Peppers for N. Central Fl ?

14 years ago

I love peppers. I'm not having a lot of success growing them though. Last year I tried Bells, Pimentos, Poblanos, Anaheims and Jalopeno in pots in the spring. All from Lowes except the Poblanos. I got a few Bells, a few more Pimentos and little else. This Spring I planted in ground. The results were even worse. I had a nice crop of Pimentos until they started ripening, then they went from red to rotten over night. Most of my bells never grew over 12" tall. The poblanos look healthy, but no fruit yet.

There are symptoms: A branch has all the leaves wither up and die as if the branch had been broken off. I've pulled up stunted bells with very few roots. Nematodes? Next plant over has a healthy looking root system on a equally stunted plant. Anyhow, If anyone has some cultural tips or can suggest some varieties that do well in this area I will appreciate the help.

john

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Comments (10)

cjc45
14 years ago
Sorry, I can't help with your problem but where did you get the poblanos?
johnjsr
Original Author
14 years ago
Hi CJ,
I checked out your web page before answering your reply. We share a lot of the same interest. Birds, Orchids, Bromeliads,Nature. Nice work.
I grew the Poblanos from seed which I found at Lowes. I have grown them from seed that I salvaged from dried Ancho peppers. (same pepper) Start them early they take a long time to bear. My neighbor has some plants he says are three years old that are still productive.
good luck john
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an_ill-mannered_ache
14 years ago
i'm only an ok pepper grower--this year's better than most.

here's my accumulated wisdom: 1) pick the right variety. for sweets, i've had great luck with fat n sassy, flexum and sweet spot (all from tomato growers supply). hot ones--tabasco, habanero, anaheims. 2) plant them as early as possible. when you plant your tomatoes--i.e., probably the beginning of march in n fla., maybe earlier. you might have to protect them from frost. for fall planting, they should probably go in now (mine have). 3) plant them CLOSE together for support and to protect from sun scald. stake them or grow them in cages. (i don't have room for cages, so instead i use multiple bamboo stakes--as many as 4 per plant.) 4) hot peppers do very well in pots. use a loose, well-drained mix that includes pine fines, perlite and peat. i use equal quantities if i can get fines in bags; otherwise i use a mix from my local landscaping co that is 1/4 hardwood fines, 1/4 pine fines and the rest peat.

on this forum, search for "post hole method" or posthole method. it's how i plant them in the ground--essentially, dig out a cylinder of "dirt" and replace it with dirt.

i haven't sprayed mine. they're under attack from stinkbugs (leaf-footed) and flea beetles, but they're healthy enough. i fertile monthly with a small amount of balanced fertilizer, and every once and a while a handful of epsom.

i just got a BIG bag of peppers from happy_fl_gardener. my own plants have tons of fruit on them, and will produce another crop in the fall, as soon as the light changes enough and it cools down (sometime in september).

it CAN be done. but it takes some practice and luck.
tomncath
14 years ago
For sweets you might want to try Giant Marconi Hybrid, it's not a Bell but is fairly thick-walled and easy to grow. Sometimes the Big Box stores will actually have the plants too...I think you'd be happy with it.

for sweets, i've had great luck with fat n sassy,
flexum and sweet spot (all from tomato growers supply).

Hey Michael, I want to these three sweets, you've got to sent me some seeds! I've updated my Exchange List and I purchased quite a few new varieties from TG's so take a look and see if you want to try anything.

Tom
an_ill-mannered_ache
14 years ago
tom-shoot me an email with your address. i'll send you the flexum and sweet spots. i got the fat n sassy as seedlings from christine... you can probably hit her up.

i am growing those marconi, too. they're great! but given a choice between sweet spots and marconi, i'd opt for the sweet spots, just 'cause there are more of them. we eat a LOT of peppers in our household...
tomncath
14 years ago
10-4 Back Door, me too - gobble, gobble, gobble, CYE....Christine, your next :-)
happy_fl_gardener; 9a, near DeLand
14 years ago
Tom, send me your home address. I'm sure I have some Fat 'n Sassy seeds stashed in the spare frig. My vote is lots of marconi in addition to sweet spot. This is my first year trying marconi and they turned out to be heavy producers.

Christine
johnjsr
Original Author
14 years ago
Has anyone tried the nematode resistant bell "Charleston Belle". I've ordered seed. Its based on "Keystone Resistant". Probably too late for this fall.
john
cjc45
14 years ago
Thanks John, I don't know why I didn't think of using seeds from the dried chiles. I tried seeds from the fresh ones but they apparently weren't mature.

CJ
an_ill-mannered_ache
14 years ago
so i finally tried the first flexum pepper... hands-down the thickest-walled pepper i've ever eaten. much heavier in the hand than you'd expect.

very sweet, very mild. i got the plant in late, and it only started to set peppers in july. right now, on a smallish plant, there are 6 or 7 peppers growing. tgs advertises it as a 'compact' plant, so i don't know how big it will eventually get.