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seeds Too late to begin germinating for fall? FL

R

Risch

I don't know what has come over me, but having never grown chiles (or other veggies for that matter) on my own before I've decided this week that I must endeavor to create a pepper garden. My soil is poor so I plan on growing them in pots or Earth boxes. I live in West-Central Florida, in Tampa to be precise, zone 9b. If I were to order seeds this week and begin germinating next, will the fruit have enough time to reach maturity? I plan on growing padrón, piquillo, aji amarillo, and dátil. This area typically sees cooler weather in October (highs in low 80s, high 70s) with frosts/freezes almost unheard of before December. Can I hope for my plants to thrive, or should I expect struggling peppers with a weak bite due to lower temps, less sunlight, etc? Hopefully some Florida gardeners can help a newbie out.
 
First off, Im from Sweden so I can´t say that I know all that much about the climate in Florida. However I do know that you grow lots of citrus fruit in florida and thus need to have a climate not to dissimilar to that of the mediterranean sea. That leads me to belive that you can start seeds whenever you may wish as you can keep your plants in pots over the winter and just take them inside if there is danger of frost. Lower temperatures wont kill your babies as long as they are not allowed to freeze. And with full grown plants you will probably get a crop much earlier than most.
 
Not to late at all, I usually start mine around now and have them ready for plant out in early September, Im south of you in the Naples/Ft Myers area so you do have a little more chance of frost and some colder winter temps then we do down here.
 
Thanks for the reassurance. I'm going to go ahead and get my peppers started.

For our New York friend, life isn't all that stimulating here in Florida, not to mention the living in a sauna for six months straight. Allow us to assuage the banality with chiles.
 
Risch said:
I don't know what has come over me, but having never grown chiles (or other veggies for that matter) on my own before I've decided this week that I must endeavor to create a pepper garden. My soil is poor so I plan on growing them in pots or Earth boxes. I live in West-Central Florida, in Tampa to be precise, zone 9b. If I were to order seeds this week and begin germinating next, will the fruit have enough time to reach maturity? I plan on growing padrón, piquillo, aji amarillo, and dátil. This area typically sees cooler weather in October (highs in low 80s, high 70s) with frosts/freezes almost unheard of before December. Can I hope for my plants to thrive, or should I expect struggling peppers with a weak bite due to lower temps, less sunlight, etc? Hopefully some Florida gardeners can help a newbie out.
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I live right by you, down the road from USF on Fletcher by i-75. Peppers are a perinnial and can live for years, and you shouldnt have any problems starting them now. You wont get the production of a plant that was put out in March, but you should get something before frost. It is very easy to over-winter peppers in our climate. I grow in containers and raised beds. I just bring the container plants inside at night when we get frost warnings, and I plan to cover the raised beds with hay to protect them from frost. I dont have any of the types of seeds you need, but I have a bunch of other seeds, check out my grow list and let me know.
 
Florida_country_boy said:
I live right by you, down the road from USF on Fletcher by i-75. Peppers are a perinnial and can live for years, and you shouldnt have any problems starting them now. You wont get the production of a plant that was put out in March, but you should get something before frost. It is very easy to over-winter peppers in our climate. I grow in containers and raised beds. I just bring the container plants inside at night when we get frost warnings, and I plan to cover the raised beds with hay to protect them from frost. I dont have any of the types of seeds you need, but I have a bunch of other seeds, check out my grow list and let me know.
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You really do live down the road from me. I'm off of Bruce B. Looking through your list I hardly recognize any of those varieties (got a lot to learn), but if I wind up having spare room to plant extra I'll be in touch. Wish I had seeds to trade, maybe in a few more months...

MrArboc said:
Guess why the sauna was invented not far from where I live...
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If you want to trade lives let me know. You can have my sauna in exchange for your peaceful democracy, beautiful women, modern furniture, boreal forests and pickled herring.
 
Risch said:
You really do live down the road from me. I'm off of Bruce B. Looking through your list I hardly recognize any of those varieties (got a lot to learn), but if I wind up having spare room to plant extra I'll be in touch. Wish I had seeds to trade, maybe in a few more months...
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I work on Bruce B, at MetLife, behind the movie theater. The types on my list are mainly in the habenero family(chinense), but alot hotter than a habenero. They are the super-hots, and the Bhut Jolokia(ghost) is the current world record holder(I have plenty of ripe ones if you want some).
 
Have you already gotten your seed? for Datil's so many of the true heirlooms have been lost due to the surge in the popularity of growing lots of pepper varieties without isolation. Some of the local family lines have even been lost due to spite in a divorce or 2...
 
Datil Patch said:
Have you already gotten your seed? for Datil's so many of the true heirlooms have been lost due to the surge in the popularity of growing lots of pepper varieties without isolation. Some of the local family lines have even been lost due to spite in a divorce or 2...
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Not yet. I've been trying to find a source that has all the peppers I need (no luck.) Do you have a recommended source for the datil?

Florida_country_boy said:
I work on Bruce B, at MetLife, behind the movie theater. The types on my list are mainly in the habenero family(chinense), but alot hotter than a habenero. They are the super-hots, and the Bhut Jolokia(ghost) is the current world record holder(I have plenty of ripe ones if you want some).
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Thanks for the offer. If I ever visit your garden I'm going to need gloves just to take a look at the plants (I imagine that's frowned upon around here.)
 
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