First Fruit from the Garden....

[Rovers]

GMoe, I took a closer look at the fruit. I realized some were affected, but others look OK. I pulled a few more green tomatoes off the Early Girl.... when I noticed that that "star" leaf at the top of the fruit looked sort of blackened, and there was a black circle around where the fruit is attached to the vine. I think I may have made a batch of insecticde too strong (I buy the concentrate) and I may have burnt some leaves and some fruit.... that's what I'm hoping happened. Early on, I had a major white fly and aphid invasion. I might have over reacted to that problem.

 

If I did burn them, that would not solve the problem though, I beleive these plants may well have been diseased when I bought them. We'll see what happens. Like I said, neighbor has the same problems, and I wonder if there isn't some mega greenhouse that supplies all the stores with seedlings that might have sold diseased plants. Like the local garden centers, the small greenhouses have been run out of buisness too.

 

Next year, I'll do everything possible, and try one more time, but I will also start all of my plants from seed instead, with varieties that have the highest disease resistant ratings. If excavating the soil, treating it, bringing in a couple of yards of sterilized potting soil, and planting from seeds doesn't work, then I'll hang up my gardening gloves for good!

[Seahawks06]

I've been a chili head for a long time and have tried growing my own "hot" peppers over the past few years. I live in phoenix arizona and grow in 5 gallon buckets in afternoon shade. The temp still gets way up in the 90's in the early growing season and by May temps are above 65 at nite and well above 100 during the day. Everything i've tried to grow drops blossoms early on, and I've done everything in my power and knowledge to fix the issue but the heat is what does it. By mid June the plants start looking like dried twigs if not watered every day, and even then if the soil isn't filtering the water out well enough the roots can't breathe w/ that much water coming in. To summarize... I've tried growing orange/red carebean/bolivian rainbow/thai/and many others and just can't get them to survive. Today I'm throwing out the remaining 4 that I tried to keep from the original 16 that I started in early Feb.

 

I buy orange habanero peppers every time im at the grocery store and put them in almost everything that I'd like to have spice.

 

I grow yellow boy, and big boy tomatoes and usually do 6 plants. This year I made a ton of fresh salsa w/ those tomatoes.

 

My objective when planting the peppers is to have fruit by the time football season rolls around to make fresh hot sauce from scratch... I'll have to stick w/ the store bought peppers for that.

 

Good luck to all of those who have harvesting left.

Edited July 17, 2006 by Seahawks06

[Yukon Cornelius]

been making zucchini pancacks for about 2 weeks now... they are great

 

swisschard has been great for about a month.

 

will have some peppers and tomatoe's soon... cant wait for some fresh salsa

[georgemoe]

been making zucchini pancacks for about 2 weeks now... they are great

 

swisschard has been great for about a month.

 

will have some peppers and tomatoe's soon... cant wait for some fresh salsa

 

 

I've heard of zuke bread but never pancakes. Sounds interesting.

[Rovers]

I've been a chili head for a long time and have tried growing my own "hot" peppers over the past few years. I live in phoenix arizona and grow in 5 gallon buckets in afternoon shade. The temp still gets way up in the 90's in the early growing season and by May temps are above 65 at nite and well above 100 during the day. Everything i've tried to grow drops blossoms early on, and I've done everything in my power and knowledge to fix the issue but the heat is what does it. By mid June the plants start looking like dried twigs if not watered every day, and even then if the soil isn't filtering the water out well enough the roots can't breathe w/ that much water coming in. To summarize... I've tried growing orange/red carebean/bolivian rainbow/thai/and many others and just can't get them to survive. Today I'm throwing out the remaining 4 that I tried to keep from the original 16 that I started in early Feb.

 

I buy orange habanero peppers every time im at the grocery store and put them in almost everything that I'd like to have spice.

 

I grow yellow boy, and big boy tomatoes and usually do 6 plants. This year I made a ton of fresh salsa w/ those tomatoes.

 

My objective when planting the peppers is to have fruit by the time football season rolls around to make fresh hot sauce from scratch... I'll have to stick w/ the store bought peppers for that.

 

Good luck to all of those who have harvesting left.

 

 

You might find this interesting.....

 

Peppers are warm-weather plants that require warm soil and air. They do well in the Rogue Valley most summers. Grow them in full sun for highest production and in a spot that’s protected from the wind. Shallow root systems and brittle stems make peppers prone to wind damage.

 

Put healthy transplants into well-drained soil that’s had compost and a balanced organic fertilizer worked in. Then keep peppers fertilized every two to four weeks throughout the growing season. Peppers need plenty of nitrogen, potassium, calcium and magnesium to grow best.

 

When peppers begin to blossom, spray them with a mixture of four tablespoons Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) per gallon of water to make them crisp and flavorful.

 

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Cut back on nitrogen in August to promote fruit development. Avoid water stress by watering peppers before the plants have wilted or drooped. The soil should be not too wet nor too dry, but as uniformly moist as possible.

 

For the best harvest, pick peppers regularly. A taste test is how to tell when peppers are ready to be harvested. They can be picked at whatever size and stage you prefer, keeping in mind that both sweetness and hotness increase with maturity.

 

Ever wonder why some years the hot peppers just aren’t as hot as in others? They get their heat from chemical compounds called capsaicins, which increase during summer heat waves.

 

Hot-pepper heat levels are rated in Scoville Heat Units. A sweet bell pepper is 0, jalapeño ranges from 2,500 to 4,000, Tabasco peppers are rated at 60,000 to 80,000 and habañero peppers are off the scale!

 

Chile pepper varieties widely available to the home gardener include Asian/Thai, cayenne, Anaheim, habañero, hot cherry, Hungarian wax/banana, jalapeño, poblano (ancho), and serrano.

 

To grow the hot ones, start off by planting hot varieties. The "heat" can be increased by providing a few favorable conditions.

 

Peppers cultivated in a hot climate are spicier than those grown at lower temperatures. Also, drought-stricken chilies are hotter than those grown with lots of water, so maintain them on the dry side. Also keep nitrogen fertilizer to a minimum.

 

You can boost the heat available to the peppers by mulching with black plastic or growing them in containers on a concrete or brick patio in full sun.

 

Conversely, if you prefer milder peppers, keep the plants well-watered — but not soggy — and provide afternoon shade. A general rule of thumb is the riper the chile, the hotter it is. Let your personal taste and the recipe determine when to pick each pepper.

 

Sams Valley gardener Joyce Schillen is author of "The Growing Season," a book on organic gardening. Her e-mail address is joyceschillen@msn.com.

 

 

Once the plants get flowers, cut the nitrogen back.... in your case, I would say completely stop applying nitro fertilizer entirely. Replace that with a tablespoon of epsom salt per gallon of water. Peppers should do well in a hot climate like yours. Maybe this is the problem?

 

Try this site..... http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantan...les/pepper.html

Edited July 17, 2006 by Rovers