Chilli peppers

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Chilli peppers
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sgt.colon

Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 7380
Location: Just south of north.

Posted: Tue Feb 21, 17 9:35 am Post subject: Chilli peppers
Someone very kindly bought me a heated propagator for Christmas so I've started some chilli's off in it. My question is should I have the vents on the top of it open or closed? Thanks.

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Tue Feb 21, 17 10:22 am Post subject:
I personally found evening went mouldy unless I took the lid off completely, regardless of vent position.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46192
Location: yes

Posted: Tue Feb 21, 17 12:55 pm Post subject:

lid off once they have leaves seems to work with most plants, the exceptions are those from very wet warm places

chillies like a bit of humidity but don’t fare well in a dripping jungle ,if their feet are damp but not swampy and they are warm enough (above 20 c is best) they will be fine.

back in a less than perfect world if they are in a very dry/drafty place a light spray of water will keep em perky , warm toes and plenty of light are top of the priority list for chillies.

for a big crop a high K /P bloom boost type fertilizer as soon as you see the first flower bud works wonders

(well rotted pig crap soup is the organic version

)

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Tue Feb 21, 17 2:42 pm Post subject:

I would leave them closed until the first sign of germination and then open. It will depend though on the size of the propagator, where it is and how cold/draughty it is.

Mould or damping off is normally caused by poor hygiene, i.e. old compost or rain water etc. I'd use a fresh bag of compost, use a clean pot, fill with compost and water using boiling water. Leave to cool and then sow the seeds. If you need to water use tap water in a clean can that has stood for several hours. I do this if we have rare or expensive seeds, if you have loads then it may not be worth the bother.

Also take care over pot size, shallow trays tend to warm up more than a taller pot for example. If I use a shallow pot I may stand it on another filled with sterile grit/sand.

sgt.colon

Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 7380
Location: Just south of north.

Posted: Tue Feb 21, 17 3:36 pm Post subject:

Thank you all. I'll go and close them up tonight until I see shoots coming through.

The heated prop is in our loft, sat near the hatch and just under the loft window. It's not the warmest of places up there but it's the only place in the house I could think to put it.

The pots are about 3" tall, filled with brand new seedling/potting compost. I've been giving them tap water but I'll go with the boiling water from now on.

What is K/P bloom please DPack?

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Tue Feb 21, 17 3:43 pm Post subject:
Tap water, stood for a while to bring it up to temp, will be fine to water them with. The boiling water was to sterilise the compost, if needed, before sowing seeds.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46192
Location: yes

Posted: Tue Feb 21, 17 5:04 pm Post subject:

potassium K and phosphorus P in a suitable fertilizer .

there are many types of fertilizer but the two basic ones are high nitrogen medium potassium and phosphorus as a vegetative growth mix and high potassium and phosphorus with medium nitrogen to promote flowers and subsequent fruits

the most easy organic version is to add a bit of blood ,fish and bone powder to the potting medium (or as a soil dressing) when planting on/out as that starts off as a vegetative feed and matures to a bloom boost one as the soil bacteria, moulds etc make the components available

for a chilli in a pot and not being organic the two phostrogen tm products are cheap and seem to work ok as does stuff sold for both phases in tomatoes.

sgt.colon

Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 7380
Location: Just south of north.

Posted: Wed Feb 22, 17 11:41 am Post subject:
Thanks for your help guys.

sgt.colon

Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 7380
Location: Just south of north.

Posted: Tue Jun 06, 17 9:12 am Post subject:
Well my chillis and peper came on well but I've now got a problem with all my peppers and one of my chilli plants. Below is an image of what has happened to them, please can someone let me know what has caused this and will they continue to grow or are they gonners? Thanks.

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6612
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Tue Jun 06, 17 11:08 am Post subject:
Looks suspiciously like thrips damage

Chilli-head

Joined: 22 Sep 2015
Posts: 1

Posted: Tue Jun 06, 17 12:27 pm Post subject:
Or aphids. Soft soap spray should sort them out.

sgt.colon

Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 7380
Location: Just south of north.

Posted: Tue Jun 06, 17 2:27 pm Post subject:
Thank you. What are thrips, Slim?

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6612
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Tue Jun 06, 17 4:14 pm Post subject:

sgt.colon wrote:

What are thrips, Slim?

Little B@$t@rd$ is what they are.

They're tiny insects that can get into the growth point and damage nascent leaves, which can give that stunted look after they've emerged
https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/T/I-TS-THRI-CD.030.html

When they feed on older leaves the damage is speckled yellow spots where they've killed/damaged cells and speckled black spots (frass).

They can be very difficult to see, but they're long and narrow. There are quite a few different species, but you can get an idea of what they look like by image googling "thrips".

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45665
Location: Essex

Posted: Tue Jun 06, 17 6:40 pm Post subject:
I think it's aphids

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6612
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Tue Jun 06, 17 7:37 pm Post subject:
aphids and thrips aren't mutually exclusive. Could be both. I've never seen aphid distort new growth in quite the same way that thrips do

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