Well, it's been a fair few weeks and I have been very slack updating this. Well, mostly slack. Three weeks ago my wife and I welcomed into the world a boy and girl, twins, and I have been quite consumed by this over the last few months! I will endeavor to update this more frequently, before the cold hits in about 6 weeks.
Week 19 - Summary of results
In a nutshell, my chilis are doing great, and my okra are doing, well, not so great. I think the early cool that hit all my seedlings severely ruined their potential for growth, as my okra in pots, and in the ground are all fairing quite poorly, and are looking scrawny and unwell. They have put on some growth however, and out of all my soil mixes the plain potting mix stands out as the winner to date, with the highest percentage change in growth since the experiment began, followed closely by the 5-1-1. My stunted okra in coconut husks is really having a sad time, although it appears to be doing ok, when judged solely on height.
My fatalii peppers are growing great, putting off a great number of bright yellow pods. These little beasts pack quite a punch, and I foolishly downed a whole one a little while back, and was quite severely punished. The plain potting mix has given the largest growth in cms, however in total percentage change growth the 5-1-1 and coconut husk chips are tied.
Similarly, the plain potting mix has given the best growth in cms for my banana chillies, in total percent change growth however the coconut husks far exceed the other mixes. The coconut husk chips also produce many more pods than the other two mixes, with the weight of the chillies dragging the plant towards Earth.
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| Banana Chilis, the coconut husk chips (right) produce many more chillies |
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| Fatalli pods |
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| Percentage change, all soil mixes week 1 to 19 |
Okra
My Okra are doing pitifully. The leaves are looking thin, and the leaves are fairly sparse. The plants do put out a number of pods, and the need to be picked constantly or they grow long and hard and inedible.
The okra put off beautiful flowers reminiscent of hibiscus, to which family they belong. The bees are quite fond of these flowers. The okra flowers do not even last a full day, having wilted and dropped by late afternoon,to be followed by extremely quick growing pods.
In terms of growth, there is little difference in height between all soil mixes, with 5-1-1 putting on the most growth in total height, and the plain potting mix having the highest percent change in growth. The coconut husk mix plant is very sad, scrawny, sick but is still putting on height.
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| An okra flower |
Onto the numbers!
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| Okra growth in cms |
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| Okra percentage change in growth since week 1 |
Fatalii Chillies
My fataliis are doing very well. They are all producing pods, and are getting even more tall and bushy. The plain potting mix performs on par with both 5-1-1 and coconut husk chips. In total cm growth the plain potting mix outperforms both other mixes, while percentage-wise 5-1-1 and coconut husk chip growth are identical.
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| 5-1-1 left, plain potting mix center, coconut husk chips right |
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| Fatalii growth in cms |
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| Fatalii total percent change in growth |
Banana chillies
The banana chillies are doing well, although don't put off as many chillies as I would like. I think they are limited by the smaller size of the pot.
The coconut husk chips put off many more pods than the other two plants, and the weight of the pods have caused it to lose a branch, and have others dragged right down, requiring staking.
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| Banana Chillies growth in cms |
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| Banana chillies total percentage growth |
Photos of measurements week 19
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| 'Fine' 5-1-1 |
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| Plain potting mix |
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| Coconut husk chips |
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| Fatalii in 'coarse' 5-1-1 |
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| Fatalii plain potting mix |
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| Coconut husk chips |
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| Banana chilli 'coarse' 5-1-1 |
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| Banana Chilli plain potting mix |
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| Banana chilli coconut husk chips |
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