pruning Looking for advice on potting up and topping

[kizonis]

Hello from Crete (Greece)!

That's my first post here. I've been growing hot peppers for personal use on my terrace for three years now (with mixed results), but this year I decided to give away my plants and start fresh with new seeds, doing things a bit better.

I planted 10 pepper varieties (and two cherry tomatoes) at the end of January.

• 2 x Jalapeno
• 1 x Bhut Jolokia yellow
• 1 x Trinidad Scorpion red
• 1 x Habanero Orange
• 1 x Habanada
• 1 x Scotch Bonnet yellow
• 1 x Tabasco
• 1 x Anaheim
• 1 x Piquillo
• 1 x Gourmandise Yellow (cherry tomato)
• 1 x Koralik (cherry tomato)

Got a heating mat, a (not-so-great) grow light, and a fan. I started the seeds in Biobizz light mix, and potted up from the tiny seedling containers to slightly larger containers, and then potted up some of them to small garden pots (~4 liters / 1 gallon). I've been fertilizing them with Biobizz Fish Mix and spraying some Epsom salts periodically, and got some Bio Bloom and Top Max for the flowering phase.



I topped all the plants in the larger pots, with the exception of one of the two Jalapenos. The final pots will be 16 liters (4.25 gallons).

Here are some questions I have:

1. Should I pot the rest of the peppers up from the small containers to the 1-gallon pots, or should I go straight to the final pots? The weather here would probably allow me to get the pots to the terrace in a week or two.

2. Do you suggest topping the plants in the small containers even though some lower shoots have started appearing? (pics below)

3. I won't be able to harden them off (I won't be able to move them back in after they are on the terrace), would a low of 13C/55F and a high of 23C/73F be fine for them as a transition to the summer?



Thanks for reading, and any advice is welcome!

 

[Bou]

Hello from Crete (Greece)!

That's my first post here. I've been growing hot peppers for personal use on my terrace for three years now (with mixed results), but this year I decided to give away my plants and start fresh with new seeds, doing things a bit better.

I planted 10 pepper varieties (and two cherry tomatoes) at the end of January.

• 2 x Jalapeno
• 1 x Bhut Jolokia yellow
• 1 x Trinidad Scorpion red
• 1 x Habanero Orange
• 1 x Habanada
• 1 x Scotch Bonnet yellow
• 1 x Tabasco
• 1 x Anaheim
• 1 x Piquillo
• 1 x Gourmandise Yellow (cherry tomato)
• 1 x Koralik (cherry tomato)

Got a heating mat, a (not-so-great) grow light, and a fan. I started the seeds in Biobizz light mix, and potted up from the tiny seedling containers to slightly larger containers, and then potted up some of them to small garden pots (~4 liters / 1 gallon). I've been fertilizing them with Biobizz Fish Mix and spraying some Epsom salts periodically, and got some Bio Bloom and Top Max for the flowering phase.



I topped all the plants in the larger pots, with the exception of one of the two Jalapenos. The final pots will be 16 liters (4.25 gallons).

Here are some questions I have:

1. Should I pot the rest of the peppers up from the small containers to the 1-gallon pots, or should I go straight to the final pots? The weather here would probably allow me to get the pots to the terrace in a week or two.

2. Do you suggest topping the plants in the small containers even though some lower shoots have started appearing? (pics below)

3. I won't be able to harden them off (I won't be able to move them back in after they are on the terrace), would a low of 13C/55F and a high of 23C/73F be fine for them as a transition to the summer?



Thanks for reading, and any advice is welcome!

Healthy looking plants there here's my input:

1. Should I pot the rest of the peppers up from the small containers to the 1-gallon pots, or should I go straight to the final pots? The weather here would probably allow me to get the pots to the terrace in a week or two. At this point I think you could go straigth for their final home. Whatever you decide make sure they have time to fully recover from a potential transplant shock before being shock again due to a change in environmental conditions (between inside and outside).

2. Do you suggest topping the plants in the small containers even though some lower shoots have started appearing? (pics below). NO!! Topping should be avoid in most cases as it will not give you bigger yields anyway, only bushier plants and it will take you back a few weeks behind, time that would otherwise have been more than useful at the end of the season for more pods to ripen!

3. I won't be able to harden them off (I won't be able to move them back in after they are on the terrace), would a low of 13C/55F and a high of 23C/73F be fine for them as a transition to the summer? Hardening is a very important step. Even if the outside temperature range should be ok for your plants, make sure that they are not sitting directly under the sun from day one or they may face severe sunburn. It's always better to place them in a shady area or under some shade cloth for a while to let them get used to the sun rays.

 

[kizonis]

Healthy looking plants there here's my input:

1. Should I pot the rest of the peppers up from the small containers to the 1-gallon pots, or should I go straight to the final pots? The weather here would probably allow me to get the pots to the terrace in a week or two. At this point I think you could go straigth for their final home. Whatever you decide make sure they have time to fully recover from a potential transplant shock before being shock again due to a change in environmental conditions (between inside and outside).

2. Do you suggest topping the plants in the small containers even though some lower shoots have started appearing? (pics below). NO!! Topping should be avoid in most cases as it will not give you bigger yields anyway, only bushier plants and it will take you back a few weeks behind, time that would otherwise have been more than useful at the end of the season for more pods to ripen!

3. I won't be able to harden them off (I won't be able to move them back in after they are on the terrace), would a low of 13C/55F and a high of 23C/73F be fine for them as a transition to the summer? Hardening is a very important step. Even if the outside temperature range should be ok for your plants, make sure that they are not sitting directly under the sun from day one or they may face severe sunburn. It's always better to place them in a shady area or under some shade cloth for a while to let them get used to the sun rays.

Thanks!

The reason I decided to top the larger plants this year is that it often gets windy on my terrace, and taller plants will sometimes get knocked-there is a short wall protecting them up to a point, but the taller they get the more the wind hits them. What do you think?

One more question: I have three larger pots (around 5 gallons/21 liters), and I was planning to plant the two tomatoes and one of the peppers there. Which one out of the list would you suggest (leaning toward the Anaheim due to the larger fruits).

As for the hardening, I think I got it figured out, I have two large tanks at the terrace and the pots can stay underneath them until they are ready for the sun.

 

[Bou]

One more question: I have three larger pots (around 5 gallons/21 liters), and I was planning to plant the two tomatoes and one of the peppers there. Which one out of the list would you suggest (leaning toward the Anaheim due to the larger fruits).

I can't tell as I grow almost exclusively in raised beds... sorry

 

[kizonis]

Update:

 

[Ratatouille]

It's looking good.