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bill_missy

Potting day has arrived....

Bill_Missy
10 years ago

Hello guys and gals,

Well, I think the day has finally arrived for me here in Central Louisiana (8b). My children spent a full 11 hours in direct sun yesterday and they are getting another 11 hours today with a little cloud cover. High yesterday was 71 but went down to 48 last night, so I brought them back in last night. This morning I put them back out and looked close, no ill effects from yesterdayâÂÂs sun. The next week is suppose to be great but I am worried some about the lows as the average 10 day low looks to be between 51 and 65. During the lower temp nights I can put the pots in the garage.

I think I may hold off another week on planting in the ground though because of the low temps and some high winds later in the week. I am on vacation the next 9 days, so I will be able to baby them looking out for wind etc.
I have to get these out and potted up ASAP. I have flowers and even a couple pods on some of my hots. I am even getting some flower nodes on some of my super-hots. With all the flowering going on I would have thought I would have some flower drop, to my surprise (Knock on wood) no flower drop at all except on the ones that have actual pods now.

Now to figure out how to get rid of what I think are some mild Aphid issues.

Thanks to everyone on here that has helped or gave me input. I am excited (and hooked) as a first year grower of super-hots and I am amazed how they have done thus far as a beginner.

Bill

Comments (22)

  • esox07 (4b) Wisconsin
    10 years ago

    I wouldn't worry about lows in the low 50's. But if you have a "mild" aphid issue, it will likely quickly become a "strong" aphid issue if you don't take steps quickly to combat it. I suggest insecticidal soap as your first course of action.
    Bruce

  • Bill_Missy
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks Bruce,

    It is on only two plants and guess what... It is only on the NuMex Twlights I got from you :)

    Any particular brand of insecticide soap? Never used it before. I believe they are Aphids. Photos coming shortly.

    Bill

  • esox07 (4b) Wisconsin
    10 years ago

    Bill: They do seem to be partial to certain varieties but will easily spread to others. I think just about any brand will work. I have even used a home made concoction that worked well. It is basically just soap disolved in water. Some people just mix dish soap into a sprayer full of water. The aphids are sensitive to soap and when it gets on their bodies, it kills them.

    Just keep in mind that after you spray your plants, let them set for an hour or so, then rinse them off. It probably want do a lot of damage to the plants but it is best to get it rinsed off. I have gone several times without rinsing with no ill effect. Also, make sure you treat them for at least three days straight. Otherwise, you will kill most of them but a few will survive and repopulate over night. So, you want to treat several days in a row to break the breeding cycle.
    Do some searches on GW for other info and to get some recipies for making your own insecticidal soap. Good thing about it, is that it works and it is organic. You could eat a pepper sprayed with the stuff...but I dont recommend it.
    Bruce

  • Bill_Missy
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Again, Thank you Bruce.

    Attached are a few pictures of how they are today. Wind has picked up some so debating whether to hold off on potting now.

    This pick is all of them on my bench

  • Bill_Missy
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    These are all super-hots and nucks.

  • Bill_Missy
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Super-hots and nucks different view

  • Bill_Missy
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Hots with some super-hots. A lot of Cayenne, Paprika, pepperoncini, Red Savania, Fatali's and Red Devils tounge

  • Bill_Missy
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    cayenne and Jalapeno with a couple pods

  • Bill_Missy
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    NuMex Twlight. Aphids?

  • Bill_Missy
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Red Bhut, Again, Aphids? I only have two maybe three with these on the plants. The Numex is the worse. I have not isolated them, should I? I think I am going to try Bruce's method of dish soap first.

    Bill

  • esox07 (4b) Wisconsin
    10 years ago

    Bill, yah, they look like aphids but without a close up, it is hard to tell...You will find the aphids mostly on the newest growth. They came in a rainbow of colors also.
    I would definitely try to isolate them. Your plants look awesome, keep it up. You are looking to have a great season.

    Question: In your Cayenne/Jalapeno picture, there is one plant with purple flowers. If that is supposed to be a cayenne or jalapeno, I think it is either a mistake or a cross. They should be while blooms. Most of the purple blooms are on "ornamental" varieties although the Twilight are white.
    Bruce

  • woohooman San Diego CA zone 10a
    10 years ago

    Bill: Don't use just ANY dish soap. You want to use PURE soap -- Fels naptha, Dr. Bronner's, Castille, Ivory. No DETERGENTS.

    Best way to check for aphids is the undersides of leaves -- usually green little bugs. Cabbage aphids are grayish.

    Yeah. I wouldn't worry about the high 40 nights. In a day or 2, I'd start to leave them out at night also. That's just me though -- I'm still an amateur myself.

    Nice plants!

    Kevin

  • esox07 (4b) Wisconsin
    10 years ago

    I agree with woohoman: Use natural soap. My wife actually MAKES soap, so what I have done is put a chunk in some hot water and let it soften up a lot. Then I can usually stir it around it and it dissolves in the water. Then just put it in a spray bottle and spray on the little bastards. Also, I wouldn't get too worried about high 40's at night as long as it looks like a short term forecast where the night temps will be going back to 50's and up for the foreseeable future.
    Good luck,
    Bruce

  • woohooman San Diego CA zone 10a
    10 years ago

    Yep. I use my micro-planer to grate a bar of Ivory. Add some water and it turns into a liquid soap. Then a TB per gallon of water into the sprayer.

    Bruce: maybe that's what I'm doing wrong -- I've been spraying on a weekly basis but I still see aphids. I'm going to do what you suggest... spray DAILY for awhile.

    Kevin

  • esox07 (4b) Wisconsin
    10 years ago

    Yes, you likely wont get them all in one spraying or their eggs. They reproduce faster than fruit flies so all it takes is to miss a few and you have a whole new infestation in a few days. Three days seems to be enough to get them and keep them down. I have even sprayed twice a day before on bad infestations.

    Oh, for Bill, the other common solution is lady bugs. They love aphids and will clean them out in no time. The problem with that is then you have lady bugs all over. But from what I understand, they will stay on or near the infested plants until their food supply (aphids) runs out. If you have a lot of lady bugs outside, you won't have to worry about aphids when the peppers are out there.
    Bruce

  • Bill_Missy
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks guys for the input as always.

    Just came back from several garden centers, wow, what a pain in the butt trying to find Perlite had to buy a case of small bags. Now I have everything for real 5-1-1, another half and half mix I am going to try and I have what I need to plant in the ground.

    I will take a couple close-ups the best I can of the Aphids, poor quality camera. I bought some insecticide spray and will be starting that soon. Bruce, I hardly ever see lady bugs around here.

    Bill

  • Bill_Missy
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Okay, they ARE definitely Aphids as I pulled out a magnifying glass and sure as hell all over the plants. Have not looked at all plants yet. Will spray with Ortho Elementals insecticidal soap I bought. Just researched buying lady bugs. Are lady bugs worth the purchase or wait it out with the spray?

    Worried gardener now......

    Bill

  • woohooman San Diego CA zone 10a
    10 years ago

    Ladybugs are worth it if you can keep them around when they are finished feasting. In other words, establishing an insectary for them and other beneficials to "hang out" and reproduce/overwinter/have a food source(nectar) when there's no more "meat"(aphids, whiteflies, caterpillars, etc.) Research IPM(Integrated Pest Management) or head on over to the IPM forum. Corn, sunflowers, daisies, marigolds, poppies, borage, bachelor buttons, cilantro, alfalfa, parsley, allysum, dill, wild carrots(to name a few) are good beneficial attractive plants.

    You want to encourage the beneficials to overwinter so you're not having to constantly buy them the next year.

    Lacewings are also very effective on aphids et al

    As far as your perlite is concerned, you don't want the small stuff -- you want coarse perlite. I get mine from a local nursery.. 5 cf/$16. But Home depot sells it in big bags 2 or 3 cf/$17.

    Good luck.

    Kevin

    This post was edited by woohooman on Sat, Apr 6, 13 at 20:18

  • Bill_Missy
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Well I did some potting up today. I used 5 different types of medium mix just for the heck of it and see what results I get. I used 3 Gal and 5 Gal containers.

    Here are the first three that went into 5-1-1

    Bill

  • Bill_Missy
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Here is a root ball of a Reaper (It was the best quality). All the root balls looked basically the same and where moist but not to wet. I gently pulled the roots away before I potted.

  • Bill_Missy
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Here are the ones I potted up today. All super-hots/Nuclear except two. The two have at least 4 pods on them so I had to pot them up. (Cayenne blend and Alma paprika)

  • Bill_Missy
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Close-up of my final 5-1-1, MG Organic Choice and MGMC. All Super-hots.

    Bill

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