# Pepper Growers?



## pannaking22 (Jun 14, 2018)

Anyone on here growing peppers? Doesn't matter how hot they are, all are welcome! I've been wanting to grow my own peppers for years and finally have the space to do some balcony growing, so I'm really excited about that. I picked up a gypsy pepper plant over the weekend at Walmart since it was the one that looked like it wasn't about to keel over. Hoping to expand my species/varieties for next year since it's kind of late to start anything fancy from seed.

I saw a couple older threads on it, but figured a new one was more appropriate to be more general.


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## The Snark (Jun 15, 2018)

Being surrounded by pepper growers, while being seriously botanically challenged to the max, one thing I have noticed with many varieties of peppers. If they don't grow quite fast and look vigorous... with just individual plants while others around them are vibrant, they are unthrifty. Peppers are like that. Some just don't take off. If they all are slow growing without luxuriant foliage, they hate the soil they are in. 
This happens all the time around here. A field of peppers that barely fruit, 10 or 15 out of a couple of hundred really take off, and a few hundred feet off in another field, the same plants twice the size and loaded down with fruit.


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## pannaking22 (Jun 15, 2018)

That's one thing I've noticed while reading up on peppers/talking to other people that grow them. The soil really is everything and if the peppers don't like it, good luck getting a good harvest. Fortunately it seems like you can add various things to the plant or soil to get things moving, but even then I'm not sure it's a perfect science. This is also my first time growing anything that's not a succulent or carnivorous plant, so having to think so much about the nutrients of the soil is new to me.


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## AnObeseHippo (Jun 15, 2018)

I grow peppers too! Second year trying. Mostly growing habaneros, but one carolina reaper plant. Oddly enough, I find hotter peppers easier to grow. I started sweet red peppers and jalapenos at the same time as my habs, and the plants are nowhere near as compact and bushy as my habs. Like the sweeter the pepper I grow, the worse it grew. 

I’ve just started with an all around fertilizer and if my plants look odd, I google what kind of deficiency they have and I add that into the mix. And for soil I just used a bag of generic bag of potting soil meant for fruiting plants. I plan on recycling the soil through a compost pile for next year.

For watering, I just wait until they start to wilt and then they get more. Somehow one of my jalapenos still tried to complain about overwatering even though I treated it more like a succulent than a pepper. 

The habs started flowering today, I’ll post some pics when they turn to peppers.

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## pannaking22 (Jun 15, 2018)

AnObeseHippo said:


> I grow peppers too! Second year trying. Mostly growing habaneros, but one carolina reaper plant. Oddly enough, I find hotter peppers easier to grow. I started sweet red peppers and jalapenos at the same time as my habs, and the plants are nowhere near as compact and bushy as my habs. Like the sweeter the pepper I grow, the worse it grew.
> 
> I’ve just started with an all around fertilizer and if my plants look odd, I google what kind of deficiency they have and I add that into the mix. And for soil I just used a bag of generic bag of potting soil meant for fruiting plants. I plan on recycling the soil through a compost pile for next year.
> 
> ...


I'll be trying my hand with jalapenos and habaneros next year I think, but I've been looking at a few of the hotter ones too (and some sweeter ones). It's interesting that your hotter ones seem to be growing better, I'd read that they tend to take longer to get going and fruit. Maybe just the ability to put on a bunch of growth and then the fruiting process is longer?

I put some general fertilizer in my pot a couple days ago, so hopefully that jump starts my plant. I used cactus/succulent soil for mine since I have a big bag of it. I'm sure it'll still work fine, plus I'm going to start a small compost bin that I'll be able to slowly mix in later on.

We got some rain last night (first rain in nearly 6 weeks!!!), so I think that takes care of watering everyone for a week lol. The gypsy hasn't looked too bad overall, it might actually be overwatered now.


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## Sillver (Jun 15, 2018)

I've grown peppers with my dad for over 10 years. They are not very hard to grow. We never really used fertilizers. We raise chickens and pigeons and just mixed the pop into the dirt. We rarely watered them and they grew great. We would plant about 100 Hot Portugal pepper plants and would get over 1000 -2000 peppers.We are Portuguese so we make pepper sauce(like tomato sauce) for cooking.

About 5 years ago I moved back to canada and  I finally started to plant some again this year. I planted 4 Hot Portugal pepper plants and 1 ghost pepper plant. The Hot Portugal peppers are about 50000 Scoville. So it's a decently hot pepper.

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## pannaking22 (Jun 18, 2018)

Bought two more plants over the weekend, so now my balcony is completely full! Looking forward to getting a good harvest later in the year.


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## AnObeseHippo (Jun 18, 2018)

pannaking22 said:


> Bought two more plants over the weekend, so now my balcony is completely full! Looking forward to getting a good harvest later in the year.


Oooo what kinds did you get? Any idea what you'll do with the harvest?


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## pannaking22 (Jun 18, 2018)

AnObeseHippo said:


> Oooo what kinds did you get? Any idea what you'll do with the harvest?


Red bell (big plant on sale) and one just called "salsa pepper". Depending on the harvest, I'll probably eat most as snacks or use them to cook with. I love using peppers for cooking, either for flavor or for adding heat. I made some really good tacos over the weekend with green bells for texture/filling and habanero for heat and a little bit of extra flavor. If I get too many I'll try my hand at salsa and maybe even pick up some hotter peppers from the grocery store to make some sort of hot sauce. If it goes beyond that I'll probably offer peppers/seeds to people who may want some.

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## The Snark (Jun 18, 2018)

I'd add this about growing them. Silt and clay bearing silt appear to not promote healthy flourishing plants. No idea why but around here, the farther from the rivers and that sandy clay bearing loam stuff, the better they grow. Artificial fertilizing seems to make no difference.

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## Galapoheros (Jun 20, 2018)

I think I'm growing one pepper plant but I'm not sure.  I try so many things, I forget where I put everything.  I did get some bell pepper seeds and randomly put some in pots.  I think it's the plant on the right in the pot that is a pepper plant.  I crushed a leaf and it smells a little bit like a pepper.  I think the plant on the left is from a seed I planted also but I'm not sure what that is either.  It's growing like a tomato, notice the root.  What do you think this is?  I did plant some tomatillo seeds here and there.  I don't have a garden here so I was just messing around, nothing organized.  I plan to do a better job later.  Growth seems to me to have a lot to do with genetics, age of the seed, competition, maybe other things because I have planted seeds from the same parents in the same soil, trying to maintain the same conditions but still some will only grow a few inches, never produce, while other individuals close by will grow several feet and produce.  I'm referring to tomato and melon plants mostly.


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## pannaking22 (Jun 21, 2018)

The one on the right definitely looks like a pepper, but I'm not familiar with the one on the left (entomologist by training, I absolutely suck at plant ID lol). I've liked seeing your somewhat haphazard gardening/growing Galapoheros, it's really neat to see all the different plants you're trying! Certainly worthwhile to experiment and see what works out. Shoot, my dad does that sort of thing and the plants seem to do better tossed out in the yard/woods/field rather than started indoors.


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## Nonnack (Jun 21, 2018)

I started this year. Always liked it hot, so decided to grow something by myself. But I am not crazy chilli head, eating raw reapers hottest peppers I have are habaneros and fatali. Some pics :

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## pannaking22 (Jun 21, 2018)

Very nice collection! Have you tried the lemon drops before? I'm curious to what the taste on those would be like. I like my food hot too, but not over the top.


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## Galapoheros (Jun 21, 2018)

pannaking22 said:


> The one on the right definitely looks like a pepper, but I'm not familiar with the one on the left (entomologist by training, I absolutely suck at plant ID lol). I've liked seeing your somewhat haphazard gardening/growing Galapoheros, it's really neat to see all the different plants you're trying! Certainly worthwhile to experiment and see what works out. Shoot, my dad does that sort of thing and the plants seem to do better tossed out in the yard/woods/field rather than started indoors.



I just looked up "tomatillo seedling", the one on the left is a tomatillo after all.  That white sprout I noticed is an orange tree seedling.  There was a guy where I used to work approx. 30 years ago that loved growing peppers.  He said not watering them often made them hotter, he had to throw a bunch of jalapenos because they were just too hot.

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## Nonnack (Jun 22, 2018)

pannaking22 said:


> Have you tried the lemon drops before? I'm curious to what the taste on those would be like.


No, I haven't. I heard it has really interesting taste, some people love it, some hate it. I am also curious, have few nice plants of it so soon I think I will try it

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## schmiggle (Jun 22, 2018)

Galapoheros said:


> I just looked up "tomatillo seedling", the one on the left is a tomatillo after all.  That white sprout I noticed is an orange tree seedling.  There was a guy where I used to work approx. 30 years ago that loved growing peppers.  He said not watering them often made them hotter, he had to throw a bunch of jalapenos because they were just too hot.


Makes sense, fruits with more water are probably bigger and therefore less concentrated. You have to be careful not to kill your plant, though...

My dad loves to talk about the grapes in Japan that were the size of a ping pong ball but tastes like water.


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## Nonnack (Jun 22, 2018)

With peppers it is easy to see when they need water. Look at this pic of pepper plant with few fruits in white pot, leafs are wilt, its time to water it. After hour or few it will look fine again.


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## 8 leg wonder (Jun 30, 2018)

If they all are slow growing without luxuriant foliage, they hate the soil they are in.
This happens all the time around here. A field of peppers that barely fruit, 10 or 15 out of a couple of hundred really take off, and a few hundred feet off in another field, the same plants twice the size and loaded down with fruit.[/QUOTE]depends on what you feed them, high nitrogen will produce heavier foliage but less fruit, high potassium feed will produce more fruit.

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## pannaking22 (Jul 9, 2018)

I've got two fruits forming on my gypsy pepper plant, so I guess I've been doing something right!


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## Nonnack (Jul 13, 2018)

I have made some pics today. Almost all of my plants already start to form fruits, can't wait to try it

















































Lemon drops soon will be ready.







And my indoor collection, its more for fun, and decorations, but plants are growing really well, and I expect some nice fruits also

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## pannaking22 (Jul 13, 2018)

Beautiful, congrats on the fruit! Those are some beautiful plants. Just checked to see how mine are doing, and it looks like some sort of bee or wasp is clipping pieces of the leaves. Damn things  Hopefully they don't do enough damage to stop the pepper production.

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## Brian S (Jul 22, 2018)

Here is my 3 year old Carolina Reaper. I have a four year old bhut jolokia as well

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## Nonnack (Jul 22, 2018)

Nice! I hope I will be able to keep some of mine plants through winter, indoor ofc. Its not gonna be so easy since winters in Poland can be really severe.


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## Brian S (Jul 22, 2018)

Nonnack said:


> Nice! I hope I will be able to keep some of mine plants through winter, indoor ofc. Its not gonna be so easy since winters in Poland can be really severe.


It's not as difficult as you may think. Cut the plant down to a stump and just keep from freezing but not too warm. If slightly cool plant will become semi dormant until it gets warm and sunny enough to return outside

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## pannaking22 (Aug 1, 2018)

Stupid heat wave caused my plants to drop all their flowers, but temps are going to be below 100 again for a few days. My gypsy pepper plant has three pods on it right now, just waiting for them to ripen. I think my red bell might be about to produce a pod, but that one has been having issues almost since the start. Cajun bell had flowers everywhere, but nothing seems to have happened. I'm hoping the cooler temps will encourage flower production again. Any recommended fertilizers to encourage flowers?


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## schmiggle (Aug 1, 2018)

I don't know about peppers in particular, but I think a high phosphorous fertilizer usually encourages flowering.

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## Nonnack (Aug 4, 2018)

pannaking22 said:


> Have you tried the lemon drops before?


Just eaten my first It was hot (for me) I would say at same level as cayenne. Not so crazy, can be eaten raw with sandwich or something. Taste is really interesting, a little bit sweet, a little bit citrus. I like it. If you really want to try it, I think you can order fruits online somewhere (and you will get seeds extra.






e/
I have 11 types of chili, and lemon drops are best growing and gives most fruits.

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## pannaking22 (Aug 4, 2018)

Nonnack said:


> Just eaten my first It was hot (for me) I would say at same level as cayenne. Not so crazy, can be eaten raw with sandwich or something. Taste is really interesting, a little bit sweet, a little bit citrus. I like it. If you really want to try it, I think you can order fruits online somewhere (and you will get seeds extra.


I like the sound of that, I'll have to get some fruits over here this summer/fall

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## WildSpider (Aug 11, 2018)

Growing a couple Anaheims and a Grand Bell. The Anaheims are starting to fruit but the Grand Bell could probably use a little more TLC.

Your guys peppers look like they're doing awesome! Amazed how many you're getting on each plant!

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## Nonnack (Aug 19, 2018)

Few more pics.

Lemon drops are growing like crazy:







Habaneros are getting ready. From left Congo Trynidad, Black stinger, Fatali white, and lemon drops. Not so many fruits from plants in those buckets, but I have more in garden. Habanero Congo Trynidad, is so far my favorite, very hot, too hot to eat it raw, but one or two peppers on pizza makes it hot, gives nice taste and aroma, and still don't kill taste of pizza







Also my indoor Congo has made many nice berries

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## pannaking22 (Aug 22, 2018)

I finally got to try some of my gypsy peppers! Kind of like a thin fleshed bell pepper, but with a nice little spark of heat/spice right at the beginning.

My Cajun bell and red bell pepper dropped their flowers again...


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## WildSpider (Aug 22, 2018)

pannaking22 said:


> My Cajun bell and red bell pepper dropped their flowers again...


Nutritional deficiency?


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## pannaking22 (Aug 22, 2018)

WildSpider said:


> Nutritional deficiency?


I think they're good on nutrients (I put some fertilizer spikes in the soil when I first planted them, though maybe those ran out), but it's super hot here, so I'm wondering if it's a heat stress thing. My red bell actually had a fruit starting to form, but then it dropped it.


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## WildSpider (Aug 23, 2018)

pannaking22 said:


> I think they're good on nutrients (I put some fertilizer spikes in the soil when I first planted them, though maybe those ran out), but it's super hot here, so I'm wondering if it's a heat stress thing. My red bell actually had a fruit starting to form, but then it dropped it.


I get that problem with tomatoes and squash a lot of times too. Found this webpage that gives a chart on how some of the temps affect pepper production: http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/info_tomtemp.htm . Looks like if you're getting temps above 90° F, it could be the heat causing your problem. A quick google search leads me to think that maybe a little shade might be able to help.

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## pannaking22 (Aug 23, 2018)

WildSpider said:


> I get that problem with tomatoes and squash a lot of times too. Found this webpage that gives a chart on how some of the temps affect pepper production: http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/info_tomtemp.htm . Looks like if you're getting temps above 90° F, it could be the heat causing your problem. A quick google search leads me to think that maybe a little shade might be able to help.


Thanks for the link! Yeah, it's well over 90 here everyday. They get sun in the morning before the temps get too high and shade after about 11, but then it's just merciless heat from then until almost 10PM. Even in the shade it's over 90. They're sitting on a concrete balcony though, so I wonder if they'd do better being elevated off of that? The concrete seems to hold heat well, so maybe it's stressing the roots. I've thought about bringing them in when I get home from work and putting them back out before I go to bed so they get a few hour break from the heat. Maybe I'll give that a try and see if it helps.


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## WildSpider (Aug 23, 2018)

pannaking22 said:


> They're sitting on a concrete balcony though, so I wonder if they'd do better being elevated off of that? The concrete seems to hold heat well, so maybe it's stressing the roots.


Interesting idea. I have pots of plants on the concrete too. I'd be interested in hearing how either of these techniques go .


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## Nonnack (Aug 30, 2018)

My first harvest

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## The Snark (Aug 31, 2018)

Nonnack said:


> My first harvest


WHOA! You got that gig wired!

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## antinous (Sep 22, 2018)

Need to get some better photos, but here are some of my peppers:




Today’s small hull:

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## antinous (Sep 24, 2018)

Out of curiosity, has anyone started peppers indoors? I'm planning to start some habaneros, scotch bonnet, aji lemon drop and maybe a few others for my parents garden in mid-Jan./early Feb. Was planning on just using a heat mat until they germinate and then after transfer them to a soil-less seed medium and then putting them under a fluorescent light. Think that would work?


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## pannaking22 (Sep 25, 2018)

Phormic28 said:


> Out of curiosity, has anyone started peppers indoors? I'm planning to start some habaneros, scotch bonnet, aji lemon drop and maybe a few others for my parents garden in mid-Jan./early Feb. Was planning on just using a heat mat until they germinate and then after transfer them to a soil-less seed medium and then putting them under a fluorescent light. Think that would work?


I don't know much about soil-less medium, but I've seen people do it before, so I think your setup would be good.


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## BenWilly (Sep 25, 2018)

Phormic28 said:


> Out of curiosity, has anyone started peppers indoors? I'm planning to start some habaneros, scotch bonnet, aji lemon drop and maybe a few others for my parents garden in mid-Jan./early Feb. Was planning on just using a heat mat until they germinate and then after transfer them to a soil-less seed medium and then putting them under a fluorescent light. Think that would work?


I started my ghost peppers this year (back in Feb) using a reptile heat pad and damp paper towels in gallon ziplocs , worked out good. Dried some of the peppers for seed and doing it again next year. But I transplanted them into a soil mix and then planted them outdoors

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## antinous (Sep 25, 2018)

BenWilly said:


> I started my ghost peppers this year (back in Feb) using a reptile heat pad and damp paper towels in gallon ziplocs , worked out good. Dried some of the peppers for seed and doing it again next year. But I transplanted them into a soil mix and then planted them outdoors


That's what I did in previous years, but just wanted to start earlier. Looks like I'm just going to buy some well started plants when spring comes.


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## bugmankeith (Apr 27, 2019)

I’ve been hybridizing peppers for years. My first crosses were the variegated; ornamental hot peppers. From those offspring I then crossed with a sweet bell pepper, the result is a hot pepper that tastes like it’s dipped in sugar.

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## The Snark (Apr 28, 2019)

bugmankeith said:


> the result is a hot pepper that tastes like it’s dipped in sugar.


That would be a big hit over here. The entire country are pepper heads on a sugar rush.

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## pannaking22 (Feb 13, 2020)

Had a frustrating season last year, a plant I won at a silent auction was infested with aphids that I didn't notice so I spent a large chunk of the year fighting those, then when I was away on my honeymoon a spider mite infestation took off, wrecking the rest of my plants. Only got like one or two peppers from all those plants...bummed since I really wanted to try the sugar rush peach. A local grocery store was doing a sale on super hots late in the season though, so I paid $10 and got 6 plants that already had peppers, so at least I could finish out the season with something. They came with aphids too though, so once all the peppers were done ripening that was pretty much it for the plants.

Probably won't try again this year, I'm far enough in and I haven't started seeds, plus getting enough light isn't possible without a grow light (which I may purchase and just keep them inside this year). Talking with my botanist coworker I didn't realize how much of a pest deterrent the sun was, so that was an interesting piece of info. If I want to put them outside I'll start the seeds in like August and then by the time it cools off enough for the pollen to remain viable I can put them outside to grow.


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## Smotzer (Feb 13, 2020)

pannaking22 said:


> Had a frustrating season last year, a plant I won at a silent auction was infested with aphids that I didn't notice so I spent a large chunk of the year fighting those, then when I was away on my honeymoon a spider mite infestation took off, wrecking the rest of my plants. Only got like one or two peppers from all those plants...bummed since I really wanted to try the sugar rush peach. A local grocery store was doing a sale on super hots late in the season though, so I paid $10 and got 6 plants that already had peppers, so at least I could finish out the season with something. They came with aphids too though, so once all the peppers were done ripening that was pretty much it for the plants.
> 
> Probably won't try again this year, I'm far enough in and I haven't started seeds, plus getting enough light isn't possible without a grow light (which I may purchase and just keep them inside this year). Talking with my botanist coworker I didn't realize how much of a pest deterrent the sun was, so that was an interesting piece of info. If I want to put them outside I'll start the seeds in like August and then by the time it cools off enough for the pollen to remain viable I can put them outside to grow.


If you ever need help with pests or growing, I have a degree in horticulture, and have grown a lot of peppers hydroponically in my house, but usually Bhut jolokia and capsicum chinense. And for your aphid problem, neem oil, and insecticidal soaps work well at controlling them. And for spider mites you might want to catch one and ID it and then get a miticide that is on label for that particular species of spider mites.


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## pannaking22 (Feb 13, 2020)

Smotzer said:


> If you ever need help with pests or growing, I have a degree in horticulture, and have grown a lot of peppers hydroponically in my house, but usually Bhut jolokia and capsicum chinense. And for your aphid problem, neem oil, and insecticidal soaps work well at controlling them. And for spider mites you might want to catch one and ID it and then get a miticide that is on label for that particular species of spider mites.


I'm curious of the hydroponic method and have reading more about that, so it may be good to try in the future.

I used a combo of neem and insecticidal soaps to try to control them, but they just kept bouncing back on some plants. I will say though it worked well as a control, but by the time I started using the neem it may have been too late for the plants anyway. And who knows if I had more fully winged individuals flying in from time to time to keep populations going. 

It was some sort of tetranychid, but of all the ones I slide mounted I never got a male, so I couldn't easily ID past genus (_Tetranychus_). The neem seemed to do a decent job knocking them back, but I think by the time I got back and saw what was happening it was too late and they were everywhere.


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## Smotzer (Feb 13, 2020)

pannaking22 said:


> I'm curious of the hydroponic method and have reading more about that, so it may be good to try in the future.
> 
> I used a combo of neem and insecticidal soaps to try to control them, but they just kept bouncing back on some plants. I will say though it worked well as a control, but by the time I started using the neem it may have been too late for the plants anyway. And who knows if I had more fully winged individuals flying in from time to time to keep populations going.
> 
> It was some sort of tetranychid, but of all the ones I slide mounted I never got a male, so I couldn't easily ID past genus (_Tetranychus_). The neem seemed to do a decent job knocking them back, but I think by the time I got back and saw what was happening it was too late and they were everywhere.


Its very easy, you can do it with a tub of water mixed with fertilizer, and aerator, and a grow light. and then you can grow in the winter months. 

What I would do for both mites and aphids is first spray with cold water to knock them all off, then spray, and then repeat 1 week and 2 weeks later. And if youy get a particularly bad mite problem get a specific miticide, it will work much better, than neem.

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## Smotzer (Feb 13, 2020)

When I get home I’ll look at what miticide I have and let you know. It works really well


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## pannaking22 (Feb 13, 2020)

Very cool, thanks for the info. If I try them again outdoors this year I'll keep that in mind.

Indoor would be harder because of space issues, but I think I might still try to make it work.


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