Re: [CH] Rocotos are ripe!
Love2Troll (Love2Troll@kc.rr.com)
Tue, 7 Sep 2004 17:18:37 -0500
Rob Pieters writes:
> I'll see if I can put some pictures somewhere on the net in a couple of
weeks if someone is interested of the plants I have.
Rob,
I would sure like to see them. We have also been experiencing a very cool & wet summer here in Missouri. Other than all the rain I don't think could have asked for better weather to grow C. pubescens. However, they have their own rules and some did very well and others did terrible.
More Rob:
> Don't know why, but perhaps when they have more room (for the roots) they
work harder on there roots than on growing in height, also possible is the
soil temperature, the soil gets heated up much more in a pot than in the
ground.
I agree. My container plants always fruit earlier than my neighbors plants in the ground and I've always thought that the extra warmth in my black containers has helped. Quite by accident I learned that too small a container forces a plant to fruit earlier. I always keep extra plants in 1 gal containers as a backup to the ones in larger containers. The backups always set pods before the others. Not as many pods, but always earlier.
My C. pubescens have only recently started to get their color back. During the heat of the summer they always get pale & it irritates me to no end. Still experimenting with fertilizers and have gone to compost tea this year.
The C. pubs seem to be very selective as to where they will do well. Paul K (the NorthEast ChileMan) had phenomenal success with varieties that I sent him & the same ones did poorly for me. He is a couple gardening zones cooler than where I am.
I don't use pesticides anymore and have had an extremely pest free year with one exception. Grasshoppers! They have ruined many pods in the last month. Darned things perch on a pod and eat a nice round hole into the young green ones & then move on to another pod. It ruins the pods. Here is a small green orange rocoto: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v454/Love2Troll/9-7-043.jpg Soon it will look like this orange rocoto: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v454/Love2Troll/9-7-044.jpg About 1/3 full size and already turning color. They do seem to be rather compassionate to their fellow hoppers though. Here is one that is obviously giving a ride to a tired companion:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v454/Love2Troll/9-7-045.jpg Brings tears to my eyes. "He's not heavy, he's my brother"
You have to look close, but all these 2nd year plants are in containers. And most are 2 plants to a container. I'm 6' 2" and they easily tower over me. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v454/Love2Troll/9-7-041.jpg And another: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v454/Love2Troll/9-7-042.jpg There are some C. pub accessions that have not produced a single ripe pod yet this year. Some of those are recently loaded with lots of small green pods. Others are complete duds for my growing area and won't be overwintered in my basement. Just like kids they all seem to have unique personalities.
Rob, maybe we can do some seed sharing this fall? Anyways, am looking forward to seeing your pictures.
jt
----- Original Message -----
From: Rob Pieters
To: chile-heads
Sent: Tuesday, September 07, 2004 3:50 AM
Subject: Re: [CH] Rocotos are ripe!
Hi
> JohnT wrote:
> Oh wow! 4 gal pot. I love it when people do things like that. I have a
3rd year red rocoto in my livingroom window. This spring I transplanted to
an 18 gal pot and pod production isn't what it was last year in an 8 gal pot
on my deck last year when I got 3 major flushes of pods. Both my deck & LR
window get only filtered sun because of all my trees. It's now about 20'
from base of plant to tip of longest branch.
>
>
Well, I grow rocoto in approx 3 to 4 gal (10-15 liter), pot's too, no
problem there all full of fruit every year, new or overwintered, never had
one who didn't set fruit.
I'm located in The Netherlands, where day's are quit short, just like the
season and weather is mild.
Specially this year we only had about 4 weeks with temperatures above 25
degC (77F) and a record broken of the rain which has fallen during
summertime, and both the new and the overwinterd rocoto I have are loaded
again.
Having said that and my experience is... more what I do is... you have to
put 2, 3 or 4 plants together in a 4 gal pot and put it in on a place where
the plant has a maximum of 5 hours direct sunlight, be mild on fertilizer
and water daily (without soaking the plant) that works very well for me
since 1999
I've also planted Rocoto in the garden last year but due to early frost in
September it didn't work out as I hoped all plants died...:-( but never the
less they had flowers and fruits only they were not as big as the ones in
pot's.
Don't know why, but perhaps when they have more room (for the roots) they
work harder on there roots than on growing in height, also possible is the
soil temperature, the soil gets heated up much more in a pot than in the
ground.
So when you plant chilies in the 'cold' ground you best can place them on
flowerbed's where the length of the bed is pointed to the south ( this is no
science nortested yet by myself but is just the thoughts I have about it!)
problem might be water household.. I think you need a watering system for
this.
I'll see if I can put some pictures somewhere on the net in a couple of
weeks if someone is interested of the plants I have.
Hope this helps
Kind regards
Rob NL