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How close together, outdoors?

Kempire

Kempire

How far apart do I need to keep the plants. I would rather have more pods, even if that means more pruning and digging to get them? Just wondering if someone could post some pictures of their rows so I can get an idea.
Thanks
Mike
 
About 20" I would say. But I never planted peppers directly into the soil, I will experience that in the coming weeks.
 
Two things to think about. If you plant them close together the leaves and branches will act like a canopy and shade the peppers. Which you could very well get more chilis this way. Or you can plant them further apart, which makes it easier to examine the plants probably a little easier to harvest the pods. You can experiment if you want and plant a row close together and a row further apart.
Close together would be around 10-12" apart. Further apart would be 20-24" apart. One more thing to think about is them being closer together is more risk for pests and infection if an outbreak occurs. But IMO esp. if the weather is quite hot, you will probably get more pods by planting them closer together giving the shaded canopy effect.
 
I'd put them close builds more support I would guess.

To examine just dig a trench :D. You could harvest with less effort.

, Vegas
 
There is no "right" answer to your question. Some people have better luck squeezing them in tight, while others (like me) have better results giving them more room. I've actually had very poor results when planting close together. The plants competed with each other. There were some" winners", and some "losers" that got swallowed up and didn't produce much at all. It also depends on what type of peppers you are growing, and where you live. Planting very close together to create a protective canopy is more popular in places with extreme heat and sun (like Australia). I don't think you need to worry about your plants and pods burning up from extreme heat and sun in Canada. 30 inches apart is what I do for chinense, and my gardens are usually like jungles.

This is 72 superhots planted 30" apart, with 36" between rows (pubes in the foreground, and some other veggies on the far right row) There are 4 rows covered with plastic mulch under there somewhere. The fence is 3' tall.
 
Kempire said:
How far apart do I need to keep the plants. I would rather have more pods, even if that means more pruning and digging to get them? Just wondering if someone could post some pictures of their rows so I can get an idea.
Thanks
Mike
Click to expand...

5 foot row spacing and 22" spacing within the rows.
Chilies8-25-12.jpg


Downunder1.jpg


Moving up to 8 foot row spacing this season.
 
Damn. They are like shrubs instead of plants. My garden is 21' x 17', I planned on putting lots of peppers in there, and pruning them back. I grew lots if bells last years, they did not bush out to much. I staked and pruned, and had a great yield. This is my first year growing any type of hot/ supers so I guess I will learn one way or another. Thanks for the pics guys, helped a lot
 
muskymojo said:
I don't think you need to worry about your plants and pods burning up from extreme heat and sun in Canada.
Click to expand...
Actually, we get the best/worst of both worlds. I'll just assume Ontario isn't too far away for the below to be relevant.

The Wikipedia said:
As high as 42.2 °C (108 °F) in July 1936 and as low as −47.8 °C (−54.0 °F) in December 1879 have occurred in the city, a 90C (162F) difference. According to Environment Canada, Winnipeg was the coldest city in the world with a population of over 600,000 based on the average night-time temperature from December to February, inclusive; however, now that Ulan Bator has grown bigger than Winnipeg, Ulan Bator, Mongolia is now the coldest city in the world (with a population of over 600,000)
Click to expand...

...Damn you, Ulan Bator!
 
Wulf said:
Actually, we get the best/worst of both worlds. I'll just assume Ontario isn't too far away for the below to be relevant.
Click to expand...

I'm very familiar with the weather in Winnipeg. I've spent several months there, and got frostbite on my face once while working outside there in January. It's similar to the weather we get here, except colder. I spend a few weeks a year in the Kenora, Ontario area as well, and have family in the Toronto area.

Yes, it gets very hot and humid, but you don't need to worry about pepper plants burning up. I'm talking about areas of the world that commonly use shade cloth to grow sun-loving plants. IMO there is no reason to plant close together for the purpose of forming a protective canopy in any part of Canada. The more sun the better!
 
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