Yep, after this coming Friday. And if you've got those tomatoes going, I'm coming to your house for salsa - I'll bring the chips!

Did you get them outside in this wind?

They aren't outside. They're sitting on my counter, and I'm getting ready to spritz the top layer of vermiculite, and cover them with a sheet of plastic.

There they'll sit,
until it's fit
to take them out,
soak the flat,
and park it in the cold frame.

Some like it HOT.

Nice job and you will be double cooked this summer.

ML

I'm still using the pepper flakes I made from last year's crop. It's moderately hot, because I want to gradually get used to the Scovilles. This year's should be much hotter. I have some really serious Habs in that flat. If there's a good hatch, and Ra smiles on my garden, I'll be set.

Tomorrow, Tomatoes.
Tuesday, Cilantro.
Wednesday, Basil.

One of these days, I'll organize my own Garlic, and I'll be salsafied.

It's getting hot in here.

Your list is making me slobber.

PC

hmmmmm... and you will, of course, be saving seed from that impressive list ???????

This is a total tease for the pepper heads here. We are into fire- heat- flavor etc. I'm going to search for a more well paying job in part, to overnight the frozen green chiles from Bueno in New Mexico. I don't have the sun or heat here to do a good job growing it.

'Caribbean Red' is hot, hot, hot! 'Lemon Drop' is hot, hot ..... (have grown those before).

I've not planted any pepper seeds yet; might revert to just buying a plant or two this year. Then again, I've still got a quite a few frozen from prior years ....

PV

Wow donn I'd love to have the room to plant 1/2 of what you're growing. It used to be that I didn't know what to do with all the peppers that you get from just a few plants but I've become more interested in making my own chili powder and that takes a lot of dried peppers, especially with all the chili powder and paprika that we use. Best of luck with all those plants it looks like you're going to have your hands.

strouper

Nice variety Donn!!!

Just doing 4 this year:
Golden Habenero, Barney and Pueblo (started inside) and I'll springsow my Thai Hot probably this week. Also have my overwintered Variegated Pequin (Bird Pepper).

Vera

Bakemom, I was told that planting them inside concrete blocks intensifies the heat. Haven't tried it but it makes sense.
Peppers are fun to grow cause there's so many kinds. My visual favorite are Fish Peppers with their varigated foliage. I've seen those innocent looking little Tepins make a grown man cry and Baby Belles are yummy stuffed with herbed cream cheese. My personal favorite is Italian Roasting. A pan full of these with onions and hot Italian sausage, some crusty bread and fresh grated parmesan........and of course a glass of red wine.......

Oh man, DH would love you!!!! He loves peppers. We have a few plants, wish I knew which kind but their his and his responsibility so I leave him to his peppers. He'll pull them off, rinse, and eat it like chips.

Hi Donn,

So if all goes well you will have 69 plants??? Wow! And I thought I was being ambitiuos sowing for a total of 24 plants!

My peppers are on my southwest facing, baywindow windowsill. I broke down and purchased one of those peet pellets with windowsill tray for around $4. I sowed a few weeks ago. They have all germinated save for a couple. I'm probably going to pot them up this weekend and make a mini coldframe using a plastic storage bin with a few inches of soil to retain heat.

Do you think this idea will be okay for the peppers? I have another storage bin turned coldframe out there now and the cilantro and sunflowers are doing great. But I know peppers like very warm temps. So in your opinion, do you think a storage bin turnded coldframe with several inches of soil will be warm enough for peppers???

I appreciate your advice:)

Sincerely,
Michelle

I meant 64 plants?

It all depends on your weather, Michelle. Peppers don't really start putting on growth until the soil is very warm, but seedlings benefit greatly from a bit of cool weather when they're young. Night temperatures of 45-55°F will increase flowering and fruiting in the mature plant. This should start when they have their 3rd true leaf, and go on for a month. You can do this in a variety of ways, from the pseudo-cold frame you describe, to planting them in the ground early, and using cloches (cut the bottom out of plastic jugs and anchor to the ground with clotheshanger wire). After that, to help warm things up, take a black nursery pot, cut out the bottom, and install it around each seedling. This will warm up the soil, protect from wind and insects, but still give them full sun and rain.

Peppers are tricky for me, because of my constant wind. It's difficult to keep things warm enough for them. If I get half of these plants through to cropping, I'll be happy. I'll be growing a lot of them in 2-gallon nursery pots, and moving them around to get the most of heat and sun, and to keep them out of the wind.

Thanks Donn!
Do you put your cells out in the coldframe to germinate there? Or do you get germination going on in the house and then move them to the coldframe?

This morning I went ahead and potted up the sprouts in the peet pellets to larger cups. I had some variety of hot pepper germinate from seeds that were from 2003! I was shocked.

Anyway, I'll wish you all the luck in the world on your peppers and I'll give my coldframe idea a try. Worse comes to worse there is always Lowes with pepper plants already going right? I know, I know, not the same as growing your own from the very beginning.

Oh! What size nursery pot and where do you get yours???? I never seem to have extras of any size of those laying around. They usually have plants in them or about to.

Michelle

Michelle..in the past I've germinated them in the cold frame, but it's been so cold this month, I still have the flat indoors. It'll go out as soon as the temps get to the 70's in the frame.

I use 1-gallon nursery pots for them. I always have some broken ones, so I cut the bottoms out of them and keep them just for this purpose. I use them on the potted peppers as well. They come off when the plant outgrows them. By then it's usually warm enough.

I got over 500 various nursery pots from a woman who listed them on freecycle last year. A couple of neighbors drop off theirs, and I cruise the neighborhood on recycle day, especially this time of year, picking them up.

Ahhh, I see! I thought you were saying you leave the black pots around them the entire growing season.

Everyone I know look at their pots as valuable things to keep! I'd give up a food container before giving up my one gallon black pots! lol

Oh well, I'll figure something out. Anyway, I did put a few peppers outside in the makeshift cold frame. I only put a couple out there to test the waters so to speak. If they do okay then maybe in a few days I will put the rest out.

Thanks Donn, I appreciate you answering all my questions.

Sincerely,
Michelle

HI guys, bigtime noob here, been looking around for Chihuacle negro but can't seem to find any and saw that you planted some. Where might one get their hands on the seeds or even the finished product?? It is a very good pepper that we ate in Guadalajara, Mexico with a little oil and peanuts mashed together. Talk about good eats!!

Yndio

Yndio..I got the seeds from a fellow on the Hot Pepper Forum. Several folks there make seed offers periodically. This guy listed about 100 varieties, and allowed you to select 15. Send him empty coin envelopes and postage, he sends the seeds. Since I'm a relative pepper newb, I asked him to make the selection across all kinds...and he did.

First sprouts this morning!

'Chihuacle Negro' and 'Pimiento, Tangerine'

which hot pepper forum?? Think there's at least 100 or so. ;) Good luck with your chiles.

Yndio

This is my 1st year WSing peppers but I've done them inside several times with a lot of success. They always start very quickly indoors and it's been fairly warm here for the last few days so I was kind of surprised when my WSed peppers didn't sprout up in just a few days like my indoor ones. I'm assuming from what I'm reading here that peppers are a late sprouter when they are WSed, is that correct?

Strouper

Peppers germinate very slowly in cool soil. Soil temps above 70°F are required for rapid sprouting.

I'm up to 20 sprouts now.

Well I've got pepper sprouts! Planted them on the 16th of April and I have my 1st sprouts showing up today. Now my only problem is what am I going to do with all these pepper plants! LOL

I only winter sowed a few pepper plants just two varieties, jalapeno and chile. All sown in mid/late April, two jalapeno sprouts came up this week.