FIRST TIME GROWING PEPPERS

Need advice for growing Red Bell peppers in 20in. containers. Never tried. Always grew tomatoes. Do you plant them deeper as you do tomato -- or do you plant them at the same soil line? Can I use the same organic fertilizer? Will there be any kind of a threat to my tomatos? (Virus-bact- terial problems-insects etc.)
Tired of paying $3.99 per lb. for my favorite pepper!

I have not been successful in growing peppers in the ground here yet. They do much better in pots for me and tomatoes do much better in the ground. I highly recommend California Wonder and Yolo Wonder varieties of bell peppers. The green bells turn red when they are ripe--I assume that's what you are looking for. I plant my peppers about at the same soil level as they were in their little pots. I don't think pepper can sprout roots along the stem if it is buried like tomatoes. You can use the same fertilizer as tomatoes and it shouldn't hurt anything.

I don't understand your last question about threats to your tomatoes. The only mutual threat I can think of is hornworms, which are easily taken care of by hand picking or dusting with Dipel (Bacillus thuringiensis, Thuricide, or Bt). Fungus is a big problem here. I use a copper-based fungicide as needed to control blight and rust.

I recall someone saying that peppers and tomatos growing togeather are not compatabel! Is this true?

This message was edited Sep 20, 2003 12:26 AM

This message was edited Nov 26, 2003 3:35 PM

Tplant I have 20 or so tomatoe plants sharing a 12 x 48 hoop house with thirty some pepper plants and an oriential cucumber and all are big loaded and have all done well except the oregon spring which most people would accept.

The last couple years I grew them both in 5 gallon buckets in my glass green house and noticed no problems.These shared room with a cucumber and a cantalope. All did well but the lope.

My observation is peppers here grow best in the ground and don't like the wind and I don"t believe tomatoes care if peppers grow near them.

Sweet yellow bananna wax is a prolific pepper to try it passes lime green to yellow to orangish tinged with red at the end. Could be the soil enhances the color?

This message was edited Sep 19, 2003 9:04 PM

TPLANT FORGOT TO TELL YOU WHEN I GREW IN THE 5 GALLON BUCKETS I MULCHED THE SOIL WITH BLACK PLASTIC TO SLOW THE DRYING OF THE SOIL.

Eweed
I am using the new red rubber mulch,the one they make from old rubber tires. Somehow,they remove the steel bands from the tires. I have been working with this mulch for a season and it does work and never rots. Here in So. Fl. we get torrential rains that wash away regular mulch and another benefit, I never have to weed. If it is available in your area,try it!!

Tplant Have't seen the red mulch here. I did try red film mulch though as it is reported to increase the yeild in less time. I did not find this to be true.

The story goes like this the red mulch refects the red light waves back up into the plant causing the fruit to mature quicker and increase the yeild by as much as 20%. I will try it again and be a little more careful documenting the results.

Others with experience with red mulch may shed a different light on this and please do so.

Tplant, I've grown tomatoes and peppers together for about 6 years and never had a problem. I believe they are actually both in the nightshade family. One thing to keep in mind is that green peppers will not set the flowers if the temps are too hot (about ~85F) or too cold (below ~55F).

According to Dick Raymond (Joy of Gardening) peppers like a little sulfur, so he plants an open book of paper matches under each pepper plant. I wonder if a little aluminum foil would work as well to reflect the light to the undersides of the leaves and keep the soil from drying so fast.

MaryE probably so on both counts.

The moisture thing is a sure thing.

The light thing you can prove with a light meter. I don't still have one thanks to boys.

They sell silver reflective film to put on the north walls of green houses to reflect light.

The reflector of my metal halide grow light is white. I am going to buy another light this fall I will choose one with a rough surface of polished aluminum because it is a better reflective surface.Ernie

I have grown bell peppers for the last three years and have done quite well with them. The first year they didnt do as well as they have the last two years. I think that is because i have added compost and whatever i could get my hands on like leaves and grass clippings. I only fertilize with my compost and dont use any chemicals and i plant them in very humousy soil. I have built my soil up with all the compost i can get my hands on. I have horses and use my horse manure that has been composted. To get the peppers to be red, you will have to leave them on the plant until they turn. I have also grown some yellow ones but do love them red ones. I also grow jalepeno peppers and tabasco peppers and have done well with all of them. Peppers do much better in the hot summer time than in the cooler months. They love the sun too. Give it a try and see what you come up with. Good luck, Robbie

Robbie...thanks for posting! Haven't seen you much here so I must say "Welcome to DG!"

Alabama, eh? I've an uncle around Decater, you near there?

Thanks for the pepper info, I whole-heartedly agree, they sure do love heat! (Heck, I can't get the seeds to germinate unless they have more heat than anything else int he greenhouse.)

HOpe to see you posting more! Thanks!
H.

Horseshoe I start peppers with bottom heat and soil temp at 80 degrees and find them hard to start excepr yellow wax peppers. For some reason the wax peppers are a lot easier for me.

I do the tomatoes at 65 degrees and they practaly all start.

I wonder what the difference is since I have been told they are from the same family. Ernie.

ernie, how true! I've put them on the heat mats, covered them to hold the heat in and still certain varieties dont germ well.

Had great luck with Islander, a purple bell hybrid this yr tho...they are STILL producing even tho we've had some cold snaps!

Jumping in late here, but here are some assorted answers.

Peppers are not planted deep, the way tomatoes are. They don't grow roots off the buried stems. So they are normally planted just slightly deeper than the original soil line. It doesn't hurt to plant them deeper than that, but there's no advantage, either.

Peppers and tomatoes are not antagonistic. Reasons it's recommended that they not be planted together is that they are in the same family, and subject to the same pests and diseases. So, by separating them, you minimize exposure. They also have similar nutrient requirements, so, by separating them, you don't deplete the soil as rapidly.

Those of us who concentrate on growing good soil instead of good plants don't worry about either of those problems.

All pepper seeds benefit from bottom heat. As a rule, hot chiles require this more than bells. And many hot chiles are slow germinators, even with bottom heat. Rocoto, for instance, can take as long as 7 weeks to germinate.

Thanks Horseshoe for the welcome. I have only been on this site for a few days now.
I live in the middle of the state of Alabama. I am in chilton county. That is between Birmingham and Montgomery. The peppers i have grown i have done from buying plants. I havent tried them from seed yet. I have learned tho that some seed dont germinate unless they are at the correct depth when you plant them. My husband has this contraption that he uses when we plant. He has a wooden stick and he has holes in it to indicate where the 1/2 inch mark is and so on. He also has some pvc pipe that are measured with 6 inches and larger so we plant our plants just the right distance from each other. He is somewhat of a perfectionist sometimes. It depends on what he is doing to be a perfectionist with it. LOL Our garden does well most of the time. This year we had too much rain tho. Some things did well and others did not. Take care, Robbie

Howdy Robbie!

Sounds like your hubby owns a "dibber", or "dibble" (in some circles).

He's right, certain seeds will "drown" if planted too deep. (In other words, they don't have the strength to push thru soil that is too far over their heads.) However, many seeds will and I'm sure he probably knows the ones that have the energy to do so.

I sure do understand a certain thought you wrote! " He is somewhat of a perfectionist sometimes. It depends on what he is doing to be a perfectionist with it."

You described quite a few of us perfectly!

Certain things I'm more "perticular" with, others I just tend to free-form. I think ya'll will be just fine! It seems like you've reached a great comraderie/friendship with each other! Yee-haw!...you go girl!

Glad to see you post. Have fun here at DG! Be seein' ya!

Horseshoe do you bury your seed? I don't I just press into that little indentation in the soil block.

I do the tomatoes this way as well but wonder if is the best way.

This year I'll bury some and see if it seems to help. Ernie

Ernie...have done it both ways...and more.

Bury it (slightly), lay it on top; put it in with perlite and wet it down, etc.

It's weird. When I gave up this past Spring/Early Summer on some kinds I finally rec'd some seeds in the mail from Johnny's, set them up like I'd to maters, and nearly everyone of them germed!

Loved it! And the crop also!

Tips from Zekes on the Germination and Growing of Peppers may be of help to some of you.
Gary/Louisville

http://www.zekes.com/public_html/germinate.html

A very informative web site. Sounds like fun. Thanks to all for your advice.In addition to my tomatoes,I will now grow peppers.

This message was edited Nov 26, 2003 4:19 PM