I picked up 3 pepper plants, which I have growing in pots outside. I live in the Cleveland, OH area, so intend to bring them inside for the winter. The plants are one each: jalapeno, tam jalapeno, and cow horn. The plants started flowering almost immediately after I potted them, and generally appear to be happy with their environment - fruits are coming out on all of them, they continue to produce flowers, and all appear healthy.
I've pulled a few tams after they got stress marks, without waiting for them to turn red. Not sure if they will. The plants are right next to each other, and I can tell you the tams have been as hot as a regular jalapeno - probably due to pollenation from the other plants. But other than that, they seem to be fine. I've read that patience is a virtue when raising peppers, but I've also read that they should be pulled after getting stress marks. Any advice - wait a while longer, or go ahead and continue pulling after stress marks appear?
The regular jalapenos are making me scratch my head a bit, as the fruit is becoming black. Neither the plant nor the fruit are looking unhealthy - the fruit is just changing from green to black, much as one might expect it to change from green to red, except it's not all over (but nor is it just spots like from a bug or infection.) My first thoughts were that it might be because of the sun, but that doesn't really make sense. They are in full sun a bit over half a day, but there is a period when they're shadowed by a corner of the house, so it's not like they're getting too much. Also, I do turn the pots from time to time. Anyone else seen this sort of thing and have any input on it?
The cow horns also look healthy, and are getting much bigger than I realized they would get. A couple in particular have been on the plant for a few weeks, and are showing no signs of turning red. Again, I've heard the line "patience, little one...." but am curious about a ballpark figure of how long it might take, given the area I live in - 5 weeks? 6 weeks? 10 weeks? Just a ballpark. Also, I have one pretty new fruit which promptly formed a lovely circle around the branch it's hanging on. It's still pretty small, but I'm wondering if it might become problematic as the fruit grows. I know I can prop it up, but am also thinking the plant can probably deal with whatever it produces, and don't know that I can prop it without creating issues for the other fruit - it's pretty crowded! Has anyone else had this, left it alone, and experienced no problems? Or would your recommend pulling it?
Finally, when it is time to bring them indoors, any suggestions? Put them in a window vs. get a grow light? Anything else to be on the lookout for or do? Is there another post someone can point me to that already discusses this?
I've pulled a few tams after they got stress marks, without waiting for them to turn red. Not sure if they will. The plants are right next to each other, and I can tell you the tams have been as hot as a regular jalapeno - probably due to pollenation from the other plants. But other than that, they seem to be fine. I've read that patience is a virtue when raising peppers, but I've also read that they should be pulled after getting stress marks. Any advice - wait a while longer, or go ahead and continue pulling after stress marks appear?
The regular jalapenos are making me scratch my head a bit, as the fruit is becoming black. Neither the plant nor the fruit are looking unhealthy - the fruit is just changing from green to black, much as one might expect it to change from green to red, except it's not all over (but nor is it just spots like from a bug or infection.) My first thoughts were that it might be because of the sun, but that doesn't really make sense. They are in full sun a bit over half a day, but there is a period when they're shadowed by a corner of the house, so it's not like they're getting too much. Also, I do turn the pots from time to time. Anyone else seen this sort of thing and have any input on it?
The cow horns also look healthy, and are getting much bigger than I realized they would get. A couple in particular have been on the plant for a few weeks, and are showing no signs of turning red. Again, I've heard the line "patience, little one...." but am curious about a ballpark figure of how long it might take, given the area I live in - 5 weeks? 6 weeks? 10 weeks? Just a ballpark. Also, I have one pretty new fruit which promptly formed a lovely circle around the branch it's hanging on. It's still pretty small, but I'm wondering if it might become problematic as the fruit grows. I know I can prop it up, but am also thinking the plant can probably deal with whatever it produces, and don't know that I can prop it without creating issues for the other fruit - it's pretty crowded! Has anyone else had this, left it alone, and experienced no problems? Or would your recommend pulling it?
Finally, when it is time to bring them indoors, any suggestions? Put them in a window vs. get a grow light? Anything else to be on the lookout for or do? Is there another post someone can point me to that already discusses this?
