White Bullet Habs. Why so many problems?

[NatGreenMeds]

Are White Bullet Habs hard for anyone else to grow? It seems to me that every time I've tried, they grow like crap until they're about 6 inches tall and then they start growing normally.

I've tried every combination of technique I can think of and still they give me fits. I have 5 inside and one outside. The outside one did the same thing the inside ones are doing now. Slow growth, deformed leaves. The outside one got to about 5 or 6 inches and took off like it was loving life. Now it's healthy as can be. What's up with that? I'd written it off and quit doing anything with it.

I've tried several things with each plant with no apparent difference:

No nutrients, slight nutrients, more nutrients, slight nutrients with Epsom salts, Epsom salts alone, less water, more water, water more often, water less often, threatening them with the cat, begging.....hehe

Whatcha think?

 

[imaguitargod]

I've had a problem growing this kind too

Actually, that's the only kind that's given me trouble.

 

[NatGreenMeds]

I've had a problem growing this kind too

Actually, that's the only kind that's given me trouble.

I hear you man. The one outside? I finally got pissed and just said "The hell with you" and put it over in the corner of the yard to die. I looked at it about a month later and it was growing like crazy, loving life. Crazy ass plant.

 

[moyboy]

I have found the same thing...

The white bullet hab is the headache in the bunch. doesn't like to grow for me..I'm on my second plant under lights (the first one didn't survive)
and it is going the way of the first...I have tried heaps of different things to help them on the path to greatness but nothing seems to work..

I'm at the stage where i'm just going to sow 3 or 4 seeds direct in the garden and see what they do?

I have had nothing but problems trying to grow under lights this year, to get the plants up to size before planting them in the garden.. I had better results from direct sow in the garden last year....

But i know nothing really about growing under lights...so i'm not really complainng

I feel your pain Nat!! It must be a genetic problem with this variety??

 

[915river]

White bullit grow for me ok all those year, if you plant those outside in the ground when plant is about foot long not the only for this pepper but for all plants I use dehydrated cow manure from nurseries they have in plastic bags for $4.99 , I by the size of garden about 10-15 bags & put by hand little bit around each plant when you put the plant first time in the garden then water heavy after that you water only if need it.Also I plant some Marigold that is like natural repellent & also attract the bees so they polinate the peppers flowers better that way.Cow manure is the best think for the years for any kind peppers or tomatoes in my garden.

 

[NatGreenMeds]

White bullit grow for me ok all those year, if you plant those outside in the ground when plant is about foot long not the only for this pepper but for all plants I use dehydrated cow manure from nurseries they have in plastic bags for $4.99 , I by the size of garden about 10-15 bags & put by hand little bit around each plant when you put the plant first time in the garden then water heavy after that you water only if need it.Also I plant some Marigold that is like natural repellent & also attract the bees so they polinate the peppers flowers better that way.Cow manure is the best think for the years for any kind peppers or tomatoes in my garden.

Thank you, 915river, when the White Bullet plants were only tiny, how did they grow for you until they were a foot long? What did you do when they were very tiny little plants?

 

[915river]

When they little they are start it in proffesional seeds starter after the grow out 10-15" i repot in little bigger pots with "Fafard" soil that is poting soil doesn't hold to much water to be saggy like another soils.

 

[gardenkiller]

White bullets were one of my success stories of the summer. Got about 350 pods off my one plant. Maybe it was just dumb luck.

 

[cmpman1974]

I don't have problems either with this one. My biggest complaint is how easily the braches snap. I get pissed when I see a branch lying on the ground with 80 pods on it. They are a bit too labor intensive to pick, but they produce massively.

Chris

 

[NatGreenMeds]

Well, I guess I'll wait until these 5 plants fight their way through childhood and adolescence. When they pick up, it sounds like they'll be great plants.

 

[POTAWIE]

I had problems with my original seeds germinating, but once I saved my own seeds I had no more problems. The one I have problems with every year is the giant white hab

 

[AlabamaJack]

This is the first year I have grown white habs, but they seem to be doing fine and are loaded with fruit....

 

[NatGreenMeds]

This is the first year I have grown white habs, but they seem to be doing fine and are loaded with fruit....

I'm not sure what my problems are coming from AJ. The only thing I can think of is the type of dirt. I'm using a "Cactus" type soil. I thought that was good for peppers, but I'm not sure now. I'm going to coax these puppies through this crap and get them going real good. It's just a matter of time.

Of course, working 6 or 7 days a week, 10-12 hours a day isn't giving much play time. Oh well.

 

[AlabamaJack]

understand Nat...the soil that the white habs are in is a 50/50 mixture of standard potting soil and the 60/40 compost/cushion sand I am using...my first plantout this year, I used the 60/40 exclusively and realized after a month, it compacted too easily, so for the second plantout, I used the 50/50 mix and it seems to be working absolutely fine for me...

there are sooooo many factors that could be effecting the deltas and I will simply atribute it to the differences in the environment we have....for instance, you have said you have been harvesting a lot of datils...my datils are just now starting to fruit...they have been flowering for a long long time but no fruit set...now the the highs are in the high 80s/low 90s they are fluorishing...

got to ramblin' there sorry...

 

[NatGreenMeds]

understand Nat...the soil that the white habs are in is a 50/50 mixture of standard potting soil and the 60/40 compost/cushion sand I am using...my first plantout this year, I used the 60/40 exclusively and realized after a month, it compacted too easily, so for the second plantout, I used the 50/50 mix and it seems to be working absolutely fine for me...

there are sooooo many factors that could be effecting the deltas and I will simply atribute it to the differences in the environment we have....for instance, you have said you have been harvesting a lot of datils...my datils are just now starting to fruit...they have been flowering for a long long time but no fruit set...now the the highs are in the high 80s/low 90s they are fluorishing...

got to ramblin' there sorry...

Thanks AJ, Datils seem to thrive in the St. Augustine, Florida area that they reportedly "come from". The weather conditions in this area seem to be exactly what they like. That said, there is a popular expression here; "If you don't like our weather, stick around, it'll change tomorrow".

I have to use soil that is easy to acquire. I simply don't have much time with my work schedule. If there are even several types of bagged soil that I could mix or something like that, then I could do that easily. How could I "build" a soil similar to what you use, but without using compost? Perhaps a nutrient mixture and timetable you could suggest?

 

[rainbowberry]

Are you growing White Habs AJ or White Bullet Habs?

 

[NatGreenMeds]

Good morning rainbowberry, yes, I didn't think of the possible differences in the type of "white" peppers. I am using the "White Bullet" hybrid. That may make a difference. Thank you for pointing that out. I'm just getting over a very, very bad spell of the flu and my head feels like it's still full of cotton. I'm not thinking very clearly.

 

[AlabamaJack]

good point RB...I am growing standard white habs...

as far as building the soil goes Nat...I'd have to think on it...seems to me, since you live in the swamp you should have plenty of muck that has been composting for eons...if it is not too clayey you could dry that and mix some sand with it and some potting soil?....just theorizing here

 

[rainbowberry]

I'm growing White Habs too and they have been very prolific and easy to grow, I love the taste of them.

 

[NatGreenMeds]

...as far as building the soil goes Nat...I'd have to think on it...seems to me, since you live in the swamp you should have plenty of muck that has been composting for eons...if it is not too clayey you could dry that and mix some sand with it and some potting soil?....just theorizing here

I've found that with the abundance of Florida foliage comes also an abundance of pests. An ounce of soil from the swamp here has about a million pests in it. It's truly alive! What I've done in the past is pour the soil into boiling water outside and continue heating it until no wildlife could remain. That's time consuming, but works. I don't want to bring any of the pest filled stuff into my yard. I've spent too much time getting them down to a managable number. I would love to buy bagged stuff and mix it together until I arrived at a soil that matches yours in its usefulness for pepper growing. If you can think of a way to do this, please let me know!

I'm growing White Habs too and they have been very prolific and easy to grow, I love the taste of them.

Would either of you tell me which types of seeds you used so I can buy some? The ones you have sound good to me!

The ones I have growing now are from www.thechilliman.biz and are labeled "White Bullet Habanero" "These wonderful 1/2 inch long bullet shaped pods ripen from green to white on a small to medium plant. Extremely hot and very aromatic. "White Bullet" is a trademark of the Redwood City Seed Company."