It's a disappointment season this year trying to grow bhut jolokia and other extremely hot varieties in Portland, Oregon. Anyone from here has any success growing those hot varieties here in Oregon? My bhut jolokia and many other varieties were in constant bloom but did not produce any fruits. I spent so much time and money buying seeds, soil, fertilizers, pot and other equipments. the first sign of autumn is around the corner but the peppers are not doing so well.
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Growing extremely hot peppers in Oregon
- Thread starter FishwT
- Start date
sorry to hear that! here in San Deiego by the coast it has been unseasonably cool! we have had 2-3 days over 80F!
It has been a cooler than normal summer here in the Seattle area too. Did you start your plants late? This August (when our summer began) may have saved my season with all the sun and warm weather. Just need September to stay sunny. I would not give up if I were you. A greenhouse seems to be a must out here for extending the season and getting the late pods to ripen. I hope you get some by then. Try taking your best plants and overwintering them for a good start next year. Not much, I know, but I will be trying that this time. Good luck!
I hear you buddy! I just lost my entire crop with the storms earlier...... 
I found that even with the ones i sprouted indoors I had to get them to about 1.5 feet and keep em in huge pots ( I'm in Bend so its a lot dryer here). I have grown tabs and jalapeños no issues fro the last few seasons, but the super hots need a huge headstart indoors from what I've seen with my first try. I have only two survivors from the storm, white tabs and wiri wiri "ma".
I found that even with the ones i sprouted indoors I had to get them to about 1.5 feet and keep em in huge pots ( I'm in Bend so its a lot dryer here). I have grown tabs and jalapeños no issues fro the last few seasons, but the super hots need a huge headstart indoors from what I've seen with my first try. I have only two survivors from the storm, white tabs and wiri wiri "ma".
Hey neighbor, I'm from Puyallup WA, couple hours north from you, pretty sure we had almost identical weather this year, as chile addict said, I strongly believe August saved alot of my crop, but even with that said.. All my superhots, as you said have bloomed.. bloomed some more.. and dropped them all. I have 2 bhut pods, and a couple nagas starting to form and whether they even stay on the plant.. well I have my doubts. My Trinidad butch Ts, Morugas, 7 jonahs, all have yet to form anything. Again, just like chileaddict said, overwintering I decided is gonna be the way to go. That way even if we have a shitty spring and summer again next year atleast we'll be well ahead of the game and not have this problem. Overwintered plants will be up n going like crazy by the end of march, as opposed to buying semi established plants on june 1st from a nursery.. Another thing I will be doing this next year since I will be starting 200 seeds and don't want the problem were having this year is I will be starting all my seeds on November 1st indoors, hoping they will be a good size bush when the hardening off time comes around. Early starts gotta be better than later one. Hope some of this helped you out for next year,,and goooood luck to you this year.
Brandon
Brandon
I only have 2 seasons worth of experience starting from seed, so your results (and my future results may vary). For the 2010 season, I started all of my seeds no sooner than January 1. Had really nice 1 gallon sized transplants at plant out time in mid-April.
For the 2011 season I started at least a month earlier. Completely ran out of room. Didn't have enough room to properly manage that many large plants. My guess is that to start 200 plants November 1 and grow April/May, you'd need at least a 500 square foot greenhouse if not larger. You'll probably have 2 to 5 gallon sized plants by February/March.
When it came time to harden off, moving all those big plants took more time than I had to do it properly.
My 2010 season, even though plants were started 4 to 8 weeks later, was earlier and more productive than my 2011 season.
I will probably start some seeds way early next season but I'm not planting the main crop till January.
Hey Tonly, thanks for the reply and input. I'm actually not set on the timing of starting yet, I have my seed starting set-up already to go now, I have a combination of red savinas, different habs, and a couple varieties of bhuts I started early august, I'm watching their growth rate very closely and I'll be basing when to start on that.. Even so, December will probably be the lastest I'll start. Our weather doesn't get too hot at all, all year round. I have friends in Texas and California who had the exact same sized plants as me on june 1st, they are atleast twice as big as than mine, same ferts, soil, pots, etc. lol.. We've seen 80degrees under 10 times this year, night temps are always below 50 for the most part. So plant growth rate throughout the season is alot less than those in other states.. Don't get me wrong weve HAD good years up here.. but not for the last 3
So even with more work and bigger pots, It's still gonna pay off for me in the long run, I'm hopin. I think my next solution will be to move somewhere else lol. 
I'll keep everyone posted.
The northwest U.S. bore the full brunt of cold La Nina Spring this year and also 2010. It subtracted 6 full weeks of good pepper weather off the front end of the growing season. The summer was also mild till August. Hope for long term forecasts that indicate 2012 will be more normal.
I started some plants too soon and had to battle the extended lingering cold spell. As Tonly says, the plants will grow happy and large if you start too soon. Then they will cry and stunt if you can't continue to provide enough root space via multiple pot-ups and warmth / light via greenhouse.
Consider staging your starts a month or so apart. You won't get swamped all at once, and you can enjoy some early test plants that might turn out to be winners.
Also, don't bank totally on over-wintering. You face issues with growing space and timing if the outdoors is not ready to receive them, just like starts, IMO. My first try, learned a lot and know it is not as easy as it seems.
Keep us posted on your strategies--both overwintering and starts. We were dealt a duece in the NW this year to start, would be nice to see some better cards next season....
I started some plants too soon and had to battle the extended lingering cold spell. As Tonly says, the plants will grow happy and large if you start too soon. Then they will cry and stunt if you can't continue to provide enough root space via multiple pot-ups and warmth / light via greenhouse.
Consider staging your starts a month or so apart. You won't get swamped all at once, and you can enjoy some early test plants that might turn out to be winners.
Also, don't bank totally on over-wintering. You face issues with growing space and timing if the outdoors is not ready to receive them, just like starts, IMO. My first try, learned a lot and know it is not as easy as it seems.
Keep us posted on your strategies--both overwintering and starts. We were dealt a duece in the NW this year to start, would be nice to see some better cards next season....
I moved here from Oregon just over 8 years ago; my friends there (Portland area) haven't had much success either. Too cold and rainy and then a short burst of heat and summer's over.
Have you considered a greenhouse?