AUSSIE BLACK GROWING GUIDE
Germination Rate : Very Easy 14days
Type of Plant : Outside or Indoor Floor Pot
Chilli Heat : Mild to Hot
Chilli Pods Use : Powdered
Fresh Taste : Slightly Bitter but not unedible by themselves
Ease to Grow : Very Easy
Height : Topped 7 foot but will go taller
Number of expected pods : 50+
Time from Planting Seed to First Harvest : 5months
Ideal Pot Size : 10litre upto 30litre
Overwinter : No
Hydroponic Grow : If you do make sure you have over 12feet head room and 5ftsq floor space
C. Annuum - Aussie Black - 2011 Growing Diary
Very Rare Aussie Black Chilli Ornamental Plant
I don’t know much about this plant as all I can find on the net is this plant is very rare; the seeds were given to me - Thank you!
Updates as I go along, but the plant so far is stunning, a lovely dark purple almost black first leaves
16.05.11. Aussie Black is really growing strong as you can see in soil 2 almost doubles in size in last 7 days - got 2 soil and one hydro
23.05.11. All my Aussie Black Plants are growing nicely and picking up speed now, Leaves are light green with a hint of purple veins, which is surprising as I thought it would be Darker, but will have to see
30.05.11. Plants have been repotted and placed in NFT Tanks this week Growing Strong!
The leaves are not as dark as I thought would be but might be done to the light I am using which is a Blue CFL Lamp - wondering if red or green spectrum light will make a change - will find out in a few weeks
06.06.11. The Aussie Black in the Hydro is not growing much - I think I placed it in the tank too early, the amount of root matter is not enough for the plant to take up enough oxygen, I am trying to get oxygen into the water to help but this is really a slow process, there is a little growth and it will grow steady once the root mass has extended to take up more oxygen
The large soil aussie black is doing great - lights have been changed in the room this week to full HID bulbs and as such the leaves are starting to respond by thickening and showing a really deep green - even though a few of m plants have ugly leaves the amount of photosynthesis going is incredible - flower buds are starting to appear
13.06.11. The Aussie Black in the Hydro is starting to take off now that it has grown its roots
20.06.11. The Aussie Black in the hydro is starting to sprout and catch up after a slow start, but the main one in the soil is starting to bud and looks great with multiple splits in its branches with leafs that start spiky and then broaden out - looks great!
The one thing about this plant is their use of Magnesium - all three plants suffer with a slight leaf curl which cures eventually but I add extra to their feed every week
27.06.11. The Aussie Bleck in Soil is still the biggest of all three plants, but both one soil and the hydro are starting to produce buds - pin head size in between the branches - single buds showing no clusters
04.07.11. Flower Buds are still on the plants and they are growing great foliage however, the buds are very slow to open and still very tiny
I have removed one of the Aussie Blacks in Soil from the room to make more space
11.07.11. This plant is starting to get to me, grows great foliage, with a lovely unique colour pattern to its leaves with a dark stem, which splits in all directions to create a very unique plant, but I having difficulty in getting it too bud - changed the nutrient mixture in the tank to see if it would make a difference - but nothing yet - the plant in soil is no different so I think it is another reason, of which I dont know yet
18.07.11. Both the Soil and Hydro Aussie Blacks are budding nicely now, and not like the first buds that appeared - (buds and no stalk) - these are proper looking buds - with the first flower about to open, with a white and deep purple colour, cant wait to see it fully open
As with both plants, these is a good 4-5 foot plant, which flowers quite late on compared to most chilli plants
25.07.11. The tope canopy of this tall plant is now starting to show its colours with lots of flowers which have a pointed purple tint with a white base - very beautiful flower, specially in clusters, so hopefully some pods showing in the next few weeks
29.07.11. First couple of pods have started on the plant - totally black pod, with a few more on the way which should devolop over the weekend
01.08.11. Several pods appearing on both plants now - with the soil version showing more pollinated flowers now - hydro is still growing like mad and producing more foliage and flowers, with some polinated flowers but I am difficulty in shutting off the growth on the hydro tanks - discussed on the rocoto
There should be a nice display of pods showing next week - all pods are pur black from top to bottom growing upwards and in contrast they look great now let alone when they start to change colour.
The plant in the tank is now reaching 5 feet in height, while the soil seems to have stopped growing in the majority and displaying the flowers and pods nicely
15.08.11. Took last week off. The Soil version is now starting to produce a lot of pods - all black - pure black, all pointing upwards and looking great.
The hydro version I hope is now done growing - this plant will grow 6feet or taller in a hydro tank, and hopefully is now done so will concentrate on growing pods - I keep polinating the flowers and there are pods starting to form
22.08.11. Had to take the Aussie Plamt in the hydro tank out of it this week - it was growing taller than the headroom I have, which is at 6 foot - been pruning the top for several weeks as well, the plant will grow just as wide which meant I was having difficulty gaining access to the other plants
The one in soil though seems to have stopped growing at around 4 foot, and flowering is almost stopped, the pods are growing bigger and look cool in their black velvet jacket
29.08.11. The pods are almost uniform in size, glowing a nice black, still producing a few flowers with new foliage, hopefully will get some colour happening soon
12.09.11. Pods are starting to turn colour going from black to green to red
26.09.11. Pods are turning red all over now, while the plant is still producing some new foliage and flowers, its growth has slowed dramatically
What is interesting is the pods become mature very quickly - what I means by that is the pods skin becomes wrinkled very quickly after it turns red
Another week and I should be able to crop this plant