New here from South Florida

Hey everyone. I've always loved spicy food and hot sauces but never tried my hand at growing. Wandered across some Carolina Reaper plants at my local Home Depot a few weeks ago and couldn't resist giving it a try. I've been lurking here since and have soaked up a ton of useful information. Hopefully I'll be able to have some success with my first attempt being that my area never really gets anything close to what most of you experience for Winter. Great meeting you all!
 
Hey neighbor,. I'm in Sunrise, west of Ft Lauderdale. Where are you? My superhot season is winding down now, but the baccatums and some crosses are still going strong for now. Depending on how far south you are your season could keep going through May, but likely will end by June. That's usually when I chop back the keeper plants for summer and discard the ones I no longer want, to make room for the Fall season. Good luck with the Reaper...

Chris
 
:welcome:  to THP.
 
thegreenman said:
Hey neighbor,. I'm in Sunrise, west of Ft Lauderdale. Where are you? My superhot season is winding down now, but the baccatums and some crosses are still going strong for now. Depending on how far south you are your season could keep going through May, but likely will end by June. That's usually when I chop back the keeper plants for summer and discard the ones I no longer want, to make room for the Fall season. Good luck with the Reaper...

Chris
 
Depending on where in Sunrise we may be very close. I'm in Pembroke Pines off of I-75. Both Reaper plants are about 20 inches tall now and got a bit leggy. About a week after working up the nerve to do some cutting, the plants still look quite sad after pruning but have quite a bit of new growth working its way up from the bottom. Considering both plants were repotted right away and put outside on my back porch immediately as well (before I had any clue that young plants are sensitive to direct sun) and I'm certain the first week I had them I was overwatering, I'm surprised they have done as well as they are. They seem quite resilient despite looking so fragile. It will be a learning experience at the very least.
 
Looks like you've got it under control now. Watch for whiteflies, and aphids, it's the season for them. Good luck and don't get discouraged if you don't get many or any pods until the Fall, once the nighttime temps get over 84°, which is coming soon, you won't get any fruit to set. So keep them alive until October, and that's when the season will kick in again, and will go through Winter and Spring.
 
thegreenman said:
Looks like you've got it under control now. Watch for whiteflies, and aphids, it's the season for them. Good luck and don't get discouraged if you don't get many or any pods until the Fall, once the nighttime temps get over 84°, which is coming soon, you won't get any fruit to set. So keep them alive until October, and that's when the season will kick in again, and will go through Winter and Spring.
 
Awesome. At the rate they are growing now they should be quite big by that time. Just for the sake of experimenting, I harvested the seeds from 4 Scotch Bonnets I didn't end up using in my last batch of chili and tossed them in a paper towel to see if any would germinate from the store bought peppers that had been in the fridge for a couple weeks. After a week almost all of the near 60 or so seeds germinated and are now in seed starting trays. They will be another nice inexpensive experiment before I pony up the cash for premium superhot seeds from a retailer. Considering I have less than $50 invested in supplies so far including the plants, if something goes wrong and I need to start over, at least the sting will be mild.
 
vSQt1bg.gif
 
Back
Top