in-ground Need advice about whether to pull trigger on putting peppers in ground (smart@ss comments welcome)

[Tulsa A. Dawg Esq.]

Ok, so they farmers almanac and old women everywhere here in Lexington, SC say not to plant your garden until April. 1. So, here we are in mid march, i have some viable peppers and other plants (tomatoes, squash, cucumbers) and we have a 10 day forecast for 80 during the day and 50 at night. I know theres risk , but i want to pull trigger and put everything in ground this coming Saturday . I have this picture of me installing the new soaker hoses in my 18x50 patch i have to work with and covering with straw to block weeds, and then getting a watering timer, so that all i have to do is drank beer and pick peppers. Too risky? Thoughts? Am i a crazy man? I will hand up and listen. I provided a link to our forcast below.


[post='http://www.intellicast.com/Local/Weather.aspx?location=USSC9777']http://www.intellicast.com/Local/Weather.aspx?location=USSC9777[/post]

 

[romy6]

If they have been acclimated to the sun I would say go for it. But I would hate to see a late frost kill all your peppers.

 

[geeme]

Nice forecast. But like all weather forecasts, subject to a certain +/- % of uncertainty. In general, peppers don't like for it to get below 50F, and that is especially true for young ones. I've "rescued" a few pepper plants from the hardware store (Home Depot, Lowes...) and have saved them by bringing them into the house until it was warmer outside. If you put your plants in the ground too soon, and they get too cold (and especially if they get frost or snow), you will have to take measures to protect the plants in the event of unexpected cold. So what do you have in the way of such protection?

Still, zone plant-out dates are usually fairly general, though usually also fairly accurate. However, we've been having a warmer winter than usual, so that needs to be considered as you weigh your risk tolerance level for this.

CCN is a reputable seller of pepper plants, and they have a safe guidelines page I recommend you check out. Again, it is general, but you will need to consider your local factors when making your decision.

Romy has another point - if the plants are indoors or in shade, you will need to take them through a hardening off period. Use the search feature on the grow threads to find lots of info on hardening off, and of course, post another question if you still have any after looking into that.

 

[jimhaleii]

i have 300 plants that are hardened off and ready to go in ground. im in southeast tennessee and it was 82 today. no way am i going to gamble with my babies...too much money, time and love invested in these guys and too much money to be made...whats another few weeks? one frost and you are wiped out. dont forget the blizzard of 93 was in late march/early april. keep workin on your killa setup, stock up on beer, be patient and get ready to do some drankin' and a picken'. good luck and happy growing!

 

[synclinorium]

I would hold off. Really, hold off. It doesn't matter that you might escape frost, peppers hate cold feet. If the ground hasn't warmed up enough, you will run the risk of stunting your peppers. If we get another bout of cool weather after this, you can be sure the peppers will hate you. Last year I did the same thing and put the plants in the ground at least two weeks before the last frost date, they pretty much stopped growing, which left them susceptible to a leaf spot and most lost all of their leaves, delaying my season's start by over a month. I would wait until the last frost date at minimum, especially if you plan on putting them in the ground.

If you want to experiment, try sticking half of your plants in the ground and then the other half later when they're supposed to go in. You'll probably find that the ones that go in later catch up to the early plantings, if not surpass them in the end.

 

[MGOLD86]

Dont do it. Think of it this way,

You put em in the ground and you dont get another frost=WIN.
You put em in the ground and the weather is still a bit chilly, but no frost=possible slow growth, but may end up WIN.
You wait and no frost and you have plants, but may be insignificantly smaller than if they were to go in the ground, but you still have plants.
You put em in the ground and you get a frost on March 31=you suck start a .45, cuz that is about how all your plants are gonna be...

Patience will pay dividends.

My last frost is middle of April and they aint goin in the ground until May 1.

 

[Prehensile]

Ok, so they farmers almanac and old women everywhere here in Lexington, SC say not to plant your garden until April. 1. So, here we are in mid march, i have some viable peppers and other plants (tomatoes, squash, cucumbers) and we have a 10 day forecast for 80 during the day and 50 at night. I know theres risk , but i want to pull trigger and put everything in ground this coming Saturday . I have this picture of me installing the new soaker hoses in my 18x50 patch i have to work with and covering with straw to block weeds, and then getting a watering timer, so that all i have to do is drank beer and pick peppers. Too risky? Thoughts? Am i a crazy man? I will hand up and listen. I provided a link to our forcast below.


[post='http://www.intellicast.com/Local/Weather.aspx?location=USSC9777']http://www.intellica...cation=USSC9777[/post]

I just heard anywhere from the Mason Dixon Line South are safe now, unless your in the highcountry... good luck