What's the best advice for growing sweet and hot peppers. I live in S.E. Indiana and I mulch and water well. Been told not to use manure tea. Any advice beyond that would be appreciated.

-- Cindy (atilrthehony_1@yahoo.com), June 08, 2000

Answers

Plant in a sunny place & water, water, water!! Sonda in Ks.

-- Sonda (sgbruce@birch.net), June 08, 2000.

peppers like UNfertile soil and lots of sand. actually the worst soil you have the better, have to plant mine outside the garden. too much goodness causes wonderful looking plants, lots of bushyness and lots of leaves, but no peppers. laura

-- laura cavallari (ladygoat13@aol.com), June 08, 2000.

They need all the heat you can give them. A good sunny spot, black plastic mulch, even a growing tunnel in cooler climates -- though where you are, you shouldn't need that unless you really want to extend the season.

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), June 09, 2000.

Add 1 tablespoon on epsom salt to 1 gallon of water, Pour this over each plant when you plant them and every other week of so. The will give you deep green foliage and many large peppers. As many have also mentioned water. If it will be below 50 F at night cover for best results. Peppers like it hot and humid, hum sounds just like SE Indiana summers. Good Luck,

-- Rich (pntbeldyk@wirefire.com), June 09, 2000.

Thanks for the responses and Rich, you've got that right, hot and humid here, I just hope we don't have the drought again that "they're predicting.

-- Cindy (atilrthehony_1@yahoo.com), June 09, 2000.

It's HOT and HUMID hre is SE Ohio. I guess thats why my peppers do so good. I have 200 tomatoes plants and 100 peppers this year. GL

-- Rich (pntbeldyk@wirefire.com), June 09, 2000.

sorry forgot to close tag.

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Well anyway, I am having a problem with roabbitss eating my tomato plants. If its not worms, its rabbitts or deeer or coons or a dought. Gardening is a gamble, i think it would be cheaper to go to a casino sometimes.

-- Rich (pntbeldyk@wirefire.com), June 09, 2000.

Rich, speaking of gardening being a gamble; so far this season: I killed almost all of my tomato plants with too much lime(you may remember that post), we had an inch of rain in just a little over an hour-took out some beans and corn, the birds got quite a few of the 2nd planting of tomatoes, flea beetles were attacking the beans, and the landlord's very large calves tiptoed through our garden, miraculously they missed the peppers, the bull missed them 2 years ago. You may enjoy the casino, but I think gardening is more fun.

-- Cindy (atilrthehony_1@yahoo.com), June 09, 2000.

Cindy, I had deer using my lettuce bed for a bed. Flattened all of it. The rabbits are everywhere this year. Can't seem to make a dent in their number as hard as I try. The other night had 2 in the tomatoes, in the front garden and one in the cucumbers in the back garden. I planted more this year to cover my losses. I just hate to give them a free lunch.

Well, back to your pepper question. One of the thing that I have read but haven't tried yet, is to cut the bottom out of 6" plastic nursey pots and set them around the peppers small end down, twist them into the ground 1 1/2 to 2" deep. Suppose to, shelter plants from cut worms, and wind, it reflect and concentrates the heat and acts as a reservoir for watering. It might help?

Another thing would be to cage them, light tomatoes. I have had plants 3-4 feet tall that hasd so many fruit that any wind at all would topple them. GL

-- Rich (pntbeldyk@wirefire.com), June 12, 2000.

Not about peppers...

My uncle was complaining that the deer were playing havoc in his garden he keeps down here. I tell him it's his own darn fault, as he plants food plots for deer and birds in all the little odd patches of ground on the farm. However, I had noticed that some volunteer swiss chard from last years garden out in the field was being chomped down to nubbins, with plenty of red and white clover and other grasses all around. I bought him one of those 10 cent packages of swiss chard seed at the discount store and he planted it on the woods side of his garden. It's starting to come up now, so we'll see if it proves to be a good catch crop for deer.

-- Polly (tigger@moultrie.com), June 12, 2000.

Rich, maybe you need to make some rabbit stew.

-- Cindy (atilrthehony_1@yahoo.com), June 12, 2000.

In experimenting over the past few years, I have found RED plastic mulch to be incredibly productive, not only for peppers, but also eggplant. It is primarily touted for tomatoes, but I have my own good system for that (particulars available). I have found the red plastic mulch to nearly double plant size and production, albeit my experience covers a mere 2 years. Nonetheless, I think it is worth consideration. And this is for several (maybe 6 or 8) varieties. GL!

-- Brad (Homefixer@SacoRiver.net), June 14, 2000.