Not being grown in Hatch, NM they won't be real "Hatch" chilis of course but the culture is about the same. I grow several chilis each year. This year "Ghost" and a Piquin type. Each plant is grown in it's own 5-gallon bucket with ten drainage holes and MG potting soil. I drive a stick into the ground next to the pot and tie to that when needed. We have wind here that will turn them over otherwise.

Thanks Rockguy. i will transplant them this weekend. Windy here too they are already tied.

Anaheims(which Hatch chiles are) are a rather tall plant. 4-5 feet towards the end of season. In my opinion, if you want good size pods(which I always do, because the smaller, thinner flesh ones are just a pain to skin), I wouldn't grow Anaheims in anything smaller than 8-10 gallon and 1 plant per.

I have oak barrels where I plant 1 alongside 1 superhot. I MIGHT even go THREE in an oak barrel, but that would be a quite a load carrying them into a greenhouse.

Kevin

be sure to harden off if you're going to move them outside. by that I mean slowly expose them to the conditions outdoors. others will surely explain this further, it's not something I know much about since I live in FL and started mine outdoors.

you say they're already tied because of the wind? well, that tells me you already took them outside, and my advice came too late.

but in terms of pot size, it depends on the size of the plant. when they're small, small pots do the trick. those look like half gallon pots. in about a month, move them up to 3 gallon pots. when they get to be about 2 ft tall, move them up to 5 gallon.

you can grow multiple in one pot (I do), but they will begin to shade each other as they get older (mine do). they'd be better off if you split them, but it's not that big of a deal. having multiple sprouts in one pot means you'll need to up-pot them sooner.

for fertilizer: fish fertilizer, fertilome blooming & rooting plant food, bone meal, and epsom salt. that's all I use, and my plants are doing awesome. the fertilome stuff isn't natural or organic by any means (it's blue powder), but it really does the trick. avoid it if you insist on natural. all the nutrients it provides are available from the other stuff I listed, this is just easier.

pesticide: if you get bugs spray tops and bottoms of leaves with an ultra diluted dish soap mixture (like one or two drops in a spray bottle) at night, then rinse off an hour later. this kills most things, and isn't bad for your plant. also, plant things that attract beneficial insects. many of which can make up a good herb garden. marigolds are a great beneficial-insect-attractor.

google any of the things I've said, and you'll get much better descriptions elsewhere. this is just to start you off in the right direction.

Thanks judo. Very helpful!

wooohooman Has NEVER had a true nm chile if he thinks a Anaheim is the same .... flavor is what your Anaheim is missing bro ...

Really???

I've been to NM several times and have eaten the famed Hatch chiles. I've grown Big Jim's and other Anaheims/Numex varieties for about 12 years now in my own SoCal backyard. To my palate, there is NO difference in flavor.

Kevin

There absolutely is a HUGE difference. If you havent been able to taste a difference, you arent eating the real Hatch cchles. Anaheim's are not the same.

How about the Sandia variety? Can anyone comment on what it's like and how it compares to Big Jim, which I'm growing this year.

I don't consider Hatch and Anaheim's the same lol. Probably they are, but I call them New Mexico chili's which I only buy fresh roasted at the roadside stands when they come north to Denver in September. Those are the only chili's I will use to make chilli verde. I can buy "Anaheim's" all year long at the super market and roast them myself but its not the same as a New Mexico chili to me.

Course, its probably like Palisade peaches, Olathe sweet corn, and Rocky Ford cantaloupe. Its a matter more of local pride/culture. That, and buying fresh, in season produce that has been picked ripe rather than green is always better.

Just my $.02...

Tastes the same to me However, you won't ever see me eloquently describing the
nuances of a Napa Zinfandel or, for that matter, the subtleties of a
Naga and a Bhut.

"That said, these are not Anaheim strain."

Are you positive of this, Jesse?

Seems hard to believe that a pepper that looks
just like the New Mex strains and, to me, tastes the same and, I'm sure
most would agree if they don't taste exactly the same, they're pretty
darn close....that they wouldn't have all come from the original
subspecies/cultivar.

Kevin

I am a cook and grow lots of Hatch. For a huge boost I start in Feb, use an old warming tray with a few magazines on top. Top with the covered planter (soaked) and wait 12 hrs. Steam will rise, Then about 6-8 hrs a day turn on warmer. This year I had sprouts on the 4th day. Uncover and continue the on-off and you get incredible early growth (PS - I can't tell the difference between a pepper grown in NM and here in TN. Reminds me of those who claim the ability to taste the soil of the grape by sipping wine.

Strains are like DNA you have genes which some do and some dont than you have the entire dna. Hatch is itself one plant and so are anaheims they arent just one gene each they are 2 strands (strains) of different dna. Last year i grew hatch this year i just started my lumbre, new mex 6-4, and sandia's. I really believe where you grow them brings the taste but so far i cant tell much of a difference. Just a bit more vegetable flavor but not much. Roasted i really cant tell. Best advice 5 gallon i started in and moved to 15 but i plan on keeping them forever. Dont try to go one season bring them in when it gets cold and keep going real hatch contains the flavor from hatch, NM. Over the years they will retain who they are and where the came from. Great flavor and good choice very few know about hatch or hatch, NM.

Lived about an hour outside of Hatch. Tucson now. Used to take the kids to the chili festival. Good time. Far as I'm concerned, Hatch is pretty much a name and the flavor/quality varies cultivar to cultivar and season to season. Best green chili I ever had was grown in Chimayo. You don't hear about that location too often. Knew an old couple who ran a tiny restaurant in a town of 35 people in Sierra county who grew the chilis for their menu in their back yard. Not Hatch, but much appreciated by all. Always thought (and was told) New Mexico green chilis were cultivars grown under the anaheim umbrella. If they aren't, that's news to me, but fine and dandy. I will roast them and eat them by whatever name (a nearly direct quote from the bard :)

I've grown Hatch and Anaheim and they are largely identical, allowing for the standard variation in pods on any given pepper plant.

Josh