Help with poblano pepper plants

14 years ago

hi everyone :) I'm new here to post, but have been scanning lots of older posts for help.

So I have 2 poblano chili pepper plants that I picked up at a local nursery. With their advice, I planted in Black Gold potting soil and added to the 4 square foot container (2 plants) a scant 2 TB of Osmocote fertilizer pellet things.

It took a long time for the plants to grow, but they took off when it got over 90d each day here. They are in full Sun for 8 hrs/day. The container has large holes drilled 2" apart on the bottom and a few on the sides, has 1" of small rocks in the bottom and that is topped with broken terra cotta. It drains water beautifully.

So --- the plants start growing, and are producing numerous small leaves and a few buds. I got maybe 3 flower, that would bloom and then drop off the next day. Got a few yellow leaves that would fall off. Buds would dry up and fall off before blooming. I researched online and here :) Figured out the soil (b/c of the Osmocote) probably had too much nitrogen. I soaked the container through twice (letting it dry out in between, which takes just 2 days here in southern Arizona). After that the plants did MUCH better...lots of buds staying on - a dozen or so flowers. I also treated with the standard Epsom salt mixture in a spray bottle 7 days ago...1 TB epsom salt to 1 gallon water (which I let sit outside for a day to get rid of any chlorine from the tap). Buds are staying, flowers are staying...it all looks good :)

However...I'm getting lots of new little leaves instead of the ones that are there growing. See picture below. I look online at other poblano plants (mature) and the leaves are 3-4 times larger.

Can I pinch off new leaves? Should I be cutting some of the new stems (under the plant) off? How? Do I just have a really happy plant? I want it to bear peppers :)

They are tall enough now to get saggy and will be staking them this afternoon.

Also --- one of the plants main stem has "split" for lack of better description. Picture below.

Thanks for any help :) The nurseries in town just seem a bit clueless and actually told me to post online in a garden forum for better help.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

ourania
Original Author
14 years ago
I meant 4 cubic foot...(can't see how to edit my own post)
John Tebbs
14 years ago
Well, I'm a little puzzled.... Are you sure those are poblano pepper plants? They don't look anything at all like my poblano plants. Poblanos grow on a plant with fairly large leaves, just like a bell pepper. Those resemble the tiny pepper plants, ones that produce small tabasco type peppers....
Related Discussions
Poblano peppers not producing
Q
Comments (3)
Poblanos run late, perhaps in response to changing photoperiods. Successful fruit set may be contingent on lengthening nights. Please see the thread below from last week. Good luck, patience is hard. Here is a link that might be useful: poblanos 2012
...See More
Poblano Chili Peppers
Q
Comments (5)
I planted the standard Ferry-Morse variety of poblano available at home depot. They sprouted fine and are bearing fruit as we speak. So far, I have planted a lot of different F-M seed and have had great results. In fact, the F-M Anaheims I planted last year have overwintered and are covered with peppers right now. As for best environment, hot peppers are almost too easy here in So Cal using square foot gardening techniques. I would recommend the same approach to anyone just starting out.
...See More
Poblano peppers experiment
Q
Comments (7)
Okay, an update (sorry for the bump): We had temps in the teens for several nights with highs in the low 30's last week. We didn't make it above freezing for a couple of days during that period. Before the arctic blast poured in, I set a shop light (clamp type) with a 40 watt standard light bulb inside the tent and let that run during the night. I kept the tent covered with blankets as well, and was able to maintain overnight temps of around 45 to 50. This was about 30 degrees warmer than the outside temps! In retrospect, I could have probably gone with a 25 watt bulb and been just fine. But 40 watts isn't all that much, less than a dime a day to run. During the day, when the sun was out, I was able to turn off the lamp and fold back the blankets so that the sunlight could get in for a while to provide solar help. During the peak "solar periods" with no supplemental heat, the temps were a balmy 75 to 80, with brief periods above that... as high as 86 F. This, with outside temps not even breaking the freezing mark! Heck, my house isn't even *that* warm, LOL... As of yesterday, the plants look basically healthy with some 2-3" long poblanos and quite a few little "buttons" that weren't there before the chill. I did have some non-fertile flowers (old maids) as well, but hey, I'm pretty tickled to have PEPPERS in January. Considering that there's not much activity under that tent other than my occasional watering and checking things out, it's a wonder that anything even got pollinated. Eh, maybe some random bugs did that job or the peppers are "parthenocarpic". We shall soon see. Happy birthday to the plants as well-- they are now one year old, planted on January 1, 2009 and broke soil as new seedlings within 10 days. I've got more orange habs, serranos, bells and pobes started which are just now breaking soil. So cute to see the little baby seedlings. The Red Savina seeds are ready to go in the starter trays, but not sure if I'm going to waste time or space with jalapenos this year after the disappointing show I had last year. Lots of peppers, but almost all were totally heatless. Mismarked "Jalapeno M", I guess; they were more like "Fooled You's" or TAMe Jalapeno hybrids... what a waste of a good pepper (but that's for another thread). So, it looks like the experiment is progressing along nicely. It will be interesting to see if they continue to produce through the 2010 growing season. -Megan
...See More
What is your favorite recipe with poblano peppers?
Q
Comments (8)
Stacy, were your chicken breasts bone in and skin on? Here's one I like using poblanos. I don't remember where this recipe came from. Poblano Chicken Chowder 12 servings 1/4 cup olive oil 1 large carrot, chopped very fine 2 large onions, chopped very fine 1/2 cup chopped celery 8 cloves minced garlic 3 small poblano peppers, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch dice salt to taste 1/2 teaspoon white pepper 2 teaspoons ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules 3 quarts chicken broth 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro leaves, minced 3 cups diced shredded or chopped chicken 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup heavy cream Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the carrots, onions, celery, garlic, poblano peppers, salt, white pepper, cumin, and thyme. Saute and sweat for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the vegetables begin to soften. Stir in the chicken bouillon. Add the chicken broth and cilantro, and cook for 1 or 2 minutes, or until the carrots are tender. Stir in the chicken and cook, stirring frequently, until the chowder is thick and the chicken is heated through. Shortly before the chowder is done, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the flour and stir to combine. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 4 minutes to cook the flour. Do not allow the mixture to brown! Ladle 1 cup of the hot liquid from the stockpot into the skillet, whisking constantly. When the first cup of liquid is incorporated, add another 2 cups of liquid, 1 at a time. Pour the mixture in the skillet into the stockpot, whisking to blend. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes longer, or until the mixture begins to thicken. Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the the cream, and serve.
...See More
medcave
14 years ago
Your plants actually look pretty darn good if you ask me. Sure the leaves are a bit on the small side, but most of my poblano leaves are too. Probably has something to do with all the heat in Texas and Arizona.

I wouldn't pinch off leaves as the peppers will need the shade to prevent sun scald. I would suggest you either move your container or fashion a sunshade cloth canopy a few feet above the plants to provide midday shade. They just might set some fruit if your temps aren't much over the upper '90s yet. Otherwise you'll just have to baby them through the summer until it cools off again.
ourania
Original Author
14 years ago
thanks for posting medcave --- I'm a noob on growing veggies and needed a 'reality check' on the plants to see if they are normal or not. I'm pretty sure if I had excess nitrogen in the soil, that contributed to the 'whole lotta leaves' issue. I do plan on making a sun shade for them this week, it's going to start hitting 100+ for the next month or so. We also start monsoon season (higher humidity and afternoon showers). I started these plants the same time friends started their container garden. Their jalepenos and green chiles took off and are almost ready to harvest. Mine just didn't do anything (even grow) for a loooooong time, so I figured I may get a late harvest in Sept.

However --- I started counting flower buds --- I stopped when I hit 75, and that was just on one plant!

I will epsom salt again in 3 days.

Just found mealy bugs today (darnit!) and will Dawn/water spray tonight (I read that tip on here :) as I can't use pesticides.

srjohnt --- I was questioning whether they were poblanos as well...so I compared the leaf and flower to what I could find online and indeed they are poblanos.

I'll welcome any other feedback also :)

Adrienne
medcave
14 years ago
Yeah the sunshade cloth will really help. We've been at 100 nearly every day for a week now and I'm still getting fruit set from the peppers and tomatoes that are in the shaded plot. As I'm harvesting other crops and making room I'm moving my potted hot peppers in there too.

Also, add a light colored mulch such as grass clippings, hay, or even newspaper to your container. That helps keep the roots cool too.
ourania
Original Author
14 years ago
yeah - I have some extra light/heat blocking cloth from making curtains to help with summer cooling costs. I made a covering for the soil, where I've cut out where the pepper plants are. I also punched ventilation holes in it. Seems to work well :) I took it away for the pictures b/c the glare of the sunshine on it blew out the pictures.

I can make an easy sunshade going from my patio roof to a tree with some patio shade fabric I have - will fix that up tomorrow and keep and eye out as the Sun angle changes each day to make sure they get shade from noon-3pm-ish

Adrienne

Help with poblano pepper plants

Comments (6)

ourania
Original Author

John Tebbs

Related Discussions

medcave

ourania
Original Author

medcave

ourania
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Help with poblano pepper plants

Comments (6)

ouraniaOriginal Author

John Tebbs

Related Discussions

medcave

ouraniaOriginal Author

medcave

ouraniaOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

ourania
Original Author

ourania
Original Author

ourania
Original Author