I'm a new pepper grower. My plants seem to be doing well here as August starts hot in Northern Virginia. I have a couple of rather leggy poblano plants (pictured), one hot garden salsa, and one sweet Cubanelle.
All four plants are exhibiting varying degrees of what I am calling "bud crowding." That is, many (5+) buds very close together. I am a little concerned that the plants might not be able to support the number of peppers that it looks like are coming. By "support," I mean both mechanically (branches too heavy) and maternally (providing adequate nutrition for growth).
Maybe this is quite normal, but I've also seen anecdotes about pinching off "excess buds." What determines if a bud is "excess"? I can provide mechanical support through stakes and string, but I don't know what is "too much."I don't want to reduce my harvest unnecessarily, but I want to support strong growth and healthy production. Any tips or techniques to help my harvest (pods now starting to appear) are appreciated.
Cheers!
All four plants are exhibiting varying degrees of what I am calling "bud crowding." That is, many (5+) buds very close together. I am a little concerned that the plants might not be able to support the number of peppers that it looks like are coming. By "support," I mean both mechanically (branches too heavy) and maternally (providing adequate nutrition for growth).
Maybe this is quite normal, but I've also seen anecdotes about pinching off "excess buds." What determines if a bud is "excess"? I can provide mechanical support through stakes and string, but I don't know what is "too much."I don't want to reduce my harvest unnecessarily, but I want to support strong growth and healthy production. Any tips or techniques to help my harvest (pods now starting to appear) are appreciated.
Cheers!