Juneuary in the PNW and British Columbia...

So this is the first year I've started really getting into hot peppers, and I was naively expecting this spring to be as hot and dry as last year's. Lo and behold, El Nino has ended, and Juneuary has returned with a vengeance. Here, in Gibsons, BC, it has been down right cold, and it's been raining on and off for over week, now. So far, I haven't put any peppers outside, except for some Bulgarian Carrot's and Ring of Fire's. I have four chinense varieties that I'm keeping inside under lights, and a few in an unheated greenhouse. From what I've been told, Juneuary is a common occurrence in our region, but I've never really had to think about it, because the most heat demanding crop I've grown, until now, was tomatoes, and I have selected varieties that are so well adapted to the cold and wet, that it's not a problem for me any more.

My question is, have other BC/ PNW growers noticed this Juneuary pattern, where, after the spring warms up and dries out for a while, the wet and cold weather returns for week or two? If so, what do the hot pepper growers of BC and the PNW do about it? Do you just stick with greenhouses, grow them in containers, use cloches, and/or overwinter your plants for an early start on the season, etc? Personally, I've been focusing a lot on my selection of varieties, but now I'd like to figure out the best growing techniques, especially with this boomerang winter weather we seem to get in the spring in this region. If that warm, dry weather from earlier in the season had continued, I'm sure my plants would have been much further long by now.

Here's an article from the CBC about snow falling on Vancouver's north shore mountain last week...



Any in put would be appreciated.

Yep been the same here in quesnel. Today was the first day where I could actually get my plants out. It's been a strange season so far. Hot, cold and wet.

Neil

Blister said:

Yep been the same here in quesnel. Today was the first day where I could actually get my plants out. It's been a strange season so far. Hot, cold and wet.

Neil

Click to expand...

It's still damp and cool, here in Gibsons. Being my first season growing chinense's, I think I'm going to keep my plants inside, at least until it warms up.

Having read information from other grower's, seems like growers in northern areas, with short seasons, tend to start their chinense's in January/February, and grow them indoors over the winter. I think I may have to try this.

Thats a bummer, been cold at night here as low as 6c but no snow luckily, however up north AB its had hail and snow.

It's still cool and rainy on the Sunshine Coast. I can't wait to get a chance to use the hoop house on my property, next season.