Hi Michele,
Last years peppers were great. I mulched them with black plastic. We usually only plant the more common peppers, because some years they just don't do well for us if we have a cool summer. Where do you get your heirloom seeds from? Are they more reliable than the hybrids?

Colleen

I raise quite a few peppers, including many varieties of hot ones. I will start mine in two weeks and I keep them in the greenhouse until the ground is warm. If I put them in to early they don't seem to grow much until it warms up. I have tried a number of times to use pots with only moderate success. I like them in the ground the best.

I too have planted mine (in basement, under fluorescent lights, bottom heat). I prefer the ornaments to go in outdoor pots: trifetti, medusa, fips, black pearl, bird, cayenne, and others. Most pot up and maintain over winter for that bonsai look, others I take cuttings of in fall. I start the ones for the garden at the end of March: jalapenos, ancho, cherry.