I moved my overwintered plants (or at least the surviving ones) down to the greenhouse a few weeks ago. We were having a spell of unusually good weather, so heating requirements were minimal, plus it made space for this years plants to get under the CFL. There was a little scorching of the Fatalii and Tepin, but all in all this was a good move.
In the mean time, the two trays of plants in the 13cm pots were making daily trips outside to enjoy the sun. I tend to acclimatize the plants to the sun by ensuring they are in partial shade when I first start this process. I've found a spot on the decking where they get indirect/partial sun for most of the day and I find this reduces scorching dramatically. Although the plants are used to the CFL, clearly it's not the same as real sunlight. I find at this time that it is often necessary to stake the plants with bamboo canes, this encourages straight growth and reduces wind damage, although not ideal, according to some growers, it works for me. I did suffer one minor problem here though, a bout of hail damaged a few leaves, nothing serious, but I was just not fast enough to realize what was happening and move them back indoors - however, no real damage done.
Last weekend I took the plunge and repotted three of last-years plants on to their final pots. The Tepin, Marouga Yellow and Fatalii were really established up-top, so moving them on was a good move. Here I use my usual potting on mix but add about 8 chicken manure pellets per plant. I've found these give a real boost to the plants, but you need to ensure that they are not in direct contact with the roots, over time this slowly breakdown, by which time the root issue disappears, but care should be taken at this point. Some of this year's plants are not that far behind (size wise) so I can see some more major potting on coming soon.
This weekend just gone (Easter) I've given the greenhouse a good once over - cleaned down the glass on the side where the sun shines, reorganized the other plants in there and had a general tidy up. Then it was a case of adding some temporary shading (a little membrane held up with string) and taking the first two batches of 12 plants down to the greenhouse. Two days in and all is well, I shall remove the shading in a week or two, but again I find easing in the strong sun to be beneficial.
The plants seemed a little anemic to me, so have had a light spray with Epsom Salts, this should encourage a little greening up.
So a few quick photos:
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| Some of this year's plants under the CFL |
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| Plants in the greenhouse - note the shading |
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| Overwintered plants - note the giant Tepin in the big pot |
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| Frost protection - set at 8 degrees C |
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