RE: [CH] Questions from a Novice Pepper Boy
Steve DeLassus (SteveD@stockell.com)
Fri, 19 Jun 1998 16:07:20 -0500
I just harvested my first (red) cayenne yesterday. It was still just
dark green a couple of days ago. Just give it a bit of time. This
fruit sprouted before I transplanted the plant, so it took a good six
weeks or more to get from flower to ripe fruit.
This is my first year for planting peppers, too, and I'm surprised that
I'm getting fruit so quickly, given the "days to harvest" of most
peppers. Not complaining, just pleasantly surprised. Now, as long as
one of those midwestern thunderstorms doesn't come along and carry away
my garden, I'll be happy...
As an aside, I may have a problem with my anaheims. On a lot of the
lower leaves, the veins in the leaves are showing yellow, and some of
the lowest leaves are yellowing totally and dropping. I realize this is
natural to some extent, as I've seen it early with all varieties, but
most of those plants are _growing_ lower leaves and getting bushier now,
not dropping them. Now, I did adjust the pH aggressively in this part
of the garden -- I had pH's ranging from 4.5 to 5.5 and I probably
overdid the lime, but I'd hope it wouldn't kick in too strongly after
four weeks. (I notice that the anaheim and the bell peppers that I
planted in this section are a lighter green than in spots where I used
less lime, too.) I also haven't fertilized (I just use MiracleGro
occassionally) in over two weeks, hoping to get a lot of flowers, but
maybe I've been "starving" the plants too early. Does this sound like a
lack of nitrogen, nutrients in general, etc. or just standard behavior?
I've got one (large) fruit on each anaheim plant, and even a fruit on a
bell plant, but no real new, aggressive flowering to speak of. Ideas or
suggestions?
Steve
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Daniel L. Burns [mailto:n4ykd@tidalwave.net]
> Sent: Wednesday, June 17, 1998 3:21 PM
> To: chile-heads@globalgarden.com
> Subject: [CH] Questions from a Novice Pepper Boy
>
>
> Hi All,
>
> I planted some pepper plants for the first time this
> year. I'm in Northern
> Virginia and have some questions. I planted 8 Cayenne, 7
> Jalapeno, 7 Yellow
> Wax, 3 Bannana and I hope, (more later), 2 Caribbean Red Hot.
> The Cayenne,
> Yellow Wax and Bannana and already producing peppers. Now the
> questions,
> When should I pick the peppers? With the Cayenne peppers,
> will they turn
> red on the plant? Right now some are 5 - 6 inches long and a
> dark green
> color.
>
> The Yellow Wax and Bannana are a light green almost yellow
> type color. What
> is the size and color these guys get when they are ready to
> be plucked?
> The Jalapeno plants are much smaller then the others, though
> they were the
> same size as the others when I planted them. The Jalapenos
> haven't flowered
> (right term?) yet either. They don't look sick or anything,
> What gives?