Trippas Organic story of 2012/2013....things could be worse ...

Mezo · Jan 1, 2013

I always go with wilting leaves but obviously not during the day, i check in the morning as they should be perky at that time.

Mezo.

Trippa · Jan 2, 2013

Mezo said:
I always go with wilting leaves but obviously not during the day, i check in the morning as they should be perky at that time.

Mezo.

Thanks mez. Unfortunately I am not around during the day so I have to prempt the moisture levels and make sure they don't run dry during the heat of the day. Simply too hot for them to be left high and dry even for a few hours.

Mezo · Jan 2, 2013

Well ive just put 30 gallons on my plants tonight & 30 gallons the day before, and going by the forecast its easing off on the temps to mid 20`s for 2 or 3 days so ill ease off on watering (no more watering) & ill check the temps & forecast on the weekend.

I find this time of year (temp wise) its hard to over water unless you get caught out by a massive downpour, but you are lucky as your balcony is covered so only you regulate the water intake, unless is coming in from the ocean.

Mezo.

Trippa · Jan 2, 2013

Yeah I pretty much just water every 2 nights or so depending how sunny it has been.

So I tried the Cili Goronong tonight and I have to say it had great heat (probably a little under bonda ma Jacques around scotch bonnet heat) and a great taste similar but probably even more fruity then fatalii. Certainly a keeper in my grow list I have to say

PIC 1 · Jan 2, 2013

Trippa said:
Yeah I pretty much just water every 2 nights or so depending how sunny it has been.

So I tried the Cili Goronong tonight and I have to say it had great heat (probably a little under bonda ma Jacques around scotch bonnet heat) and a great taste similar but probably even more fruity then fatalii. Certainly a keeper in my grow list I have to say

Trip,I like the Goronong also, one of my plants put out red pods last year. The flavor's the same though. I'm using smaller 7 gal pots for those, they're not huge growers but the return off the plants are usually good. It's also nice how the pods grow in clusters, a swipe with the shears can drop a bunch into the bowl at one time...

Trippa · Jan 2, 2013

PIC 1 said:
Trip,I like the Goronong also, one of my plants put out red pods last year. The flavor's the same though. I'm using smaller 7 gal pots for those, they're not huge growers but the return off the plants are usually good. It's also nice how the pods grow in clusters, a swipe with the shears can drop a bunch into the bowl at one time...

Thanks for stopping in greg!! Yeah I like its growing habit as well. Mine is actually growing in a y shape rather then upwards so much. Geez I would love to even have 1 plant in a 7 gallon pot. Biggest pots I have are mostly 2 gallon?? (9.4 litres) and 1 gallon??(4.5 litres) with 1 single 3 gallon ?? (14 litres). Don't have room for much bigger though

. It would increase my yields a hell of a lot though I think

Trippa · Jan 2, 2013

I can never remember if its the US gallon that is smaller or the British imperial gallon.... just had a look and the British gallon is 4.5 vs a US gallon at 3.5litres.

Makes more sense to me now that you guys always seem to have massive containers , when in reality I was doing my sums based on the British gallon which my Dad always references when talking about volumes of fuel containers/drums.

So 7 US gallons in reality is only approx. 25litres as opposed to the nearly 32 litres I was working out in my mind.

Unfortunately still doesn't change the fact that my containers are well on the small side!! Approx. 1.3 gallon, (4.5 litre) 2.66 gallon (9.4 litre) and 1 container which is 4 gallon (14 litres)

So Greg (or anyone else) what do you consider a minimum container size for your Chinense varieties personally??

harry · Jan 2, 2013

There are compact C. Chinense varieties that you may get away with growing in 20 cm diameter / 4.5 L pots. I had Limón plants last season in 3 L, 4.5, 4.7 and 7 L pots and didn't see much difference in yield. Beni Highlands, Peruvian White and Maraba Yellow are other plants that produced a satisfactory yield in the past in small containers.

The varieties that grow into larger plants do better in larger containers. i.e. Scotch Bonnet TFM plants and A Bahamian Goat Pepper plant in a 3 L pot last season produced smaller than the usual pods and a lower yields. 8 L is the minimum capacity I'm aiming at this season for larger varieties.

Trippa · Jan 2, 2013

Thanks Harry!! Yeah I have my mature Chinense (overwintered) all in 9.4 litre buckets, but they have almost outgrown them (well my yelliw 7pot certainly has) so was thinking of getting a couple of 18-20 litre buckets/containers for them and just using the 9.4 litre buckets for the final season pot up for my newest Chinense plants

Mezo · Jan 2, 2013

Mine are 300mm pots, dunno how many litres that is? the first lot i grew were in huge pots but very expensive to fill them with potting mix & hard to move them around. so after seeing that Luigi fella with his huge plants growing in relativity small pots i decided with 300`s this time.

Mezo.

romy6 · Jan 2, 2013

I think 3 gallons are the minimum for me but Greg looks like he uses 10 or 12 gallons on that beautiful back porch of his. In my climate (much like yours) and like you never being home during the day my plants would all die if I used anything smaller than a 3 gallon. I do have a few 6 foot tall brainstrains in 7 gallons that have been rootbound for a year or more but still pumping out pods. Only thing is you have to fertilize the heck out of them to keep them happy. :confused:

Happy New Year and keep up the fight :dance:

Trippa · Jan 2, 2013

Mezo said:
Mine are 300mm pots, dunno how many litres that is? the first lot i grew were in huge pots but very expensive to fill them with potting mix & hard to move them around. so after seeing that Luigi fella with his huge plants growing in relativity small pots i decided with 300`s this time.

Mezo.

Thanks Mez!!

I think 300mm are usually 14-18 litre pots depending on the manufacturer. I personally hate how they use measurements as they really mean diddly squat about capacity as it depends on the shape of the actual container as to how much volume it has.

Most also have a litre capacity stamped on the bottom of the pot but they never advertise that measurement except maybe in hydroponics stores/adverts

romy6 said:
I think 3 gallons are the minimum for me but Greg looks like he uses 10 or 12 gallons on that beautiful back porch of his. In my climate (much like yours) and like you never being home during the day my plants would all die if I used anything smaller than a 3 gallon. I do have a few 6 foot tall brainstrains in 7 gallons that have been rootbound for a year or more but still pumping out pods. Only thing is you have to fertilize the heck out of them to keep them happy.

Happy New Year and keep up the fight

Cheers Romy!! And happy new years to you too. As for fighting the pest issues don't you worry about that I won't be giving up that's for sure !!

Yeah I am figuring my 9.4litre buckets are my bare minimum for a mature Chinense. I have seen some good sturdy 18 litre (tall but not too wide so perfect for tight spaces) buckets for $3.50 each on special a couple of times so I think them and a cheap little drill for drainage holes will be my next purchases.

Does anyone have preferences or ideas on the ideal pot shape for Chilli's?? Ie tall and thin or wide and squat for optimum root health??

PaulG · Jan 2, 2013

Tripp, those douglahs are just too sick! I don't know if I
remember seeing pods that nubbly before. They need
acne medicine! Always fun to check out your corner,
my friend!

Stefan_W · Jan 3, 2013

The goat peppers look great! I have them on my grow list this coming year, and seeing your pics definitely got the juices going.

Trippa · Jan 3, 2013

PaulG said:
Tripp, those douglahs are just too sick! I don't know if I
remember seeing pods that nubbly before. They need
acne medicine! Always fun to check out your corner,
my friend!

Hey Paul ... thanks for stopping in ... now that you have your seeds on the go you are soon going to be flat stick keeping up with your own pods and plants!!

Yeah those douglahs are some gnarly pods alright. I think you are right about them being some of the most poxy nobbly looking pods I have grown certainly ... even more so then the bhut jolokia "Assam" pods I have grown

Stefan_W said:
The goat peppers look great! I have them on my grow list this coming year, and seeing your pics definitely got the juices going.

Thanks for stopping in stefan. You will love the Bahamian goat peppers they are great yielding and great tasting and looking and are also very pest (mite) resistant as well

Trippa · Jan 3, 2013

Did a test run (on my worst effected younger plants) of the lime sulphur tonight as it has cooled down sufficiently for the next few days.

Hopefully it stops the broad mites and thrips in their tracks and allow the plants to make a bit of a recovery during the next month.
Spraying that stuff brought back memories of when I was young and on a still morning smelling that familiar eggy smell while my mother sprayed her hundreds of rose bushes

romy6 · Jan 3, 2013

Tripp, way to blast those basturds. That lime sulfur should do the trick. Your plants look super healthy any who :party:

I don't think the pot shape really matters. It's all about giving the roots room to grow. But most pots and bags seem to get wider rather than taller the bigger they get. But I can see with limited space where you wold prefer the other way around.

Trippa · Jan 3, 2013

romy6 said:
Tripp, way to blast those basturds. That lime sulfur should do the trick. Your plants look super healthy any who

I don't think the pot shape really matters. It's all about giving the roots room to grow. But most pots and bags seem to get wider rather than taller the bigger they get. But I can see with limited space where you wold prefer the other way around.

Thanks Romy!!

Yeah I haven't seen any evidence myself as to what they prefer and I do always find the roots will grow to the bottom of my pots before growing and spreading out in the upper parts so perhaps they do prefer the deeper ones??? Who knows but they might be worth a go!!

Trippa · Jan 3, 2013

Although the greater root mass at the bottom of the pot probably has more to do with a cooler root zone and more consistent moisture levels then any inherent need for the roots to be deeper it still may be worth looking into

Mezo · Jan 3, 2013

Trippa said:
Spraying that stuff brought back memories of when I was young and that familiar eggy smell

Thought you was going to say Rotorua for a second. :rofl:

Mezo.