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seeds Growing tomatoes and peppers from seed

This year using the same soil,nutes,lights,hardening off etc............... My tomato plants are doing much better than my pepper plants outdoors this spring. The tomato plants are vibrant and healthy and my peppers seem stunted and unhealthy looking. I feel like I wasted my time this year with my peppers its frustrating.
 
Hey cheer up SavinaRed.I use to get frustrated too,now I look at it as a learning curve.Those nightshade go faster then peppers.Do you have any pest messing with your peppers ?  :think: Have you sprayed them with salt ? My peppers took sometime to sprout this year.I was feeling frustrated too.Hang in there it's going to get better.Just think about all those tomatoes for salsa. :drunk:  :drunk:  :drunk:      
 
I do not know CA climate, we are still a month or so from last frost.  When first planted, our tomato always outpace peppers.  It is nothing but a thing.  Willing to bet your peppers will play catch up in a month or so.  Of course watch for problems, but thinking all is fine.  Just got some sprinters and some marathon runners in the mix.
 
From what I gather tomatoes are generally slightly more cold tolerant than peppers.  That might account for some of your trouble.  I do not know what temps you have out there in Modesto currently, but as the summer goes on and the heat increases the peppers might flourish and the tomatoes will not tolerate the heat nearly as well.
 
SavinaRed said:
Our daytime temps are in the 70's and night time temps mid 40's to low 50's.
 
 
     There's your problem. I don't like to out plant peppers until low temps stay firmly in the mid 50s. Having said that, I usually end up planting earlier. Sure, the peppers stall when lows dip back into the 40s, but I figure cool temps probably help abate transplant shock.
     IMO, soil temp and phenology are probably better guidelines for determining when to plant. I don't get real technical though. I don't think I've ever measured soil temp - I usually just wing it and plant when it feels right.
 
Hybrid Mode 01 said:
 
 
     There's your problem. I don't like to out plant peppers until low temps stay firmly in the mid 50s. Having said that, I usually end up planting earlier. Sure, the peppers stall when lows dip back into the 40s, but I figure cool temps probably help abate transplant shock.
     IMO, soil temp and phenology are probably better guidelines for determining when to plant. I don't get real technical though. I don't think I've ever measured soil temp - I usually just wing it and plant when it feels right.
I just looked up April forecast and the lows will be in the upper 40's - low 50's all month. The daytime highs will be in the mid to upper 70's. Next year I will keep my peppers under lights for another month.
 
I dont know how many plants you are running, but you can surround them with 1 gallon (or more) jugs of water, which will heat up during the day, and the thermal mass will dissipate heat slowly throughout the night, creating a slightly warmer micro-climate for your peppers.
 
The same principal works the other way to help cool a greenhouse during the heat of the summer.
 
tomatoes grow way faster than peppers.  I start my tommys 1.5- 2 months after my peppers.   Both plants like constant temps in the 70s to low eighties.  They will survive nights at 55f but they wont be happy.
 
was just thinking if these are little itty-bitty guys we're talking about and they're exposed to that low a temp I could see where they might be stunted and even damaged in the long run.
 
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