help for hot peppers

i grow my hot peppers from seeds. i start them in 1-1/2 to 2 inch plastic seed starting containers on top of a heating blanket until they get their first set of true leaves. heres where i need some hslp. in most of the stuff i've read on starting from seeds, it usually says that once plants get their first set of true leaves that they grow better in 60 to 70 deg. temp. i know that this works well for the rest of my vegetables but does this also apply to hot peppers, since i've read that the hotter the temp. is when the fruit starts to form, the hotter the pepper will be. my question is this. should i contine to grow my peppers in the heated part of my house or should i bring them downstairs into the unheated basement where the temp in march and april is about 60 to 70 deg. i transplant my veggies into the garden on june 1st. should i wait a bit longer to plant the hot peppers. in the past, i put all the seedlings into the basement at the same time and although i do get a crop of hot peppers i don't seem to get as much as i think i should be getting. last year i grew habaneros (which i know aren't the best for my area) and thai hots. i had more thai hots than habaneros plus the plants wereen't that tall, maybe about 10 inches off the ground. thanks for any advice.

Herbie, I'd grow them out where the temp stays above 70. They love warmth. At 60 they'll stay alive but not grow much, if you stunt them too long I'm sure that will affect your crop.

I don't know how many you're starting but I'd also move them into bigger pots when they develop good roots in your cellpacks.

What up Herbie? First, we have a lot of things in common, Hot Peppers Baby! Second, I'm new to the game of gardening myself, but I can help you out some. Habaneros are not the easiest pepper to grow in Jersey or The City That Never Sleeps, because as most to all peppers, they are from EnFuego climates, very hot all year-round. So don't be discouraged, and I'll let you in on my personal experiences and insight. Peppers for the most part are bushes, they might be plants technically, but they have a tendency to grow out, and not up, so,(In this case) bigger does not mean better. It's actually the abundance of fruit the bush or plant produces that counts, and in the case of the Thai-Hot, that little bush can produce hundreds of peppers per plant. Now, Habaneros can be tricky, but I'll let you in on my positives with this beautiful and Hot species. Container Gardening, overall it's more work, but with some varieties, it's worth every second. Habaneros, Tabascos, Thai-Hots, and Jalapenos, and many more can be grown in 5 gallon containers and up. I would recommend at least a 5 gaollon per variety, and in the case of the Thai-Hot, you can put 2 to 3 plants inside a 5, or 1 plant per 3 gallon or so. The benifit is that you can now, control the sun, as far as hours. So you can move the container around your location to get the 8 to 10, or even 12 hours of full sun, it's not easy, but it works with some difficult varieties. They need a lot of water and attention, but if you have the time and dedication, you will have a boat-load of beautiful red and orange lanterns that are Hot and some. The red being the Caribbean Red, which is the brother or sister to the A-Typical Habanero, and with all the Hybrids today on and in the market, who knows how many there are, and what's next for that matter. As with most hot peppers, the more sun they receive, the higher the Scoville Unit(s) they will become, so with container gardening, you can make the average pepper hotter and so forth. But again, it takes some work, and keep in mind, peppers like most vegetables love fertile soil, and with the proper drainage, and evenly watered as well as fed every week or two, you should be in good shape, no matter where you live. Once again, I can give you some insight, but experience is your best professor, so keep tabs on what you do on a daily basis, like where you plant your veggies or others every spring, and to rotate the crop and process every so often, test your soil to see how fertile it is, or if you need to add or subtract the proper chemicals. I double spade my garden every year, rather than tilling, and I prepare my garden in October for the following year after the last harvest, or I wait until I can take some dirt from my garden and I'll try ro make a ball from it, if it holds together, it's not ready to be tilled or turned. When it is ready to be turned, is when you try to make that ball, and the dirt falls apart, now your ready to turn your garden over, if you have not done so the Fall prior, or less there of. You can even throw down a multi-purpose fertilizer, like a 5-10-10, or something of that magnitude, depending on your soil results, to ensure a healthy and prosperous garden. Keep in mind SSW&FFL, my terminology from experience, soil, sun, water & friends & family & LOVE, and you'll be fine with your garden, and life. If you ever want to talk a little gardening or life, e-mail me, at RedHawkMur@verizon.net Have a great day and week-end, Danny

I've been raising Habbies for several years. One thing I have learned is that they need the summer heat. Metal containers like half barrels get the roots to hot and dry almost daily so avoid them. If a pepper ever gets stunted, especially by cool or cold temps, it never does as well again. Don't set them out until about 2 weeks after you put out your tomatoes. Soil temps should be at least 75* day and night. So keep those babies warm. But since they do require a long growing season, starting them indoors and moving them up into larger pots until you can set them out permenantly would be good.

thanks to all of you for your insight into hot pepper growing. i do transplant them into a bigger container amd the area where i plant gets both the early moring sun and then the afternoon sun. i think my biggest problem was putting them down in the unheated basement. this year i will keep them upstairs until they are ready to go into the garden. and this time, i will wait until the middle of june. thanks again.

Herbie, warming up the soil will sure help also. Putting down some plastic so it holds in the sun's heat is cheap. Hot caps work great also, even after you set the plants out. (Milk jugs would work, but be sure to anchor them somehow so the wind doesn't blow them away.) There are also mini-heat tunnels available to plant your peppers in and get them going earlier.

Hoping you have a great time gardening and excellent pepper production this year!

danny - leaflady - horseshoe - thank you all for your knowledge. i was thinking that after i plant my peppers into the ground that i would fill up four gallon milk containers with water and place them around each plant. sought of like a wall of water. i dont plant that many plants so it would be no problem. what do you think?

hotpepperdan - tried to 3-mail you but not getting through.

I'm sure that would help. And maybe on any surprise super cold nites you could throw a sheet over the jugs covering them and the plants to help hold the heat in even more.

hotpepperdan has the right idea about hot peppers......containers. i have a jalopeno plant that is going on three years old. when the temperature outside gets too cool towards the end of my season i just bring my pepper plants in my plastic enclosed back porch. i have to do a little pollinating by hand since there aren't any birds or insects or wind to do it for me but it's been working just fine.

nicksgrammy - wish i could bring them indoors but not enough room

Pollinating pepper plants isn't necessary. Birds don't factor in and insects rarely do either. All you have to do is give the plant a shake every day to move the pollen a little.

A pepper plant has a perfect flower, which means that both the male and female parts are contained on the same blossom. The pollen isn't windborne..too heavy. So, what does the work is just the rustle of the wind to jiggle the blossoms a little. Since you are inside, you'll have to do that for them. Some folks take an electric toothbrush and just buzz the branches.

Outside, nature takes care of itself. You will probably experience less fruit set inside as a natural result of lower temps and less light. And peppers like lots of both.

Looks like you got a yummy houseplant though...I don't have the patience. I tolerate inside plants the minimum amount of time required to keep them from freezing...then they get booted out to my front porch. Since I like the tropical look on my porch, and don't have the funds to replace things every spring...they get a meager existance in my dining room for a few months..heh, heh..

Hi everyone...I'm new here and thought I'd chime in after reading the thread. I've grown hot peppers in pots for many years, usually 10 to 12 varieties per season. Don't have the time or patience to grow from seed so I purchase the plants from Cross Country Nurseries on the web and from my local garden center. I use both EarthBoxes and 16" diameter self watering pots I've accumulated over the years from my local Frank's Nursery. I grow 8 plants per EarthBox and 3 per 16" pot. For the EarthBoxes I mix in 2 cups of Espoma 5-3-3 100% Organic and 1 cup of lime with the potting soil (use whatever I can get on sale) and for the 16" pots I mix in 1 cup of the Espoma and maybe ½ cup of lime. I always bottom water via the pot's internal reservoir and foliar feed with kelp extract and fish emulsion about every 2 weeks. I have had great success with this method with many varities such as Tobasco Greenleaf, Thai Dragon, Thai Giant, Kung Pao, Super Chili Hybrid, Arledge Heirloom (Louisiana Hot), Monkey Face, Hot Portugal, Serrano del Sol, etc. I know many will say that 3 plants in a 16" pot is too many but I have consistently picked 100+ peppers per plant on the smaller peppers such as Thai Dragon, Tobasco and Super Chili Hybrid using this method. All my pots get full sun from about 9AM till dusk.

Welcome ritchh!

Your success comes from the self watering pots and the aggressive feeding. Giving peppers everything they need will produce a great number in small spaces...and peppers produce better when they are 'touching hands' in my opinion anyway.

Stressed plants are usually the reason for dissatisfaction with container grown plants...you remove the stress and you'll have great harvests...just like you do.

Howdy ritchh!
And a super hearty welcome to DG! Come on in and set a spell!

You mentioned some great peppers! I just started some seeds from some peppers a friend brought from Guam...they are small and hot! Might be something similar to Thai or the "firecracker" type. Won't know till I harvest them.

I also must picked up two bags of Espoma today. Will be sure to try your "recipe"! Thanks!

Hope to see you around the site!
Happy Gardening!

ritchh - welcome to daves place. glad to hear from you. you should talk to hotpepperdan about hot peppers. he grows plenty of them. i will be starting seeds soon. have about 6 different kinds this year.