Dawn's Pepper Pot - EcoGrower (07/03/2017) ** Term 05/06/201

[drbanks]

I have six varieties plated, clockwise from top:

Hungarian Wax

Habanero Red

Pepperoncini Golden Greek

Scotch Bonnet

Vezena Piperka

Jamaican Yellow Mushroom

[drbanks]

As seen in the picture above, the Vezena Piperka and Hungarian wax plants are growing some crazy huge leaves.

I've trimmed some back to keep them from blocking the light path to other plants, but I'm not sure I'm comfortable doing this.

mike, what's your opinion/expert advice on what to do with huge, covers everything else leaves?  I'm getting some pretty productive new growth on the plants otherwise.  Just wondering if these big leaves help or hinder the rest of the new growth.

[Shawn]

If in the way I have always trimmed them out. Also I find that when I cut older leaves it regenerates the plant.

[mike]

Once there is adequate new leaf coverage above the huge ones, I take them off. I figure they sap energy from the plant.

[drbanks]

A couple weeks ago, I did some rather aggressive pruning on the larger plants in this garden, namely the Vezena Piperka and the Hungarian Wax.  At the time, I cut buds off both (intentionally), hoping to get a bit more branching out of both.  Which was mostly successful.

But now I see some blossoms about to open on the Hungarian Wax, and the Habanero Red right next to it is also showing some nodules that look like they'll be blossoms before long.

The Pepperoncini Golden Greek is still alive after I nearly broke it a few weeks back, but still stunted.  The Scotch Bonnet plant is very dense and healthy looking, but also very short.  I don't know if this is just how that one goes or what.

The Vezena Piperka is by far the tallest of the six, and I keep cutting massive leaves off it to try to get it to slow down and branch out a little more.

And the Jamaican Yellow Mushroom peppers look like an actual healthy pepper plant, albeit about a month behind the others in development.  And, it's a near daily thing to prune its neighbors back so it has room to grow and access to light.

When I first set this pot up, I was wondering if six plants in a 2 foot by 2 foot growing deck would be too sparse.  Now, I'm acutely aware that it'll be a constant matter of pruning these things to keep them out of each others' hair... I mean leaves.

I have pepper trellis supports on the Vezena and Habanero Red.  The Hungarian Wax seems determined to take over the space occupied by the Habanero next door, so it'll probably start latching onto its support, too.  I have another four of those trellises, and I'm thinking I should install one on it to try to train it back to its own space.

[drbanks]

I'm seeing buds on all six plants, and a really big blossom on the Hungarian wax, with a few more on the verge of opening.

[Shawn]

Hungarians are larger peppers.  

[drbanks]

I'm doing a one day "flush" on this system.  Just drained the thing and re-filled with straight water.  Hope to get rid of some of the sediment and crud, and give the plants a bit of a nute break.

Just tried siphoning directly from the pot to the bathtub.  The siphon was incredibly difficult to start, exacerbated by the fact that the tubing won't uncurl completely, and when I did get it going, it was MUCH slower than just draining it directly into a bucket and making three trips to the bathtub to empty the bucket.  Still might consider buying a submersible pump to do this, but it's not a high priority issue.

And I can still use the exercise.

[Shawn]

This remins me I MUST do a dump and refill next week

[drbanks]

So, after flushing with fresh water yesterday, I dumped and refilled with fresh nutes.

Here's a view of the inside of a freshly drained pepper pot:



And here's the outside after refilling:

[drbanks]

The scotch bonnet is pretty dense, but not very high:



The Pepperoncini Golden Greek may have survived my abuse, but it's still pretty stunted.



The Habanero Red is looking fine:



And the Hungarian Wax is trying to take over the Habanero's space:



The Jamaican Yellow Mushroom continues to plod along:



And I don't know what to say about the Vezena Piperka.  It's the largest of the gang, but not really that healthy looking:

[drbanks]

Getting a bunch of blossoms opening on the Hungarian wax, although I hadn't seen many of them before because they all seem to be hiding underneath leaves.

Also seem to have definitely set at least two pods on that plant.

Other plants have buds that look like they should open in the next day or two.  Since I just upped the amount of Flora Bloom over the weekend, they should be opening pretty quickly now.

[drbanks]

And I just had my first blossom open on the Vezena Piperka.  Like the others, hiding beneath huge leaves.  I went to hit it with the Be the Bee, but feeling the inside of the blossom, I feel a hard sharp point suggesting to me that it may have already set.  And kneeling down, I can see more fat buds that look like they're on the verge of opening.

As with the Hungarian wax, much larger blossoms than I've been accustomed to with my previous projects.

[drbanks]

The Vezena Piperka has been opening large blossoms, many of which seem to have set even before I try to pollinate them.

I have it in a Park's Seed 2.5' pepper support brace, and it looks like it's already reached the top of the brace.

[drbanks]

The Scotch Bonnet has always looked very healthy with substantial foliage, but up until now, it's been rather squat.  It finally looks like it's starting to grow vertically, as well as showing hints of some buds

[drbanks]

I was afraid that I'd broken the Pepperoncini Golden Greeks a while back when something got dropped on them.  I'm still not sure how well it's surviving.

On the one hand, it doesn't look like it's dying.  On the other hand, it's shorter than even the Jamaican Yellow Mushroom peppers, and those took forever to get going.

[drbanks]

The Red Habanero seems rather healthy, and while not as tall as the Vezena or the Hungarians, it still looks like it should be ready to start setting some fruit sometime soon:

[drbanks]

Just found a bunch of blossoms on the Red Habanero plant.  They were hiding under the leaves.

Of all the peppers in this pot, these are the most anxiously awaited, because it could mean not having to buy them from the supermarket anymore.

[drbanks]

The Vezena Piperka plant just passed 2 feet tall.  It's been opening some huge, almost leathery looking blossoms.  Sadly, pictures do not do justice:




It's set several peppers, but so far, only one has cleared the blossom and dropped its petals:

[drbanks]

And the Hungarian Was is setting all sorts of blossoms, also large, most of which have the beginnings of peppers just poking out: