The Great Container Mix Experiment Week 19

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.

Banana Chilis, the coconut husk chips (right) produce many more chillies

Fatalli pods

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.

An okra flower

Onto the numbers!

Okra growth in cms

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.

5-1-1 left, plain potting mix center, coconut husk chips right

Fatalii growth in cms

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.

Banana Chillies growth in cms

Banana chillies total percentage growth

Photos of measurements week 19

'Fine' 5-1-1

Plain potting mix

Coconut husk chips

Fatalii in 'coarse' 5-1-1

Fatalii plain potting mix

Coconut husk chips

Banana chilli 'coarse' 5-1-1

Banana Chilli plain potting mix

Banana chilli coconut husk chips

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Great Container Mix Experiement - Week 10

As we enter the new year, I have done my next round of measurements. Canberra has had some very warm days, and warm nights, and this has allowed all my plants to get a bit of a boost. The Fataliis' in particular are going mad.

Lets get straight into it.

Summary of Results

My Okra stunted from the cold a few weeks ago has begun to move again, and put on 6cms in the last 3 weeks. It looks as if it is ready for a real growth surge, and I have hope it will catch up to its taller brothers. The banana chillies are also growing quickly. They are in smaller pots, and the plant in pure potting mix needs watering every day or else it wilts quickly. The plant in 5-1-1 wilts if not watered every day, and it is a very hot day. Interestingly the plant in coconut husk chips has never wilted once, I am not sure if this is due to the plant being smaller than the other two, requiring less water, or a property of the mix itself.

Percentage wise, between week 7 and 10, the Fatalii in 5-1-1 grew the most, with 88% change in height. In total height gained, the Okra in pure potting mix put on the most height, adding 21cms.

The chart below shows total percentage growth for all plants in all mixes from week 1 to week 10.

Total Percentage Change in Growth week 1 - week 10

Okra

All the okra have put on size over the last 3 weeks, and have begun producing pods. I have only harvested 1 or 2 at this stage, but I think things will pick up as summer goes on.

The okra in plain potting mix has started to close the gap with the plain in 5-1-1, putting on 21cm and 16cm respectively. The okra stunted from the cold has put on 6cms, a 33% change in height over 3 weeks. The rate of growth for the okra in 5-1-1 is reduced compared to the plant in plain potting mix and coconut husk chips, over the same 3 week period.

Fatalii

The Fatalii peppers have really taken off, add density and size. This experiment only measures plant growth on a height scale, however if other considerations such as width were taken into consideration, it is easily seen that the plant in plain potting mix is performing the strongest followed closely by the coconut husk chips.

This can be seen in this picture, of all three plants side-by-side. The coconut husk chips are to the right, the plain potting mix in the center, and the 5-1-1 on the left.

The plain potting mix (center) is denser, and slightly larger than both other plants

Here are the numbers for each;

Banana Chilli

The banana chilli in the plain potting mix continues to put on size, and the coconut husk chip plant is picking up steam quickly. The plant in 5-1-1 is also performing extremely well.

The plant in plain potting mix requires watering every day, or else it begins to wilt before the days end.

Below is a picture in their current size. You can see that the plant in pure potting mix has more chillies, and is taller than the other two.

5-1-1 on the left, plain potting mix in the center, coconut husk chips on the right

Here are the numbers;

Photos of Measurements Week 10

Okra Coconut Husk Chips

Okra Plain Potting Mix

Okra 'Fine' 5-1-1

Fatalii Coconut Husk Chips

Fatalii Plain Potting Mix

Fatalii 'coarse' 5-1-1

Banana Chilli Coconut Husk Chips

Banana Chilli Plain Potting Mix

Banana Chili 'coarse' 5-1-1

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The Great Container Mix Experiment - First Update

Well, I intended to write before now with a two week update, however life catches you and sometimes puts aside things like blogs! So today I present to you week 1 and 7 of the Great Container Mix Experiment.

Summary So Far

Back on October 28 I transplanted all my plants into their respective mixes for my experiment. Three mixes were used. 

The first was my interpretation of Al 'Tapla's' 5-1-1 mix from the GardenWeb forums, made of pine bark fines, perlite and peat moss with added dolomitic lime (see here for original instructions). The second was plain potting mix and the third was a mixture made up of mainly coconut husk chips, but with other ingredients. All mixes had lime and some slow release fertiliser added. For a review see my previous posts on the topic.

Three types of plants were added; okra, banana chili and fatalii chilli peppers. 

All plants were roughly the same size on planting, except for the banana chillis where one plant was significantly smaller than the other two, and was planted into the coconut husk chip mix.

I measured their heights at week 1 after planting, and today seven weeks later. 

Throughout October and November there have been some very cold mornings in Canberra, and the okra in particular suffer. The Okra in the coconut husk mix dropped several leaves one morning and has not yet recovered, and this has seriously stunted its growth, since this event it has not grown at all, I am unsure why this plant was so badly affected, it may be due to the mix itself or the position of the plant, being the most exposed. 

Growth below is measured in cms and measured to the top of the tallest leaf on each respective plant.

Surprising results!

In week 7 after transplanting there have been some very surprising results.

Whilst most plants are thriving, the plants in the ordinary potting mix ($2.50 per bag from the local hardware store) are performing extremely well, and even outperforming the other mixes in some cases. 

Having a look at the percentage change in growth for each plant, shows little difference between the 5-1-1 mix and plain potting mix for the okra, whilst the plant in the coconut husk chip mix did not grow at all, actually losing some leaves due to cold.

The coconut husk chip mix greatly outperforms both 5-1-1 and plain potting mix for the Fatalii chilli peppers, with the 'coarse' 5-1-1 mix outperforming the plain potting mix.

The banana chilli show the most surprising results with plain potting mix outperforming both the 'coarse' 5-1-1 and the coconut husk mix by a significant margin, with the 5-1-1 fairing the worst.

Below is a chart showing the percentage change in cm growth for all plants in all mixes. Below this is a summary for each plant group.

Okra

For the okra plants, the plants in the 5-1-1 mix are performing the best, but only slightly better than plain potting mix. The okra in the coconut husk mix was affected by the cold morning temperatures more-so than the other two mixes dropping several leaves after a particularly cold morning, down to 2o C. 

The Okra plant in the fine 5-1-1 mix, although putting on the most growth also almost uprooted itself, blowing over after a windy day, and required staking. This problem has not occurred for the other plants. A week after staking, its growth does not seem to have been disturbed. 

Fatalii Chilli

The fatalii chilli have not been hurt by the cold and have grown steadily. In this instance the peppers in the coconut husk mix slightly outperform the other two mixes, with the plain potting mix fairing the poorest on total percentage growth, but not by much. 

Banana Chili

The smaller banana chilli placed into the coconut husk chip mix has put on a bit of size, and percentage wise has outperformed the 5-1-1, and this plant seems more determined to fruit. The banana chilli in the plain potting mix is performing admirably, eclipsing both the other mixes by a long margin.

Below are large photos of each plant at weeks 1 and then 7 for comparison.

Week 1- 04/11/2013

Okra

' Fine' 5-1-1 

Plain Potting Mix

Coconut Husk Chips

Fatalii Chilli 

'Coarse' 5-1-1

Plain Potting Mix

Coconut Husk Chips

Banana Chilli

'Coarse' 5-1-1

Plain Potting Mix

Coconut Husk Chips

Week 7 - 12/12/13

Okra

'Fine' 5-1-1

Plain Potting Mix

Coconut Husk Chips

Fatalii Chilli

'Coarse' 5-1-1

Plain Potting Mix

Coconut Husk Chips

Banana Chilli 

'Coarse' 5-1-1 Mix

Plain Potting Mix

Coconut Husk Chips

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