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

So far my season has gone like this ... goood ... average ... great ... bad .... things are on the up ... and today .... pretty f&^%king annoyed and frustrated ....so many pests ... and the plants are looking much worse then this time last season (when I had no pests to speak of). I had aphids early on during winter ... they were easy to clear off and didn't bother me too much ...

but I have since been having major issues with thrips and broadmites?? (some sort of mite anyway) tiny little buggers which are about the size of a spec of flour (smaller then two spotted or spider mites). So My plants lurch from looking good to looking really terrible and then they bounce back for a while only to be hammered all over again.

Anyway through all of this I am getting some pods to eat so that is a bonus I suppose.

My grow list is as follows

7 pod/pot "Primo" (Junglerain)
Cili Goronong (Junglerain)
Jalapeno "HTM" (Sourced myself)
Prik Luang (Junglerain)
Fatalii (Pepperlover)
Trinidad Seasoning (Pepperlover)
Kerinting (Pepperlover)
Kerinting (Accidental Hybrid Unknown??) (Pepperlover)
2 x Mystery Superhots (1 maybe Trnindad Scorpion "Sunrise"? From Jungle Rain)
Chocolate Bhut (Bonchi)(THSC)
Yellow 7 pot/pod (THSC)
Super Chilli (THSC)
Explosive Ember (THSC)
Trinidad Scorpion Morouga Blend (Junglerain)
Scotch Bonnet TFM (Bonchi)(Junglerain)
Pimenta De Neyde (Soon to be Bonchi)(Junglerain)
Bhut Jolokia 'Assam' (Junglerain)
Bahamian Goat Pepper (Junglerain)
Habanero Chocolate (Bonchi)(Junglerain)
NTR's (THSC)
Douglah 'Alphanerdz strain' (THSC)
Wild Brazil (Pepperlover)
Birdseye HTM (Sourced myself)
Serrano (THSC)
7 Pot (Large) (Pepperlover)
Naga Morich (Pepperlover)
Bonda Ma Jacques (Original seed from THSC but this seed from saved pods from last season)

All of them are strictly organically grown in soil in containers in the limited space of my apartment balcony ...

I am not much of a wordsmith so I usually like to post plenty of pictures of pods (if I have any in the coming months!!) so come and enjoy/share the frustrations of growing in the most pest ridden area in the world ... I will post a few photos I shot today later this evening ...

Also thought I would link to my old glog as well just for posterity and self indulgence

http://thehotpepper.com/topic/26495-trippas-20112012-grow-log/page__st__240

 

[Trippa]

@gas .. yeah when I saw your chenzos I thought the same thing. You are right whatever they are they look evil.

Amazing pod shots as always Trippa... wish i had a camera like yours...

Thanks portuge

 

[gasificada]

Evil. That's the word.

 

[Trippa]

Seems my plants have gone backwards again so I will head out this weekend to get some liquid sulfur and hope the weather stays coolish (ie below 32c on my plants) and have at them with a liberal dosage.
I realise that it knocks the crap out of good bacteria but if I don't do something soon the only thing I will have left is rotten pods and dead plants. I didn't want to use it but it is still organic and only has a 1 day withholding and you need to wash the pods before consumption but its a small price to pay in order to keep my babies in good health.
Hopefully I will report back with good news once I have sulfur napalmed the little shites.

 

[DocNrock]

Great looking plants and pods. Hope you get the pests nailed down.

 

[Trippa]

Thanks for stopping by doc. Don't you worry my friend these little buggers may be persistent but they don't realise who they are messing with ... I am Mr persistant when it comes to my Chilli's they might not die tomorrow but they will die

 

[DocNrock]

Thanks for stopping by doc. Don't you worry my friend these little buggers may be persistent but they don't realise who they are messing with ... I am Mr persistant when it comes to my Chilli's they might not die tomorrow but they will die

That's the spirit! Die little bastages, die!

 

[PaulG]

Hey, Trippa! I knew I wouldn't be disappointed when I finally
got a chance to visit your place! The pods are really coming along;
fun to see things really getting underway there. Except for the parasites.
Damn. But good on ya for holding the organic line, my friend It's
an art form! As are your wonderful photos; always a pleasure.

Are your "bonchis in training" repotted, or in their original pots? I have cut
back several plants, some in the greenhouse and some in the garage, to
see how they will do. They are starting to put new growth in both locations
although the garage plants were outside until recently, so were slowed down
a bit. They are all in the pots they grew in this summer so far. When there is
significant new growth showing, I may transplant or not; some are in #5 pots
so I may leave those.

Good luck going forward, Trippa. And thanks for hanging with my glog.

 

[Trippa]

Thanks for stopping by Paul. Its good to see your next years season is basically already well under way as well!
I hope those seeds I sent you make it safely. Stickman already has his so I assume yours shouldn't be too far away??
The bonchies are repotted into smaller pots. One of them into my smallest pots I use which I think is 100mm.

Put it this way the growth on top is bigger then the pot itself. The other into a slightly bigger pot as I didn't have any smaller pots left.

I will be putting them both into ornamental ceramic pots once they have settled in for a few months. I have lost one of the three I transplanted originally as I didn't let it recover from my trimming back before I transplanted it and the shock must have been to much and it never sprouted back.

I had to trim all the root balls back from there original 5 litre pot size so a lot came off.

 

[Trippa]

Ok ..time for a weekly pictorial update. ... I will be hitting my plants with some 1/2 strength lime-sulphur on Thursday-Friday this coming week when it cools off a little to 27-28C during the day. Hopefully it gives them a little boost in terms of relief from the mites and doesn't mess up the good bugs toooo much!!

Funnily enough I do see a real difference when I give them a Epsom Salts Spray usually about 4-5 days later they seem to pick up and put out a lot of new growth. Maybe a combo of the Sulfur and Magnesium both feeding the plants and checking the mites at the same time.

Anyhow its been mighty hot here lately and the plants are guzzling the water down big time. Here are some of my latest shots ....

7 pot primo ripening

Bahamian Goat Pepper

Bonda Ma Jacques

Cili Goronong

Explosive Ember with its Christmas Colours

Jungle Rains Mystery Superhot #2 -Maybe Brain Strain??

Some new Seedlings coming along

Trinidad Seasoning

Yellow 7 pot Pod and some rosemary for company

Scotch Bonnet TFM Bonchi

Couple more shots to come ....

 

[GA Growhead]

Sweet. More pics!

 

[Trippa]

Cheers for Visiting GA Growhead and cheers for the Bump!!!

Bahamian Goat Pepper ... cranking out a steady supply over the past month and looks like plenty to come for Christmas

Trinidad Scorpion Morouga Blend and Bahamian Goat Peppers

Christmas Chilli Beer

Christmas Chilli Champagne

Too much Chilli Champagne ..... TAXI!!

 

[GA Growhead]

The Bahamian goat is the only thing left on my to get list for next year. How does that one rank with you?
And no problem on the bump. Between you and gas, i have been able to not go into shock from lack of daily visual pepper stimulation. So i really need to thank you!

 

[Trippa]

Bahamian goat pepper is one of my all time favourites ... great producer hardy plant and great heat without being too much with a sweet crisp flavour. Highly recommend it!!

 

[GA Growhead]

Thanks Trippa. Sound like i need to try that one for sure.
Think i will hit junglerain up for some in morning. Saw them on the site. And maybe a few other things too!
Take care and keep us updated!
Cool glass shots btw!
I'd never turn down a beer at your house, i see how you pour'em.

 

[Mezo]

I think we need to ask Dan to put a bit in the profile section like "what`s you camera" im keen on knowing what the guys are using, agree trips?

EDIT: I just asked the question.

Mezo.

 

[megamoo]

Trippa those are some classy photos. I'm also jealous of your camera!

I only scanned through your glog quickly but I got the gist that bugs are giving you trouble. Hope you can knock em on their ass and get some good production going.
I might have missed it but are you still moving? maybe to a place with a big garden

 

[Trippa]

Yeah for sure mez I think that would be a great idea. For the record I use a Canon EOS 7D DSLR which I have had for 3 years and usually use a 50mm 1.8 prime lense along with a 28-135mm 3.5-5.6 lense

When I am shooting my chilli shots. I also have an ultra wide angle lens and am looking at a decent telephoto when I have a spare $2.5k to drop on the counter

 

[gasificada]

Sweeeet shots, Trips!

That Bahamian Goat does look good! I forget... did you offer me any of those? I should've put my hand up for 'em! Oh well... you snooze, you lose.

 

[Trippa]

Sweeeet shots, Trips!

That Bahamian Goat does look good! I forget... did you offer me any of those? I should've put my hand up for 'em! Oh well... you snooze, you lose.

Cheers gas !! Did I not send you any?? Shiite sorry I thought I had . Right I will get some fresh ones in the post to you next week ...

Trippa those are some classy photos. I'm also jealous of your camera!

I only scanned through your glog quickly but I got the gist that bugs are giving you trouble. Hope you can knock em on their ass and get some good production going.
I might have missed it but are you still moving? maybe to a place with a big garden

Cheers mega!! Thanks for the compliments. I love my photography as much as my Chilli's so that should tell you something just a few mites giving me the Shiites ... nothing a small sulfur nuclear device won't handle . I was going to be moving but we decided to stay put and keep a few extra hundred dollars up our sleeve each month. Would love a garden but maybe in 6 months!!

 

[gasificada]

Cheers gas !! Did I not send you any?? Shiite sorry I thought I had . Right I will get some fresh ones in the post to you next week ...

Nooooo, you don't have to do that.... but if I can't twist your arm, I will gratefully accept.

That reminds me too, the seeds I am sending you should be dry now and I'll have 'em out to you this week.