harold59 same thing happened with my peppers only with jalapeno and serrano and the same hot. I have picked a short fat jalapeno and a longer bullet shaped serrano off the same branch. Some of the peppers get about the size of a nickel and turn red, they have a sweet tast when first bitten into then feel like a match head for about 20 minutes. Guy at works claims to eat Ghost peppers but admits my peppers make him sweat. I have a cayenne plant also they are a little hot but real bitter. I planted 3 Jalapenos directly in the ground but the serrano I had bought earlier and kept in a pot in the house when it got a pepper I put it outside close to the jalapenos and brought back inside at night after the jalapenos started blooming I planted the serrano about 5 feet away. the serrano only has serrano looking peppers on it, but they are dark green before turning red. in the spring i'm going to add a bell pepper.

Of course you can make it any size you see fit, and using any materials that are easily available to you. Though I think 6 inches wide will probably do, I would opt a little wider 8-12 inches wide. Here's how I planed to build mine. First plywood would be stronger, but OSB board would be cheaper and still strong enough. It runs about $7-$8 for a 8x4 sheet around here. I plan the inside diameter to be 12 inch deep, about 12 inch wide, and 8 feet long. Make it as long as you want also, 8 feet is all I need. Though I plan to build 2, set them parallel with each other about 5-6 feet apart, and place a A-frame trellis between the two trenches. You already have your trellis. To strengthen the box structure, I plan on running 1x2's (they run $0.84 ea here) along the outside for added support. You can use 2x4's but would be about 3-4 times the price, and 1x2's should be enough support. For a trench box that long, I would probably run one horizontal row of 1x2 along the top and bottom of the box. Then periodically place vertical pieces between them. Here in the desert I need to insulate the roots from the heat, you probably wont want to do this part, especially if you are going to have the trench in the ground. My trench is planed to be on top of the ground. The inside of the box will be lined with probably 2 layers of 1/2 inch (or 1 inch) thick Styrofoam sheet insulation. Glued in with PL300 foamboard adhesive (it's made specifically to glue Styrofoam insulation to wood and construction materials. Then I plan to line the inside with vinyl sheeting. I don't know if Low's or Home Depot carry it, but ACE hardware just down the street from me does. They have 3 different thickness that run from about $3-$6 a square yard (in one yard widths). For the inside diameter I plan, it should just fit nicely without even overlapping it (except the end pieces. I plan to use 100% silicone to seal the ends and glue down the vinyl sheeting (as well as all corners and edges after the Styrofoam is glued in). Fish pond liner would be just fine, and plenty durable. I don't know how much it runs, but I think I will look into pricing that as well. For the drain I plan to cut a hole just big enough to run a pvc tube through the wood, and a little smaller than the wood hole in the Styrofoam (for a snug fit). Then glue it to the Styrofoam with the foamboard adhesive. Then run beds of silicone, and screw in a pvc connectors on both sides of the tube and snug it down. Making the lip of the connector on the inside of the box as short as possible (but still durable), so as much water will drain out as possible. I may decide to have more than one of these drains per box. But if one side of the box is raised a little, the water should flow nicely to the side with the drain/s. Because the heat and sun is so bad here on things. I plan to paint the outside of the box with a roofing material. I forget what it's called, but it's white, thick, durable and flexible. They use it on rooftops for reflecting the suns rays (overall cooling the building). That will also add another layer of insulation for the roots for me (reflecting the heat). But I need to find somewhere where they sell it in one gallon buckets. The 5 gallon buckets are way more than I need, and it's not exactly cheep (a one gallon should run about $10-12). That should protect the wood from moisture if you plan to bury it in the ground as well. However there is another material for that also, but it's black. I forget what they call that also, but they use it to protect walls that extend underground so they don't absorb moisture (like basement walls, underground stairways etc.). I don't know how much it runs, but you will want to protect the wood from ground moisture if you place it in the ground. And products like Thompson water seal wear off and need to be reapplied regularly. Once the box is ready, I plan to simply place a section of inexpensive furnace filter screening ($2, I just cut the screening material out of a inexpensive furnace filter) on top of the drain holes. Then I will place a layer of rocks on top of that to about 2 inches deep along the bottom of the trench. This will hold the screening in place and help with drainage all the way through the box. Then just fill with the growing medium and plants, setup the drip system. You should have a very durable planter box that will withstand the weather and you can use year after year. .

robeb I think that box-man was asking about plants growing next to each other exchanging fruit traits, not seeds. ---------------------------------------------------------- That question was answered by "rockguy". In general, x-pollination can only affect the seeds , not the current fruit. In the case of crossing an extremly hot pepper with a sweet pepper where the seeds and the membrand on which they are formed may be consumed, one might experience some heat. But if you carve out and throw away the seeds, the flesh of the sweet pepper will remain unaffected. So that heat is coming from the seeds. This is a unique thing about peppers. With most fruits the seeds either are not consumed and/or there is no way that our pallet can tell the difference.

Unfortunately, I don't have a way to take pictures (ancient cell phone, no camera). BUT I have noticed today that the plants that were darker in leaf colour have got a stiff spike of what I think must pass for its flowers growing up out of the very top of several of the plants -- I don't remember peppers ever doing that. I'm thinking they might not be peppers at all but weeds? I planted another set of 6 just hot peppers in a container and they have started sprouting (only 6 and only where I put the seeds :). Is it safe to say I can pull out those plants with the funky flower shoot and try again in their place some bells?