Sounds like a cool experiment, Im game. Ive got 2 Ghost pepper reds from same pod and are same size. Ill take pics of both pretopped side by side and then post topped. Same section of yard and same fert/water schedule, should be fun
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topping pepper plants?
- Thread starter luvmesump3pp3rz
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I just posted a thread on here comparing two plants, one topped one not. In two weeks the Bhut I didn't top has grown likes crazy, the Reaper I topped has barely grown. Both are indoors with exactly the same amount of light and potting soil. I also topped a Serrano at the same time and it looks great, but I have no idea if it would have looked this good even if I didn't top it. The main reason I topped it was because it was too tall and skinny, it definitely helped that.
Nice, I think that were looking for a more controlled experiment ie: same kindDoelman said:
a lot of good info from member`s experiences and opinions so i`m glad i started this thread. i would participate in an group experiment growing 2 plants from the same seed. i didn`t top any of my plants so far but may try 1 or 2 plants to see firsthand how they do. thanks for all the responses.
I was thinking next season, possibly with a thread dedicated to it where everyone is growing the same variety from the same stock, with an equal amount topped and not topped.solid7 said:
For example, the bhut and serrano in a previous post could be outgrowing the reaper because reapers tend to be a lot slower, not necessarily because it was topped. That's why it'd be useful to do it with the same variety for everyone.
i could do that but that would be my entire pepper crop for the season. i`m very limited on space and all my peppers are in containers. the small in-ground space i have is used for tomatoes, kale, cukes and herbs. my wife has to have her cilantro and basil and parsley and what not so my peppers are relegated to 1 to 5 gallon containers. growing peppers is a hobby for me so yes i can do 12 plants and top half for the experiment. send me some seeds.solid7 said:Any chance you might plant 12 of the same thing, and top half of them?
lots of people do extreme topping which gives topping a bad rap but sometimes it is warranted. i just pinch the apical growth if the plant is flowering too early but keep most of the leaves. this will enhance side branching and delay top growth. pick a few side branches to maintain and eliminate the other side shoots that form. using high light will also help force chili plants to branch early and keep internodal spacing down.
Sorry I havent updated with the pics from experiment its just been raining like Jumanji down here for the past 2 weeks. Tomorrow Im looking to do phase 1 with 2-4 plants then another few plants
solid7 said:
I think I was adding blooming additives to test that theory, in a way. And I think I agree. I haven't seen that much additional fruit production. But it was worth a try anyway.
Let me ask you this then: what would allow me to see an increase in fruit production? I'd like to experiment with it.
I was, however, under the impression Nitrogen was bad after a certain point in the growing stages (I occasionally throw in a teaspoon though when I clip.) I started most of my peppers indoors in full nutrient solution; so they were about a foot when I planted them out. Realistically, I live in Florida so indoor starting wasn't really that necessary, but as you probably all known white flies are a pain in the neck-which is why I did it. Or at least they were until I found a viable solution. In the past, I have had multiple successive years worth garden plants destroyed by white flies. It also helps, in my opinion, to have a basic understanding of the techniques our northern neighbors use.
Apart from the nutrients in the soil underneath (which my earthworm colonies are hopefully contributing back to,) I haven't seen a noticeable problem in how the plants look to me. I was never getting the 200 pods or so some of you get on your plants. But as a hobbyist, that wasn't really my goal. I was happy to have any peppers at all this year. I chalk this year down as a win for science. With hurricane season approaching, I imagine that goal might be short-lived, if last year was any indication.
We all know these things tend to go in cycles.Now i need to tackle my snail problem. >> *Insert tips here.*
I'm gone at work most days, so I only have a minimal amount of time to devote to gardening per week. If it doesn't get done then, it doesn't get done. And I agree with AJDrew about vertical height. Not that I really needed to control it, but I figured that technique was as good as any if that was the best way to eliminate unnecessary growth and increase fruiting. If it worked, great. If it didn't so be bit. I reserve the right to be wrong. Maybe I'll try a premium worm casting or something next year. As to the dosing, I generally only slight deviated from the the general label amounts and only use the hydro solution as a topical since the Armor Si I have is a liquid, and thus needs to be applied as such. I highly recommend everyone use this if you have a white fly problem. On a mass scale I wouldn't know how to implement it, but on a small scale it and/or similar products seem to work wonders.
The reason I have the peppers near the banana plants is that is where I put the most nutrients. I have sod (a problem beyond my control) over almost everywhere else in my yard. I throw my hands up in the air when I hear the remark "you still have sod in your yard??" And Florida sun is hot, as you also know, so the bananas shade the peppers a bit.
Tomato season is over for me until I figure out what killed my tomato plants. But that's another story for another day.
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Aji anyone? (fungus and banana cameo.)
First off, your avatar says that you live in Florida. And that being so, you've got it tough. What many of the other growers on the forum don't understand, and probably never will unless they've grown here, is that growing here is TOUGH. We have some unique growing challenges. The mostly sand soil, which has no tilth, the extreme humidity and UV, and let's not even getting started on the pests. (multiple times more bugs per square block than the entire population of Earth)keybrdkid said:
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Why do I mention that? Because there is absolutely no substitute for OPTIMAL CONDITIONS. Unfortunately, we don't have that. But, there are some things we can do to help.
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After reading some other member posts as of late, and especially those with similar climates, I'm beginning to see some value in shade cloth. As I've said a lot lately, if you're planted out in containers, the number one thing you can do, is keep your roots cool. Insulate the containers. If you're in soil, lots and lots of mulch. Mulching is a never-ending saga for the serious gardener, by the way. Next, make AACT with substances that have plant growth hormones. (start simple with things like alfalfa, work up to the more exotic) But in any case, don't do the heavy lifting with nutrients. That's just the building blocks of plant food.
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Oh yeah... BioChar. If you don't know about it, get to know it.
keybrdkid said:
That's the impression that we are led to believe. But there is no point in the grow where you need to scale back N, if you've applied it at appropriate levels. As I said previously, in an agricultural setting, where you are ripping apart the soil at the beginning of the grow, you're releasing that sequestered nitrogen, and it needs to be replenished fairly quickly. But as the soil settles, the nitrogen becomes "bound" in the soil, and once again, less mobile. So you don't have to add as much as the season goes on. But that's large scale agriculture. Your bananas are heavy feeders, and as long as you've got Peppers next to them you definitely should not scale back N. (even if they're flowering/fruiting, they'll have suckers coming up - and it's generally accepted that the yield of a banana will be determined by the health and conditions of the plant in its first 3 months of life)
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A lot of grow "science" is attributable to what you can get dumb potheads to believe with their wallets.
keybrdkid said:
I totally get that. We should talk more about the whitefly, in a separate thread or PM. Easily the worst pest we face down here.
keybrdkid said:
I have found the copper trick to work quite nicely. Copper rings around the base of the plants. Although, I'll be the first to admit that I'm still not sure yet if that's real, or just a pseudo-scientific coincidence.
keybrdkid said:
Nothing wrong with peppers and bananas co-habitating... just as long as you are aware what voracious feeders bananas are. Almost all banana plants that you'll see are nutrient deficient. When they're well fed and happy, they look like totally different things. Most people either neglect them, or fail to realize just how hungry they are.
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I had a garden with 14 varieties of bananas, at one time. It took me awhile to appreciate what I've just told you.
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As for sod... Mine is mostly gone. Ridiculous thing to grow here. (it's a money trap)
keybrdkid said:
Tomato growing weather is officially 100% done by June 1st, unless you're happy with Florida specific varieties. If it's not powdery mildew that gets them, it's nematodes. If it's not nematodes, it's some sort of blight. Time to rotate out to tomatillos, until October.
solid7 said:You made a long post, and I'm gonna update a few times to cover the points, so check back a few times. When these two sentences disappear, I'm done.
First off, your avatar says that you live in Florida. And that being so, you've got it tough. What many of the other growers on the forum don't understand, and probably never will unless they've grown here, is that growing here is TOUGH. We have some unique growing challenges. The mostly sand soil, which has no tilth, the extreme humidity and UV, and let's not even getting started on the pests. (multiple times more bugs per square block than the entire population of Earth)
.
Why do I mention that? Because there is absolutely no substitute for OPTIMAL CONDITIONS. Unfortunately, we don't have that. But, there are some things we can do to help.
.
After reading some other member posts as of late, and especially those with similar climates, I'm beginning to see some value in shade cloth. As I've said a lot lately, if you're planted out in containers, the number one thing you can do, is keep your roots cool. Insulate the containers. If you're in soil, lots and lots of mulch. Mulching is a never-ending saga for the serious gardener, by the way. Next, make AACT with substances that have plant growth hormones. (start simple with things like alfalfa, work up to the more exotic) But in any case, don't do the heavy lifting with nutrients. That's just the building blocks of plant food.
Thanks. I will keep an eye on this info. Since are straying a bit off topic here, maybe you could repost this in my glog. That way I can digest it further without having to look for it.
See here: http://thehotpepper.com/topic/66720-my-hydroponic-tomatoes-ect/page-4
Google Fatalii and bonchi. That will blow your mind at what is possible. Might be worth pampering one healthy plant.
solid7 said:
Sorry I was a bit late in responding.
Yes I did not use Imidacloprid, which was the operative word. But everyone is entitled to a mistake or two.
Most would probably use Imidacloprid as their default treatment. But I know pesticides are a tricky subject, especially for organic growers. And Imidacloprid has a 45 day waiting period I think, during which time you cannot eat any fruit from that plant.
So I wanted to find another method, but I searched high and low for a long time without success. However, I eventually dabbled into some basic deep water cultures, and stumbled upon a solution to the problem I wasn't looking for at that time. As it happens, the Armor Si and similar products add silica to the plant, which strengthens its cell wall. Thereby preventing the insect from inserting its proboscis to drink the plant nectar. So in essence, you are not killing the insects, but you are instead preventing them from being able to feed on the plants.
At least that is the theory. Seemed to work for me as I didn't lose any plants to white flies this year that I know of. It is somewhat more difficult however, to put into practice, because you have to pH neutralize the silica before you administer it-something the common person might have difficulty doing on a large scale, unless there is a farming way to do this. I mixed it by the 2 Qt or so, but that amount spread between all my yard plants was gone in a minutes time. Sometimes I had to mix a second batch.
Hope that clears up the issue. I do recommend Armor Si and similar products because I think this is the answer Floridians have long been searching for. Somewhere along the line I put two and two together and realized it could have a white fly application. And I purchased a bottle. And here we are today.
I take no credit of course for the products themselves. That goes to the scientists who invented it and the company that marketed it. I just found a practical use for it that solved a very irritating problem for me. A few more growing seasons worth of data would hopefully confirm this. As it stands, this is the first year I have tried it. And white flies have a tendency to drop larvae eggs into the soil for re emergence in later times. Part of the reason they are such a problem to prevent. Hopefully this product stopped that too. But time will tell I suppose.
-Key
For what it's worth... Whitefly seems to go in cycles. For us here, this seems to be an "off" year. Last year was horrible. This year, so far, so good. Hardly seen any, at all. As a side-effect, that means that broad mites are also not an issue. (at least not yet)
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In Florida, organic matter on the ground is your friend. The more you have, the less pests to deal with. The downside, is that there can be some pretty scary shit living in there. But as long as it balances out the hostility in the garden, I'm good with it. Any pesky creature that has soil-borne eggs, doesn't tend to fare too well in a garden that is teeming with microbial life. (exception being ants and cockroaches)
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In Florida, organic matter on the ground is your friend. The more you have, the less pests to deal with. The downside, is that there can be some pretty scary shit living in there. But as long as it balances out the hostility in the garden, I'm good with it. Any pesky creature that has soil-borne eggs, doesn't tend to fare too well in a garden that is teeming with microbial life. (exception being ants and cockroaches)