Best Tips For Growing Chilli In Pot / Container

      

    

    First thing – Yes, you can grow chilli in Container. Many varieties can be grown in pots indoors. In fact, novices may even have an easier time growing chili peppers indoors than outdoors, since growing the peppers indoors allows better control over water, heat, and light—the three key ingredients needed to produce a successful chili pepper crop. Follow the below tips for best results.

Propagation

Start Chilli seeds in Mid April. Chilli seeds require 20° C to germinate. You can sow several seeds per pot.  Place your chilli seeds on top of the soil ( sprinkle the seeds on soil ) and cover with thin layer of soil. Keep the soil moist by watering the container. Place the container with seeds in a sunny location. Once seedlings come out take out the weaker ones and keep one seedling per pot. 

Container

Chilli ( Capsicum annuum ) like warm and humid conditions. So it is better to use plastic container rather than terra cotta one.  Clays like terra cotta can actually draw moisture out of the soil, in warm and bright condition which is necessary for growing chilly peppers. In plastic containers moisture can be retained and it avoids dehydration. Put small pieces of rocks and bricks on drainage holes to ensure good drainage in the container otherwise standing water can induce root rot and infections.

Soil

Use a multipurpose compost mix for growing Capsicum. Enrich it with organic matter by adding dried leaves,  cow manure etc. The higher quality soil you use, the better the odds are. Also you can mix in some vermiculite to increase fertility. Whatever type of soil you use, make sure it is well drained.

Watering

As Chilli is humidity loving plants so keep soil moist. You can use plant sprayer to mist the plant too. Keep soil moist but not soggy as this may cause seeds to rot before sprouting. Whenever leaves look droopy water them. Avoid over-watering. Chilli plants like their soil to dry before watering them again. Watch for ground  near the base of plant, if it looks dry and gets cracked , water it instantly. These are signs of under watering.

Temperature

Chilli thrives in full sun. So place your plant near window or in direct sun. Afternoon shade is beneficial. When starting with seeds a constant range of between 27-32 degrees C is required. As soon as seedlings have emerged move them to a sunny location otherwise you will get thin and wispy plants.

Fertilizer

Use a granular slow releasing fertilizer or a liquid one. Dilute the liquid fertilizer before giving to the plant. Nitrogen improves the foliage, potassium improves the flowering and overall strength of a plant and phosphorus improves the roots and fruit. 

Pollination

Pollination is not a big problem for Chilli as it is bisexual plant having stamen and pistil in same flower. So chances of self pollination are high. Otherwise you can use a soft brush to pollinate each flower by gently dusting them. Once the pollination is done flowers start to fall off and fruit begins to grow.

You can also get it cross pollinated by insects or by air if the plants are placed close to each other. Finally, make sure your plant is getting lots of sunlight this period to get great tasting chilies at the end of the season.

Harvesting

Harvest Chilies when they look shiny and glossy. If you pull it off, then pull it upwards exactly opposite to the direction it bends down or use scissors if don’t want much trouble. 

Over Wintering Chilli Plant For Next Season

A common misconception is that chilies are annuals, but they can grow back for next few years too. Overwintering helps this process. With a little care , a properly over-wintered chilly plant can bring a larger harvest that too earlier compare to growing again from seed because when your plant “wakes up” in the spring , it is already has an established root ball, so has a head start in growing cycle.

The first thing to do when overwintering your chilly plant is to pick all of the chillies from the existing plant when its season is over. Now prune back the plant to approximately 1/3 of its original height. Pruning helps in conserving energy for next growing season.

Place the plant in warmer area where temperature doesn’t drop too much. During this period plant will require less water as it is in dormant stage, watering every 2 weeks is enough.

During overwintering process plant will slow down the growth process so don’t worry if you don’t see new shoots for a while. Come spring time, in a few weeks plant will start to shoot and burst with new flush of growth.

Best Tips For Taking Cuttings of Rose Plant

Growing Rose from stem cuttings is not a much hard task. Below are the tips which can be useful in the process.

Season

Best timing of rooting cuttings is spring or starting of the summer, when the weather is warm but not too much hot. You can root cuttings at other times of the year too, but it may take longer.  A few types such as Rosa gallicas may root more successfully in autumn. 

Timing

If potted in May or early June, some varieties will have roots in as little as two weeks. Nearly any variety can be rooted in three to four weeks at that time of year. At other times the process takes longer- up to seven or eight weeks. There are many ways to tell whether a cutting is rooted or not. You can tug lightly on it, and if it resists being pulled out of the pot, it likely has roots. Also, roots growing out the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot are another indication of successful rooting. A more simple way is to watch for new leaves on the cuttings. Rooted cuttings have new leaves growing on them whereas un rooted cuttings do not.

Age

Make sure you take cuttings from firm but young stems. On a repeat- flowering variety, that would be stems on which the flowers are fading or from which the petals have just fallen. On a once- flowering plant, you can use stems from which the flowers are fading in the spring, or similar-age wood from subsequent growth flushes throughout the summer or fall.

Leaves

Rose can be rooted from leaf less cuttings or cuttings having 2-3 leaves on it. However leafy cuttings has more chances as leaves provide food prepared from photosynthesis as well as root- promoting hormones. Keep a spray bottle of water handy to mist over the cuttings while working on them, to keep them crisp, since wilted cuttings often fail to root.

Making cuts and Wounding

While taking cuttings, make cut just above a leaf node. Clip off all leaves leaving 2-3 on top. Dip the cutting in rooting hormone. You can use honey too as a natural rooting agent. You can “wound” the base of the cutting, either by making ½ - to 1-inch vertical slits through the bark, or by slicing a strip of bark off one or two sides of the base of the cutting with the clipper blade. Difficult varieties often benefit from such wounding, sending out roots all along the wound.

Rooting hormones

You can root rose varieties without the use of hormone preparations. This is because rose cuttings contain auxin ( indoleacitic acid – “IAA” ), a natural root-promoting hormone. It is produced by the leaves and growing buds or shoot tips and accumulates at the bottom of a cutting, where the roots will form. But some roses apparently don’t produce adequate supplies of auxin and are difficult to root. If they produce any roots at all, they are few and weak. So, many growers apply a commercial hormone preparation to stimulate the production of strong roots. These products contain synthetic auxin, usually indolebutyric acid (IBA) and / or naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA).

 Moisture

One of the most important factors in successfully rooting cuttings is maintaining adequate moisture, both in the soil and in the form of humidity in the air. Place the cuttings in pots of moist sand or potting soil, then cover them with a plastic bag, mayonnaise jar or inverted two-liter soft drink bottle with the top cut off, creating a small tent or “greenhouse” to maintain high humidity around the cuttings. 

Light

Roses root best in bright light. But when using the mini-greenhouse method, it’s important to avoid overheating by giving some shade from hot, midday sun. Put the cuttings in bright shade, such as against the north wall of a building or under a tree, to allow rooting without too much heat build-up.

Once the cuttings are rooted and have been removed from the rooting area, harden them off for a few days by putting the pots in a cool, shady area. Moving them immediately into hot sunshine may damage or even kill the plants. Once they have a goof, large root system and putting out new growth, they can be moved into brighter light.

Best Tips For Growing Grass Indoors

Growing grass indoors is a great way to welcome spring into your home. In addition, growing grass is a simple thing you can do with your children that they will really enjoy. Not only is it fun to plant the grass seeds, but it's even more fun to trim the grass once it's grown. 

Propagation

Select the appropriate type of grass seed. There are tons of varieties, so choose one that fits your home's strengths. Rye and Wheat grasses are popular choices for potted arrangements for their thicker blades. Sprinkle the surface of the soil with the grass seeds. Cover the surface almost completely with the seeds, and do not force them  into the soil. Mist the seeds every other day. You should start to see growth within a week, or in some cases within a couple of days. 

Container

Find a suitable container. Place a fine layer of gravel or pebbles on the bottom of your container. This will help the water drain.

Soil

Mix the soil with mulch, if the soil does not have mulch added to it already. Fill the container up to about an inch from the top.

Sun / Temperature

Make sure the seeds get a lot of warm sun. Placing them on a sunny windowsill is best.

Watering

After blades are an inch or so in height, water lightly and evenly every few days. I've had the best results by watering until the soil is damp but no water is sitting above the soil line.