[VampireJack]

Hi.
I'm in my second year of growing my own food and it's so far so good with the veg.
My only problem seems to be with growing chilis - last year I had 3 attempts, of which they were all failures (birds eating the seedlings, the wind coming along a blowing them away), so I figured this year I would start them off from seed inside hoping that they would be nice strong plants ready for planting out as the summer progresses.
Well, today I watered my chili plants and what looked like little (around 4mm) eggs came spewing out from the base of my plants.
I'm not 100% certain what they are - but my instinct is that maybe they are pepper maggots. Does anyone have any experience with these - and if so have you any tips of how I can stop this happening again?
I had hoped that growing them next to Basil would have been of some assistance, but obviously not.
I really do want to grow my own chilis but it seems that God has it in for me when it comes them.
Help!

VJ.

[mumofstig]

Do your plants look healthy apart from these 'eggs'?
Could they be the fertilizer granules from the compost....sometimes these look a bit like eggs of some sort?
If your chillies are growing indoors in bought compost it's unlikely they have a pest in them :blink:

[savbo]

I wouldn't even try going chilllies outdoors!

I've never had any pests apart from sciarid flies in the compost, but their eggs wouldn't be 4mm...

Slug or snail? where they translucent (slug eggs) or opaque (fertiliser granules...)?

M

[FCG]

I've tried chillis for a few years outdoors and had really poor results with 1-5 chillis per plant in full sun.

Do you not have room on a windowsill? Last year i grew some on my windowsill and they really took off.

[VampireJack]

I was growing the chili's on a warm window but to be honest they weren't coming along to well at all. After I posted earlier I decided to check the roots of the seedling and found lots of these "eggs". I'm pretty certain that's what they were as I had a quick poke around in some of my other plants in the same compost and found nothing similar. Nevermind - I'll sow a few more seeds and hope for the best.
One day I shall have my very own home grown chilis.
Fingers crossed.

I did have a quick look online for pictures of white fertilizer granules, but the ones I found were all round, whereas in my compost they were looking more like mini tic-tacs.

[hindy]

Def sounds like slug eggs, They are oval in shape upto 3mm.

[mumofstig]

Def sounds like slug eggs, They are oval in shape upto 3mm.

But if they were growing indoors how did they get into the pots
The mind boggles

[george007]

i start my chillies in february indoors under a propogation light http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PROPAGATION-LIGHT-THE-BRIGHT-WING-FOR-CUTTING-MOTHERS_W0QQitemZ250202429979QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_HomeGarden_Garden_PlantsSeedsBulbs_JN?hash=item250202429979&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1686%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50
i use the light as chillies prefer full sunshine and will go leggy if grown on a window ledge.

as soon as they are 4 to six inches tall i put them out in the cold frame  and i leave them in there till mid may .

if left indoors to grow under light lower the temp to slow growth down
you want  stocky stalks not leggy ones that snap all to easily in the wind

i have six in pots at the moment and they are all doing fine

[bappelbe]

Hi
Are they on the stem base?
They could be roots, peppers seem to grow these up the stem a bit, well mine do anyway.

Bill

[compostqueen]

I grew Hot Lemon (or Lemon Drop) last year and they seem really strong and vigorous so that might be a good one to try. Hot, hot, hot but gorgeously attractive. Bit like meself 

[mumofstig]

I grew Hot Lemon (or Lemon Drop) last year and they seem really strong and vigorous so that might be a good one to try. Hot, hot, hot but gorgeously attractive. Bit like meself 

Sorry where's the sick bucket   (only joking honest )

[compostqueen]

I forgive ya 

[Faz]

I forgive ya 

We need pictorial evidence!!