Help Needed - What would you do?

[HabaneroHead]

Hi PepperHeads,

Yesterday I managed to transport almost all of my peppers from my flat to my parent's house who are living in the countryside of Hungary.
I have around 30 plants (17cm tall), mostly superhots (Naga Morich, Bhut Indian Carbon, TS CARDI, Habanero), and I have to put them somewhere in the garden, because I have to start the hardening process, and there is no place for them in the house. If I will not do that, I will be in the same situation like last year when I was planting out the Habs to the garden: they got sunburnt and took a month to them to recover, which held back the pod production. Currently we have 28 Celsius outside, which is unusual, and it also means that in the polytunnel it is about 34-35 (even if all the doors are open), which is hell hot for the peppers. On the other hand, in the mid of May we have the 'Frosty Saints', when ground-level frost may occur... The weather forecast says 9 (night lowest) - 28 (day highest) for May, but who knows.
What do you suggest me to do? They are currently in 1.4 liter square ports, and I have to re-pot them asap. One soluton which is in my mind to put them into smartpots (20 liter - approx 4 gallons), and put them out for the days, and put them in for the night...but since my parents would be in charge to pamper them, it is maybe not the best solution...or not...?
What happens if I just plant them outside? Will the 7-9 Celsius nigh temps harm them?
Any idea is appreciated

Balázs

 

[Cayennemist]

Greenhouse with a fan?

 

[stickman]

You could open the ends of the poly tunnel during the day. That's what I do, but our high temperatures here are around 20 celsius during the day. If that's not enough you could roll up the sides of the poly tunnel during the day and keep them up with a few pieces of duct tape or something similar. I don't fasten the bottom edges of the poly sheeting to anything so I can do that. I just put 8 kg sandbags on them to weight them down and put a sandbag at each end of each hoop. To keep the poly from shifting I put a snap clamp at the top of each hoop.

 

[HwyBill]

If they are hardened off to the sunlight, I don't think the 7-9 C nighttime temps will bother than at all.

I recently decided some of my plants needed to put their big boy pants on, and sat them outside during nights that have been like 3-4 C with whipping winds. They did just fine (well wind tore off some leaves, but it was exceptional wind)

If you have them adjusted to the sun, they should be able to handle the temps whether they like it or not.

 

[HabaneroHead]

Greenhouse with a fan?

Thanks for the hint, I will take into consideration If I win the lottery today

You could open the ends of the poly tunnel during the day. That's what I do, but our high temperatures here are around 20 celsius during the day. If that's not enough you could roll up the sides of the poly tunnel during the day and keep them up with a few pieces of duct tape or something similar. I don't fasten the bottom edges of the poly sheeting to anything so I can do that. I just put 8 kg sandbags on them to weight them down and put a sandbag at each end of each hoop. To keep the poly from shifting I put a snap clamp at the top of each hoop.

Thank you Stickman. This is a great idea. I think I was kind of late with preparing this polytunnel (2 weeks ago), and since the weather is now very hot, I do not think I can use it till the end of the season. But I have a backup-plan: I will burn more holes into my poly smartpots (link below), dig a big hole they can fit in, fill them with my soil mix, and plant out the peppers. And if the frosts come, my parents can just grab them and put into the polytunnel. Your method works pretty well, if you have let's say a smaller sized greenhouse, but ours is 3.2 m wide, 7.5 m long, and the height is over 2 meter..., and the edges are buried into the ground, so cannot really take open it up, what I can only to do is to open the doors on it.

http://www.gazdabolt.hu/shop/muanyag-folia/T02490-szovetkontener-faiskolai-20-l#

If they are hardened off to the sunlight, I don't think the 7-9 C nighttime temps will bother than at all.

I recently decided some of my plants needed to put their big boy pants on, and sat them outside during nights that have been like 3-4 C with whipping winds. They did just fine (well wind tore off some leaves, but it was exceptional wind)

If you have them adjusted to the sun, they should be able to handle the temps whether they like it or not.

Thanks HwyBill.
Well, this is what I will do. I will put 1 from each varieties into big (4-5 gal) pots, and the rest goes to the ground into the smartpots. I can use the polytunnel let's say in October when the first frost kicks in, to store the peppers in it for one more month and to extend the growing season a little bit. But next year I will be smarter, I will start the peppers earlier, so I can put them in April to the polytunnel, to get them used to the heat, and after it I will proceed with the plantout.

It seems I need more practice on using the MultiQuote button...

 

[POTAWIE]

My plants get down to 4 or 5C many nights, including last night when the outside temps were -8C, and no problems whatsoever.
You may want to invest in some shade cloth for your greenhouse. It can lower the temps as well as filter the light. Personally I also use an industrial blower for cooling and air circulation
Plants in the greenhouse should be fairly hardened for temps but you may want to slowly expose them to wind and other outdoor conditions

 

[HabaneroHead]

Hi Potawie,

Thank you, then 7-12 night temps should not harm my babies. I know I should not, but I actually worry about them, since I spent the last 3 months with them, and I would really like to have Bhut/TS/Morich pods to try out and to kick the sh#t out of my best friends Imagine, even my girlfriend was sad when I brought almost all of them to my parents. I was checking the temp in the polytunnel this afternoon and it was 46 Celsius degrees. It is way too to anything. Shade cloth is a good idea, I will probably invest one next year. So I will plant out all of my peppers tomorrow evening, and will post pics a.s.a.p.

Balázs

 

[Cayennemist]

Thanks for the hint, I will take into consideration If I win the lottery today

Humm this cost me about 75$ including the built in rain collection system.

And I'm sure you can get clever with a fan and a extension cord. Poly tunnel's are cool if you have the space and don't mind bending over.

This could be built as a lean-to that is next to your house or even just free standing. The thing that I like most, it can easily be upgraded to clear corrugated plastic roofing when i get more $ or better shelling systems, and it also provides a place to store extra soil and such.

 

[HabaneroHead]

Hi Cayennemist,

Very impressive greenhouse! And it does not cost a fortune. Soon or later I will have my own house with a small garden, and I am planning to build a similar one. Till then my opportunities are very limited. I had to give all of my peppers to my parents, who are now 'pampering' them...well actually they are probably kind of fed up with my crazy hobby, but they are still standing it.
Is the fan only circulating the air in the greenhouse or is it pusing it out as well, so fresh and cooler air can flow in?

 

[Cayennemist]

Hi Cayennemist,

Very impressive greenhouse! And it does not cost a fortune. Soon or later I will have my own house with a small garden, and I am planning to build a similar one. Till then my opportunities are very limited. I had to give all of my peppers to my parents, who are now 'pampering' them...well actually they are probably kind of fed up with my crazy hobby, but they are still standing it.
Is the fan only circulating the air in the greenhouse or is it pusing it out as well, so fresh and cooler air can flow in?

Mine doesn't need a fan YET, but i will be adding one. Just put it high and exhausting, so you can get the heat that rises. I built the base of the frame 1.5" off the ground to allow water drainage so i can spray it out with a hose. The raised bottom will also work as a vent to let cooler air in.

If enough people are interested I will make a video on how to make a greenhouse for less than 100$