Peppers Hot and Sweet
Surprisingly, my peppers were really great this year!
Not that I don't generally grow great peppers ... cuz I really do, lol (much chest thumping going on ; )
Surprisingly, because I thought that I could only grow great peppers inside the greenhouse, on the south side, where they get tons of heat and light.
However, this is not so!
This year, the greenhouse had to come down in July, in preparation for the big move!
Therefore, all the peppers were grown outside. They responded marvellously to the elements, while I treated them like I usually do .... with carefree neglect ; )
All the peppers started out at the old location, on our lovely, south east facing deck, which only received about 6 hours of sunshine a day, from about 10 in the morning to 2 or 3 pm. That's it.
Then we moved to the new house, the 'ugly house' as I call it, and they still had to grow outside.
They were placed on the wee deck out back, which faces west, but due to the trees on that side of the house, still did not get more than 6 hours of sunshine a day.
At both locations, I placed them close to the house so that they could soak up extra heat from the siding.
They were left outdoors to grow, ripen, and thrive, till mid-November. Then I picked a huge basket of peppers and composted the plants.
We picked sweet peppers as we needed them, throughout the late summer. However, hot peppers we tend to pick all at once, usually when we are going to be canning or pickling.
Growing peppers...
Hot peppers are started in the greenhouse, very early in the year (12 to 16 weeks before last frost), while sweet peppers are started a month or so later.
I start them with bottom heat, sunlight or grow lights, use a good, loose, high porosity, soil-less potting mix, and give them a weekly foliar feed of Reindeer Liquid Seaweed. They also get a spray of insecticidal soap weekly, for aphid and white fly prevention/control.
Once they germinate, I transfer them to 3" square pots. They stay in these pots till they are sold, and until I plant my own into 3 gallon pots in June.
They are not heavy feeders once they get out of those small 3 inch pots.
After they have been transplanted into their 3 gallon pots, they get a scoop of espom salts on the surface of the soil, maybe get watered with alfalfa tea a couple of times, and might get a foliar feed or two during the summer, if I remember. Plant into a good mix of compost and soil-less potting mix.
Peppers simply like lots of heat, sunshine and to be kept a wee bit on the dry side ... See? Easy to grow as they thrive on neglect!
Not that I don't generally grow great peppers ... cuz I really do, lol (much chest thumping going on ; )
Surprisingly, because I thought that I could only grow great peppers inside the greenhouse, on the south side, where they get tons of heat and light.
However, this is not so!
This year, the greenhouse had to come down in July, in preparation for the big move!
Therefore, all the peppers were grown outside. They responded marvellously to the elements, while I treated them like I usually do .... with carefree neglect ; )
All the peppers started out at the old location, on our lovely, south east facing deck, which only received about 6 hours of sunshine a day, from about 10 in the morning to 2 or 3 pm. That's it.
Still growing outside at the new 'ugly'house'
.. stayed outside till mid-November.
You see that some have 'plastic garbage bag hoop houses' on them?
I can honestly say that peppers do not need them!
I removed the bags after a few weeks, as the ones without the plastic were performing better,
despite the cool and even frosty nights.
Then we moved to the new house, the 'ugly house' as I call it, and they still had to grow outside.
They were placed on the wee deck out back, which faces west, but due to the trees on that side of the house, still did not get more than 6 hours of sunshine a day.
At both locations, I placed them close to the house so that they could soak up extra heat from the siding.
We picked sweet peppers as we needed them, throughout the late summer. However, hot peppers we tend to pick all at once, usually when we are going to be canning or pickling.
Growing peppers...
Hot peppers are started in the greenhouse, very early in the year (12 to 16 weeks before last frost), while sweet peppers are started a month or so later.
I start them with bottom heat, sunlight or grow lights, use a good, loose, high porosity, soil-less potting mix, and give them a weekly foliar feed of Reindeer Liquid Seaweed. They also get a spray of insecticidal soap weekly, for aphid and white fly prevention/control.
Once they germinate, I transfer them to 3" square pots. They stay in these pots till they are sold, and until I plant my own into 3 gallon pots in June.
They are not heavy feeders once they get out of those small 3 inch pots.
After they have been transplanted into their 3 gallon pots, they get a scoop of espom salts on the surface of the soil, maybe get watered with alfalfa tea a couple of times, and might get a foliar feed or two during the summer, if I remember. Plant into a good mix of compost and soil-less potting mix.
Peppers simply like lots of heat, sunshine and to be kept a wee bit on the dry side ... See? Easy to grow as they thrive on neglect!
Chinese Five Colour Peppers
Comments
Post a Comment