Author: CGS

An update on Fungus gnats

In a previous post, I mentioned that I would experiment with hydrogen peroxide to kill off fungus gnats. I have since tried using it, and must say I am “reasonably “impressed”.   When I say reasonably impressed, I must qualify that. It definitely works, but maybe just not as well I would have hoped for. No matter how many times I apply it, the gnats might disappear for a while, and then before you know they are back again.

Now believe me, fungus gnats are not my friend by any sense of the imagination. I absolutely detest them. Not only are they bothersome pests, but if they are not brought in check, they can also create massive problems in the health of seedlings. So, there is no leeway here.  I will not be happy until I have done all I can to get rid of them.

So again, it was back to the drawing board. I began doing some research to try and figure out why I wasn’t being as successful as I hoped I would be. There had to be answers out there somewhere. Surely!

I didn’t take long to find out that while I had most bases covered, there were a few things I missed. One glaring omission was the dosage of the H202 I had been using. I understood that the 3% hydrogen had to be mixed in the ratio of one-part H202 to four parts water.  This was right, but not for the purpose I had used it. It turned out that the one to four ratio should be used for foliar spraying, rather than for a soil drench. I had been using the one to four dilutions for soil drenches.  For a soil drench, the ratio should be far stronger. It should be mixed at one-part H202, two parts water. This solution then gets poured on top of the potting soil and is allowed to drain through it

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Comparing fertilisers

I recently began an experiment with fertilisation.  I originally wanted to compare the performance of seaweed extract against  Chilli Focus and tomato feed. My aim was to conduct side by side tests with three sets of African devil seedlings, each consisting of three plants in separate trays.  Each tray was to have received only of each type of fertilizer until it came to the time for the seedlings to be hardened off.   I would then make a judgment on which fertilizer had done best

I thought I had all the bases covered. One set of seedlings, which I considered mycontrol group, was to get Chilli Focus diluted at 2.5 ml per litre of water. The second set was set to be fed at a dosage of 2ml per litre of water.

The only decision I needed to make was how much the seaweed extract needed to be diluted by.

Normally I would have used the NPK of a fertiliser to do this, but I was unable to find out what the NPK for seaweed extra is. The NPK was not on the packaging, nor on the supplier’s website.

What I did find on the website was a recommendation that the extract should be applied at two percent per litre of water for Chillies, vegetables, herbs, tomatoes, potatoes. It recommended feeding these plants at this application rate every ten to fourteen days.

However, that’s all it said. It doesn’t mention whether this dosage applies to young plants, mature plants, or anything else.  I believed it was important to have this information to make the comparison. I had the NPK’s of the Chilli Focus and tomato feed. The only outstanding piece of information was the NPK of seaweed extract

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A common problem

Preventing damping off is one of the biggest challenges most Chilli growers face. Damping off is a disease that manifests itself by seedlings toppling over in their trays.  Seedlings collapse because their roots and stems are infected by fungi and pathogens like rhizoctonia, fusarium, phytophthora and pythium. These fungi and pathogens cause the roots and base of the stems of seedlings to rot, which in turn leads to the death of the plant.

Once seedlings have damping off disease (which most likely was caused by pythium,) it will be too late. Unfortunately, they will die. What’s more – alarmingly so – once pythium makes its appearance, it can rapidly kill off many seedlings in quick succession. This is particularly so if the seedlings share the same source of water.

Luckily, damping off disease can be prevented. Various techniques can be used to reduce the likelihood of it developing. There are also various treatments that can be utilized to kill off the fungi and pathogens.  These treatments include Hydrogen Peroxide, seaweed extract and bio fungicides. The aim of these is to create a risk-free growing environment, where damping disease has little chance of success.

Biofungicides, in particular, are an exciting area to consider in combating dampening off disease. They are safe to use and effective.  However, there is a cost involved in using these products. If this is a factor in your Chilli growing, the following need to be considered first.

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What I am overwintering

While we regard Chillies as annuals in the UK, they are perennials in their natural environments. In these environments, it rarely reaches freezing the way it does here during winter. As a result, most Chillies subjected to the freezing conditions during winter in the United Kingdom will die. Full stop. A few varieties are cold weather resistant (to a certain extent), but none can cope with frost.

So, if we want them (or a selected few at least) to survive wintry conditions, the plants need to be brought indoors or kept in a protected environment outdoors. This process is called overwintering.

This year, I am overwintering twelve plants. Two of these (yellow Scotch bonnets) are in their second overwintering. I overwintered them for the first time last year. The remaining plants are four Satans kisses, an Aji Crystal, an Apache, three Barak Chillies and two unknowns (somehow, I managed to lose their markers). In time, once they flower again, I will attempt to identify them

Usually, I cut plants back for overwintering. I also always keep them in the warmest room in our house, out of direct sunlight. Under most circumstances, this means placing the plants in an area next to our fireplace in our lounge.

While I keep them in the lounge as I usually do, I didn’t prune any of these plants this year, as I might have done in previous years. I took the view that except for the Aji Crystal, my Scotch bonnets, and one bigger Satan’s kiss, my smaller plants could be considered to be ornamentals. They are, on average, only about twelve inches tall. They were also exceptionally pretty Chillies and had aesthetic appeal. With this in mind, I resolved to treat the smaller plants as house plants. For the larger plants, I decided to wait for them to lose their leaves before I pruned them back.

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How much do seedlings need?

Many people think Chilli seedlings need fertilisation straight after they have germinated . Nothing could be further from the truth. Chilli seedlings need far less fertilisation than most people might think.   After seedlings have germinated, they only need additional fertilisation once they develop their first set of true leaves. But even then, the amount of fertilization required is negligible. Once the true leaves have developed, the plant will start getting nutrition from photosynthesis. As the seedling develops its true leaves, the plant will also start expanding its root system to help extract nutrients from the soil.

Once a seedling reaches this stage, I feed them half strength Chilli Focus (2.5 ml per litre). I start doing this as soon as I pot them on for the first time. When the seedlings get to two to three inches tall, I pot them one again. After this, I will up the dosage of Chilli Focus to 5ml per litre of water.

I continue feeding the seedlings at this dosage (every second watering) until they are ready to be potted on again. At this point, they will be three of four inches tall and have about four true leaves. It will stay in this pot (normally one litre) until they’re ready to be hardened off. Hardening off normally takes place in middle to late May

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Growing essentials

Some products are essential to growing Chillies successfully. These include additives, fertilisers, growth mediums, and certain chemicals. Particularly when growing in pots – the way I do. These products help me keep pests at bay, promote growth, facilitate water retention, drainage and achieve other objectives. They all have their place in what it takes to grow healthy productive plants. In this post, I will cover two of these essentials. Further posts will cover the rest

In my opinion, definite must haves for Chilli growing are vermiculite and perlite. These two products are used for different reasons.  Vermiculite is used as a growth medium and also as a means of retaining water in potting and seed starting mixes. Perlite, on the other hand, is used to aid drainage. Chillies don’t like their growth mediums to be too wet. So while on one hand you want your seed potting mixes to retain water, on the other hand you don’t want them to be sodden.  It is a delicate balance. Using perlite and vermiculite correctly will help achieve what you need to do

Some growers mix perlite and vermiculite into their seed, starting and potting mixes. How much to add depends on what needs to be achieved.  Perlite for example can be combined at one part perlite to one part vermiculite and added to one part coco coir for a seed starting mix.  For an enhanced seed starting mix, one part or vermiculite is combined with one part perlite. This is then  added to four parts coco coir and two parts garden compost

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When is fertilising Chillies first required?

The Chilli seeds I have recently started don’t need any fertilising. They were planted about a week ago and still need to germinate. So, will they need fertilisation after they sprout? The answer is a resounding no. Seedlings don’t need any fertilization until they have developed their first set of true leaves.

It is precisely for this reason that when you choose a seed starting mix, it should have as low an NPK as possible. I use my own seed starting mix to start seeds. It consists of seed-starting compost with an NPK of 3.4-1-1.5 and worm castings with an NPK of 1: 0: 0. This is pretty low, but even at these levels, the mix could be higher than it needs to be. The seedlings just don’t need any fertilising at all. They can feed themselves through nutrition stored in the endosperm of the seed. This nutrition will be enough until the seedling decides it requires further nourishment.

When this happens, the seedling will develop its first set of true leaves to begin photosynthesis. It will also expand its root system to extract nutrients from its growing medium. This is precisely when additional fertilisation needs to be added. Not too much though. Over-fertilising Chilles can be bad for seedlings. Caution needs to be exercised

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