Where to start?

[LGHT]

Well I have decided to grow some peppers because I don't want to drive down to Mexico to get them due to crimes and drug wars and I have a ton of space that just opened up and has full sun available next to my herb garden. Plus the cost for fresh peepers are a $$$$$ here. I have never grown peppers and I'm a novice Gardner to say the least. The bed is about 2 feet high and has a few trees planted about 3-4' away, but other than that I have around 50' in length and 2' wide to work with. I want to really fill up this spot and will have a few hundred to spend on plants as the other neighbors in my condo complex offered to pitch in on the cost.

Since it's almost April I was thinking about just buying plats that where already 3-4" high and start the seeds next year. Anyone have suggestions on a good place to get them in Orange County California if not should I try and buy them as close to home as possible? Is this a good idea or should I just get some seeds and go for it. Can I just pick out a bunch of plants and put them all together? If so what is the easiest to grow and what plants should I avoid?. The sun hits the bed almost all day long, but because I'm only a mile or so from the beach it doesn't really get too hot, but it also doesn't get too cold at night.

Looking for some good FAQ's on getting started so feel free to point me in the right direction or post links if possible on how to get my garden going!

 

[wordwiz]

LGHT,

Welcome to the forum.

I would be concerned about the trees that are 3-4' away. Do they have roots in the dirt you want to plant the peppers? Do they shade the area for a significant part of the day?

IME, buying plants from a nursery is a crapshoot. I've got really, extremely good plants and I've got plants that were mislabeled. Just ask around and hope the suggestions you get are good as to what place to buy from.

I doubt you will find a large variety of plants at any of the stores though - they are gonna sell the ones most people know and buy, not the oddball ones lots of us grow. But the good news is that with a little effort, you can probably grow your own seedlings (if you order the seeds real quickly) and if they are not superhots such as the Jolokias have a decent crop. If your frost free date is 160 days from now, you might even get a nice crop of superhots - IME they are generally a 120 day plant.

Yer best bet at this time of the year is a road trip to Ft. Worth, TX where you can meet AJ and buy some of his seedlings!

Mike

 

[patrick]

Welcome to the site and the wonderful world of growing your own peppers.

Here's a few links that should help you learn the basics. You should still be able to grow from seeds but you'll need to get them going promptly.

http://googleads.gdoubleclick.net/p...er.htm&p=0&rf=http://enjoymoney.com/index.php
http://googleads.gdoubleclick.net/p...s.html&p=2&rf=http://enjoymoney.com/index.php
http://googleads.gdoubleclick.net/p...d.html&p=3&rf=http://enjoymoney.com/index.php
http://googleads.gdoubleclick.net/p...s.com/&p=4&rf=http://enjoymoney.com/index.php

Here's a great place to order seeds from: http://www.peppermania.com/

Good luck!!

 

[LGHT]

LGHT,

"I would be concerned about the trees that are 3-4' away. Do they have roots in the dirt you want to plant the peppers? Do they shade the area for a significant part of the day?"

Yeah these trees are pretty big, but only shade a small area that I didn't plan on putting any plants. The rest of the area is not blocked by the sun. However i'm not sure how far the tree roots span out into the bed because it's basically just a 3' high bed on top on concrete.

"IME, buying plants from a nursery is a crapshoot. I've got really, extremely good plants and I've got plants that were mislabeled. Just ask around and hope the suggestions you get are good as to what place to buy from."

Anyone here in Socal sell plants? Not sure if i'm ready to plan a vacation to TX just yet. I heard there was a big tomato and chille festival in fullerton this weekend, but I missed it. Anyone know about that and have info on the sellers?
[/QUOTE]

Welcome to the site and the wonderful world of growing your own peppers.

Here's a few links that should help you learn the basics. You should still be able to grow from seeds but you'll need to get them going promptly.

http://googleads.gdoubleclick.net/p...er.htm&p=0&rf=http://enjoymoney.com/index.php
http://googleads.gdoubleclick.net/p...s.html&p=2&rf=http://enjoymoney.com/index.php
http://googleads.gdoubleclick.net/p...d.html&p=3&rf=http://enjoymoney.com/index.php
http://googleads.gdoubleclick.net/p...s.com/&p=4&rf=http://enjoymoney.com/index.php

Here's a great place to order seeds from: http://www.peppermania.com/

Good luck!!

Thanks for the links. I actually read the first one just before finding this forum. I'll probably get a few trees and some seeds. I've never grown anyting from a seed, but I'll give it a try!