Chilli and Pepper Training 23/03/08

The chillies and peppers have grown to a decent height now and will need to be supported. The reason most chillies and peppers need supporting is because they have been selectively bred for the heaviest fruits despite not being able to support themselves naturally.

When supporting chillies and peppers i use string made from polythene as it doesn't absorb or hold any moisture. This quality prevents any micro habitats for bacteria and mould to breed in increasing the likelihood of plant infection.
I start off by looping the string around the stemp of the plant just before the bification of the stem where it splits into two. I tie a knot around the string itself rather than tight up to the plant. This way of tying allows the loop to expand without coming loose. This means as the stem thickens the loop will not restrict growth.

The other end of the string is tied to a beam at the top of the greenhouse. The support lines are strung up in a 'v' shape, this means as the plant branches out towards the top the foliage will not cross over each other and become a dense canopy. I've strung up two support lines for now but will increase this to four as they grow bigger. Like the tomatoes i will use the plastic clips to train the branches along the support lines as these will bear the weight of the large fruits.

Tomato training 20/03/08

With day length, sun light radiation and warmth increasing as the season moves into spring, the plants in the greenhouse have had explosive growth rate to say the least.
The picture of the floridity tomatoes in the NFT system shows how vigorous the growth has been. In order to cope with the rate of growth from the plants they need to be maintained and trained.

When the tomatoes have grown too tall for their support they are lowered by releasing the spool of string they are attatched to for support. A plastic clip is attatched to the string at the hinge and clips around the stem to support the plant without being too tight restricting the expansive growth of the stem.

As i lower individual plants i also move the support spool to the next hanging site. In effect this causes the plants to coil round at the base. With the lowering of the stem foliage at the bottom of the plant builds up at the base of the plant, this foliage is removed by cutting leaf stems as close to the main stem as possible, this will allow the plant to heal most efectively reducing the risk of infections.