overwintering Winter-Summer in OZ "Comparison" / Aussie Blabberers

[gasificada]

I haven't noticed a problem with the mix getting wet at all. The water seems to soak up nice then drain when full, maybe the perlite is helping as well as the compost. My internet service has been playing up lately and i am on holidays still so have been relaxing

Got my worm farm producing jizz and made a couple of aero/dwc hybrid units, they seem to be going good.

That's what I want my mix to do! It actually does do that, so long as it doesn't get too dry. Once it dries right out, that's it. Pretty much gotta soak the pot forever to get it to start absorbing again.

I always use perlite too but doesn't seem to make a difference (if anything, thought about ditching it so my mix will hold more water!)

 

[Nova]

Maybe use vermiculite instead of the perlite, that stuff holds water real good.

 

[harry]

Yeah, I won't be using it again either. Picked up a couple bags last season to use for my first pot ups and I have to admit, it did a decent job. Got a bag not so long ago this season and it was terrible! Too woody, bad texture, etc. The inconsistency between batches is through the roof!

Last season it was at least usable for some of the more hardy Capsicums. I'm lucky that my second Locato plant seems fine in it. I perhaps didn't pot it up using the worst of the batches.

 

[Kevvy]

Hey mate, lately i have been using my own mix and it has been doing well.
This is it.

125 ltrs cheapo potting mix, around 3.70 for 25 ltrs. 18.50 total.
40-50 ltrs Coarse perlite, at 40 per 100 ltrs so 20.
About 3 ltrs of Dynamic Lifter, 17 for 25ltr so about 2 bux worth.
60 ltr compressed block of coco coir potting mix, 12.
50 ltrs of mushroom compost, 7 a bag so 14.

End up with 288 ltrs of nice potting mix for 66.50 or it equats to 5.70 per 25 ltr. Try to get primo potting mix for that price! Also this mix is nice a light, provides nutrients via the dynamic lifter and mushroom compost and it also drains well whilst retaining moisture.

Nice to have you aboard Kevvy.
Personally I wouldn't get any mix from Soils aint soils but thats only my opinion. I would second Wildfires suggestion of Baileys Premium Potting Mix. Been good in the past.
Also there is a place called Green Life Soil Co that has excellent potting mix and vege garden mix at a pretty good price Link- http://www.greenlifesoil.com.au/
I always add Perlite or Perlite/Vermiculite to my mix too to help with drainage.

Hope it all goes well for you,
Micca

Hey guys, thanks for the info.
Nova and Micca theres a couple of options iv'e been looking for will give one or the other a try.

Went to Soils aint Soils to find out about the azalia camilia mix. Guy i spoke to said the ph was 6.5 which seems high even for azalias & camilias which got me to thinking he didnt know what he
was talking about.
Then he tells me they dont have it in stock and only one outlet has it.
Surprise surprise its on the other side of the metro area and if i want it i have to get a trailer full or get it delivered.
No Thanks! dont need that much!

Cheers Kevvy

 

[gasificada]

"Accidentally" picked this guy before he was ripe (Purple Jalapeno):

Curiosity got the better of me and I want to know how they taste!

Huge-ass leaves on Aji Amarillo x Yellow Trinidad Scorpion F1:

So far the plant is extremely Aji Amarillo dominant. Bit worried that I botched the cross-pollination but I hear it's not uncommon for Baccatum x Chinense hybrids to be very much Baccatum dominant.

Oh well, time will tell, I guess. Seeing the first sign of buds now so should be interesting....

 

[Mr-Comfy]

Hey guys i caught this thread last night and was reading and reading and reading till i seen how many pages lol. ?I am a newbie on here and a newbie grower but i was wondering with the nsw people if you guys trade plants and seeds... I am just getting going with the normal super hots and some exotics that are a bit harder to get but am always on the lookout for more... Have a look at my profile and see what you guys need and maybe we can do a swap or barter lol. I am not here to scab as i love this site and all is cool just wanted to see what u guys have.
I have a FB page that u might like to check out and a web page comming soon.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mr-Comfys-Chillis/182292238517387?sk=wall

 

[Nova]

Most folks trade on here mate. Don't be feeling like a scab!

 

[megamoo]

Haven't been on here lately. Been really busy with kids over the school holidays. Don't have much good news. I'm getting a handful of ripe chillies but all my plants outside are struggling. A lot are really dropping leaves. I think I've got mites because the worst plants have that stripped down -all stem and no leaf- look. I'll take photos when I get a chance. Most of the chillies that have been produced are small and stunted like the plants themselves.

My back yard is really hot and dry and exposed, even for Perth standards, so that may have something to do with it. I've built my shadecloth protection and put up misting but these don't seem to have any effect.

I've started some late seeds inside under lights and they are really doing well. The little computer fan that I had broke so I've just been aiming a pedestal fan at them and it seems to work better. Been watering them with seasol and powerfeed and they have loved it. Not sure what to do when its time to move them outside because that is the point in the past when plants have stopped thriving and started suffering.

I'm not sure I want to go to chemical war, simply because I have so many plants and many of the older ones never really recovered from the early problems they encountered.

The other half of the duplex I'm in is starting to be demolished, as I type I can feel the jackhammer, and my lease is up in march so I'm seriously considering letting the garden situation run its course so I can start anew in a different place.

 

[Nova]

Mega get your hands on some worm jizz, not saying its a miracal cure but it does aid in heat resistence.
Can you buy it around your area?

 

[Trippa]

Mega get your hands on some worm jizz, not saying its a miracal cure but it does aid in heat resistence.
Can you buy it around your area?

foliar seasol/kelp, worm juice, and fulvic acid are not only a great combo for aiding in heat / cold but also change the pH levels on the leaves thus making them less attractive to pests and disease/fungal issues and also strengthen the cell walls on the plant making them more resistant to sucking insects

 

[harry]

I just ate half of the pod pictured below.

Yellow Seven Not

I have an orange Habanero plant that produces small undersized pods that pack more heat than this Not pod. It seems unlikely that this plant will contribute the pods I need to top last seasons sauces on heat.

 

[gasificada]

You haven't had much luck with all them NOTs, have you, harry?

Disappointing heat aside, how do they taste? Tell me there's some consolation....

 

[harry]

You haven't had much luck with all them NOTs, have you, harry?

Just a few:

1. Brazilian Starfish NOT (probably a hybrid)
2. Habanero Red NOT (was meant to be Choc. Brown)
3. Habanero Yellow NOT (pointy Orange Hab)
4. Jalapeño NOT Mild
5. Jamaican Yellow Mushroom NOT Scotch Bonnet
6. Limo Blanco NOT (dominant Annuum features)
7. Rainbow Thai NOT (likely NuMex cultivar)
8. Scarlet Lantern NOT (dominant Annuum features)
9. Seven Pod Red NOT
10. Trinidad Scorpion NOT (at least 1 of 3)

I also purchased a Pequin that turned out to be a Tepin and a Tepin that turned out to be an unstable hybrid that was nothing like a Tepin.

The young Beni Highlands pods on one plant are ribbed. I expected before seeing the pods that both are Beni Highlands hybrids due to the long time to maturity and the leave structure.

Disappointing heat aside, how do they taste? Tell me there's some consolation....

The flavour wasn't strong enough to stand out when I ate it with lunch. It shared the same common C. Chinense aroma and flavour as my Fatalii, Maraba Yellow and Peruvian White pods.

 

[gasificada]

Smallest pod producing plant I have grown yet:

It was actually like half that size when it first started producing the pod.

In actual fact, it was damn keen to start producing pretty much right from word go:

Ridiculous!

 

[harry]

You haven't had much luck with all them NOTs, have you, harry?

I left out a set of 4 NOTs in the 4 Fatalii seeds that grew into Habanero plants. That brings me to 11 groups of NOTs that I can remember.

Disappointing heat aside, how do they taste? Tell me there's some consolation....

I just ate the pith heavy remaining half of the Yellow 7NOT. The flavour was once again the common C. Chinense flavour that wasn't overly strong. The heat remained nowhere near what I expect to be 7Pot heat. One thing I can say is the half I ate yesterday was hot enough to produce an afterburn.

 

[Wildfire Chilli Australia]

Just a few:

1. Brazilian Starfish NOT (probably a hybrid)
2. Habanero Red NOT (was meant to be Choc. Brown)
3. Habanero Yellow NOT (pointy Orange Hab)
4. Jalapeño NOT Mild
5. Jamaican Yellow Mushroom NOT Scotch Bonnet
6. Limo Blanco NOT (dominant Annuum features)
7. Rainbow Thai NOT (likely NuMex cultivar)
8. Scarlet Lantern NOT (dominant Annuum features)
9. Seven Pod Red NOT
10. Trinidad Scorpion NOT (at least 1 of 3)

I also purchased a Pequin that turned out to be a Tepin and a Tepin that turned out to be an unstable hybrid that was nothing like a Tepin.

The young Beni Highlands pods on one plant are ribbed. I expected before seeing the pods that both are Beni Highlands hybrids due to the long time to maturity and the leave structure.



The flavour wasn't strong enough to stand out when I ate it with lunch. It shared the same common C. Chinense aroma and flavour as my Fatalii, Maraba Yellow and Peruvian White pods.

Were these seeds all from the same person or did you do seed swaps? It's very unfortunate that the people who gave/sold them to you didn't isolate or just gave you whatever they felt like, it must be so frustrating!

Smallest pod producing plant I have grown yet:

It was actually like half that size when it first started producing the pod.

In actual fact, it was damn keen to start producing pretty much right from word go:

Ridiculous!

My Halloween plant never grew very big so I'm not surprised that you got fruit on a small plant. They are meant to be short shrubby plants I think.

 

[harry]

Were these seeds all from the same person or did you do seed swaps? It's very unfortunate that the people who gave/sold them to you didn't isolate or just gave you whatever they felt like, it must be so frustrating!

Seed supplier #1 (5/12):

• Brazilian Starfish NOT (probably a hybrid)
• Jamaican Yellow Mushroom NOT Scotch Bonnet
• Scarlet Lantern NOT (dominant Annuum features)
• Seven Pod Red NOT
• Trinidad Scorpion NOT (at least 1 of 3)

These seeds were purchased directly from the supplier. I'm trying to engage in discussion with this supplier to see if they can improve. There is a lack of verification of the authenticity of new acquisitions in this case.

Seed supplier #2

• Limo Blanco NOT

These seeds were labelled Habanero White but the packaging has the photo of the Limo Blanco. I suspect some time back somebody decided to call the Limo Blanco a Habanero White for marketing purposes. The seeds were the remaining unused seeds courtesy of Megamoo's purchase from a seed supplier. This seed supplier no longer lists the variety on their web site.

United Nurseries plants from Bunnings:

• Habanero Red NOT (was meant to be Choc. Brown) 2010
• Habanero Yellow NOT (pointy Orange Hab) 2009

I bought the Habanero Brown to see if they the problems were just a once off in 2009.

Local plant supplier:

• Pequin NOT (was a Chiltepin)
• Rainbow Thai NOT (likely NuMex cultivar)
• Tepin NOT

Ebay ID heatcentral (former person in NSW; ebay recycled the ID)

• Fatalii NOT (4/5 orange Habaneros)

The former holder of the Ebay ID in NSW (IIRC) closed their Ebay account and disappeared.

My patience is wearing thin with suppliers who have poor quality control over their product.

 

[Wildfire Chilli Australia]

yeah that really sux!

 

[gasificada]

Yeah, I actually like the short shrubby look of it (great quality for an ornamental IMO). Doesn't make it any less ridiculous though....

From things I have heard you talk about in the past, you sound very commited to isolation and ensuring the quality of your product, Candice. I like that.

 

[Wildfire Chilli Australia]

Yeah, I actually like the short shrubby look of it (great quality for an ornamental IMO). Doesn't make it any less ridiculous though....

From things I have heard you talk about in the past, you sound very commited to isolation and ensuring the quality of your product, Candice. I like that.

Yes the ornamentals look great small and shrubby. I have always wanted to make just one garden bed full of ornamentals in my driveway but because I only live on a normal suburban block my business plants always take over. I would love to have a black and purple chilli plant garden!

Yes I am very particular with isolating and think if something isn't done right or not sure I would rather throw it out and loose money than disappoint a customer. I have also had it happen to me quite a few times in the past and it drives me crazy. You spend all that time, effort and money into growing it (and in my case isolating it) and then it fruits and is something different!

I use a material that is insect and pollen proof and make cages out of them. It has taken many years and lots of money to try and perfect them and get the right design. There are way too many people out there just growing in their garden and thinking that just because a plant is 5metres away that it won't cross pollinate and then they sell the seeds on (usually ebay) for a quick buck and by the time you have grown them out you can't find the supplier anymore. Of course nothing is 100% secure/proof ( I may walk into my cage and a bee is on my back that I haven't seen) you never know nothing can be completely safe but I like to think that mine is 99.999% safe

Here are some pics from this season of some of my cages. All the plants in these are for seed selling.

New cage - the biggest I have. Will be eventually used for my BATO hydro systems with a screen in the middle to seperate the cage into two.