On July 24, 2014 I started 3 Bhut Jolokia seeds I purchased from Pepper Joes. The seeds were wetted overnight and then placed in peat quick pellets. The first seed cracked the soil on August 3, relatively fast from what I understand and have read about the BJ.
After the seeds cracked the dirt all normal precautions were taken with regards to temperature and humidity control until the seedlings were large enough to be planted into small biodegradable pots with a light mix of Sunshine 4 potting mix. Over the weeks and months the plants grew, first slowly and then as the roots got established the plants took off at an unreal rate and the biodegradable pots were then popped into a 1 gallon pot with a mix of sunshine 4, extra perlite and some steer manure, light on the manure.
The outdoor growing season was at an end in my part of the world so the BJ`s stayed inside the whole time, plus it was easier to control the light, temperature and humidity from the comfort of my basement.
Pest attack! Aphids, the bane of my gardening existence. These little buggers are tough and even tougher to get rid of. I tried everything, washing the leave, squishing what I saw on sight and then the insecticidal soaps. The latter left a nasty film on the leaves and still no relief from the aphids, they always found a place to hide. Enter nature. I started noticing wha I thought were fungus gnats flying around, great just what I need, more pests. Off to get some sticky trap I go. I place the sticky traps around the planters and let them be. a couple weeks go by and I start to notice small hard growths on the leaves of the plants, tiny little beige bumps that when rubbed fall off the leaf with no mark left on the leaf. Further investigative work showed me the new pest I was dealing with was not a pest at all, instead it was a natural predator of the aphids and the small beige shells on the leaves of my plants were the empty casings of aphids after the parasitic wasp had finished its job! Fast forward to today and I have very few parasitic wasps left, and NO aphids!
During the attack of the aphids, I was able to keep them at bay long enough to allow the plants a relatively stress free growth preiod in which they were able to produce some, make that many flowers and I have had 18 Bhuts set on the 3 different plants. Today the largest of which measures almost 3 inches in length and is over an inch in diameter. There are also some interesting variations among the 3 plants. One of the plants is growing tall like a tree, with very healthy foliage that seems to be quite wrinkly all the while producing many healthy and very typical looking Bhut Jolokia pepper pods. The other two plants are slightly shorter with ample foliage as well as flowers. The pepper pods are just as large as the tall plant but display a slightly smoother appearance, as well as the smooth appearance, one of the plants is producing green pods while the other is producing yellow pods. Quite an interesting set of Bhuts.
After the seeds cracked the dirt all normal precautions were taken with regards to temperature and humidity control until the seedlings were large enough to be planted into small biodegradable pots with a light mix of Sunshine 4 potting mix. Over the weeks and months the plants grew, first slowly and then as the roots got established the plants took off at an unreal rate and the biodegradable pots were then popped into a 1 gallon pot with a mix of sunshine 4, extra perlite and some steer manure, light on the manure.
The outdoor growing season was at an end in my part of the world so the BJ`s stayed inside the whole time, plus it was easier to control the light, temperature and humidity from the comfort of my basement.
Pest attack! Aphids, the bane of my gardening existence. These little buggers are tough and even tougher to get rid of. I tried everything, washing the leave, squishing what I saw on sight and then the insecticidal soaps. The latter left a nasty film on the leaves and still no relief from the aphids, they always found a place to hide. Enter nature. I started noticing wha I thought were fungus gnats flying around, great just what I need, more pests. Off to get some sticky trap I go. I place the sticky traps around the planters and let them be. a couple weeks go by and I start to notice small hard growths on the leaves of the plants, tiny little beige bumps that when rubbed fall off the leaf with no mark left on the leaf. Further investigative work showed me the new pest I was dealing with was not a pest at all, instead it was a natural predator of the aphids and the small beige shells on the leaves of my plants were the empty casings of aphids after the parasitic wasp had finished its job! Fast forward to today and I have very few parasitic wasps left, and NO aphids!
During the attack of the aphids, I was able to keep them at bay long enough to allow the plants a relatively stress free growth preiod in which they were able to produce some, make that many flowers and I have had 18 Bhuts set on the 3 different plants. Today the largest of which measures almost 3 inches in length and is over an inch in diameter. There are also some interesting variations among the 3 plants. One of the plants is growing tall like a tree, with very healthy foliage that seems to be quite wrinkly all the while producing many healthy and very typical looking Bhut Jolokia pepper pods. The other two plants are slightly shorter with ample foliage as well as flowers. The pepper pods are just as large as the tall plant but display a slightly smoother appearance, as well as the smooth appearance, one of the plants is producing green pods while the other is producing yellow pods. Quite an interesting set of Bhuts.
