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Oh My Poor Babies - Do They Need Sun Hardened Again?

For nearly a week we have had torrential downpours, cool weather, and little sun. Every last one of my 50 peppers are still in pots. I figured no hurry since they all have room to grow. But geez... I wanted to have at least 1/3 in by now. I was figuring on 3 plantings depending on size. And at least ten are staying in pots. I want huge super healthy big plants going into my garden since it gets full sun all day.

And oh my goodness.... Last night when the rain let up, and I could finally get to them, the entire long table they sit on was covered with swamps of water, plants were all bending over, leaves covered with dirt, leaves stuck together, and pots would drain tons of water if you lifted them. What a mess! More of the stems will be going under ground when transplanted.

Anyways, I dried the table, separated the leaves, propped up the stems with dirt clumps, and dried the table. Now they all look lovely again. Those plants know they are very much loved.

Wonder if i will have to start all over with hardening them off with the sun? Some were getting all day direct sun, others a half a day and the remainder got mostly shade. Obviously the shaded ones will need fully hardened. Those will also be the ones staying in pots.

I guess tonight, I will have to dig the rest of my garden up after midnight when I get home from work. I was off yesterday and it rained. Just like the last how many days I was off. And it is supposed to rain on my next day off also. Thank goodness for our yard being lit up like day during the night. Neighbors must think I am crazy, but it's the only way to do things when you work shifts.

That pepper garden is a lot of work since I have to remove grass sods after years of disuse. But at least the soil breaks right up sooo very easily. You see, the borough got rid of our herd of 9 deer. So I suddenly was able to fix all of my flower and veggie gardens up again. Most stuff was dead from massive deer damage. So I was just gonna have my peppers in pots and close to the house where the deer don't go. But surprise!

Oh yeah and another question. Can I use tomato cages for hot peppers? Never needed them before, but I understand the hot lemon drops get a bit wild and bushy.
 
Overcast conditions are the best for hardening off peppers IMO. I have used these conditions to harden of several peppers and tomato plants this year. Once the plants are truely hardened off it is not a process you need to repeat unless you bring the plants indoors for an extended period of time.
 
Tomato cages work for pepper plants so so depending on the integrity of the cage"they vary in construction". BE NOT MISINFORMED!  Deer will not be deterred from approaching the house to eat your peppers, deer will go where food is in many cases no matter what.
 
I would place the plants in an area where they get limited direct sun and more diffused or ambient sunlight for the next week. I have been fortunate with the plants I have brought outside thus far because they have not in my opinion been out long enough to harden off, some after only a few days in overcast conditions, but are doing very well in the direct sun that they do get.
 
If it has rained as many days in a row as you claimed, you will not be able to dig up anything for a few days at best as the ground is still going to be saturated from the rain and if you do you will make the garden more difficult to work later.
 
 
BTW, Welcome to THP
 
Oh forgot to mention, the garden is terraced and on a hill. It drains very well. I will check the soil before working it.

The deer are all gone now, but even then, this is what hangs out on the windows..... Here is big boy, aka Teddy Bearz the Maine coon. Oh I will share his pic when I get home on my usual computer, forgot about the Ipad not having forum controls. Anyways, Teddy thinks my back yard is wild kingdom. My 15 pound little gal heads them off after Teddy Bearz gets them running. They work as a team. Mama Bearz gets worried and calls them off since deer hooves are quite dangerous.

Thanx for the advice everyone!
 
Hot Mama Bearz said:
Oh forgot to mention, the garden is terraced and on a hill. It drains very well. I will check the soil before working it.

The deer are all gone now, but even then, this is what hangs out on the windows..... Here is big boy, aka Teddy Bearz the Maine coon. Oh I will share his pic when I get home on my usual computer, forgot about the Ipad not having forum controls. Anyways, Teddy thinks my back yard is wild kingdom. My 15 pound little gal heads them off after Teddy Bearz gets them running. They work as a team. Mama Bearz gets worried and calls them off since deer hooves are quite dangerous.

Thanx for the advice everyone!
Are you making reference to a cat? Unless it is an unchained cougar and the terrace exceeds 20' in height, your pepper plants are still in jeopardy. And if you happen to live anywhere that there is a potential for new deer to enter into the area the way the previous deer did, they are not gone. Only the ones you know about right now. Just preparing you for the surprises.
 
I think HMB is talking about dog(s) - a 15 pound cat would be huge. And yeah, the deer there may be gone, but I assure you, others will move in to take their place. Where I live the houses are very close together (about 2hrs from Pbgh), but there are patches of untended green here and there. The deer like the untended green best, but they could care less about the "boundaries" we humans try to make, especially when food is involved. 
 
geeme said:
I think HMB is talking about dog(s) - a 15 pound cat would be huge. And yeah, the deer there may be gone, but I assure you, others will move in to take their place. Where I live the houses are very close together (about 2hrs from Pbgh), but there are patches of untended green here and there. The deer like the untended green best, but they could care less about the "boundaries" we humans try to make, especially when food is involved. 
Ah, OK. I failed to make that distinction. However, deer will even frequent areas that has dogs as soon as they learn the dogs are chained or fenced in and present no immediate threat. Deer can be like aphids with a bigger appetite.
 
geeme said:
I think HMB is talking about dog(s) - a 15 pound cat would be huge. And yeah, the deer there may be gone, but I assure you, others will move in to take their place. Where I live the houses are very close together (about 2hrs from Pbgh), but there are patches of untended green here and there. The deer like the untended green best, but they could care less about the "boundaries" we humans try to make, especially when food is involved.
15 pounds is my tiny girl cat, Sasha. I nicknamed her little miss. My big boy, Teddy Bearz, is a cat also. PS... Teddy can slice a body sized hole through a screen if he wants to. He has done it by accident on a vet trip day. Deer won't even go on the side of the house with his fav window.

Anyways we went 25 years without a deer problem until the last few years. We live in a busy suburb, with a leash law even for cats, which would include deer. Our cats are fenced trained. None of us wanted to call the borough since we knew they would kill them. But looks like someone had enough.
 
Hot Mama Bearz said:
15 pounds is my tiny girl cat, Sasha. I nicknamed her little miss. My big boy, Teddy Bearz, is a cat also. PS... Teddy can slice a body sized hole through a screen if he wants to. He has done it by accident on a vet trip day. Deer won't even go on the side of the house with his fav window.

Anyways we went 25 years without a deer problem until the last few years. We live in a busy suburb, with a leash law even for cats, which would include deer. Our cats are fenced trained. None of us wanted to call the borough since we knew they would kill them. But looks like someone had enough.
Deer in the wrong habitat are vermin. and determined vermin they can be. But As geeme stated, new deer are not far behind. I know because I study deer movement and hunt them come fall. You haven't seen the last of your friends.
 
We are at war with the deer back here, we use electric fencing, pepper powder, pepper sprays, and self rising flour and all kinds of other tactics to keep them out.  And we "thin their numbers" in winter.
 
We used to have a Maine Coon that weighed 26 pounds in his prime.  He was really really friendly although he used to intimidate people...he was a gentle giant.
 
ikeepfish said:
We are at war with the deer back here, we use electric fencing, pepper powder, pepper sprays, and self rising flour and all kinds of other tactics to keep them out.  And we "thin their numbers" in winter.
 
We used to have a Maine Coon that weighed 26 pounds in his prime.  He was really really friendly although he used to intimidate people...he was a gentle giant.
 
 
Yeah the Maine Coons get very large.  Sasha really is a small thing for a Maine Coon.  Ok wanna see my big boy?  Here is my favorite pic.  He was sick in that picture and down 2 pounds.  He has also grown since then.  He is a gentile giant also, but very klutzy.
 
Anyways, he keeps me company while gardening.  So well behaved!  Never jumps the fence, even at night.  We are going out to garden together at 1AM tonight.
 
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ikeepfish said:
We are at war with the deer back here, we use electric fencing, pepper powder, pepper sprays, and self rising flour and all kinds of other tactics to keep them out.  And we "thin their numbers" in winter.
 
We used to have a Maine Coon that weighed 26 pounds in his prime.  He was really really friendly although he used to intimidate people...he was a gentle giant.
Yeah, I'm at war with deer every Oct 1st through Jan 18th.
 
Was gonna wait as advised, but the forecast was 9 straight days of scattered thundershowers.  So I went straight to work on my garden after work on Sunday.  The dirt was slightly moist but not saturated.   I guess it helped that I turned the sods over 1 week prior.  Dang that garden drains even better than I remembered.  Next time the grass dude shows up, I need a stash for my plants.  I was off monday, and it was supposed to rain that day also.  So on Sunday, I got home at midnight and went straight to work until 3AM.  I barely made a dent in my garden. :(
 
So Monday, I woke up and surprise, no rain!  I worked for 11 hours straight catching up.  (Teddy Bearz was by my side the entire time.  He had picnics for his meals. )   Still not done, but I am 3/4 there.  The Habaneros are all that is left.  But I think they could use some more growth anyways.  They are growing rapidly all of a sudden.
 
Treated my plants well.  Each got 2 scoops of mushroom compost in the hole, then a scattering of garden dirt.  Then on the top, a thin layer of potting soil, then bone meal, then more garden soil.  I think I will have to water daily the first few days or so...  I use the mist setting on high, and stand there forever...  All my plants really love that!  And I still get them wet to a decent depth.
 
I have not used Jiffy pots since I was a child.  Grrr....  What an awful product...  Never again....
 
Have flowers/peppers on some of my plants already.  And kept some real beauties for my pots.  Those will be taken in over winter.  I can't believe how much nice colored plastic self watering pots cost these days.  I am keeping 10 plants in pots.  Wowza the expense that will be.
 
If I switch pots, should I still pinch off the flowers like when transplanting into the ground?
 
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