Setting Peppers Up for Success

It is so early to be planting peppers here!  But the forecast looks OK and my pepper plants are at the perfect stage for transplanting.  I can already see little buds forming at the top.  They are eager to go and I don't want to hold them back.  When I removed the pots, the white roots had just reached the bottom of the pot.  

I am no pepper expert, but there are a few things I have learned about them over the years.  The first thing is that they like to touch each other.  This has nothing to do with pollination, because, like tomatoes, peppers are self pollinating.  But they get lonely if you space them too far apart.  I suspect this has more to do with dappled shade than anything else.  Which brings me to the second most important point, and that is they don't want full, unrelenting sun, even here in NY where our version of "full sun" is much less intense than most places due to our proximity to the Great Lakes.  We have a lot of cloud cover, and still, my pepper plants do not want twelve hours of sun.  They are much happier on the north side of a fence post, in the shadow of the top rail, where they are shaded from the most intense hours of sun.  And lastly, they do well in containers.  They like warm soil, and what better way to warm the soil than to put it in a black pot?

These containers are about ten gallons.  Sixteen or eighteen inches across.  I have planted as many as six pepper plants in them and they always do well.  I start with some used potting mix, and recharge it with a good helping of Garden Tone fertilizer.  I fill it to about the level where their roots will reach, and mix the fertilizer into the top few inches of soil.

I top off the container leaving room for a generous helping of worm castings, and some Kelp Meal which has an N-P-K of 1-0-2.  I mix that up and we are ready to plant.  The key to growing peppers in containers is to use a container large enough for more than one plant.  Remember, everyone needs a friend!  I use a grow thru grid which will help support them later on when they are heavy with fruit.  Pepper stems are woody and tend to snap under load instead of bending.

Then I top dress the soil with a layer of shredded leaves. I do this with all of my large containers.  It helps the soil retain moisture and prevents it from crusting over on top.  It also discourages the occasional weed.  I water them in well, and they probably will not need water again for several days if not longer.  With containers, it is helpful to use a moisture meter so you don't over water and rot the roots.

And finally, I pin a frost cloth around everything.  This will add some heat during the cooler days, and block the wind while the plants are adjusting to their new situation.  I find it is easier to go ahead and rig a frost cloth right at the beginning.  It is easier to open this up if we get a really hot, sunny day where they may over heat than it is to run around in the evening trying to get everyone protected from a potential frost.

Now my pepper plants are all set and ready to go.  They will soon grow up through the grid and I will free them from their frost cloth.  It won't be long until we have blooms, and then little baby peppers.