Just a short post today. Here's what I've got growing now;
5
5
3
6 Costa Rica Red Habaneros
8 Orange habaneros
8
Pictures will follow in a few days.
Coming soon;
Fatalii Yellow
Paper Lantern
Tepins (very hot wild Mexican pepper)
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
My Grow List for 2010 and Beyond...
Update today Sunday, August 1st, 2010;
Just a short post today. Here's what I've got growing now;
5 2 Chocolate Habaneros
5 4 Dorset Nagas
3 2 Bhut Jolokias
6 Costa Rica Red Habaneros
8 Orange habaneros
8 4 "Early" Jalapenos (very hot for Jalapenos-30,000 Scovile)
Pictures will follow in a few days.
Coming soon;
Bhut Jalokia
Fatalii Yellow
Paper Lantern
Tepins (very hot wild Mexican pepper)
Just a short post today. Here's what I've got growing now;
5
5
3
6 Costa Rica Red Habaneros
8 Orange habaneros
8
Pictures will follow in a few days.
Coming soon;
Fatalii Yellow
Paper Lantern
Tepins (very hot wild Mexican pepper)
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Soil
Unless one is growing hydroponically one needs a medium in which to grow plants. That medium is soil, whether one plants in pots or in the ground. Here in Central Thailand soil presents a challenge for those wanting to grow Capsicum chinense. Various Annums and frutescens are common cultivars here in Thailand and having had a little experience with them I can say they are relatively easy to germinate and grow. Capsicum chinense, on the other hand, presents a true challenge and proper soil is at the top of that list. Next in order is obtaining the proper nutrients; I prefer organic and that will be my preferred method. Somewhat surprisingly temperature is the third biggest challenge; for at least a few months of the year it's too hot and the plants may not form buds, flowers, and thereby no pods. This is likely in the months of March, April, and possibly May and June (more about that later).
Check my previous post for this: http://preview.tinyurl.com/Soil-Map-Thailand
This will tell you the likely soil type in your area.
Soil: here in central Thailand the soil is clay and acidic. C. chinense is best suited to a soil ph of 5.5 to 6.5. After our house had been built we had topsoil brought in; so we have 8 to 12" of good soil. That's fine for growing a lawn but not too good for a decent garden. If that is your situation then pots are the answer and a commercial potting soil needs to be found. I have never bought a soil sight unseen; always ask to open a bag so you can look at it, feel it, and smell it.
A good soil should be a well mixed loam;
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The best soil I have found comes from Kanchanaburi Province; it meets the 40%-40%-20% criteria for a good loam. It does tend toward compacting over time. This is easily avoided by adding 30% by volume of a rinsed, coarse (medium coarse), coconut coir. Coconut coir is available as fine, medium and coarse. This is available from any nursery selling a broad range of plants, pots, fertilizers, and soil.
In the end, one may have to accept a soil that is available but not ideal for any number of reasons. If that's the case, there are many things one can do to make it work. Be sure to ask if it has any fertilizer in it; the seller almost always says yes; that may or may not be true. Do Not Add Any Fertilizer! Wait until it's obvious the plants need feeding.
Composting; is one of the best ways to get some top quality soil. Good, properly done compost can be planted directly, but is most economically used by mixing with lesser quality soil thereby making it a productive planting medium. One doesn't need any fancy barrels or other commercial composting containers to make compost. My wife collects leaves, grass clippings, twigs, general yard debris, and we throw our kitchen scraps/waste on the pile also. This is an open pile in our yard. Every few days she turns the pile over with a hoe, moving the pile a little each time. If it gets too dry, water it. It doesn't smell and after 4 - 6 months we have usable compost. Once you've got a working colony of micro-organisms keep feeding them and do not use up all the compost at one time. It's kind of like a sourdough starter. We now have some very healthy worms which I hadn't seen before.
Manures; cow, horse, chicken, duck, bat, and pig will all work very well and are readily available here in Thailand. All manures need to be aged and composted well before applying to the soil. Cow and horse manure have a high fiber/organic content and add a lot to soil quality as well as nutrients for the plants.
Wood ash; is a great source of calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and sulfur. All of these are critical nutrients for successful growing of Capsicum.
Eggshells; are another source of calcium re a previous post.
Having good quality soil here in Thailand is relatively easy; after a lot of research, some failures, and some sore back muscles.
The purpose of this blog is to create a shortcut to a successful crop.
Cheers.
Check my previous post for this: http://preview.tinyurl.com/Soil-Map-Thailand
This will tell you the likely soil type in your area.
Soil: here in central Thailand the soil is clay and acidic. C. chinense is best suited to a soil ph of 5.5 to 6.5. After our house had been built we had topsoil brought in; so we have 8 to 12" of good soil. That's fine for growing a lawn but not too good for a decent garden. If that is your situation then pots are the answer and a commercial potting soil needs to be found. I have never bought a soil sight unseen; always ask to open a bag so you can look at it, feel it, and smell it.
A good soil should be a well mixed loam;
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Loam is soil composed of sand, silt, and clay in relatively even concentration (about 40-40-20% concentration respectively).[1] Loam soils generally contain more nutrients and humus than sandy soils, have better infiltration and drainage than silty soils, and are easier to till than clay soils. Loams are gritty, moist, and retain water easily."
"Loam is considered ideal for gardening and agricultural uses because it retains nutrients well and retains water while still allowing the water to flow freely. This soil is found in a majority of successful farms in regions around the world known for their fertile land. Loam soil feels mellow and is easy to work over a wide range of moisture conditions.There are many different types of loam soils, each with slightly different characteristics, and with some draining liquids more efficiently than others."
"Different proportions of sand, silt, and clay give rise to types of loam soils: sandy loam, silty loam, clay loam, sandy clay loam, silty clay loam, and loam.[1] A soil dominated by one or two of the three particle size groups can behave like loam if it has a strong granular structure, promoted by a high content of organic matter. However, a soil that meets the textural definition of loam can lose its characteristic desirable qualities when it is compacted, depleted of organic matter, or has clay dispersed throughout its fine-earth fraction."~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The best soil I have found comes from Kanchanaburi Province; it meets the 40%-40%-20% criteria for a good loam. It does tend toward compacting over time. This is easily avoided by adding 30% by volume of a rinsed, coarse (medium coarse), coconut coir. Coconut coir is available as fine, medium and coarse. This is available from any nursery selling a broad range of plants, pots, fertilizers, and soil.
In the end, one may have to accept a soil that is available but not ideal for any number of reasons. If that's the case, there are many things one can do to make it work. Be sure to ask if it has any fertilizer in it; the seller almost always says yes; that may or may not be true. Do Not Add Any Fertilizer! Wait until it's obvious the plants need feeding.
Composting; is one of the best ways to get some top quality soil. Good, properly done compost can be planted directly, but is most economically used by mixing with lesser quality soil thereby making it a productive planting medium. One doesn't need any fancy barrels or other commercial composting containers to make compost. My wife collects leaves, grass clippings, twigs, general yard debris, and we throw our kitchen scraps/waste on the pile also. This is an open pile in our yard. Every few days she turns the pile over with a hoe, moving the pile a little each time. If it gets too dry, water it. It doesn't smell and after 4 - 6 months we have usable compost. Once you've got a working colony of micro-organisms keep feeding them and do not use up all the compost at one time. It's kind of like a sourdough starter. We now have some very healthy worms which I hadn't seen before.
Manures; cow, horse, chicken, duck, bat, and pig will all work very well and are readily available here in Thailand. All manures need to be aged and composted well before applying to the soil. Cow and horse manure have a high fiber/organic content and add a lot to soil quality as well as nutrients for the plants.
Wood ash; is a great source of calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and sulfur. All of these are critical nutrients for successful growing of Capsicum.
Eggshells; are another source of calcium re a previous post.
Having good quality soil here in Thailand is relatively easy; after a lot of research, some failures, and some sore back muscles.
The purpose of this blog is to create a shortcut to a successful crop.
Cheers.
Germinating Seeds
In my experience, here in Thailand, DO NOT use soil for seed germination. I have tried 6 different types of commercially available potting soil and only one was successful for germination and that was for a Thai pepper of the annum family. Out of 100+ chinense seeds (mostly Costa Rican Red) only 1 germinated. Recently my wife did get 2 orange Habanero seeds to germinate in our top soil (from our yard) but only 1 survived and it's growing very, very slowly.
The greatest success has been from coir pucks; roughly 90+%. Out of 20 successful germinations 17 have survived (pics in a previous post of some) and are growing well.
Chinense are notoriously slow to germinate and one did take 27 days (for 4 Costa Rica Red Habaneros) to pop up; I had almost given up on them. My experience with Nagas, bhuts, choc Habs, orange Habs, and red Habs has been from 5 days to 27 days and I've heard of longer, so don't be too quick to give up.
Be sure not to let the germinating medium dry out, but avoid outright wetness; damp is ideal.
I would also recommend NOT using tap water because it is likely very alkaline. Rain water, distilled water, or RO (reverse osmosis) water is best and that would go for normal watering also. I save as much rain water as I can in large barrels. I have noticed a marked increase in growth since the rainy season started.
After germination, soil is the next most important item. That will be my next post.
The greatest success has been from coir pucks; roughly 90+%. Out of 20 successful germinations 17 have survived (pics in a previous post of some) and are growing well.
Chinense are notoriously slow to germinate and one did take 27 days (for 4 Costa Rica Red Habaneros) to pop up; I had almost given up on them. My experience with Nagas, bhuts, choc Habs, orange Habs, and red Habs has been from 5 days to 27 days and I've heard of longer, so don't be too quick to give up.
Be sure not to let the germinating medium dry out, but avoid outright wetness; damp is ideal.
I would also recommend NOT using tap water because it is likely very alkaline. Rain water, distilled water, or RO (reverse osmosis) water is best and that would go for normal watering also. I save as much rain water as I can in large barrels. I have noticed a marked increase in growth since the rainy season started.
After germination, soil is the next most important item. That will be my next post.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Making Calcium Phosphate
Here in Thailand I have yet to find a calcium supplement for my plants. I did some research and asked questions on The Hot Pepper Forum (great resource) and have the recipe for making calcium phosphate;
1. Roast/toast crushed eggshells. I used a dry wok. Heat the finely crushed shells until they are black. Don't do this in the house unless you have a really good exhaust fan.
2. Soak roasted eggshells in equal volume of vinegar for two weeks until the vinegar dissolves the eggshells. The mixture will bubble and foam for a few minutes so don't immediately tighten the lid of the jar.
3. Dilute 1:20 parts water (2 tbsp/gal.) and spray on plants or water into the dirt around the plants.
4. This is best used during a specific period in the plants growth; such as just before flowering/fruiting. That said; calcium is important throughout the entire growing cycle.
This is a pretty easy process and takes about 30 minutes the first time. Don't forget; let the mixture sit for 2 full weeks.
1. Roast/toast crushed eggshells. I used a dry wok. Heat the finely crushed shells until they are black. Don't do this in the house unless you have a really good exhaust fan.
2. Soak roasted eggshells in equal volume of vinegar for two weeks until the vinegar dissolves the eggshells. The mixture will bubble and foam for a few minutes so don't immediately tighten the lid of the jar.
3. Dilute 1:20 parts water (2 tbsp/gal.) and spray on plants or water into the dirt around the plants.
4. This is best used during a specific period in the plants growth; such as just before flowering/fruiting. That said; calcium is important throughout the entire growing cycle.
This is a pretty easy process and takes about 30 minutes the first time. Don't forget; let the mixture sit for 2 full weeks.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Jalapenos will be coming soon to fill in the other part of the blog name,
because I now have some "Early Jalapeño" seeds, thanks to my friend in England. They'll be planted today or tomorrow into coir pucks along with Dorset Naga, chocolate Habanero, and bhut Jolokia.
Done! 07-06-10 - 09:30
Done! 07-06-10 - 09:30
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Current Progress with Pictures...
These plants are all just under 1 month from potting up from the coir pucks. To see a larger picture just click on the image.
There are now a total of 10 plants with the oldest shown in the photos.
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