I was wondering how far apart you all plant your peppers. I was reading in a book by Paul Bosland that suggested that they be planted close together, as close as on 1 foot circles, in order to get them to grow taller. This seems a bit extreme to me and I was thinking more like four rows each 3 feet apart with each plant being different distances. I figure about a foot apart for the small varieties that only grow to be 12-18 inches tall such as Zimbabwe Bird and Thai Dragon, 24 inches for Habaneros and chinense, and probably 18 inches for my Bhut Jolokia and Naga Morich as well as my other annuums. Will this be fine or am I gonna run into trouble?
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Plant spacing
- Thread starter roadhouse
- Start date
It's not a bad idea to grow them close, so in the heat of August you get dense, possibly overlapping foliage to protect the pods. But 12" is unrealistic, especially for Chinenses.
I space all of mine 16", regardless of type. The Chinenses do get crowded; the jals, thais, etc are happy with 16". Basically, I do 3x3 planting in 4' square beds (3 plants per 48 inches, equals 16" each) and that works pretty well.
I space all of mine 16", regardless of type. The Chinenses do get crowded; the jals, thais, etc are happy with 16". Basically, I do 3x3 planting in 4' square beds (3 plants per 48 inches, equals 16" each) and that works pretty well.
That is another one of the reasons stated in the book, actually. My garden plot is shady in the intense heat of the afternoon, but I'm sure it won't hurt for them to get overlapping foliage to protect for the rest of the day. Glad to hear that 16 inches works out, if I do the 24 for chinenses I'm sure they will be fine then.
My small bed I have the plants spaced 3' apart in both directions. My larger bed I have the columns spaced 2' apart and the rows 3'. I would have done 3' in all directions but already took over more yard then I planned. By the end of the season my plants are growing into each other. I think it depends on a lot of variables and personal preference.
Glad to hear that 16 inches works out, if I do the 24 for chinenses I'm sure they will be fine then.
Oh yeah, your Chinenses will enjoy 24", for sure. I was suggesting 16" as the minimum. Many Chinenses will have a wingspan in the 3-4 foot range and I think you will get nice overlap but with room to breathe at 24" !
Do you have a picture of this? I'd be interested in seeing it.
Yes, here is a pic, but it's from very early in the 2009 season before the plants filled out the beds much. Sorry I don't have a pic of fully-grown peppers in the space, which would be a lot more interesting to see. However, it does at least show the general strategy of 3x3 planting in 4'x4' beds, which gives each of them a 16"x16" square to grow in. One of the cells had onions in it, and two tomatoes, but the other 15 cells were all peppers. A month later, the beds were "filled" but not "stuffed" with foliage.
Oh yeah, your Chinenses will enjoy 24", for sure. I was suggesting 16" as the minimum. Many Chinenses will have a wingspan in the 3-4 foot range and I think you will get nice overlap but with room to breathe at 24" !
Do you have a picture of this? I'd be interested in seeing it.
Yes, here is a pic, but it's from very early in the 2009 season before the plants filled out the beds much. Sorry I don't have a pic of fully-grown peppers in the space, which would be a lot more interesting to see. However, it does at least show the general strategy of 3x3 planting in 4'x4' beds, which gives each of them a 16"x16" square to grow in. One of the cells had onions in it, and two tomatoes, but the other 15 cells were all peppers. A month later, the beds were "filled" but not "stuffed" with foliage.
This year I've planted all of my peppers 30 inches apart. I've tried 18 inches, and 24 inches between plants but they usually branch out and grow into each other to the point that they all can't get good air circulation and they're blocking the sunlight from each other. So this year I thought I'd "splurge" a bit and give them a little more room to grow.
Alan
Alan
Damn... 5-6 feet?! 
Well, I guess the plants can't complain you don't give them much room...
As for me, I'm still trying to figure out the best spacing. Last year I did 12" due to lack of space. By summer, the plants were all invading each other's territories, all doing well. Except poor little serrano, which was the first to set fruit and was produced several at the beginning, but once the cayennes all took off, it was shaded badly and didn't do much for the rest of the season. It seemed like the serrano was more interested in flowering, while the cayennes wanted to grow first.
12" in my experience is definitely not optimal, and you could have problems similar to mine if you do it, so I wouldn't recommend it. On the other hand, all the plants that didn't get too badly shaded by each other did very well, but by harvest time it was a PITA to reach between plants and get peppers off of them... mostly because I should've put a space every two rows. I didn't expect them to grow and bush out as much as they did, considering how small they were when I bought them (it was my first year growing).
This year, I'm trying something different. In a bigger garden that gets far more sun (last year's sunflower garden) I'm planting all plants 16" apart, with 21" between rows, and in a zig-zag format as an attempt to minimize shading and make it easier to reach each plant. The other garden, last year's pepper garden, is also be occupied by a few bell pepper, jalapeno and habanero plants, but all spaced around 13"-14" apart. The downside? I can't plant any sunflowers this year, because both of my gardens are being completely occupied by peppers.
I'll see how well this layout works later this season, but either way I think it'll be a lot better than last year's... it was much better planned, and has far more sunlight to begin with, not to mention the extra room to make harvesting easier.
Well, I guess the plants can't complain you don't give them much room...As for me, I'm still trying to figure out the best spacing. Last year I did 12" due to lack of space. By summer, the plants were all invading each other's territories, all doing well. Except poor little serrano, which was the first to set fruit and was produced several at the beginning, but once the cayennes all took off, it was shaded badly and didn't do much for the rest of the season. It seemed like the serrano was more interested in flowering, while the cayennes wanted to grow first.
12" in my experience is definitely not optimal, and you could have problems similar to mine if you do it, so I wouldn't recommend it. On the other hand, all the plants that didn't get too badly shaded by each other did very well, but by harvest time it was a PITA to reach between plants and get peppers off of them... mostly because I should've put a space every two rows. I didn't expect them to grow and bush out as much as they did, considering how small they were when I bought them (it was my first year growing).
This year, I'm trying something different. In a bigger garden that gets far more sun (last year's sunflower garden) I'm planting all plants 16" apart, with 21" between rows, and in a zig-zag format as an attempt to minimize shading and make it easier to reach each plant. The other garden, last year's pepper garden, is also be occupied by a few bell pepper, jalapeno and habanero plants, but all spaced around 13"-14" apart. The downside? I can't plant any sunflowers this year, because both of my gardens are being completely occupied by peppers.
I'll see how well this layout works later this season, but either way I think it'll be a lot better than last year's... it was much better planned, and has far more sunlight to begin with, not to mention the extra room to make harvesting easier.
willard3 said:
Yep. I have several beds on 12" centers. I do prefer 18"-24" though. You can also take your cutting and clone them. You'll never have to germinate a seed again
Here's another good thread on the topic
http://www.thehotpepper.com/showthread.php?17870-Question-Distance-between-plants
http://www.thehotpepper.com/showthread.php?17870-Question-Distance-between-plants