Tips and suggestions please!

Nicole

Nicole

Hey all! I was an avid hot pepper grower when living in NY and NJ And through trail and error I'd say I had become pretty good at the craft. We moved to the Phoenix area and I am starting to plant some hot peppers. I have never planted in the ground in February so this is a whole new experience!!

I am looking for suggestions for growing in Phoenix!! I heard there is two grow seasons? How do the peppers fair in 100+ temps? In NJ my plants peppers thrived in full sun, I'm assuming that isn't the same here? Any info from your experience is appreciated

Thanks for all the help ❤️
Nicole
 
HBD moved to Phoenix? Wow.

I'm not a grower but I know that the SW is killer for growing. Waaay better than NJ.

You are just a stones throw from the HATCH region in New Mexico.

Good luck and welcome to the "left side". lol
 
Scoville DeVille said:
HBD moved to Phoenix? Wow.
I'm not a grower but I know that the SW is killer for growing. Waaay better than NJ.
You are just a stones throw from the HATCH region in New Mexico.
Good luck and welcome to the "left side". lol
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Yeah we moved in October, most of my family has moved out here over the past 25 years. Also being in winter in NJ, especially with kids, is sad and awful AND HORRIBLE! This has been the best winter of my life!!
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PYt0SDnrBE
 
Nicole said:
Hey all! I was an avid hot pepper grower when living in NY and NJ And through trail and error I'd say I had become pretty good at the craft. We moved to the Phoenix area and I am starting to plant some hot peppers. I have never planted in the ground in February so this is a whole new experience!!

I am looking for suggestions for growing in Phoenix!! I heard there is two grow seasons? How do the peppers fair in 100+ temps? In NJ my plants peppers thrived in full sun, I'm assuming that isn't the same here? Any info from your experience is appreciated

Thanks for all the help ❤️
Nicole
Click to expand...
 
I don't live in Phoenix but it does get well into the 100s here in Texas too and you are right to assume that there are basically two seasons. Most plants will produce a few pods early on & then stop producing in mid summer when temps get high then have a larger second harvest set in the fall when temps start to cool off a bit.
 
While I have grown a few plants that tolerate full sun & high temps here most seem to benefit from morning sun & afternoon shade. I've never tried shade cloth but I know lots of people here have good success with it although I don't know how much it will help to prevent plants from dropping flowers since that is mostly caused by high day & night temperatures. 
 
From the last grow I had the few plants that kept producing through 100 degree temps & full sun were Texas chiltepins, aji lemon drops & Trinidad seasoning. Sweet datils & cumaris had no issue with the temps but they did benefit from afternoon shade. The ones I had the most trouble with were basically every kind of super hot c. chinense like fatalii, trinidad scorpion, moruga etc. They all produced a few pods in late spring then not a single pod again until it cooled off in late fall even with shade. 
 
Looks like it starts to cool down at night in Sept. Looks like you have a full 4 months of good growing weather after that! Just keep em alive until then and you've won the battle it seems.
 
I envy your dry summer heat, way better than the muggy 100 degree weather we get in Georgia. Maybe it's all the humidity and rain but my plants seem to produce well even during the hottest summer months. I haven't grown super hots though. Quite a bit hotter in Phoenix too. Good luck.
 
philosophiser said:
I envy your dry summer heat, way better than the muggy 100 degree weather we get in Georgia. Maybe it's all the humidity and rain but my plants seem to produce well even during the hottest summer months. I haven't grown super hots though. Quite a bit hotter in Phoenix too. Good luck.
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I have good success with plants here in SE Virginia as well.  The growing season is normally late March-November.  Looking forward to this year.  
 
As for high temps... I would say look up the average temperature for each month, any above 90 degrees...plan to not have many peppers that month, and to be watering a lot.   The dry heat really draws moisture out of the ground.  
 
Nicole said:
Hey all! I was an avid hot pepper grower when living in NY and NJ And through trail and error I'd say I had become pretty good at the craft. We moved to the Phoenix area and I am starting to plant some hot peppers. I have never planted in the ground in February so this is a whole new experience!!

I am looking for suggestions for growing in Phoenix!! I heard there is two grow seasons? How do the peppers fair in 100+ temps? In NJ my plants peppers thrived in full sun, I'm assuming that isn't the same here? Any info from your experience is appreciated.
 
Thanks for all the help ❤️
Nicole
Click to expand...
 
Greetings from Tucson, Aridzona.  :)
 
If growing in the ground in direct sun, use lots of light/white mulch to keep soil temperatures somewhat below the boiling point.  A ~30~50% shade cloth (transmits 50~70%) is a good idea for many varieties by mid May.  This will reduce stress and slightly lengthen the spring flowering period.  Or place them under a tree where they will get some shade from ~noon to ~5pm.  (Full shade is too dark for best growth, but is - depending on the variety - probably preferable to full sun.)
 
With luck, the plants will set a few pods before the heat arrives.  After that, just keep them growing and happy and wait for late August and September, when they will explode in flowers and pods.  Enjoy fresh hot peppers on Thanksgiving Day and beyond!
 
I'm growing in Wally Bags, the blue recycled shopping bags from Wally World. 6+ gallons, and only 50 cents!  The best aspect is the 'breathable' fabric which allows plenty of evaporative cooling.  (Plants in solid plastic pots will just cook the roots if exposed to direct sun on a 110+ day.)  The downside is that you're using a lot of water per plant.  (A large plant will want at least 1/2 gallon each and every day!)  This encourages salt build-up and tends to flush the soil more quickly than you might like.  Be ready with supplemental ferts and apply at the first sign of yellowing.
 
+1, on the shade cloth.

Hello!
I live in one of the hotter spots in Southern California, the inland empire for exact. Anyways, are temps get to about 105+ sometimes in July and August. I use two 6' wide and 25' length shade cloths. I spaced the plants to about 24". Most of my plants had no issues once hardened off and produced pods all season.
I guarantee, if I removed the shade cloth, all my plants would have been wilted by 11:00am and would have massive flower drop.
On a side note, once the plants started to get about 2.5' tall they were all helping shade each other with there shadows.

Happy growing!!
 
Welcome to the valley! I grow in Tempe.

The advice has been spot on so far. Shade cloth throughout the summer is basically mandatory unless you are growing in partial shade.

The soil in most of Phoenix really sucks so if you are planting in the ground bring in loads of organic material for the raised beds. There is a compost facility that sells by the cubic yard near buckeye and i17, and the city of Tempe gives away compost occasionally (Google search slash the trash). I also suggest mulching to hold in moisture.

For an example of a successful perennial pepper grow nearbye in Scottsdale check out cowboy bhuts' grow log from a couple years back http://thehotpepper.com/topic/19777-cowboys-never-ending-grow-log/

Good luck
 
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