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'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 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 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.
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.
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.
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
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
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
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
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.
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?
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. :)
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.
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
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!
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.
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
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.
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 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
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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
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😔
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.
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
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.
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
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
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.
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?
I'm surprised you didn't mention eggshells in the planting hole for calcium. Whenever I use them, blossom end rot (a calcium deficiency) stays away. Maybe people think of this as a tomato tip, but it helps even more with my peppers.
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!
Apropos the Mykos symbiotic fungus that helps root growth. I got an experimental recommendation to use normal baking yeast in water as this is also claimed to stimulate root growth (among other good things). I would definitely say that it works! All my chilli plants outgrew they pots much faster than the last years. Do note that the boosted growth will drain the nutrients much faster, so you'll have to account for this.
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!
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.
I really wish more gardeners would do videos on starting seeds with OUT grow lights. Our ancestors did not have grow lights and yet they were still able to grow food for their families. Why not show people how to grow food for their families without spending extraneous money on unnecessary things. Times are hard for a lot of people right now. And some don’t have space for grow lights either.
True, the sunny window is your best bet (South facing for N hemisphere). I’d recommend turning the seedling trays 180° daily to avoid them “reaching” towards the light over time. Maybe we will make a video on this subject in the future, thanks!
They make videos about starting seeds with grow lights because theres more to growing under a specialized light. You need instructions on how to position a tray in a window??
He literally explains the reason for grow lights in the video - it's more effective and easier. Sure, you can grow your plants without grow lights, but you'd have to have the luxury of a large southfacing window, balcony or a garden, and you have to live in a zone with adequate amounts of daily sunlight - getting your hands on that is far more difficult and possibly more expensive than buying a simple LED grow light for a couple of bucks. That, and videos that use grow lights simply reach a wider audience than a video covering a method that would only work for people in warm climates. Brits and canadians want to grow stuff, too.
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
To me, et. al., any of the sucker branches that don't produce flowers can be pruned by 50%. Keep in mind that the leaves attached to these 'sucker branches' do provide photosynthesis.
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!
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.
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.
Dude - best show on youtube.
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 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.
Mykos is great stuff. Used it years ago when the cannabis market was much more competitive and quality was imperative.
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 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 personally have learned a lot from this thread and I appreciate your insight
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!! 🤣🤣
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.
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!
This is probably the most informative video I have watched to date. Thanks so much for sharing this!
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.
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 :)
Full of pertinent information. This is my go to channel!
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
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
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
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!
I highly recommend it! Even if it’s just one small potted plant you will enjoy it :)
Let's do it!
Thanks!
Absolutely, thank you for the support! ❤️🔥
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 watched quite a few of your videos. They are fantastic. Thank you!
Awesome, thank you!
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 love Espoma, used Garden Tone last year on my plants. Going to be using worm castings and Bio-Tone as well this season!
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.
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!
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.
Mychos and azos work very well!
I think one aspect of fertilizing that gets overlooked is the necessity for P & K for root development.
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.
Great info buddy
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.
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
Thank you so much for sharing
concise and informative...
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!
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.
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..?
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 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!
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
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 :)
I have reapers fruiting now and they just get window sunlight. Big thick crazy bush. Im in SLC.
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.
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
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 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
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
Great video bro! Love the channel!! Keep it up 😎
Thanks! Will do!
Zone 6 Michigan! Watching
I’m new to your channel. Very helpful. Thank you!.
Welcome, glad we can help!
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.
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 prune the tops off on my peppers. They really produced a good crop
Some people definitely swear by pruning. We say, continue to do what works for you and your plants! Glad you got a great harvest :)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Wait your telling me i can use my grow light for something other then Jazz Cabbage hahaha
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😔
Thank you Pepper Geek 🤓
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.
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
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.
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.
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
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
Overwinter your peppers and they will have a great root system ready to go. Long season superhots are a prime candidate for overwintering.
Good point, we did our first overwinter in the form of a bonsai this past winter - will be showing that in a video soon :)
@@PepperGeek
Another bonus of overwintering is you can fire them up early in the season to provide lots of cuttings.
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.
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's the difference between grow lights and normal LED light bulbs?
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 :)
Nice! Love it
Any updates on the mykos thing?
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?
I'm surprised you didn't mention eggshells in the planting hole for calcium. Whenever I use them, blossom end rot (a calcium deficiency) stays away. Maybe people think of this as a tomato tip, but it helps even more with my peppers.
Maybe we'll test this out with some extra eggshells this year
Do you recommend removing side shoots?
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!
Apropos the Mykos symbiotic fungus that helps root growth. I got an experimental recommendation to use normal baking yeast in water as this is also claimed to stimulate root growth (among other good things). I would definitely say that it works! All my chilli plants outgrew they pots much faster than the last years. Do note that the boosted growth will drain the nutrients much faster, so you'll have to account for this.
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.
What about using "compost tea" for fertilizing?
Definitely a great way to nourish pepper plants if you have access to good compost.
can I use my 5-15-45 fertilizer? or my calcium nitrate + boron?
Hi,
So you ever start seeds in peat pots?
No, but they can work. We like to use an organic soil starter mix.
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.
I really wish more gardeners would do videos on starting seeds with OUT grow lights. Our ancestors did not have grow lights and yet they were still able to grow food for their families. Why not show people how to grow food for their families without spending extraneous money on unnecessary things. Times are hard for a lot of people right now. And some don’t have space for grow lights either.
True, the sunny window is your best bet (South facing for N hemisphere). I’d recommend turning the seedling trays 180° daily to avoid them “reaching” towards the light over time. Maybe we will make a video on this subject in the future, thanks!
They make videos about starting seeds with grow lights because theres more to growing under a specialized light. You need instructions on how to position a tray in a window??
He literally explains the reason for grow lights in the video - it's more effective and easier. Sure, you can grow your plants without grow lights, but you'd have to have the luxury of a large southfacing window, balcony or a garden, and you have to live in a zone with adequate amounts of daily sunlight - getting your hands on that is far more difficult and possibly more expensive than buying a simple LED grow light for a couple of bucks.
That, and videos that use grow lights simply reach a wider audience than a video covering a method that would only work for people in warm climates. Brits and canadians want to grow stuff, too.
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
Fish fertilizer and molasses for young plants works well & jobes all purpose organic for mid age
We used molasses early on with our plants that are using myco fungi, seems to help feed the fungi!
To me, et. al., any of the sucker branches that don't produce flowers can be pruned by 50%. Keep in mind that the leaves attached to these 'sucker branches' do provide photosynthesis.
Nice tips thanks
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!
Everyone if u haven't tried Cascabella peppers do so it one the best eating peppers not to hot taste great i eat like 10 each sandwich i eat lol
I used Epsom salt to help produce fruits it worked really well but it cost a lot of heat. My Serrano peppers were not spicy at all
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.
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.
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