Bruce, of course I will! I'll try to put a couple photos in the process. Thanks again for your help. Now, it's my turn to help the ones who want to start their seeds!
I'll be back fore more questions soon.... hehehe

Running light experiment now. Due to TOU billing, I'm attempting comparing 18 hour with 13 hour to reduce peak hourly charges. So far, 13 hour is causing faster growth (larger leaves, not stretch). Each has two T5HO's. Test had only been running for a week, but already seeing a difference with young seedlings. Not sure about larger plants yet.

I think I've seen enough to know the 13 hour cycle works just fine. I think I will put them all under that cycle for now to save energy and space. I may adjust as the plants get older. It wouldn't surprise me they may need more hours as they get older.

I have another question : When I'm ready to tranplant the seedlings, when they have 2-3 sets of true leaves, in what kind of soil should I transplant? Regular potting soil, or compost and/or a mix of the 2 or anything else?

I'm still running the little 24/24 of lightning on the seedlins...
Marc

In generic terms, potting mix, not potting soil.

Marcolas: Use the 5-1-1 mix (bark, peat, perlite) discussed in the container forum. Currently, due to running out of raw materials I have some peppers transplanted to 5-1-1 and some in Pro-Mix BX I had on hand. Pro-Mix is supposed to be one of the best commercial mixes you can buy, but I am seeing almost twice the growth in the seedlings that are in 5-1-1. I may post some pics to show the difference. It's really that much.

Yeah, I need to do some research on that as far as where to get the bark locally. I know it goes by different names / marketed under different uses, etc.. I have heard almost nothing but praise for that mix. I'd like to give it a try, just haven't gotten around to it. :-)

Agreed. If you can find a reasonably priced supply for fir bark fines or Pine bark fines that are really "fines" and not chunks, then jump on it. I have been unsuccessful in over a year searching locally. It shouldn't cost a fortune as it is normally sold as mulch. Best I can find is a local orchid nursery that will sell it for about $20 per 2 cf bag. that is 3-4 times what it should cost.
Bruce

If I can't find some bark locally, what else would you suggest? Is there a pre-made-potting-mix 5-1-1 (a mix that is similar, that is aleready made) in stores? If not, is there any other commercial potting mix that would do the job? Thanks

Marc

Marc, I hope you find an answer to that question. I haven't been able to. If you are willing to pay the huge shipping prices, then you can probably get what you want but shipping is likely to double the prices.
Bruce

Hmm, after making a couple of serches on the net, I finally see what I'm looking for... There is some bark fines at the garden store I usually go! And even better than that : I have a Pine tree in my backyard! Thanks for your answers.
And sorry again for my bad english, I'm a french speaking guy here....
Thanks to everybody for your help!

You all only use this 5-1-1 potting mix (bark, peat, perlite)?

Or do you think that this mix would work, I found this at the store....? (I don't know the ratio): sphagnum peat moss-perlite-vermiculite-composted manure-wetting agent-calcium enriched....

Bonjour marclocas,

Where in Quebec are you? I have been successfully growing Jolokias for a few years now in Ottawa, both in the garden and in 5 gallon pots. I have found that growing in pots in my climate (5a as well) produces the best results.

When I started growing peppers I got all hung up on making my own potting mix. I got to the point where I was growing so many plants/pots that I was thinking about renting a portable cement mixer to mix my soil blend. A master grower on this forum turned me on to Pro Mix BX. It's all I use now. You and I are lucky in that the manufacturer is in our region. Our US friends pay significantly more than we do.

If you are in Zone 5a, don't worry too much about our summers. The Jolokias are from the Assam province of India, an area with moderate temperature and high humidity. Sound familiar ;-)

Bill

I'm very near montreal : laval. I'm happy to see I'm not the only one from the area triying to grow theese devils! Pro mix BX.... je note... merci : )

Laval, J'ai grandi sur la rive sud. I had a girlfriend from Laval way back then. I still think of her now and then ;-))

You should have no issues growing Bhuts in your location.

Bill

marclocas,

See link if interested in Pro-Mix I use.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pro-Mix BX

Cool, thank you. There is a store 10 minutes away from my home that has some Promix! Question : where do you get your Bhut seeds?

marclocas,

I originally purchased my Bhut Jolokia seeds from the New Mexico State University's Chile Pepper Institute (NMSU CPI).

My other Naga / Jolokia varieties were obtained as gifts or trades from / with other forum members. There are a lot of fine people here who love to spread the heat.

Bill

marclocas: If no one has offered you any, I have enough for one more person. email me your address if no one else has offered any Bhut Seeds.
Bruce
pepperpikker@gmail.com

Nice Bruce!

marclocas, just say oui merci.

Bill

E-mail sent Bruce. Thanks a lot, I really appreciate it. And thanks Bill for the info. I will think of you guys when I harvest my peppers, if you need any seeds!

In the mail, will go out Monday morning.
Bruce

Thank you very much! I'll take grand care of them. I appreciate this.

Marc

Marc,

You don't have an email option on your profile. Send me an email via my profile page.

Bill

Ottawapepper: I have about half my pepper plants in 5-1-1 and half in Pro-mix BX. The plants in the 5-1-1 are definitely doing much better, almost twice the size. I plan to stick with the 5-1-1 when I transfer to large pots. Much better aeration in the 5-1-1.

Marclocas: You can get composted pine bark in Canada. The Alltreat Canada Red Pine Mulch is available in many stores including Canadian Tire.

Thank you Capoman. Do you think this would do the job? :

Here is a link that might be useful: this

I would not use that stuff for three reasons.
1. Cedar is not a preferred medium for the mix.
2. It isn't bark but rather the wood itself
3. Colored mulch is not recommended for a growing medium

I should know, I have a crap load of seedlings that are floundering because I violated two of those reasons. Don't make the same mistake as me.
Bruce

I will stick to the Promix BX for now. I'm a first time jolokia grower. As for potting mix, I don't know anything on the subject yet...

Thanks for the advice Bruce.

Capoman, do you have a link of the exact product you are talking about?

Other question : I have plenty of fish that I will throw in the trash....dryed because of freezing for too long. I read that fish emusion is a good natural fertilizer... So I thought that I could oven-dry the fish and ground it , and add it to any soil....

I need your opinion on that one hahaha!

Marc

marclocas: Here is the product. You can search for stores in your area that sell it or can order it. It's only about $5-6 per bag.

http://www.alltreat.com/product.php?cat_id=25&p=all

then select Canada Red Pine Bark Mulch.

Marclocas: oops, just looked and there's no retailers of this brand in Quebec???? They are everywhere in Ontario. Do you come into this province at all?

Capoman : I don't go in Ontario too often but it's not too far away from home. Next time i'm in the area, I will buy some for sure. Thanks for the info!

marclocas,

As per Bruce's point 3, the product you were looking at states; Treated with a colour bonding agent to keep mulch looking better, longer,. I'm pretty sure the "agent" isn't food safe!

I checked out Capoman's link. The product is available here at Metro stores. If you want to try the 5-1-1 maybe you could ask your friendly local Metro manager to special order a bag for you.

Capoman,

Great the 5-1-1 mix is producing some nice size plants. I guess I'm sold on the Pro-Mix BX for a couple of reasons; 1 - I'm too lazy to mix up enough home blend for 40 - 50 5 gallon pots and 2 - I'm more concerned about root development than plant size.

I could be delusional here but I have found that the Pro-Mix with mycorrhizae promotes healthier roots. Healthier roots means my plants weather pests and some (OK sometimes more than some) neglect like champs. I suspect you'll get the same harvest from your 5-1-1 and Pro-Mix plants regardless of size. It would be interesting to get your observations at the end of this upcoming season.

Cheers,

Bill

esox07 posted:
"I would not use that stuff for three reasons.
1. Cedar is not a preferred medium for the mix.
2. It isn't bark but rather the wood itself
3. Colored mulch is not recommended for a growing medium"

A fourth reason I would add is cedar seems to be a squirrel magnet. They might not do much damage to pepper pods, but they love to dig & bury things in the stuff.
They can tear up roots and chomp on tomatoes, etc. while they're at it.

I will try a couple of plants with the 5-1-1 mix, and the others in Promix BX..... I think I finally found Pine barks.... I will let you know the results later..... If the peices are to large, I guess i will have some bark grounding work, that's all.

Here is a link that might be useful: barks I found.... sound good?(exept for the size)

And the bark is used more as a draining agent , to give the roots some space, or as nutrients for the plant?

Bill: I don't plan to keep peppers in Pro-mix BX for the entire season. The reason I am using it at all is the ingredients I had for 5-1-1 were all frozen solid from being outside, and I was in the middle of seedling transplanting, and had BX on hand. I may consider keeping a plant or two in BX when I move them to their final pot size if I have extra plants for an experiment, but in my experience since I started 5-1-1, I find the roots very white and healthy in 5-1-1, but I've always found that roots tend to be thin and brownish in peat dominant mixes. I'll be honest and say that I haven't used BX until now (my wife was using it), but initial results are really no different then other peat based soils I've used in the past. Maybe I just haven't adjusted to the water retention of peat based mixes. 5-1-1 is much cheaper and more forgiving.

Marclocas: Bark is to increase particle size and drainage, allowing for more oxygen to the roots. That's why roots are very white and healthy in a bark based mix. It's not used for nutrition. In fact, the 5-1-1 mix is basically an inert soil less mix. It is best treated like hydroponic. Keep pH between 5.8 and 6.2 Pro-Mix BX is also a soil less mix. You will need to add fertilizer early, but at low concentrations and build up slowly as the plants grow larger. Very similar to hydroponic. This is very different then using MG soil for example which has enough nutrition to last quite awhile without fertilizing. The biggest advantage of 5-1-1 is that it's almost impossible to overwater it. It will simply drain out. This is a big advantage when containers are outdoors, as you don't have to worry about moving containers out of the rain as you often do with peat based soils that tend to get waterlogged. Also the fast drainage of bark based soils helps prevent salt build up.

Thanks Capoman for the very explicit answer. I guess I will have to go check out hydroponic forums so I can understand...
And last question for now (untill tomorrow lol) : What kind of fertilizer to use? And in what low concentrations?

Thanks again and sorry if I ask so many questions....

Many here use Foliage Pro 9-3-6. I am unable to get it in Canada, so I've never used it. It is a complete fertilizer. Outside, I use 24-8-16 MG, but it's missing calcium and magnesium which is replaced by dolomitic lime in the 5-1-1 mix anyway. I do find for some things a bit of epsom salts (magnesium) helps. Use rainwater if possible. Indoors, I use my hydroponic nutrients, but it's just what I have and used to, and I know how to compensate for my hard tap water indoors with it.

Main difference with hydroponic or soil less mix is pH. pH for most plants is 5.8-6.2. In organic soil, pH would be higher. I would start fertilizing seedlings with about 4 true leaves at 25% or less and build up from there. Usually rainwater is at a compatible pH, and allows you full control over nutrients. Plants are quite responsive in this mix, and you can adjust quite easily.

Hey, Capoman, Try Ebay for Foliage Pro 936. I got mine from there and I realize some people don't ship to Canada, many do. Unless there is some kind of customs issue with sending ferts over the boarder.
Bruce

Thanks Bruce. I'll have to try that. I went to the Dyna-Gro site and looked for dealers, and even dealers in Canada that were listed were unwilling to order for me. They had other products, but not FP 9-3-6. I suspect FP requires a minimum size order. I think I've gotten plants to close to potential for our climate with cheap MG stuff, so I haven't really concerned myself too much with it. I would like to try it though.

I will definetly go with a mix of 5-1-1 and Bx. Mother nature will let me know the results. Thanks for all your help guys.

Yeah, chemical fertilizers kind of scare me. I hope it works for me anyways.

I bought today some liquid fertilizer (plant food) : 10=10-10 Nitrogen - phosphoric acid - soluble potash. Sounds any good?

Started indoors in February. Grown organically with a 50/50 mix of manure and topsoil. 10% added vermiculite. First year plants yield about 10 peppers in the first wave and are hottest about 3-4 weeks after they've turned completely red.

Hi, I have been given Jolokia seeds to plant. I live in Malawi and thus the heat here is crazy and it is humid as well. I have a 50m vegetable garden and want to know if I can pop the seeds into the garden or would it be better to start them of indoors?

This thread has come a long way ; The year was 2008.
Bruce (esox07) and edymnion are two of the three familiar names to me. I, myself, was not then growing anything with more heat than Habanero.

The topic ( Bhut best growing conditions ) has covered just about any issue about growing chili peppers, from seeds source, germination, growing under lights, potting soil,.. ..you name it.

Bhut Jolokia is on my grow list in the future. Most people who have grown it , have described it as one of the tastiest super hots.

Good reading stuff here.

Seysonn

I just read this article and it's alright. It talks a little bit about everything but by no end is it a cyclopedia for Bhut peppers. There's no solid evidence or advice... I say this because I just bought a plant today from a nursery and wanted some knowledge and the advice here is all over the place. Regardless a good read and I like those white bhuts.

I bought mine, Bonnie plants, from HD mid-June.

I don't see any fruit or flower buds on your plant... I wonder if it'll have enough time to grow ripe fruit... Mine came with a big fruit on it and 2 little fruitlets and a bunch of flowers. It was a good price too, $6.99 CDN.