers Rick!

I will check those links out ...

Yeah I can't seem to find any reference to any specific Chilli Pepper variety .. simply Annuum ... anyway I should quantify my question by saying the reason I asked is I am heading to the UAE, UK, France and Sicily and then onto Rome in a couple of months time ... so I thought I would see if I could find any good genetics while I was there ...
 
Trippa said:
Cheers Rick!

I will check those links out ...

Yeah I can't seem to find any reference to any specific Chilli Pepper variety .. simply Annuum ... anyway I should quantify my question by saying the reason I asked is I am heading to the UAE, UK, France and Sicily and then onto Rome in a couple of months time ... so I thought I would see if I could find any good genetics while I was there ...
 
With the fighting going on in Syria, I think it might be difficult to get any Aleppo pepper in the UAE... You might want to check out some of the Turkish varieties though. In the Basque country of the western Pyrenees on the border between France and Spain there is a rare variety called the Piment de Espalette that's supposed to be very tasty. Italy has many varieties of peppers that are used for different things. Some are dried and crushed for the pepper flakes called Pepperoncino, some are pickled like Hot Cherry peppers and some are for frying or roasting like Cubanelles. One of the tastiest Italian pickled pepper recipes I've come across uses olive oil in the jar with the pickles. It may sound a little strange if you've never tried them before, but these are fantastic! Measurements are in U.S. standard, but should be easy enough to convert. The peppers from this recipe come out pretty soft, but they taste so good you won't mind.
 
PICKLED PEPPERS IN OIL
INGREDIENTS
 ​
4 pounds Peppers (Hot, sweet or a mix... just use ones that taste good)​
1/4 Cup Raw Sugar​
1/2 Cup Water​
1 Cup of good Olive  Oil​
2 Cups White Vinegar​
2 cloves Garlic​
1/2 Tablespoon prepared Horseradish​
 ​
DIRECTIONS
 ​
Wash Peppers.  You may stem and pack them whole or slice them into circles, depending on your preference and size of canning jars. Do not worry about removing seeds.​
In a stainless steel pot, combine all ingredients. Simmer for 15 minutes.  Do not boil.​
Using a slotted spoon, pack Peppers into sterilized jars.​
Bring remaining pickling juice to a roiling boil.  Remove from heat. Using ladle, evenly divide liquid between jars of peppers.  You may place garlic cloves into two jars or discard, as desired.​
Jars need to be filled leaving only 1/4 inch headspace.  If you do not have enough picklingjuice, top off containers with olive oil.​
Clean rims.  Adjust caps.​
Process in a Boiling Hot Water Bath: 10 minutes for half pints or pints, 15 minutes for quarts.​
 ​
Makes about 8 half pints. Stores on shelf, unopened, for 1 year.​
Refrigerate after opening.
 
All right Tristen, glad to hear you got rid of the mites.  
 
One of the guys at toe local grow store said mites will
burrow into wood and bamboo stakes, atop, so get rid
of any of those.  Of course, you probably already knew that!
 
Have an awesome week, brother!
 
PaulG said:
All right Tristen, glad to hear you got rid of the mites.  
 
One of the guys at toe local grow store said mites will
burrow into wood and bamboo stakes, atop, so get rid
of any of those.  Of course, you probably already knew that!
 
Have an awesome week, brother!
Cheers Paul! ... I didn't know that about mites so I will take that onboard. Thank you! I only have one old bamboo stake ... will throw it out in case ... better to be safe than sorry.
My other balcony is now going to be free of all plants as I decided to scrap the remaining ones out there. It means I can put 4-5 more plants out there easily which prefer a slightly cooler position.And my final list easier to narrow down :D
 
Note to self .... stop buying seeds .... other note to self ... stop looking at websites which sell them incessantly
Other note to self .... don't let the wife find out ;)
About to pull the trigger on an AACT bubbler (aquarium air pump with all the fittings and air stones etc) ...
1st round of seedlings have taken a little while but finally look to be settling into there new containers (3 weeks since plant out from the germination chamber and light) ....
not surprising considering I haven't been able to put them on the outside balcony much due to high winds so they haven't thickened up much as yet since they have been sitting behind glass in a window for the majority of the time (don't have a fan to hook up either)

I have another lot ready for plant out this weekend but between my sons birthday party and fathers day on the Saturday and Sunday not sure much will be done on that front ...
then I have to think about these plants surviving the mid spring heat without me for 3 weeks soon ....running out of weekends to get these things sorted ...
 
Devv said:
I'm ready to see pics of those babies ;)
 
 
Yeah ... I know ...5 pages in and not a single photo .... freakin slack I know .... pictures to come at some stage soon ...
Anyone used something like this at all??
 
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-Quality-500X-2MP-2-0M-Digital-Microscope-Endoscope-Magnifier-Video-Camera-/301293260404?pt=AU_Business_Industrial_Medical_Scientific_Equipment2&hash=item46267a4e74
 
Want to get a microscope but I would like to capture what I see for viewing later ruling out a conventional one to me ...
 
miguelovic said:
Noooo.... but for 16 bucks, how could you go wrong? I've heard good result on digital micros in general.
 
If you grab it, I'd be stoked to check out the results :party:
Cheers for stopping in bro ... yeah exactly its worth a whirl ... for sure I will post the results if/once I get it ..
lots of expense coming up in my life for the next 4 months so I have to keep my pennies in check so the dollars are left intact ... will keep you posted ...
 
Broad mites .... what a pain in my ass.... :D they are back on 3 of my chinense seedlings already ... I was in denial for a week ... but today I had to accept wettable sulphur must be used now to try and get ahead while they are young and that predator mites will need to be called in once I have some flowers established to keep them around .. sucks but thems the breaks ... onwards and upwards ....
 
Two other things for mites, foliar application of seaweed extract to help the plants immune system. And if you can find some pyrethrum, I believe a mix of .05% is all that's needed.
 
Kills the crap out of them and is organic.
 
Trippa said:
Broad mites .... what a pain in my ass.... :D they are back on 3 of my chinense seedlings already ... I was in denial for a week ... but today I had to accept wettable sulphur must be used now to try and get ahead while they are young and that predator mites will need to be called in once I have some flowers established to keep them around .. sucks but thems the breaks ... onwards and upwards ....
 
Definitely an un-like there buddy. :(  +1 on Scott's comments... nuke the $#*@ outta them bastiges!
 
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