Could not agree more Dave.

Must be nice to have that much land. Mine are all in buckets. LOL

This will be my second season of actual pepper growing. I thought it would be fun to do because I've always had an interest in gardening. I live in Minnesota so our grow season is limited and I was determined to prepare for next season. For 4 months now I have been growing Moruga Scorpions in my basement. I recently decided to sacrifice my closet in my room upstairs because it is a lot warmer than downstairs and it is a more closed area. I am in search of superhots seeds for free/cheap and plan on growing enough to satisfy my needs. I have a 15x 20 garden in my backyard and a local garden plot lot and the plots are 20x30 so I can imagine I'll have room for over 60 plants. I love the idea of using straw or hay and have read good things about it.

This year I'm gonna put everything on 4' centers. IMHO, they'll bush more if not crowded, and more bushing means more production. Just like tomatoes.
The only amendments I do is loads of compost tilled into the soil, and a handfull of bone meal at regular intervals along with some 13-13-13. And, especially enough water. The LOVE water in a 2' radius around the root zone.
And mulch. Newspapers, cardboard, hay, or shredded trees/brush. Mulch=stable soil temp and moisture.
BTW, a stirrup hoe keeps the weeds down easier than a cotton hoe does...