Brontë heritage peat free compost experiments

[Newcouch]

Dorset Nagas absolutely rock.  I have four on the go at the moment - one in my potnoodle.

 

I simply dont bother trying to germ them in anything other than an electric propogator. this can be done as early as Nov but typically i do Jan.

 

24/48 hrs in water with washing up liquid and then in tiny pots 1cm deep.  This year i have one in pure vermiculite - feed at 0.6 EC. 27 deg C, normally germ in a week, but dont let a month surprise you.  Then they grow really slowly. At the moment my four babies (100% germ rate, yay!) are about 1cm tall in sil and 4 or 5 cm tall in hydro pot. 6 or 7 real leaves - very happy. i move them around the wondowsills all day. They are towered over by the tommies planted at least a month later.

 

Three will go into the hybrid soil / hydro reservoir in the greenhouse in about May, the other will stay in the potnoodle unless it gets suplanted by sometijhng with serrated leaves.

 

I must have been growing chillies over twenty years. I make a bastard hot sauce - its deadly, when i put them in the liquidiser i need full PPE. The record for making the house uninhabitable is half way up the stairs. The kitchen is always out for several hours.

 

edit; biggest problem is mould in sept / oct - they need a really long growing season and they always get rot at the end.

 

 

Edited March 18, 2022 by Newcouch

[MindSoup]

Just now, Newcouch said:

biggest problem is mould in sept / oct - they need a really long growing season and they always get rot at the end.

 

Yeah I find a lot of the more exotic/less acclimated varieties I've tried really struggle to finish in time and the chilli's picked late in the season often have the start of mould.

 

I won't be doing a whole lot this year, 1 teja, 1 paprika 1 habanero and maybe a Kashmiri if I get round to sowing a few more in time, but I always like to do a few to stock up the freezer. 

[Lux_Interior]

2 hours ago, BilgePump said:

@MindSoup once you get the knack of it chillies are actually well easy , bottom heat is the key , they pop best if kept around 25°c , I don't bother soaking in chamomile or anything else folk swear by.

 

Just heat , heat and time  but kill it as soon as they pop or they'll be leggy as fook.

 

This works for all capsicum vars , I get great germination on super hots doing this (usually less than a week)

 

ATB BilgePump

 

 

I agree. Chillis seem to take more time to sprout than Tomatos. Here are my Tomatos and Chillis. On the left Goldene Konigin & Marmande Tomatos & on the right Scotch Bonnet. These were planted earlier this week. Tomatos took 48hrs to break the surface the Chillis are just breaking the surface now. This tray is sitting on a heat mat under a twin tube T5 in my kitchen.

 

 

All part of my impromptu under table kitchen grow temporary space. With my trusty Cannatronics T5 from circa 2002. (Bulbs are new though).

 

 

Toms & Chillis, 2X Zkittles Autos in 7.5l pots, a Gorilla Cookie Mum & an Exo MOB Spurt seedling (male). All growing in Melcourts Peat Free with perlite & Frass additions.

 

I have also run a Microbe tea through the compost.

 

 

[BilgePump]

Right folks I'm back with some findings! 

 

My initial thoughts are "fuck , and I'm trying to grow weed in that?” 

 

Have a butchers.....

 

Left to right we have my beloved Erin multi purpose then 70/30 Erin/Coco followed by pure Coco and finally the Brontë heritage peat free.

 

All chillies are exactly the same capsicum chinense paper lantern and were the same size when potted (about the size of plant one , which hurts a bit I'm not going to lie )

 

So I sub contracted this trial to Mrs P , she's been keeping these plants alive although I do mix up the feed , which is nothing more than the maxicrop bog standard veg feed in the picture , 3ml a litre , no faffing around for the coco either no idea about run off e.c or pH , we're doing this amateur gardener stylee 

 

The Mrs was instructed to water when the pots feel light , turns out the peat free is the quickest drying media , followed by the 70/30 then the pure coco and apparently the Erin gets watered once every 3rd or 4th watering of the Brontë , these plants live in a west facing window above a radiator so I was kinda expecting the sphagnum moss peat formulation to dry a bit quicker.

 

I'll be back in a day or two with some root pictures for yer viewing pleasure guys , until then take care and stay safe 

 

ATB BilgePump

 

[Guest]

@BilgePump Thanks for update, mate!

 

Going to make a diary? Would love to see this compost in action 

[BilgePump]

@Canna Denfour20 at some point I'll give it a full run in my rolling diary dude.

 

Hopefully it'll be a bit more widely available by then , I've got a few hundred litres of peat to get through first though which off the back of this I'll be 70/30ing with coco until it's used up.

 

If you want to see how the Erin grows pot have a look 8n my diary "starting over and beyond" , it's not a bad compost really , but I think I can do much better 

 

[Guest]

Thanks, @BilgePump . Defo will have a read through.