Issaquah area here

I am in Sammamish area. Where are you gardening?

Anybody is planting out yet ?

I am not planting out yet. I still have everything inside, but I am running out of room fast and some of my peppers already have fruit!

I am hoping to get some into my little greenhouse but it looks like we might get some pretty low temperatures next week.

You guys being in Z7 and talking about planting out already kinda concerned me. I'm thinking more like end of April. But, I know you also have tons of "micro-climates" out your way so I checked the zone map. Looks like you're more 8a/8b than 7. Now it makes more sense lol!

Good luck on your grows.

Rick

Here is a link that might be useful: USDA interactive map

I'm down in Auburn myself. I'm thinking about putting them out the second week of May. The ones started in January are in 2 Gallon pots. I have 18 more I started about a month ago that I need to put into 2 Gallon pots this weekend. I'm quickly running out of room, so May can't come soon enough.

Siouxzn, your plants are looking great. When did you plant them?

My first set of seedlings I started in January and had other batches since then. The latest being March 10th or so.

I went wayyyy overboard (varieties and quantities listed below). This list does not include the ones I have already given away. heh

Alma paprika 2
Anaheim 4
Ancho/Poblano 4
Bhut Jolokia 5
Black Pearl 3
Black Prince 3
Bolivian Rainbow 3
Bulgarian Carrot Chile 4
Burning Bush Hybrid 5
Cajun Belle 3
Caribbean Blend 2
Cayenne Blend 1
Chandelier 2
Christmas Tree 4
Early Jalapeño 1
Fatali Pepper 2
Fireworks 1
Fish Pepper 2
Guajllo 6
Habanero 4
Hungarian Yellow Wax 2
Jalapeño 3
Jamaican hot chocolate 2
Jamaican hot yellow 1
Jigsaw hot 3
Joe E Parker 2
Medusa Hot 1
Onza 3
Padron 3
Paper Lantern 1
Pasilla Bajio 3
Peruvian White lightning habanero 1
Peter pepper orange 3
Peter pepper red 5
Peter pepper Yellow 1
Purple Flash ornamental 1
Santaka Hot Asian 5
Scotch Bonnet 4
Serrano 4
Sweet Cherry Blend 2
Chiltepin Pepper 2
Thai Hot 3
Trifetti ÃÂ 3
Trinidad Scorpion 4
Trinidad Scorpion Butch T 2
Trinidad perfume 1
Twilight 2
Volcano Pepper 1
Easter 1
Cajamarca 2
Aji Limon 1
Rocoto 1

yes i am insane

Holy cow that's a lot of pepper plants, Siouxzn! I'm impressed.

I'm north of Seattle, in Bellingham, perched about 600ft above sea level on the side of Galbraith mountain. All my peppers are out in the unheated greenhouse now, albeit on electric heat mats. I'll be planting them out under plastic covers in early May. I'm growing Aci Suri cayennes this year for the first time, and the "seedlings" are absolutely covered with long peppers already! One plant has about six 8" peppers and another 8 or so smaller ones. Very prolific.

oh nice! you should post a picture!

I miss Bellingham, I went to school up there and really wish I could have stayed.

Only thing I don't miss is the wind coming down the Frasier Canyon.

I had to do a study on Cam Creek in Lynden one year, and one particularly cold day I had to stand in the creek to my waste doing flow measurements with the water freezing on my chest waders.

Uggg

By the way

This may be old news to you guys, but being new into this I wanted to share a place I do most of my shopping.

I used to work for a cranberry research foundation where I did an internship, and most of the the supplies came from a place up in Snohomish called Stuebers Distributing.

I swear by this place, they have everything you would need for growing including drip system materials, potting soil, very cheap planters etc. I get my Promix potting soil there as well as seedling trays, heating mats etc.

They sell to the general public (me) but its set up for commercial growers and landscapers mostly.

Our ZONE ?

Actually, most places around Seattle, WA is in zone 8. The average LFD is around first of April.
BUT, we may have our LF behind us, then we will have temps lingering between. low 40s and low 60s maybe til June . So I am holding on planting out the peppers but I am going to start tomatoes from tomorrow. Big Box stores already selling tomato plants in my area. So that indicates something.

On The peppers side I have few of the followings (From hot down to sweets) . NO super hots !

---- HABANERO
--- CHINESE 5 COLOR
--- THAI HOT
----KOREAN
--- SERRANO
--- BLACK PEARL
--- AJI LEMON
--- HUNGARIAN HW
--- FRESNO
--- MANZANO
--- JALAPENO
--- Unknown (FROM STORE BOUGHT)
--- CHILACA
--- BISHOPS CROWN
--- CUBANELLE
--- ANAHEIM
---BANANA
--- GYPSY
--- SHISHITO
--- PEPPERONCINI

Maybe few more. I think I went over board too

Siouxzn and Seysonn, I see you both have some black pearls. I'd love to have one of those. Any chance either of you would like to trade a plant? I have:

Chinese 5 Color
NuMex Twilight
Yellow Bhut
Chocolate Bhut
Chocolate Scotch Bonnet
Trinidad Scorpion
Takanotsume
Bonda Ma Jacques

I see you both have some black pearls...

Tom, I just have 2 of them, growing in one pot. I won,t even separate them. Secondly mine are from store sold plants which might not be a true BP.

Tech
I may have one available but it depends on my sister. She will be in town next weekend and was going to go through my extras. The BP was one she was contemplating, so I will let you know if she grabs it or not.

I think I am going to make some potting mix this week and start permanent potting process. In the LOWs department there is nothing under 40F and few in mid-high 40s (43-48F). And more 60s than 50s in highs.

Today was a summer like day ; 77F. Gorgeous .
I made a barrel of potting mix (Modified 5-1-1). Tomorrow will start potting up. Though not as warm as today: About 60F. Extended forecast : Mostly 40 to 62F. I can live with that.

I'm going to be building a couple of raised beds this weekend. I'm going to pick up some 3-Way Topsoil from Carpinitos Brothers.

http://www.carpinito.com/index.php/landscape-material/bulk-material/

It consists of: 60% Valley loam, 30% Steerâ¢Groâ¢, 10% sand.

The Steer-Gro consists of: 50/50 mix of aged barnyard manure and sawdust.

I'm hoping this stuff works well.

Good luck Techno.

I have used some 3Way mix (last year) that I bough from Grey Barn in Sammamish. Then I added some additional compost and manure to it.

Yep, weather looks good. But I am still nervous since its all new to me. I brought my tomatoes to the little greenhouse but left the peppers inside.

I figure I can live with losing the toms, but not the rest, hehe.

Hi there neighbors

We have a lot of micro climates around Seattle area. Further south is a bit warmer. Probably Isaaquah is cooler than the rest. Sammamish is cooler than Bellevue.

The extended 10 days forecast for Sammamish right now is :

--- Highs range from 59 to 72F. The lows range from 40 to 45F.

I think it is ok for tomatoes but not quite right fro peppers. Half of my peppers were outside all day yesterday and last night. About an hour ago I put them back under the hoop. Next couple of days lows will be 40 to 41F. After that it should improve a few degrees. Then I will start potting them up.

I have had my tomatoes in the greenhouse for the last week and lowest temp so far has been 38 inside the greenhouse, highest 98. The toms are looking good. Will still wait on the peppers. I'm getting very ansy.

Tech; My sister claimed the extra Black Pearl yesterday :(

I'm wondering how well cucumbers do in colder weather. Do you think they'd survive outside in a greenhouse right now?

No worries Siouxzn, I have enough variety for now anyway. :)

Cucumbers do NOT like cold at all. I have lost more cucumbers to cold than everything else combined. Starting cucumber too early in cold condition does not pay off. A late start in warmer soil/air will catch up in no time. Cucumbers areFAST growing.

I will wait this lows climb to 45F and then direct seed in the Garden. I never start them indoors and rarely have bout transplants. Direct sown ones know their timing and get acclaimed to the conditions

seysonn

I have "mexican miniature watermelon" seeds that I did not realize were a type of cucumber... now I have 4 of these fast growing inside the house.. very viney and trying to climb up everything.

I think at one point I had to unravel them from the dog. Anyhow, would these also have to wait awhile to put outside?

Siouxzn,

I will treat all cucurbits the same.
Being viney and fast growing, they are not fit to start early inside. The best way is direct sowing. You might try to germinate them faster in your unheated greenhouse or a cold from (to make sure they wont rot in the wet ground), but then as soon as they have their seed leaves should be planted in a ditch and hilled, as they grow. I would start 3 to 4 seeds per hill then thin, leaving 2. It is too early for them now. Maybe early May ? I would like to see a consistent lows in 46F + range. Even then I migh cover them with a 2 liter clear soda bottle (bottom cut off)

Yeah I figured that out pretty quickly (that it was unwise to start them inside) once they started growing, but I did not realize what they were when I planted them.

Not sure what I should do with the ones I have growing. Maybe I will leave them in my window and try to transplant once it gets warm. Hopefully I don't lose them.

Grew some scorpions and ghost peppers last year in pots. Bought them inside the house in a sunny window and now have lots of pea sized peppers on them that are already turning red. Temps have been in the 40f range at night. Too early to take them outside? anyone else in Portland on here?

Seems like this forum was active till this oregonion came on board!!I know it does say WASHINGTON growers but i figured i'd be welcome . maybe not huh ?

That is OK, niksha. You are welcome ! You are good neighbor. PORTLAND, OR is like twin city of Seattle. LOL

But seriously, Northwestern Oregon is almost the same as NW Washington, when it comes to gardening.

Our lows are also in low 40s here and of course still rainy. I have already potted about 20 peppers. They are outside now. They had been hardened of first for a week or so. I had to do this, because I run out of room inside. I have planted out tomatoes as well. Couple of them are developed by OSU for our PNW weather (Siletz and Legend). They are not growing much yet but otherwise are doing fine. Right now our highs are about 5 degrees below normal. But by the end of April it should bounce back.

Talking Plant out:

I have already potted about 20 peppers and have some more to go in ground and some more in pots. They may not be the happiest fellows but have taken 39F on the chin and have held their head up.
It seems that our HIGHs are running about 4 deg lower than average , and the lows are also couple deg. lower. But I see a trend of getting more and more highs higher than 60F and less and less lows lower than 42F. Our Pacific Ocean is balancing out pretty slowly but surely. I will see things growing fast when the night lows get up to 50s. That will be in mid May, probably.

I made my first small harvest yesterday. I planted out a little early, and clipped off the peppers that were on the plants in order to encourage new blooms. Since most of the peppers were immature, they are still green; I'll let them ripen inside. The picture has Aci Suri (the long cayenne-types) from ONE seedling plant, Aji Amarillos, Sante Fe Grande, Cherry, and Greek Pepperoncinis. The first and last of those are extremely prolific already.

Walla Walla Washington here! I've got peas out right now. And some beans starting. The cold temps here haven't killed them yet, so I am very excited to get the rest of my stuff out.

The anticipation of waiting to get these in the ground is killing me. I do have some extra jalapeños that aren't going to fit in my beds, so I may have some early victims soon. :)

The rest are going to wait until May 10th.

Techno, what are you current temperatures ?

I have potted over 20 about a week ago. Since then we have seen lows as low as 40. They are doing fine. The highs are below normal/average. For the next 10 days forecast indicates LOTS of 54F to 57F. But that is ok. The worst is that the plants are not going to grow much. Luckily the lows are mostly 42 and higher. This PNW weather might be the same well into mid May.

Unfortunately the weather here is so bi polar you can't trust the forecast. All last week it was sunny and between 40 and 70, this week it raining all week and between 35 and 65. Maybe next week will be better.

Ellensburg student here. I've only got 2 (possibly 3) peppers, one being a year-old Kung Pao, and the other 1-2 being Habaneros I'm starting from seed. Two seedlings are up right now, but I don't have the best of luck with little plants, so I'm only assuming one with live, if that.

I'm just happy that my yearling is actually starting to show signs of growth, all winter I was sure it was dying. I've been letting it be outside on nice days, but I'm not ready to chance it being outside all night yet.

Well, I finally got my planter ready for dirt, then I can start to plant some out. It is 24' x 5.5' x 15"

I am excited that some of my peppers will have room this year!

WOW ! that is a very nice planter, siouxzn. Actually, it is a good size raised bed.(~130 sqr-ft). With our rainy climate, raised bed is a good thing to have. I am also planting mostly in raised beds.

Talking about planting, this weekend is going to get a bit nasty (lows down to 37F) I will have to shelter my peppers (in pots already) overnight and hold on further planting out. The forecast looks REEEEAL nice next week, with lots of warmth and sun. I will finish my plant out next week.

Hrm,

I have some of my peppers in the little unheated greenhouse, do you think I should take them back inside this weekend?

do you think I should take them back inside this weekend?
%%%%%%%%%%%%

I would say, just to be safe, take them inside at nights, this weekend and Monday night. I will put mine in the hoophouse starting Saturday night if it turns out to be as cold as forecast.The reason being that cold will be extended from Saturday night till Monday morning.
Forecast calls for some nice weather starting Tuesday. I hope it stick around.

Bellingham area here. I tried the superhots last summer and I just didn't put a lot of effort into it despite the fact I bought one of those 6x6x6 portable greenhouse partially for the purpose of growing pepper in our sometimes wishy-washy summers. I really neglected my plants with them getting drought stressed often then I just forgot about them. Still got a couple of superhot peppers from them despite all this and keeping them in tiny pots. I forgot to start my seeds (WTH?) this spring so I'm having to settle with the typical retail store peppers. Oops. I look forward to learning and connecting with my fellow Washingtonian chile heads.

OK, Northwest WA growers, after tonight's low of 39F( Sammamish), temperatures will take off like a rocket : Lows from mid 40s ( and higher) and highs getting up over 80F.

Are you still waiting for a perfect weather? I'd say wait no more. I will be really busy myself finishing my plant out of peppers and tomatoes. I was told by some locals to hold on till Mothers Day, even for tomatoes. But I did not take that advice and planted out some 6 weeks before Mothers Day. Now some of my tomatoes have flower (the early ones) and my pepper are mostly containerized and fully hardened off. May be it was a gamble but I call it a calculated risk and I think I am rewarded.

After all the past 3 weeks of cool weather, my plant should appreciate the warm weather and start growing more vigorously, as the have established their root system.

Happy Plant Out !

Yea, couldn't wait here either. I moved my portable greenhouse outside along with half the plants. I'm going to let them sit in there another couple of weeks before putting them in the ground. I'm planning on putting the other half into the greenhouse next week so long as this bunch doesn't have any problems.

I'm thinking I'm going to have to keep the flap open on Thursday for the 80 degree heatwave coming in.

Today i put my 2 potted scorpion peppers- which i potted in plastic 10 inch planters last year- outside today. Should i trim the bushy plants even tho they have at least 30 odd tiny red peppers on them or just let the plants grow out??

Where is everyone on here?!!I bought some carolina reapers and they have been in the ground for 2 weeks but not looking too healthy. Any pointers? will the output be a lot more than my ghost and bhoots from last year or less?

My stuff has been out for about 3 weeks and most of them just looked stunted and sunburnt for awhile. I am finally noticing new growth this last week.

I had half of my peppers still in the greenhouse and those look a lot better. I am hoping that once the rain decreases at the end of the week they all perk up.

Hi there by NW/WA?OR

The weather seems to be improving. the next 10 days the highs will be in upper 70s and lows around 50F. So lets hop that our peppers will start moving. My tomatoes are doing great.

All of my peppers have been outside in my portable greenhouse for close to a month now. They don't seem to mind the night temps in the extreme upper 40's / low 50's. I've finally let the bigger ones keep their buds and will be switching to a bloom booster fert on the next feeding middle of next week. Just about done up potting them to their final size pots. They are looking good and hopefully I should be yanking pods off by the 4th of July. Fingers x'd.

Just so so disappointed in the carolina reapers .Wont be planting them ever again. Off one plant I have 2 lousy peppers thus far and they are an inch long and green.On the second one a lot of flowers but no peppers. the trinidian scorpion and bhoots are doing fantastic . I must have picked at least 30 off each plant.

It is probably a bad batch of seed. Try again with another batch (from a member here) and I bet you have better luck.

Dennis

Hmm. i bought 6 plants from the gal thats been selling me the ghost and trindidad plants every year. and split them up amongst my 2 other friends. #1 guy has about 10 on his 2. plants . #2 guy has a total of 15 and i have a total of 2 on 2 plants. I honestly think the Pacific NW is NOT the right climate for the reapers.O well. live and learn))