I grew peppers in 7 gallon grow bags on a self-watering peastone bed last summer and they were enormous, but didn't fruit much at all... After watching your videos, I relied too much on the potting mix to provide nutrients and had no idea about pruning seedlings either. This season, I have started my own by seed and traded for others, and hope to have more success with amendments.
I always tear early buds off, the argument is that if it's producing fruit or veggies it's not developing root growth and or overall height of the plant. It seems to work out for me.
I'm growing poblano, anaheim, and California Wonder bell peppers, indoors, hydroponically. They're about 18" tall and have been flowering a lot, so I've been picking all the flowers off. The last time I grew them, I was shocked at how amazingly sweet they are...I had no idea peppers were supposed to taste so good! Even the store-bought organic ones aren't as good as home-grown. One thing interesting about indoor hydroponics is since there are no seasons, the plants just keep producing; that was another thing I had no idea about. I LOVE growing my own peppers. Thanks for all the tips!
I really like that you say something once then go on for more info to the next item. I get so frustrated with so many that repeat, repeatedly. I catch myself saying I heard you the first time, really 20 times is unbelievable. Thank you, your content is spot on.
I started some peppers indoors this year and they are doing great outside now. If you're on a budget, just go to your local big box store and pick up some daylight spectrum LED shop lights, you don't need to get the high priced grow lights especially for the first 6-8 weeks.
the grow bags are great they will allow the pot to dry out faster getting some oxygen to the roots and the fabric will "prune" the roots and keep it from getting rootbound usually resulting in a bushier plant too. i planted about 32ish peppers yesterday using 7and 5 gallon smartpots.im doing Carolina reapers, Trinidad scorpions, ghost, gong bao, cayenne, and a couple others. i like the smartpot brand they are made in USA and very durable
I like the grow bags a lot; however, I have noticed they dry out much faster than my other potted plants, so I had to adjust my potting mix and watering regimen, and also mulch heavily on top.
The Mykos Pure Mycorrhiza is awesome! works for all plants. especially when transplanting, i sprinkle it all around and mix it in the soil as well. I did a test, 6 peppers, all the same, 3 with and 3 without, noticeable difference both. very lush
Greetings from Australia. I've just started sowing pepper seeds yesterday under grow lights. It's still a bit cool in Melbourne >20c but the information I have gathered from your vids is very much appreciated. Please keep up the good work. Cheers :)
I've had luck pruning my plants by picking the flowers until the end of may. It helps the plants to focus on vegitation until they are big enough and ready to focus on flowering
2 things. If you like to grow Aji peppers please plant them in large containers and stake them off with tall dowel rods or bamboo poles. Most will grow very tall. 2nd thing is if you have trouble trying to figure out how to give your plants sun but not burn them..use SHADE CLOTH. You can make something out of burlap wrap or from shade screen. Sometimes you have to double up with the screen. It paid off for me this year. Good luck
Crushed oyster shells, sold by Tractor Supply as chicken feed, are a great source of calcium, and they’re relatively cheap - about $20 for a 50 pound bag. I’ve been lightly sprinkling it on my raised beds, between seasons, along with other amendments, for several years, and my calcium was off the charts, in my recent soil test from University of Florida Extension Service.
Regarding pruning. In my experience, Annuums like Jalapeños benefit greatly from topping. You’ll get a far bigger crop. Chinensis like Ghost Peppers and Habaneros tend to be naturally more bushy. Personally I still prune them all. I believe it’s beneficial from a yield aspect. Cheers. I like the video.
This is my first year growing a sweet pepper variety plant in british columbia canada. Its going pretty well, i started my soil with some vermacite, organic granule fertalizer, calcium and compost. Pepper stayed short but it had about 7 flowers in may. In june ive got my first pepper that i make sure to keep watered. I think planting it beside some lavender and onions help it stay pollinated. Ive added some liquid seaweed every so often after the peppers started growing. Its going good so far.
I've been looking to grow peppers for a little while now. I told myself that 2020 was going to be the year I started.... then I never did 💁 Fingers crossed I do it this year!
Great video with accurate info. Edit: 100% with the grow bags. No question. Plus they will have a far harder time falling over. Ok, second edit. I should wait until the end haha. Yes, for me anyway, prune. In my opinion and experience, diverting those growth hormones (auxins) to lower branches makes a huge difference. Plus, you can actually low stress train your pepper plant to any shape you want that will also increase your yield. It's pretty cool stuff. Love your guys's videos
Excellent and informative video. We grow in 7 and 10 gallon fabric bags having far more success then when we had our peppers in raised beds. We plant two per pot. Bells and poblano in the 10 gal. We do top the hot peppers mostly because they become a stronger plant. We are in a new zone this year, 4a and winds above 25mph are normal 4-5 days a week so we are considering topping them all. What has really helped us is being able to over winter them inside after cutting them down to 4 or 5in. and removing all the leaves. Really appreciate the fertilizer recommendations and information as I have always struggled with what to use. Would you have any recommendations as to when we should fertilize over wintered plants? Usually we just top with compost when it's time to put them outside. Thank you!
Clay soil is tricky I'd need about ten buckets of water to get water very deep. Our hose faucet is broken. So I only am able to get about an inch of depth wet unless I haul water big time. But my hot peppers are doing great for some reason. Idk why. Maybe roots have hit ground water. But my tomatoes and other plants are doing great too. I just water every day depending on the heat (southern Ontario Canada here.) or every other day. (We are getting a good amount of rain at times) and although the plant remained quite small and produced only 4 or 5 peppers (mazzitti) I'm happy. I'm not the kind of gardener who's going to be meticulous about every aspect. We also put down blood meal to keep critters away and whatever it does for plants idk. But we did use fertilizer too. So I'm having fun and am happy
I have my carolina reapers in totes and I was about 2 weeks late in putting them outside. A friend of my husband gave me some Botanicare Platonic Care Kind Bloom to mix with my water. Now 4 days later I am finally seeing buds and will be blooming I'm sure in a few days. My plants are totally full of beautiful leaves. Have you ever tried this? Your giving me so much info. thanks Brenda
This is great, thanks!!! I'm a pepper lover who is delving deep into the pepper game this season. I have a variety of super hot to sweet. Very excited. I live in zone 9 and just started my seeds on a greenhouse shelf in my backyard. Already have a couple plants dispersed between pots and wicking buckets. I may even try a grow bag in a sub irrigated system (kiddy pool) where i have some tomatoes and corn or in a dedicated pepper pool.
This year I'm using the Mykos pure mycorrhizal inoculant on the plant start root balls when potting up. Seems to be working well so far. Thanks for your informative videos. Zone 5B suburban Chicago.
I've been binge watching a lot of your videos, this is a really awesome channel! Just a suggestion: when talking about gallons, fahrenheit or inches, you could write somewhere on screen the correspondent unit of measurement in liters, celsius or centimeters etc. :)
Debating on starting my 1st pepper plant in a flower bed I have out front on the porch in a slight shade. But idk if I can really put them there next to flowers I have already in the bed. Or just using a 5 gallon pot.
Pepper Geek - So you mention throughout the various stages, early growth to maturity (Lots of nitrogen) > Maturity with blooms ( reduce N and raise Phosphorus/Calcium). I live on a 2nd story apt with a balcony, so of course, I am gardening in pots. I also get morning - mid noon sun light before the sun goes up above the building by 12-1p CST. Are you recommending I repot the pepper plants 1) based on when it outgrows the pot it's in and 2) when we need to adjust soil contents? I've got bell peppers and jalapenos as well as tomatos with fruit already coming on. I am pretty certain I havent made the change in soil content to heavy Phosphorus but they seem to be doing well.
Upsizing pots should be done when the plant outgrows the container it is in. We typically change up the nutrients 2-3 weeks after the plants are in their final planting location (a large pot). It is around this time that they should be allowed to produce buds and reduce the nitrogen. We're also finding that high quality potting mix can have enough nutrients to get the plants through several months, while poor-quality bagged mixes can be detrimental to the plant's health. There are a lot of factors! Oh, and don't forget about potassium for fruiting too.
My plants are flowering and early fruiting in some cases. In 5 gal bucket grow. 7 pot, Butch T, other hots, etc. Should I do anything? The seem OK. MN weather.
As long as they're growing not stunted/tiny I would keep them growing. MN likely has a pretty short growing season so the plants need all the time they can get!
Excellent vid, covered a lot of ground. For pollination, I tried the electric toothbrush trick. I think it worked, last year was a bumper tomato and pepper harvest. But it also could have been the composted mushrooms and rock phosphate I started using...who knows xD Also, I started using a 40% shade three years ago, made/makes a HUGE difference in reducing plant stress in hottest part of the season (July Aug in zone 8a), so highly recommend if your garden has no natural shade during the afternoon. And yes, I prune. Not certain it increases yield, but it keeps the plant more compact and less likely to get leggy - which can make it more likely to be damaged in high winds or when moving.
I’ve been tossing a sheet over my peppers when we’re having a heat wave. My peppers are surrounded by garden wire to keep out rabbits and squirrels. The fencing s tall enough that the sheet doesn’t touch the plants. Is this good advice anyone?
Great tips! Green sand has always worked well for me too, in conjunction with other amendments of course. I add a little green sand to pots and garden beds and I've even started adding a little bit to my seed starting mix because the pepper seedlings grow so much bigger and stronger with it. I've only used the brand Down To Earth until this year and haven't noticed a difference with the new stuff
I think that’s the point. Extending the growing season by starting indoors. I’m in the north. It’s the end of June and we still have nights in the 40s😔
I use a product called cytoplex at the 4 week and it push the plants by making more branches and growing taller and helps a lot with higher yield along with suger express for bigger peppers and color
You obviously understand what you are talking about, so when I start my peppers I tend to use the same soil as I do everything else: One gl. coco coir, one gl. worm castings, 2 cups azomite and three quarters gl. vermiculite. Is that good for starting from seed? I have only started gardening for two years now and I am addicted. Thank you for such an awesome channel.
Sounds like a great starting point to me. The vermiculite could be replaced with perlite, or a mixture of both, but either works well for aeration and root penetration
If you have early jalapeños, do you take off the first flowers? My plants are about 6” tall, but when I up-planted I potted them up to the first set of true leaves. Should I continue to feed them nitrogen so they will get bushier and take off some leaves and flower buds, or go for Potassium and let them groW? Somewhere I think I heard to take off the first flowers.
I like to use mycos and azos from extreme gardening when trans planting. I also use 3ml of humbolts secret cal-mag as a calcium boost with 1tsp of Epsom salt and a 1/4 tsp of super thrive per gallon of water twice a week and a all purpose fert once a week
Love your channels! I've learned so much about producing peppers, I wish there were someone like you that did fruit trees. You explain things in plain English and you're not confusing. Any recommendations besides epic? I already follow him, in fact I found you because of him lol. I need someone specific to fruit trees as you are peppers. Citrus to be specific. Thanks!
Love your Channel. New subscriber. I can tell you put a lot of thought and the right amount of detail for an overthinker like me :) great value and I look forward to seeing more cool videos like this one. oh and I almost forgot, great job on annotating the sections it makes it easier to find what I'm looking for or when I come back to the video for reference. A+ work
This will sound very bizarre but I have had success with this method and its worth experimenting on at the bottom of your container you put a fish tank airater the tube Comes out of the container to a pump The fish tank pump you see with aquariums you put your dirt into the container grow your pepper after it has grown a little two or 3 inches once a week you pump air into the bottom of the container for just a few minutes. the roots need oxygen worms digging around underground helps provide oxygen but in a container you won’t have that. I have even experimented with real oxygen and when putting real oxygen from a tank to the roots for just a few minutes a week the growth factor when I did this comparison was quite amazing the top of the plant needs CO2 but the roots love oxygen try this and see what you think. Thanks for your video very informative.
Wow, strange but interesting experiment. We do have a pump and air stone so it would be feasible to try...but running a pump 24/7 outdoors seems a bit cumbersome
@@PepperGeek you only turn on the air once a week for 3 to 4 minutes if you go to the hardware store they will sell small red bottles of oxygen it works amazingly well the plant I tried this on is almost twice as big and twice as productive someone told me when they found some of that ancient tree sap with bugs trapped inside there was also air bubbles and apparently during prehistoric times the oxygen level is much higherAnd the plants were much bigger of course the CO2 was higher as well just a thought
I am growing an Aji Amarillo plant, which I bought already developed, but the plant is not doing very well, the leaves were curling, but last it rain a little bit in L.A And apparently it help it. It has been very hot here I move the plant to semi shaded area. Any advice?
I feed my plants alpaca and rabbit manure tea. Yes high in nitrogen, once a week all way through the season. Once blooms start, I bi feed weekly once high nitrogen, one high phosphorus. It’s worked great for me. All my plants on the east side of buildings do the best. Full sun until 1-2pm. Afternoon shade. That’s my advice.
Very cool, I like that regimen of switching each week. Afternoon shade works great for our balcony potted plants too, they produce well for having just 5-6 hours of morning sun.
Hm, it could come down to the container size and the nutrients available to the plant. Fertilize with something that has high phosphorus and potassium, make sure there is enough calcium/magnesium and perhaps even check for pH (ideally a neutral pH level). Pot size should be around 4-5 gallons for bell peppers.
Hi, I'm not a hot pepper person. I normally go for the sweet bell peppers. I heard about the Shishito peppers that are supposedly milder but has a little kick for salsas. What do you think? Do yuh ou have another suggestion?
We grew a shishito last year, excellent yields from a relatively small plant. They were not spicy at all, but delicious and very useful in cooking or salsa! Highly recommended variety.
Dude your channel is awesome, I've been waiting for something like this. I know this is a peppers channel, but do these same principles concerning nutrients also apply to tomatoes? I was hoping to grow tomatoes and peppers in a rotation of raised beds and I'm wondering if the soil amendments will cause problems down the road when tomatoes are in beds that previously housed peppers. -Adam
Hey! Thanks, glad you discovered the channel :). As for the nutrients, a lot is similar between tomatoes and peppers, so I wouldn't worry about rotating tomato/pepper plants between the same beds. They come from the same plant family after all! I would just amend each bed with some organic compost or similar at the beginning of each season and maybe run a soil test every few years to know what you've got in the soil already.
Certain varieties, such as Big Bertha and Cubanelles, love to be pruned back when young. It encourages a ton of growth and side shoots. Chocolate Beauties don't like being cut back, at least if growing over the winter. However, the Chocolates that seemed to languish in pots after pruning, are growing like all getout now that they are in the ground. In fact, they are bushing out better than the first two. Find the varieties you really like, and take a few years to experiment and learn their idiosyncrasies.
wow, that's a lot of stuff. I Live in Las Vegas atm I grow my peppers in 5gal buckets i cant even remember what soil i used, i think miracle grow garden soil. I started them in soup cans next to a window. They grow so many peppers i cannot eat them all i give much of them away. Im afraid what would happen if i do all the things you recommend.
Had a quick question. Im growing some bolivian rainbows this year, I've already topped them and they have grown back quite a bit, indoors under grow lights that is. My question is on an ornamental pepper thats grown inside to be transferred outdoors later, is it necessary to pick off the flowers?
If you are growing for ornamental purposes only, you can feel free to allow the plant to produce fruits early, but you may not get as many fruits in the long run since the plant will likely remain smaller. Moving it into a larger container will encourage the plant to continue growing larger!
very helpful video..can I put a bell pepper, jalapeno, and cocumber together in a 14 inch pot? I got those small plants from home depot a month back and put them together in 14 inch. none are flowering. but one of them got aphids (minor) and I sprayed it with water and then neem oil.
6a - it depends on the weather but this year everything moved into the ground around June 1st. I'm looking for temps consistently above 50-55°F at night before the permanent move outside
Supposed to be around 100k Scoville’s. They look like those colourful ones that face up, but facing down instead. I also have a chocolate scotch bonnet, cayennes and a ghost pepper on the go. I could’ve gotten Carolina Reapers and Scorpions as well, but the heat in them seems way too extreme. I’ll have to remember to save seeds from them for next year.
Literally every season I've grown chinense peppers outdoors they top/prune themselves dependent on the availability of depth for their roots. The deeper the water reservoir so to speak the taller they tend to want to go before lower branches start becoming the arms of Atlas, and the pinnacle splits. Mykos microR is pretty good in fabric pots. In raised beds leaves... Moldy looking leaves have served me just as well as a base for free. I do throw nightcrawlers in the trees big raised beds though so maybe they treat the microR like it's a buffet or something.
New subscriber been going thru ur channels and even tried a few recipes (1-1 on like scale lol). I see a lot of negative comments about pesticide sprays/powder to keep away pest, have you tried different type plants to ward off pest?
Not really in our experience. In ground usually seems more problematic in terms of disease and what not, just because it is harder to moderate water. But we’ve had success both ways with many types of peppers, large, small, hot, sweet etc!
We grow our peppers in a small greenhouse (converted car shelter). Have you tried over-wintering any of your plants? I've seen a few videos, and spoken with a local grower and thought I knew what to do. We tried last year, but no success. I think my plants got too cold. Also, have you considered using CO2 to increase growth and yield? I am hoping to put that in place in the next couple of seasons, but it only seems to be applied to a very narrow band of 'growers', of which I am not.
We have overwintered and we will be making a video on that topic later this year. As for CO2, no, we have never used it for our plants - I think that is probably best left to those who grow that other stuff
Can we please get a follow up on how the fungus works. I was just doing some research on this with trees and I’m really interested to know how well it works in the garden. Thanks! Ps. Love the new channel!
Definitely - we are currently running a comparison experiment on two pepper plants, one with mykos and one without. Video will be out once we have definitive results!
It definitely does not work with brassicas, chard, and beets, but it is supposed to help most other plants. Do a search about which plants form the fungal relationship.
I've been using the same brand shown for over 5 years now and I swear by it! It goes in my seed starting mix and in the hole every time I repot/transplant. I've been growing super hots for about 6 years so I have some experience. Very interested to see the result from your experiment because I've definitely convinced myself that it helps with nutrient uptake and ultimately contributes to having healthier, more resilient plant.
You can definitely put them outdoors if it is warm enough, just be careful of too much direct sun exposure. We recently uploaded a video about hardening off that may be useful
I've been overwintering my chillies / peppers and they seem to be doing ok but when do I start to feed them in the early part of the year? They're in a greenhouse which doesn't drop to a temperature less than about 8°C Is it to do with heat or sunlight?
Flower drop is more likely from too much heat, like will change pH but won’t offset nitrogen rich soil. I’d honestly just let them grow and allow the plants to sort it out
Thanks for all the videos. I brought my pepper plants indoors over the winter, cut it right down to a V twig. I just picked two small peppers today! so looking forwards to the last frost date so that i can bring the plant outside. I am based in Ireland so we dont have much of a growing season. QQ: I put it in my window & believe it or not its so sunny I think it burned the leaves (as they are now white). Should i remove them? I was also looking at the plant in the background and it looked very neat... mine i have not touched since stripping it right back. should i take a few leaves off or am i too close to the time i am about to put it outside?
You can prune leaves anytime - however even unsightly leaves can still photosynthesize. I wouldn't cut it down to nothing, at least leave a few leaves. Best of luck!
Great video! But be aware that your viewersvmay live in different places. Some of your recommendations are definitely for your climate zone. I live in Vietnam, so I can gro chilies year-round, but I don't know if there's an ideal time in my zone.
Thanks! That is a good point, if you live in a tropical climate it doesn't matter as much. I would say that you should plant so that they will fruit at the cooler time of year. Peppers can have trouble fruiting if it is SUPER hot. Good luck with any of your plants!
Here is a regimen I am trying this year: I plant the seeds in a Jiffy peat pod system around St. Patricks Day and use a grow light on sprouted pods April 1st: I move the sprouted pods to Solo cups with soil and drainage holes drilled and put them under T-5 full spectrum grow lights on a 18 on-6 off schedule I'm going to move them to 5-gal buckets and harden them on May 1st, then put them out on May 8th, giving them an organic, high-nitrogen fertilizer, and and organic, balanced N-P-K fertilizer until the 4th of July, then I'll stop with the nitrogen fertilizer
I start seeds in paper towel in ziplock with it on seeds to start early relationship between roots and fungi works awesome and vigorous growth. Scratch soil add more after a month or two
Dude - best show on youtube.
I personally have learned a lot from this thread and I appreciate your insight
Mykos is great stuff. Used it years ago when the cannabis market was much more competitive and quality was imperative.
I grew peppers in 7 gallon grow bags on a self-watering peastone bed last summer and they were enormous, but didn't fruit much at all... After watching your videos, I relied too much on the potting mix to provide nutrients and had no idea about pruning seedlings either. This season, I have started my own by seed and traded for others, and hope to have more success with amendments.
I watch quite few gardening videos and your style is one of the best , straight to point .
Good luck with your channel .
Thanks for the support :)
I feel like I'm overthinking growing peppers
Thats what we do 😂
@@PepperGeek Rather be safe than sorry I guess lol. Thanks for all the information
I FEEL THIS, started growing peppers around a year ago but started after season so this is my first season and i’m looking for all the info i can get
Literally 99.9% of my life lol
God bless you!! 🙏🏾🙏🏾
You not the only one brother!! 🤣🤣
This is probably the most informative video I have watched to date. Thanks so much for sharing this!
I always tear early buds off, the argument is that if it's producing fruit or veggies it's not developing root growth and or overall height of the plant. It seems to work out for me.
Full of pertinent information. This is my go to channel!
I'm growing poblano, anaheim, and California Wonder bell peppers, indoors, hydroponically. They're about 18" tall and have been flowering a lot, so I've been picking all the flowers off. The last time I grew them, I was shocked at how amazingly sweet they are...I had no idea peppers were supposed to taste so good! Even the store-bought organic ones aren't as good as home-grown. One thing interesting about indoor hydroponics is since there are no seasons, the plants just keep producing; that was another thing I had no idea about. I LOVE growing my own peppers. Thanks for all the tips!
That awesome! I’m struggling with aphids. But I won’t give up!
@@undercoverbird8592 buy some lady beetles, that'll fix em
I really like that you say something once then go on for more info to the next item. I get so frustrated with so many that repeat, repeatedly. I catch myself saying I heard you the first time, really 20 times is unbelievable. Thank you, your content is spot on.
😂 I'm glad you enjoyed!
Thanks!
Absolutely, thank you for the support! ❤️🔥
I started some peppers indoors this year and they are doing great outside now. If you're on a budget, just go to your local big box store and pick up some daylight spectrum LED shop lights, you don't need to get the high priced grow lights especially for the first 6-8 weeks.
the grow bags are great they will allow the pot to dry out faster getting some oxygen to the roots and the fabric will "prune" the roots and keep it from getting rootbound usually resulting in a bushier plant too. i planted about 32ish peppers yesterday using 7and 5 gallon smartpots.im doing Carolina reapers, Trinidad scorpions, ghost, gong bao, cayenne, and a couple others. i like the smartpot brand they are made in USA and very durable
Cool, you're one of many positive reviews of the grow bags, so glad we have a bunch!
I like the grow bags a lot; however, I have noticed they dry out much faster than my other potted plants, so I had to adjust my potting mix and watering regimen, and also mulch heavily on top.
The Mykos Pure Mycorrhiza is awesome! works for all plants. especially when transplanting, i sprinkle it all around and mix it in the soil as well. I did a test, 6 peppers, all the same, 3 with and 3 without, noticeable difference both. very lush
We're in the middle of an experiment too - both plants look comparable so far, but the roots of the mike looked _way_ more developed!
I love using mycorrhiza
Greetings from Australia. I've just started sowing pepper seeds yesterday under grow lights. It's still a bit cool in Melbourne >20c but the information I have gathered from your vids is very much appreciated. Please keep up the good work. Cheers :)
I've had luck pruning my plants by picking the flowers until the end of may. It helps the plants to focus on vegitation until they are big enough and ready to focus on flowering
2 things. If you like to grow Aji peppers please plant them in large containers and stake them off with tall dowel rods or bamboo poles. Most will grow very tall. 2nd thing is if you have trouble trying to figure out how to give your plants sun but not burn them..use SHADE CLOTH. You can make something out of burlap wrap or from shade screen. Sometimes you have to double up with the screen. It paid off for me this year. Good luck
Crushed oyster shells, sold by Tractor Supply as chicken feed, are a great source of calcium, and they’re relatively cheap - about $20 for a 50 pound bag. I’ve been lightly sprinkling it on my raised beds, between seasons, along with other amendments, for several years, and my calcium was off the charts, in my recent soil test from University of Florida Extension Service.
Regarding pruning. In my experience, Annuums like Jalapeños benefit greatly from topping. You’ll get a far bigger crop. Chinensis like Ghost Peppers and Habaneros tend to be naturally more bushy. Personally I still prune them all. I believe it’s beneficial from a yield aspect. Cheers. I like the video.
This is my first year growing a sweet pepper variety plant in british columbia canada. Its going pretty well, i started my soil with some vermacite, organic granule fertalizer, calcium and compost. Pepper stayed short but it had about 7 flowers in may. In june ive got my first pepper that i make sure to keep watered. I think planting it beside some lavender and onions help it stay pollinated. Ive added some liquid seaweed every so often after the peppers started growing. Its going good so far.
Thanks for this video
I've come across like 500 of your videos so far... I thought I'd just subscribe already!
Appreciate that ☺️
I've been looking to grow peppers for a little while now. I told myself that 2020 was going to be the year I started.... then I never did 💁 Fingers crossed I do it this year!
I highly recommend it! Even if it’s just one small potted plant you will enjoy it :)
Let's do it!
Great video with accurate info.
Edit: 100% with the grow bags. No question. Plus they will have a far harder time falling over.
Ok, second edit. I should wait until the end haha.
Yes, for me anyway, prune. In my opinion and experience, diverting those growth hormones (auxins) to lower branches makes a huge difference. Plus, you can actually low stress train your pepper plant to any shape you want that will also increase your yield. It's pretty cool stuff.
Love your guys's videos
I have reapers fruiting now and they just get window sunlight. Big thick crazy bush. Im in SLC.
Concerning hot sunshine. I've grown on the east side of taller plants; okra, corn, or tall tomatoes.
New subscriber here. And implementing your tips.
I love Espoma, used Garden Tone last year on my plants. Going to be using worm castings and Bio-Tone as well this season!
Excellent and informative video. We grow in 7 and 10 gallon fabric bags having far more success then when we had our peppers in raised beds. We plant two per pot. Bells and poblano in the 10 gal. We do top the hot peppers mostly because they become a stronger plant. We are in a new zone this year, 4a and winds above 25mph are normal 4-5 days a week so we are considering topping them all. What has really helped us is being able to over winter them inside after cutting them down to 4 or 5in. and removing all the leaves. Really appreciate the fertilizer recommendations and information as I have always struggled with what to use. Would you have any recommendations as to when we should fertilize over wintered plants? Usually we just top with compost when it's time to put them outside. Thank you!
I've watched quite a few of your videos. They are fantastic. Thank you!
Awesome, thank you!
What's the difference between grow lights and normal LED light bulbs?
Clay soil is tricky I'd need about ten buckets of water to get water very deep. Our hose faucet is broken. So I only am able to get about an inch of depth wet unless I haul water big time. But my hot peppers are doing great for some reason. Idk why. Maybe roots have hit ground water. But my tomatoes and other plants are doing great too. I just water every day depending on the heat (southern Ontario Canada here.) or every other day. (We are getting a good amount of rain at times) and although the plant remained quite small and produced only 4 or 5 peppers (mazzitti) I'm happy. I'm not the kind of gardener who's going to be meticulous about every aspect. We also put down blood meal to keep critters away and whatever it does for plants idk. But we did use fertilizer too. So I'm having fun and am happy
Mychos and azos work very well!
I have my carolina reapers in totes and I was about 2 weeks late in putting them outside. A friend of my husband gave me some Botanicare Platonic Care Kind Bloom to mix with my water. Now 4 days later I am finally seeing buds and will be blooming I'm sure in a few days. My plants are totally full of beautiful leaves. Have you ever tried this? Your giving me so much info. thanks Brenda
This is great, thanks!!! I'm a pepper lover who is delving deep into the pepper game this season. I have a variety of super hot to sweet. Very excited. I live in zone 9 and just started my seeds on a greenhouse shelf in my backyard. Already have a couple plants dispersed between pots and wicking buckets. I may even try a grow bag in a sub irrigated system (kiddy pool) where i have some tomatoes and corn or in a dedicated pepper pool.
Can you do a video on indoor pepper plants like the one you have there, and how to care for them, pot sizes, etc, please?
Absolutely, we'll do this soon. We've got a couple of cayenne plants doing well indoors now, so maybe _very_ soon..?
This year I'm using the Mykos pure mycorrhizal inoculant on the plant start root balls when potting up. Seems to be working well so far. Thanks for your informative videos. Zone 5B suburban Chicago.
So excited to find this channel. Hello from coastal MA! 👋
Hey there, welcome! Nice to have a fellow New Englander among us - nice collection of plants you've got as well
I've been binge watching a lot of your videos, this is a really awesome channel! Just a suggestion: when talking about gallons, fahrenheit or inches, you could write somewhere on screen the correspondent unit of measurement in liters, celsius or centimeters etc. :)
Ah thanks, you're the second person this week to mention that, will do my best to remember going forward! Thanks for watching :)
that'd be great
Yes adding metric numbers is a great idea for those of us who don't use imperial!
+1 vote for this
to get close:
4L/gal
2.5cm/in
90F=uncomfortably hot for a northeastern american. lol.
Debating on starting my 1st pepper plant in a flower bed I have out front on the porch in a slight shade. But idk if I can really put them there next to flowers I have already in the bed.
Or just using a 5 gallon pot.
Pepper Geek - So you mention throughout the various stages, early growth to maturity (Lots of nitrogen) > Maturity with blooms ( reduce N and raise Phosphorus/Calcium). I live on a 2nd story apt with a balcony, so of course, I am gardening in pots. I also get morning - mid noon sun light before the sun goes up above the building by 12-1p CST. Are you recommending I repot the pepper plants 1) based on when it outgrows the pot it's in and 2) when we need to adjust soil contents? I've got bell peppers and jalapenos as well as tomatos with fruit already coming on. I am pretty certain I havent made the change in soil content to heavy Phosphorus but they seem to be doing well.
Upsizing pots should be done when the plant outgrows the container it is in. We typically change up the nutrients 2-3 weeks after the plants are in their final planting location (a large pot). It is around this time that they should be allowed to produce buds and reduce the nitrogen. We're also finding that high quality potting mix can have enough nutrients to get the plants through several months, while poor-quality bagged mixes can be detrimental to the plant's health. There are a lot of factors! Oh, and don't forget about potassium for fruiting too.
My plants are flowering and early fruiting in some cases. In 5 gal bucket grow. 7 pot, Butch T, other hots, etc. Should I do anything? The seem OK. MN weather.
As long as they're growing not stunted/tiny I would keep them growing. MN likely has a pretty short growing season so the plants need all the time they can get!
I tried pruning in my garden last year and 2 plants side by side, one pruned one not, I didn't notice any difference. Habaneros in arkansas weather.
Thanks for sharing
Excellent vid, covered a lot of ground. For pollination, I tried the electric toothbrush trick. I think it worked, last year was a bumper tomato and pepper harvest. But it also could have been the composted mushrooms and rock phosphate I started using...who knows xD Also, I started using a 40% shade three years ago, made/makes a HUGE difference in reducing plant stress in hottest part of the season (July Aug in zone 8a), so highly recommend if your garden has no natural shade during the afternoon. And yes, I prune. Not certain it increases yield, but it keeps the plant more compact and less likely to get leggy - which can make it more likely to be damaged in high winds or when moving.
I’ve been tossing a sheet over my peppers when we’re having a heat wave. My peppers are surrounded by garden wire to keep out rabbits and squirrels. The fencing s tall enough that the sheet doesn’t touch the plants. Is this good advice anyone?
@@robinfitzgerald7093 sounds good to me!
Thank you so much for sharing
Great tips!
Green sand has always worked well for me too, in conjunction with other amendments of course. I add a little green sand to pots and garden beds and I've even started adding a little bit to my seed starting mix because the pepper seedlings grow so much bigger and stronger with it. I've only used the brand Down To Earth until this year and haven't noticed a difference with the new stuff
When you are seeding indoors are you using heat mats as well as the grow lights? Thanks for the great videos.
Seed heat mat is used for germination, once the seeds sprout, heat mat is shut off, then we use grow lights.
What do you think of using worm castings,??..I seen videos swearing it produces bigger yields..
I like them! Everything worms produce is good for soil :)
Great info buddy
I have a few pepper types starting indoors for this season. Looking forward to getting them outdoors. Thanks for this info!
Thanks for watching, good luck this season!
Aside from pruning which is obvious to most folks, this video doesn't really discuss increasing a yield. It's mostly talking about growing indoors...
I think that’s the point. Extending the growing season by starting indoors. I’m in the north. It’s the end of June and we still have nights in the 40s😔
Awesome video! Any recommendation on preserving plants through the winter to get a jump start on the next season's growth?
We’ll be going into this in a future video
I use a product called cytoplex at the 4 week and it push the plants by making more branches and growing taller and helps a lot with higher yield along with suger express for bigger peppers and color
You obviously understand what you are talking about, so when I start my peppers I tend to use the same soil as I do everything else: One gl. coco coir, one gl. worm castings, 2 cups azomite and three quarters gl. vermiculite. Is that good for starting from seed? I have only started gardening for two years now and I am addicted. Thank you for such an awesome channel.
Sounds like a great starting point to me. The vermiculite could be replaced with perlite, or a mixture of both, but either works well for aeration and root penetration
@@PepperGeek I appreciate that, thanks.
Love peppers! I hope I'll succeed with them this year! Thanks for the informative video!
Thanks for watching! We wish you luck with your grow this year :)
concise and informative...
If you have early jalapeños, do you take off the first flowers? My plants are about 6” tall, but when I up-planted I potted them up to the first set of true leaves. Should I continue to feed them nitrogen so they will get bushier and take off some leaves and flower buds, or go for Potassium and let them groW? Somewhere I think I heard to take off the first flowers.
I like to use mycos and azos from extreme gardening when trans planting.
I also use 3ml of humbolts secret cal-mag as a calcium boost with 1tsp of Epsom salt and a 1/4 tsp of super thrive per gallon of water twice a week and a all purpose fert once a week
Thanks for sharing, seems like a good blend of beneficial stuff
Love your channels! I've learned so much about producing peppers, I wish there were someone like you that did fruit trees. You explain things in plain English and you're not confusing. Any recommendations besides epic? I already follow him, in fact I found you because of him lol. I need someone specific to fruit trees as you are peppers. Citrus to be specific. Thanks!
I think one aspect of fertilizing that gets overlooked is the necessity for P & K for root development.
Love your Channel. New subscriber. I can tell you put a lot of thought and the right amount of detail for an overthinker like me :) great value and I look forward to seeing more cool videos like this one. oh and I almost forgot, great job on annotating the sections it makes it easier to find what I'm looking for or when I come back to the video for reference. A+ work
Thanks for the support, appreciate your nice words! Glad to have you watching
This will sound very bizarre but I have had success with this method and its worth experimenting on at the bottom of your container you put a fish tank airater the tube Comes out of the container to a pump The fish tank pump you see with aquariums you put your dirt into the container grow your pepper after it has grown a little two or 3 inches once a week you pump air into the bottom of the container for just a few minutes. the roots need oxygen worms digging around underground helps provide oxygen but in a container you won’t have that. I have even experimented with real oxygen and when putting real oxygen from a tank to the roots for just a few minutes a week the growth factor when I did this comparison was quite amazing the top of the plant needs CO2 but the roots love oxygen try this and see what you think. Thanks for your video very informative.
Wow, strange but interesting experiment. We do have a pump and air stone so it would be feasible to try...but running a pump 24/7 outdoors seems a bit cumbersome
@@PepperGeek you only turn on the air once a week for 3 to 4 minutes if you go to the hardware store they will sell small red bottles of oxygen it works amazingly well the plant I tried this on is almost twice as big and twice as productive someone told me when they found some of that ancient tree sap with bugs trapped inside there was also air bubbles and apparently during prehistoric times the oxygen level is much higherAnd the plants were much bigger of course the CO2 was higher as well just a thought
I am growing an Aji Amarillo plant, which I bought already developed, but the plant is not doing very well, the leaves were curling, but last it rain a little bit in L.A
And apparently it help it.
It has been very hot here I move the plant to semi shaded area.
Any advice?
Add water.
Great video bro! Love the channel!! Keep it up 😎
Thanks! Will do!
I’m new to your channel. Very helpful. Thank you!.
Welcome, glad we can help!
I feed my plants alpaca and rabbit manure tea. Yes high in nitrogen, once a week all way through the season. Once blooms start, I bi feed weekly once high nitrogen, one high phosphorus. It’s worked great for me. All my plants on the east side of buildings do the best. Full sun until 1-2pm. Afternoon shade. That’s my advice.
Very cool, I like that regimen of switching each week. Afternoon shade works great for our balcony potted plants too, they produce well for having just 5-6 hours of morning sun.
How do I know if I pruned my plants too late in the summer.i pruned mine about a week ago (late June) in mid vancouver Island.
what ph should I use? my peppers are in a greenhouse and have plenty of nutrients from compost but it's not getting anything from the soil.
Shoot for slightly acidic, around 6.5
Do you have any suggestions for small undersized bell peppers, I got a decent amount of peppers last year but non of them grew as big as I expected.
Hm, it could come down to the container size and the nutrients available to the plant. Fertilize with something that has high phosphorus and potassium, make sure there is enough calcium/magnesium and perhaps even check for pH (ideally a neutral pH level). Pot size should be around 4-5 gallons for bell peppers.
Hi,
I'm not a hot pepper person. I normally go for the sweet bell peppers. I heard about the Shishito peppers that are supposedly milder but has a little kick for salsas. What do you think? Do yuh ou have another suggestion?
We grew a shishito last year, excellent yields from a relatively small plant. They were not spicy at all, but delicious and very useful in cooking or salsa! Highly recommended variety.
Dude your channel is awesome, I've been waiting for something like this. I know this is a peppers channel, but do these same principles concerning nutrients also apply to tomatoes? I was hoping to grow tomatoes and peppers in a rotation of raised beds and I'm wondering if the soil amendments will cause problems down the road when tomatoes are in beds that previously housed peppers.
-Adam
Hey! Thanks, glad you discovered the channel :). As for the nutrients, a lot is similar between tomatoes and peppers, so I wouldn't worry about rotating tomato/pepper plants between the same beds. They come from the same plant family after all! I would just amend each bed with some organic compost or similar at the beginning of each season and maybe run a soil test every few years to know what you've got in the soil already.
LED grow lights are awesome. If you like growing plants, you should get a tent and grow inside.
Fish heads and guts! One of the best yields I have seen was when I buried a large mouth bass head/bones/guts in my pot.
Oh wow! If I ever get my hands on a fish head I'll try it😂
@@PepperGeek you can try canned sardines from the dollar store.
Certain varieties, such as Big Bertha and Cubanelles, love to be pruned back when young. It encourages a ton of growth and side shoots. Chocolate Beauties don't like being cut back, at least if growing over the winter. However, the Chocolates that seemed to languish in pots after pruning, are growing like all getout now that they are in the ground. In fact, they are bushing out better than the first two. Find the varieties you really like, and take a few years to experiment and learn their idiosyncrasies.
Which should the ph be on pepper point
Ideal soil pH for peppers is somewhere between 6-7. You can go outside of this range but the plants can begin to have trouble using nutrients
wow, that's a lot of stuff. I Live in Las Vegas atm I grow my peppers in 5gal buckets i cant even remember what soil i used, i think miracle grow garden soil. I started them in soup cans next to a window. They grow so many peppers i cannot eat them all i give much of them away. Im afraid what would happen if i do all the things you recommend.
Had a quick question. Im growing some bolivian rainbows this year, I've already topped them and they have grown back quite a bit, indoors under grow lights that is. My question is on an ornamental pepper thats grown inside to be transferred outdoors later, is it necessary to pick off the flowers?
If you are growing for ornamental purposes only, you can feel free to allow the plant to produce fruits early, but you may not get as many fruits in the long run since the plant will likely remain smaller. Moving it into a larger container will encourage the plant to continue growing larger!
@@PepperGeek Thanks! Will do.
very helpful video..can I put a bell pepper, jalapeno, and cocumber together in a 14 inch pot? I got those small plants from home depot a month back and put them together in 14 inch. none are flowering. but one of them got aphids (minor) and I sprayed it with water and then neem oil.
What USDA hardiness zone are you in? I live in 6b and usually plant in early may. When do you plant outdoors?
6a - it depends on the weather but this year everything moved into the ground around June 1st. I'm looking for temps consistently above 50-55°F at night before the permanent move outside
Do you recommend removing side shoots?
I’m growing a variety I’d never heard of before this year called Apache. I’m curious if you’ve ever grown them before ?.
We have not! Looks interesting, kind of like a fresno shape with extra heat?
Supposed to be around 100k Scoville’s. They look like those colourful ones that face up, but facing down instead. I also have a chocolate scotch bonnet, cayennes and a ghost pepper on the go. I could’ve gotten Carolina Reapers and Scorpions as well, but the heat in them seems way too extreme. I’ll have to remember to save seeds from them for next year.
Literally every season I've grown chinense peppers outdoors they top/prune themselves dependent on the availability of depth for their roots. The deeper the water reservoir so to speak the taller they tend to want to go before lower branches start becoming the arms of Atlas, and the pinnacle splits.
Mykos microR is pretty good in fabric pots. In raised beds leaves... Moldy looking leaves have served me just as well as a base for free. I do throw nightcrawlers in the trees big raised beds though so maybe they treat the microR like it's a buffet or something.
Wait your telling me i can use my grow light for something other then Jazz Cabbage hahaha
New subscriber been going thru ur channels and even tried a few recipes (1-1 on like scale lol). I see a lot of negative comments about pesticide sprays/powder to keep away pest, have you tried different type plants to ward off pest?
Are there certain peppers that grow better in containers than raised beds and vice-versa ? Thank you.
Not really in our experience. In ground usually seems more problematic in terms of disease and what not, just because it is harder to moderate water. But we’ve had success both ways with many types of peppers, large, small, hot, sweet etc!
We grow our peppers in a small greenhouse (converted car shelter). Have you tried over-wintering any of your plants? I've seen a few videos, and spoken with a local grower and thought I knew what to do. We tried last year, but no success. I think my plants got too cold.
Also, have you considered using CO2 to increase growth and yield? I am hoping to put that in place in the next couple of seasons, but it only seems to be applied to a very narrow band of 'growers', of which I am not.
We have overwintered and we will be making a video on that topic later this year. As for CO2, no, we have never used it for our plants - I think that is probably best left to those who grow that other stuff
I hope I get a good pepper harvest this season. I’m growing a bunch of super hits. Haven’t found any reapers at my local nurseries yet though.
Found some here near Denver luckily
@@dustin50204 I finally found some a couple of weeks ago.
can I use my 5-15-45 fertilizer? or my calcium nitrate + boron?
Can we please get a follow up on how the fungus works. I was just doing some research on this with trees and I’m really interested to know how well it works in the garden. Thanks!
Ps. Love the new channel!
Definitely - we are currently running a comparison experiment on two pepper plants, one with mykos and one without. Video will be out once we have definitive results!
It definitely does not work with brassicas, chard, and beets, but it is supposed to help most other plants. Do a search about which plants form the fungal relationship.
I've been using the same brand shown for over 5 years now and I swear by it! It goes in my seed starting mix and in the hole every time I repot/transplant. I've been growing super hots for about 6 years so I have some experience. Very interested to see the result from your experiment because I've definitely convinced myself that it helps with nutrient uptake and ultimately contributes to having healthier, more resilient plant.
Can I place my young seedlings out in the yard at 50-70F during the daytime ? or should they stay indoors the first 4-6 weeks ?
You can definitely put them outdoors if it is warm enough, just be careful of too much direct sun exposure. We recently uploaded a video about hardening off that may be useful
Hi there so have a questsio is it normal that my chinese 5 color plant first only gives 1 flower to start?
One flower should lead to many once the plant is ready to produce. It is likely still growing more leaves and branches in prep for a bigger harvest.
@@PepperGeek thank you
I've been overwintering my chillies / peppers and they seem to be doing ok but when do I start to feed them in the early part of the year? They're in a greenhouse which doesn't drop to a temperature less than about 8°C Is it to do with heat or sunlight?
To much compost im guessing as im getting flower drop. How do i counteract this? Lime?
Flower drop is more likely from too much heat, like will change pH but won’t offset nitrogen rich soil. I’d honestly just let them grow and allow the plants to sort it out
@@PepperGeek Now that makes sense as temp in my small tunnel house has been as high as 45c or 113f. Thanks for the info
Thanks for all the videos. I brought my pepper plants indoors over the winter, cut it right down to a V twig. I just picked two small peppers today! so looking forwards to the last frost date so that i can bring the plant outside. I am based in Ireland so we dont have much of a growing season.
QQ: I put it in my window & believe it or not its so sunny I think it burned the leaves (as they are now white). Should i remove them? I was also looking at the plant in the background and it looked very neat... mine i have not touched since stripping it right back. should i take a few leaves off or am i too close to the time i am about to put it outside?
You can prune leaves anytime - however even unsightly leaves can still photosynthesize. I wouldn't cut it down to nothing, at least leave a few leaves. Best of luck!
Can chillies be grown all year round and completely in a grow tent with a good grow light/heat mat etc?
Yes, but indoor growth comes with a new set of factors/challenges
Great video! But be aware that your viewersvmay live in different places. Some of your recommendations are definitely for your climate zone. I live in Vietnam, so I can gro chilies year-round, but I don't know if there's an ideal time in my zone.
Thanks! That is a good point, if you live in a tropical climate it doesn't matter as much. I would say that you should plant so that they will fruit at the cooler time of year. Peppers can have trouble fruiting if it is SUPER hot. Good luck with any of your plants!
Here is a regimen I am trying this year:
I plant the seeds in a Jiffy peat pod system around St. Patricks Day and use a grow light on sprouted pods
April 1st: I move the sprouted pods to Solo cups with soil and drainage holes drilled and put them under T-5 full spectrum grow lights on a 18 on-6 off schedule
I'm going to move them to 5-gal buckets and harden them on May 1st, then put them out on May 8th, giving them an organic, high-nitrogen fertilizer, and and organic, balanced N-P-K fertilizer until the 4th of July, then I'll stop with the nitrogen fertilizer
Any updates on the mykos thing?
Thumbs up on mykos . Add a little blackstrap molasses every few watering, helps feed the fungus!
I did this early on before the plants had roots to keep them alive - seems to have worked well!
I start seeds in paper towel in ziplock with it on seeds to start early relationship between roots and fungi works awesome and vigorous growth. Scratch soil add more after a month or two
Thank you Pepper Geek 🤓