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For those that grow multiple varieties

B

Blackcat

I was wondering how you grow several varieties of Pepper indoors without cross pollination or need for a massive warehouse lol ?
 
If the plants aren't touching each other, chances of cross pollination indoors is very slim unless your house is infested with insects crawling from plant to plant. My stuff is all inside and I have no insects that should cause problems or none that I have seen. Once you stop them from touching each other, its a very slim possibility
 
not much trouble indoors if no bugs or wind, and you hand pollinate.

You can always bag and tag selected branches for more security.

Nothing worse than finding a Labradoodle popping up when you planted a purebred Bulldog.
 
The question is what you want out of your grow. I do not grow to sell anything, so I really don't care if they cross-pollinate or not. I will give away pods and seeds, but I also tell those who receive them that my plants are open-pollenated. On the other hand, if I was selling something, i would expect to do differently, knowing that my buyers would want to get 'x' if I tell them I'm selling 'x'. Also, I might pay more attention to it if it was a hobby or career of mine to keep them as pure as possible. Think about your goal, then decide for yourself what is right for you.

As already mentioned, I bring my plants indoors to overwinter them only. They're in a room with windows on either side, which is sufficient to keep them alive and growing over the winter, but almost all flowers produced drop off. I get a couple TINY pods from time to time, and that's fine. Once the outside temps are warm enough though, the pots go back outside, where I guarantee the bees and such cause cross-pollinate to the heart's desire.....
 
ZenPepper said:
the question is, if its in doors than why do you need to replant every year?
Click to expand...
You don't strictly need to. I exclusively grow in pots, and have six plants that I brought indoors for the winter. Three of them are just over two years old, so the coming year will be their third season. I will bring them outside in the spring, but will repot them so they have fresh soil at that time. I may or may not add to their numbers in the spring. But if I do, I will put the new plants in pots, as well. The number of plants I bring indoors is limited by space, so I have to choose each year which plants to save and which to start fresh with.

Why will I repot them? The nutrients in soil diminish over time, so giving them fresh soil ensures the plants get what they need, in addition to any fertilizer I give them. Also, it gives me a chance to check out the root system, to check for any potential unseen issues, plus helps eliminate or reduce any bugs or bug larvae that may be buried there. I usually repot in the fall and also cut back the roots at that time, to help prevent the roots becoming root bound in the next season, but I didn't manage to do that this year.
 
Hmm, it'd be tough to get crosses indoors on accident. Just don't turn on the fan while you have two that are flowering. There is nothing else that could carry pollen to one plant to the other. You will probably have to tap the flowers in order for them to pollinate themselves.
 
ZenPepper said:
the question is, if its in doors than why do you need to replant every year?
Click to expand...

Because #1 I can't grow enough indoors to satisy my habit.
#2 because I have a couple of crosses that I wish to get to gen 8, and a few I wish to try to cross.
 
Growing indoors definitely reduces the possibility of cross pollination. Bugs shouldn't be an issue however it doesn't take much of a breeze to move pollen from one plant to the next. You walk close to the plants or accidentally touch one the pollen is going to fly.
 
I disagree about the risk of cross pollination - if the plants are in the same house, and air circulates throughout, there is a risk. If you want to propagate, trying cloning. It's no more effort than trying to prevent cross pollination.
 
I have a modest size garden... I had about 400 plants last year, and about 20 the year before. Because of FL's weather, I was able to grow out some of the seeds I collected this past year. Further complicating my (outdoor) grow is the ever present threat of hurricanes. I planted my plants really close together, and facing into the direction we'd get tropical storm, or hurricane winds from and let them grow into hedges sort of.

Turns out that was great for protecting against the wind, but not the rain.

However, even with the bugs, the wind, and the branches intertwined like that, I haven't had an unexpected cross grow out. Yet.
 
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