container Questions about Growing C. pubescens

[NJChilehead]

Hey Everyone,

I have lots of experience growing all of the Capsicum species besides pubescens. I've just never given them a shot, but I think this year I'd like to give it a try. I did look back over some of the older threads on it and got some info, but I was interested in seeing if any of the experts can weigh in on a few questions:

First, I'm in New Jersey, zone 7a (just outside of 6b) we have some hot summers and some real cold in the winter (although that's not quite as consistent as it used to be). If dormant, I'm wondering if the peppers could handle light frost? I can overwinter the plants in a sunporch which occasionally does get below 32, but it never plunges very low. Also, at times when the temp plunges, can the plant handle a dark garage for a few days?

Also, are there potting soil recommendations that are different than those of the other four species?

Last, what would you recommend as an entry-level starter? Red, yellow, orange, Ecuadorian Pepper from Hell? We've got 4 chileheads in the house so looking for something tasty and prolific!

Thank you for any suggestions or help!

 

[CaneDog]

Probably any big box store could be an issue, but I know HD sells some container soil that's been absolutely terrible, Kellogg in particular. What you have should work well. I haven't used HP Promix before, but my understanding is it's a high porosity/drainage soil, so it might not take water as easily and will likely dry out quicker during the summer, particularly using fabric pots. Mixing it with the MG and compost would probably help balance that out. Sometimes a shallow saucer underneath the fabric pot can help with absorption and retention.

I use EB Stone's Edna's Best soil most often, because it's available locally and works fine for me. I've used it on its own, but I often mix it with peat, compost, perlite, worm castings, etc. depending on the application.

P.S. You can always compensate by posting pictures of your loaded-down pepper plants later in the season!

 

[NJChilehead]

Well, these plants are huge and flowering like crazy but no fruit set. It's still brutally hot here and it's disheartening to see how many flowers litter the ground around these plants, some of which are over 3 feet wide. Now that August is here and cooler temps will (hopefully) begin to set in soon, I'd like to ask the experts on here if they have noticed a target high/low temperature range when the rocotos start setting fruit? I'd like to time it with some nutrients and a little compost boost. Thanks for your help!

 

[HellfireFarm]

Tomatoes stop setting fruit when it gets too hot - I use shade cloth to keep mine cooler so they keep producing.
I haven't experienced it with peppers yet but it wouldn't surprise me that they also have a max temp. I've also never grown rocotos - maybe they're more sensitive than annuums and chinenses?

 

[CaneDog]

I usually find they set best when things cool off at night (day/night temp differential) even if the days are hot. Not sure what the magic numbers would be, though. I had a few pods set on the Tatianna and De Seda last week, but not much so far - except my Rocopica, which has been setting a few here and there for a while now.

It's great how big and healthy your plants are getting. Hopefully things turn on soon and they start loading up.

 

[NJChilehead]

I usually find they set best when things cool off at night (day/night temp differential) even if the days are hot. Not sure what the magic numbers would be, though. I had a few pods set on the Tatianna and De Seda last week, but not much so far - except my Rocopica, which has been setting a few here and there for a while now.

It's great how big and healthy your plants are getting. Hopefully things turn on soon and they start loading up.

That's good news! In August, we typically start getting into the low 60's at night, and then by mid-September, we'll be getting into the mid-50's or even lower despite still having warm days. Still learning about these beauties!

 

[NJChilehead]

@HellfireFarm @Crazy Monkey @CaneDog @growyourown @Pr0digal_son, @Pepper-Guru , and everyone else who has helped along the way, thank you SO much for your guidance on growing these peppers! I haven't been this excited to grow hot peppers since I started 20 years ago! I wanted to update everyone and let you all know that they're doing great. As expected, they dropped flowers all summer but grew well in the morning sun and afternoon shade.

A few weeks ago we had a slightly colder-than-normal snap, and the potted Ecuadorian Red Pepper from Hell and Rocoto Turbo set one or two fruit, then the grow bag de Seda gave me a mercy fruit. The past few weeks have been really interesting and exciting. Starting with both Turbos, they continue to crank out fruit slowly but surely. The potted one has 40 or more peppers on it, and the grow bag one easily has over 15. The de Sedas are taking their sweet time. After the cold snap in August, the ERPFH and Turbo (especially the former) kept setting fruit slowly, even after the temps went up to the high 80s and even hit 95 one day. The de Sedas started dropping flowers again and continued until this week, when we got back down into the low 50's at night and high 70's/low 80's during the day. Between the two de Sedas, there are probably 12-15 fruit set. Here are some pics of the Turbos and de Sedas:

Rocoto de Seda flower:

Rocoto de Seda fruit

Rocoto de Seda in 7 gal grow bag:

Rocoto Turbo flower:

Rocoto Turbo fruit:

Rocoto Turbo potted plant:

Rocoto Turbo in 7 gal grow bag:

to be continued:

 

[NJChilehead]

As pumped up as I am about all of these, here's the one that I'm most excited about. Both of my Ecuadorian Red PFH started setting fruit during the cold snap, but the potted one has gone absolutely gangbusters. It got so big that I had to put it in an Adirondack chair because the branches were sprawling on the ground. In my fascination, yesterday I took some measurements and a pod count. I used paracord and divided the plant into quadrants to get the most accurate count, because it was hard to follow which ones I had already counted. This plant is 24" tall, over 6 feet wide and has approximately 100 fruit on it. Just remarkable. I'm so happy about this because there are a lot of recipes I wanted to try with these peppers, along with sharing them with others, and this gives me enough to share both fresh peppers and prepared dishes with my many acquaintances who love spicy food. I'm also looking to save seeds for these to share. This is probably old hat for a lot of you more experienced growers, but I'm like a kid in a candy store here. Check out these beauties!

ERPFH Flower:

Some set fruit from the past few weeks:

Check out this beauty:

A view from behind the chair:

The ERPFH in the grow bag is lagging behind in producing, but it's loading up with flowers and tiny pods, so I expect good things from this one as well!

Look at the clusters of flowers and buds on this! It looks like it's getting ready to catch up to the potted one pronto.

In retrospect, I really wish I had done a GLOG this year with these. Maybe I'll do something at the end of the growing season and share some C. pubescens anecdotes. Thank you so much again @CaneDog and everyone else who shared advice, it is so much appreciated and I'm grateful to be part of the community here.

 

[CaneDog]

It's really great how those turned out for you and awesome to see all that pod set! That potted Equator Red is a beast of a plant. You're going to have a heck of a start next season if you OW those - and hopefully a solid harvest this season the way things are looking.

 

[NJChilehead]

It's really great how those turned out for you and awesome to see all that pod set! That potted Equator Red is a beast of a plant. You're going to have a heck of a start next season if you OW those - and hopefully a solid harvest this season the way things are looking.

Thank you! I hope so too, and right now the plan is to overwinter one or two of these three types, depending on which ones give the best productivity and which ones we like the taste of the most. Come hell or high water I'm doing to do my best to get as many ripe pods off of these as possible. As mentioned upthread I have a sunroom with windows where they'll get at least some direct sunlight, plus it'll be 10 or more degrees warmer in there and it never frosts in there unless it gets REALLY cold (below 10 degrees F). I'll keep you all posted!