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Too late to start?

I keep on wanting to start new varieties I come across... though now that it's March, I'm thinking basta! When is your official cut-off date for chinenses?
 
I actually started some more last night. But I have a pretty long growing season; and if they do happen to run out of time before they produce, I"ll just overwinter some of them.
 
Lol, I want to start more too! I think it's getting close to too late for us. Worth a shot I suppose! I'm southeast in VA.
 
When do you plan on hardening offSpicegeist? What is the temperature like over there jacobp. I was thinking of doing it in early April, but it has been cold still.
 
There's still about 2 months before I'll be able to leave plants outside, and you have a longer growing season than I do, so you should still have time.
 
SE Virginia is more forgiving than SW, we're about a zone 5 or 6 here I imagine you're a zone 7 or 8? This weather has been insanity though, I don't know what zone I'm in anymore. Right now I have a number of seedlings (too many of course) under a grow light in a warm closet and in the basement I have a southern exposure window where the bigger plants are relaxing in cooler temps... being somewhat hardened off, at least exposed to the natural UV.
 
When do you plan on hardening offSpicegeist? What is the temperature like over there jacobp. I was thinking of doing it in early April, but it has been cold still.
The nights are now settling into the mid 50' to low 60's, and the days are in the mid 70's to right around 80. I've moved some plants back to the garage if we get a freak cold front come through, but I'm just going for it this year. My plants do much better in the Louisiana sun than they do under my lights, so I get them out as early as I can and let them go. Its worked for me so far.
 
I think you'll be fine Charles. The yellow trinidad scorpion I started (germinated Nov 5th) as an experiment is in a 3 gallon bag now and has been flowering for about a month (it's under dual t8 bulbs in a room that is only about 60-65 degrees). If it had a powerful enough light source to set fruit it would easily have 20 pods on it by now. If your plants follow a similar pattern, seeds you started now would be about that size in June, giving you a solid 3 months to put out a lot of fruit.
 
I didn't start last years crop until late May - all were started from seed, including Bhuts. Although my yield wasn't great, I did have some decent results.
I'm in Zone 5.

Go for it!
 
Good to know... I just ordered aji dulce and some other habs and lemon peppers... Hope they arrive this week so I can start getting them started.
 
I am in zone 7b but my last chinenses were started in mid july and I had pods by middle october last year! i know Im a bit farther south, but i think u should be fine up until the end of April @ the very least even in zone 5, u may only get one good harvest instead of the 2 or more they usually provide, but if ur planning on overwintering anyway, I say go for it!
 
I am also in zone 7, last year I planted my last chinese seeds at the end of april, harvested them in september.
 
Thanks for the signature quote!

Where I live (now zone 6A), if I don't have them started by the first of February forget it.

I have a March 15th cut-off date for starting new varieties but I will probably keep putting in late starts because I'm a dumbass. . .
 
For a good harvest where you are I think you will be fine as long as they are started before 1st week of April. I usually don't start my habaneros until about now (planted them yesterday!) and I easily pull 50-150+ ripe pods off before first frost. I think I'm a zone 5b.
 
SE Virginia is more forgiving than SW, we're about a zone 5 or 6 here I imagine you're a zone 7 or 8? This weather has been insanity though, I don't know what zone I'm in anymore. Right now I have a number of seedlings (too many of course) under a grow light in a warm closet and in the basement I have a southern exposure window where the bigger plants are relaxing in cooler temps... being somewhat hardened off, at least exposed to the natural UV.

You're zone 6 or 7 according to the map I just googled, zone 5B here. I think you may have it backwards, higher number= warmer climate.
 
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