Growing in Zone 5a, Atlantic Canada

Good day everyone,
    As the topic states I am looking for others that live in similar zone as I do with very short growing season and around the same temperatures. Seen at least one member from here in Atlantic Canada but would appreciate feedback on growing tips and types of peppers you have been successful with. There is a grower in Prince Edward Island that is able to grow Habs and Hungarians outdoors around here but I believe he must grow the Bahuts in the greenhouse. Look forward to everyone's feedback.  The in PEI I am talking about by the way is Maritime Madness (Ameil Leblanc) awesome local grower..
 
ironoxide said:
Good day everyone,
    As the topic states I am looking for others that live in similar zone as I do with very short growing season and around the same temperatures. Seen at least one member from here in Atlantic Canada but would appreciate feedback on growing tips and types of peppers you have been successful with. There is a grower in Prince Edward Island that is able to grow Habs and Hungarians outdoors around here but I believe he must grow the Bahuts in the greenhouse. Look forward to everyone's feedback.  The in PEI I am talking about by the way is Maritime Madness (Ameil Leblanc) awesome local grower..
 
SuperhotsCanada lives in the maritimes im sure he will chime in. Start early and you can grow then anywhere
 
welcome from ontario canada, i am currently growing bhut, scotch bonnet, ring of fire , thai hots, caribbean red habanero's, and carolina reaper, and have buds on all. and some flowers. and right now they are all out side.
the key to success up here in canada is start your plants in late december, or early january, as most super hots take a long time to grow and yes our season is way to short. but i have grown for a few years and never once had any success with plants in the ground, i might get a pod or two but never the amount everybody else usually gets. so i am growing in pots and it seems to help, plus in september or october if it gets to cold i can bring them indoors.  
not sure of my zone but according to this http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/climzoneveg.htm
i am zone c in ontario
 
What is promising as I previously said is that there is a grower in Cadigan PE that should have similar challenges and he grows most of the annums in the ground normally... Ameil from Maritime Madness https://www.facebook.com/maritimemadness and he seems to have great yields.. I hope to take a trip out to see him sometime this summer and maybe ask him a few questions.
 
If your grow zone 5a corresponds to USDA hardiness zones, then you're close to where I'm at in the hill country of western Massachusetts (zone 5b). I've grown Chinense, Pubiscens and Annuums varieties here in previous years with good success, and am growing Frutascens varieties here this year as well. The real key to growing long-season chiles for me is getting an early enough start, like MagicPepper said, but I also passively warm the soil with infrared-transparent plastic mulch, and I transplant outside a few weeks early by setting up a low row cover over the plants until the overnight low temperatures warm up to the point I can take it off again.
SANY1308_zps61494263.jpg

 
Ignore the date stamp... I got the day and month right, but screwed up the year. It was a senior moment, and I'm sticking to that story... :P
 
Swartmamba said:
 
SuperhotsCanada lives in the maritimes im sure he will chime in. Start early and you can grow then anywhere
 
:welcome:
 
magicpepper and Swartmamba are correct - You really do have to start inside quite early for our climate. I've done all my growing inside since I started last Spring/early Summer. I had hoped to start a fresh new line of seedlings to put out this summer, but lack of space and not having time due to other things in life, it sadly didn't happen.
 
Last summer I -did- try to grow a few of the typical Annuum's that you can pick up at Walmart, etc (i.e. Cayenne, Bell, Jalapeno), but I quickly found out that if you're going to grow outside around here that:
a) Planting in even mid-May (from seed) is a no-go due to the frost/cold and excessive rain
b) If you have heavy soil that has a lot of clay, such as what's in my yard (here in Pictou County) then they'll have a very tough time. You'll want to invest in at least some 3-in-1 soil (i.e. such as what SuperStore sells) and Perlite to mix in, if you can find it (to help aerate the soil and keep it from compacting so much)
c) The PH level in these parts is actually fairly well-balanced for what peppers need (sits around 6-7 in my experience), but I'm guessing (though, people far more experienced could probably better inform you) you'd want to keep lime around just in case, over time, that changes
d) It'd likely be good to invest in plant food (I use a Plant-Prod 20-20-20 but, again, people more experienced could tell you better lol), granular seaweed (supposed to mix it in, but I put it on top since it seems to help keep fungus gnats & the like subdued), perhaps Epsom salt, bone & blood meal, etc.
 
If you're looking towards at least Habanero & hotter then magicpepper is likely correct - start around December/January, depending on the lighting you have inside to work with, to give them a good head-start and chance to mature. Our season is so short (we're lucky to even get remotely close to two solid months of summer heat) that you'll probably want them to be mature enough that they've already started flowering before you work on hardening off to put them outside full time. And as he mentioned, you'll likely want to keep them in containers so you can potentially bring them back in around mid-September (my estimate). And when they are hardened, do your best to find a space where they'll get the very most sun access you can find.
 
Inside I have my plants in a space I built in our basement where I have three sets of T8 fluorescent fixtures and a single HPS 1000w bulb. Around the start of June I put most of my plants outside for the first time (mostly in the hopes to trying to reduce the nasty aphid infestation I've dealt with for months), and I screwed up and didn't harden them off properly and most lost a ton of leaves. BUT I have very quickly discovered that, even though my 1000w bulb is designed to mimic the sun, it certainly doesn't compare to the real thing - even though the plants outside (mostly Naga Jolokia) are slowly growing new leaves, they seem to be even more focused on growing a ton of flowers... It's making me want an actual greenhouse all the more. lol
 
 
Oh and... definitely take cues from folks such as stickman! They certainly know vastly more than I do. lol
 
Super Hots Canada said:
 
:welcome:
 
magicpepper and Swartmamba are correct - You really do have to start inside quite early for our climate. I've done all my growing inside since I started last Spring/early Summer. I had hoped to start a fresh new line of seedlings to put out this summer, but lack of space and not having time due to other things in life, it sadly didn't happen.
 
Last summer I -did- try to grow a few of the typical Annuum's that you can pick up at Walmart, etc (i.e. Cayenne, Bell, Jalapeno), but I quickly found out that if you're going to grow outside around here that:
a) Planting in even mid-May (from seed) is a no-go due to the frost/cold and excessive rain
b) If you have heavy soil that has a lot of clay, such as what's in my yard (here in Pictou County) then they'll have a very tough time. You'll want to invest in at least some 3-in-1 soil (i.e. such as what SuperStore sells) and Perlite to mix in, if you can find it (to help aerate the soil and keep it from compacting so much)
c) The PH level in these parts is actually fairly well-balanced for what peppers need (sits around 6-7 in my experience), but I'm guessing (though, people far more experienced could probably better inform you) you'd want to keep lime around just in case, over time, that changes
d) It'd likely be good to invest in plant food (I use a Plant-Prod 20-20-20 but, again, people more experienced could tell you better lol), granular seaweed (supposed to mix it in, but I put it on top since it seems to help keep fungus gnats & the like subdued), perhaps Epsom salt, bone & blood meal, etc.
 
If you're looking towards at least Habanero & hotter then magicpepper is likely correct - start around December/January, depending on the lighting you have inside to work with, to give them a good head-start and chance to mature. Our season is so short (we're lucky to even get remotely close to two solid months of summer heat) that you'll probably want them to be mature enough that they've already started flowering before you work on hardening off to put them outside full time. And as he mentioned, you'll likely want to keep them in containers so you can potentially bring them back in around mid-September (my estimate). And when they are hardened, do your best to find a space where they'll get the very most sun access you can find.
 
Inside I have my plants in a space I built in our basement where I have three sets of T8 fluorescent fixtures and a single HPS 1000w bulb. Around the start of June I put most of my plants outside for the first time (mostly in the hopes to trying to reduce the nasty aphid infestation I've dealt with for months), and I screwed up and didn't harden them off properly and most lost a ton of leaves. BUT I have very quickly discovered that, even though my 1000w bulb is designed to mimic the sun, it certainly doesn't compare to the real thing - even though the plants outside (mostly Naga Jolokia) are slowly growing new leaves, they seem to be even more focused on growing a ton of flowers... It's making me want an actual greenhouse all the more. lol
+1
the bhut jolokia (ghost pepper) alone takes up to 200 days from seed to ripe fruit, i grow them every year. they are very slow growers.
 
magicpepper said:
welcome from ontario canada, i am currently growing bhut, scotch bonnet, ring of fire , thai hots, caribbean red habanero's, and carolina reaper, and have buds on all. and some flowers. and right now they are all out side.
the key to success up here in canada is start your plants in late december, or early january, as most super hots take a long time to grow and yes our season is way to short. but i have grown for a few years and never once had any success with plants in the ground, i might get a pod or two but never the amount everybody else usually gets. so i am growing in pots and it seems to help, plus in september or october if it gets to cold i can bring them indoors.  
not sure of my zone but according to this http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/climzoneveg.htm
i am zone c in ontario
I'm in zone c too! I sowed two seed recently and have three week old seedlings now, will they even flower this year?
 
shamair28 said:
I'm in zone c too! I sowed two seed recently and have three week old seedlings now, will they even flower this year?
i am just a couple hrs away from oakville ont, just north of kingston ont
your seedlings will take 4 to 5 months at the least to get to the flowering stage, possibly 3 months if you are lucky, but yours are in pots right?
you are the one who posted about wilting seedlings and were over watering? if you keep over watering they will take a lot longer to flower assuming they dont die first.
if you cut back on the water and go get that soil moisture meter i told you about at canadian tire and only water when that meter says it is dry (number 2 on the display if the $6 one) then your plants will grow a little faster and possibly flower before the fall. you will how ever need to bring them inside in september or october, depending on how cold the nights are, hot peppers do not like temps below 15c and they really dont like temps below 10c... one night with temps like that isnt to bad as long as the day temps get up to 20c and above. anyway keep them dry, keep them in full sun, and keep them outside until it starts to get to 15c at night, and you should get a couple flowers at least by September or october
 
Your weather seems very similar to mine in Scotland. I keep my chillies in plastic grow tents or indoors on a south facing window and pop them outside on really good days, my habaneros/bonnets/nagas are doing great. Got around 6-8 pods forming in my superhot just now with more to come.
So it's totally doable! Start early and keep the cold from them whenever possible and they'll thrive
 
We have a little growing shelf but the thing is NOT adjustable and the first day we put the peppers in there the Hot Portugal at the very least suffered some sever frailness. Our early assumption was that it was just too hot for them inside there but from reading and from researching I can't say that really was the case. I think it was more likely that because the leaves were touching the plastic it could have done something wonky but not sure. I want to be able to grown them in the winter and give them a good boost at the very least but ideally would like to grow fruit on them in winter as well. I have (2) 250 HPS but no reflectors presently that I got from work that were removed from a grocery store lol but was thinking of going with a few 4-lamp t5 or t8 HO fixtures...
 
magicpepper said:
i am just a couple hrs away from oakville ont, just north of kingston ont
your seedlings will take 4 to 5 months at the least to get to the flowering stage, possibly 3 months if you are lucky, but yours are in pots right?
you are the one who posted about wilting seedlings and were over watering? if you keep over watering they will take a lot longer to flower assuming they dont die first.
if you cut back on the water and go get that soil moisture meter i told you about at canadian tire and only water when that meter says it is dry (number 2 on the display if the $6 one) then your plants will grow a little faster and possibly flower before the fall. you will how ever need to bring them inside in september or october, depending on how cold the nights are, hot peppers do not like temps below 15c and they really dont like temps below 10c... one night with temps like that isnt to bad as long as the day temps get up to 20c and above. anyway keep them dry, keep them in full sun, and keep them outside until it starts to get to 15c at night, and you should get a couple flowers at least by September or october
Ok that's good, they are in pots and after cutting back on water the growth has boomed and I have added a bit more soil so it can grow some more roots, thanks for the help!
 
shamair28 said:
Ok that's good, they are in pots and after cutting back on water the growth has boomed and I have added a bit more soil so it can grow some more roots, thanks for the help!
you are welcome
ironoxide said:
We have a little growing shelf but the thing is NOT adjustable and the first day we put the peppers in there the Hot Portugal at the very least suffered some sever frailness. Our early assumption was that it was just too hot for them inside there but from reading and from researching I can't say that really was the case. I think it was more likely that because the leaves were touching the plastic it could have done something wonky but not sure. I want to be able to grown them in the winter and give them a good boost at the very least but ideally would like to grow fruit on them in winter as well. I have (2) 250 HPS but no reflectors presently that I got from work that were removed from a grocery store lol but was thinking of going with a few 4-lamp t5 or t8 HO fixtures...
as long as they are in your house or a greenhouse where the temps dont go below 15c they should be fine all year round. and the hps 250 lights would be excellent for the plants, reflectors are easy enough to come by, or you can even use aluminum foil.  if you are not going to use them id go for the t5, they cost a lot but they are better then the t8's and either one will keep your plants growing all year. provided they have warmth and ferts you will produce pods all year. but that being said the warmth you will need will be between 25c and 30c, thats when peppers produce fruit. anything below 15c and they start to go dormant.
 
you need  SOIL HEAT and high heat if you can to help them grow good.
 
under 12C roots ansd plants stalls.
 
greenhouse, tunel and plastic mulch is good way to help a lot.
 
stat mid january your seeds and youll be ok (annuum 1 or 2 month later)
 
im in 5a and i have plenty of good crop (nothing to compare to those down south) but quantity of plants help to have quantity of peppers!
 
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