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Coping with *extreme* heat

teejay

teejay

Hi All,
 
It's certainly not growing season here in Australia at the moment, but it's time to get plans in order for the remainder of the year.
 
Here in Adelaide (South Australia), we get some rather hot days, e.g. last year, we had a week where the average maximum temperature was 44.7 deg C = 112.5 deg F, with some individual days clearly higher. Yep, it was a scorcher.
 
Here's the problem: I have a 2.3x2.3 metre shadehouse that is quite well stocked but its position in the backyard is not ideal. No matter what type of chilli I have grown in there, I have never had better results compared to when I shoved a good 'ol Orange Habanero in a half wine barrel in full sun and left it to fend for itself. Mind you, that year we didn't average anywhere near as much heat.
 
I think to get best results, I need to get my plants into full sun, but how on earth do you keep chilli's alive in direct sun when it gets so hot, and for so many days in a row? (The humidity here is practically 0% all year around too, so it's dry heat - like fan forced oven roasting).
 
Does that Yates heat shield spray (or whatever it's called) actually work?
 
Do I need to ensure a pot size of certain width and depth so the roots get down and away from the hot edges?
 
Open to any all all suggestions, however please note that while I can make movable (small) shade house covers, in my area the wind whips up really badly too.
 
:think:
 
Regards,
 
Tim
 
Wow. Your growing out of pots in those temps and in direct sunlight? I would almost think you would need some type of drip system just to keep any moisture in the soil at all. 0% humidity will suck anything that is in the pots right out, and being in direct sunlight and above ground is all the worse.
Of course, the coup de grace is your pots are dark colored too, right?
 
I don't think you will be able to grow 100% of the time in direct sun under those conditions. You will need to provide shade or partial shade during the worst times of the day. And some form of cover for the pots or you stand a chance of cooking the roots.
 
Hi HP22B,
 
At the time of the Orange Hab, I used half a wine barrel which is wood. So, no, not a dark pot - but good point nonetheless.
 
Sure, the plant looked uphappy when the heat picked up, but it was watered multiple times each day and the crop was amazing. That however was back before I got serious with growing chilli....
 
I hear you about shade or partial shade, which is what my shade house is all about of course, but the plants don't put out much fruit and what they do is pretty much small.
 
I was thinking of going down the half wine barrel route again for placement in full sun, with moveable shade house type covers for the worst days, but the winds will make that rather difficult.
 
I guess it's try my luck or forever wonder what would happen ;)
 
(Having said all that - for some standard grevilleas, I have them in their large black plastic pots which are then put inside decorative ceramic urns - so there is no direct sun on the plastic pot and an air gap between the ceramic and plastic. That has served them well. Perhaps it's the way to go for my chillis, but with so many that can be rather expensive).
 
Regards,
 
Tim
 
Growing in southern Arizona, I've had good luck with fabric bags (the dreaded blue Wal-mart offerings.)  They breathe through the sides and thus produce a good amount of evaporative cooling that keeps the soil and roots from roasting.  The downside is the need for constant watering.
 
Different varieties and species of pepper do better than others.  Not surprisingly, my plant strains that are traditionally grown in SW North America are doing the best, while some of the superhot plants are clearly stressed by high air and soil temps.  As a first-year grower, I don't know enough to offer any more specific advice.
 
I've found that some mid-day shade is pretty much mandatory once temps reach the high 90s; otherwise most of the poor plants are totally wilted by early afternoon.  Below 92~94f, most are perfectly happy with continual full sun. This threshold has been creeping higher as the plants mature, so perhaps they will eventually grow enough roots to allow full exposure.  At the moment, I've got my plants growing beneath a big tree that creates mid-day shade (a little too much!) while allowing full sun from dawn to 10am, and again in the late afternoon. 
 
Get some shade cloths (if you find a method for hanging safely from the wind), keep plants very close (so they shade each other), use a ton of mulch.
Some varieties are definitely more tolerant of full sun (e.g. Tabasco) but if you successfully harvest some pods and keep planting your seeds year after year you'll end up with plants more and more acclimatized to your location. Maybe some THP fellow from your area may help you with some good varieties and seeds.
 
Good luck!
 
Datil
 
If you are worried about your plants not producing in hot, hot weather...don't....that is normal...once the temps reach and stay in the high 90's/100's...the superhots go into a grow cycle and not a production cycle...if you keep your plants alive however you can, when the weather cools a bit, you will see a dang good harvest...
 
I live in North Texas and we are used to "scorchers" here...maybe not as extreme as 112-114 F but definitely above 100 for days on end...we are lucky this summer so far.....only 5 or 6 days above 100 so far but then again, we are just getting into our hot part of the summer...
 
give your plants plenty of shade...keep them moist...if you have not, paint your containers white or put a reflective coating on them such as those shiny space blankets...you will be rewarded with a great harvest if you can just keep the plants alive and thriving....besides...it is better to have a larger plant when it actually starts it's production...I usually get an early flush of pods before the hot summer hits then there is about a 6 or 8 week period when there is very little or no production at all....
 
I don't know how you water...I am set up on an automated drip fertigation system and during the hot hot summer months, I give my plants between 6 and 8 ounces of water three times a day....early morning...then about noon, then about 4 or 5 in the afternoon...( I only grow in 5 gallon nursery containers )
 
like you, the only chinense plant I have ever grown that produced during the hot summer months was the orange habanero...it produced, and it produced, and it produced...and at the end of the season, I had picked over 2500 pods from a single plant...this was a second year plant that had an established root ball...
 
the one thing I will warn against during the hot summer months is root rot....root rot is the result of overwatering....the top of the soil can be bone dry and 6-8 inches down it can be mud....you just have to be very careful with how much water you give the plants....plants wilting is normal...it is their natural defense against water loss...the pores on the leaves shut down and aids in prevention of water loss....
 
several annuum varieties flourish during the hot summer months...jalapeno, cayenne, serrano, tabasco (as was mentioned above), and banana peppers are a good bet...
 
good luck in your grow...
 
I live in a town that gets over 110 regularly days reaching 117f I discovered I can only grow inground its way too much to keep things cool almost impossible actually once the roots reach deep the plants are fine I stick a PVC tube with holes on the sides deep down and water that way to encourage the roots to reach
 
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