A little back story. I am Harold and I live in Fresno (Search you-tube, 'Tastes like Fresno' and skip to the 2:00 mark). I am not a gardener, I am a retired transit operator (bus driver, but the other title pays better) with a history of killing house plants. I currently live in an apartment off my daughters garage, behind which is an 8' by 60' dog run that I have for a garden.
My daughter came back from vacation with a seed kit from Avery Island, Tabasco peppers. Grow us something to eat, she said. It'll be fun, she said. I planted 8 seeds in 8 peat buttons and got 8 plants (this is Fresno). I gave 7 away and the 8th went into her house. For a year. She brought it back. It's not growing, she said. It's not giving me peppers, she said. That's not fun, she said. So I put it out on the patio in a pot as big as my ex-wife’s uh, biggest pot and loved on it a bit. Fed it, pruned it, and turned it so it got sun on all sides.
3 or 4 months ago I was looking, on this site, for a solution to a problem of leaf curl (2 types) and some spots on some leaves. I found a large paragraph by a guy that seemed to know what he was talking about that took care of the problems, for the most part. I swear, I saved that page to my favorites but now I can't find it. He spoke of treating an older potted pepper like it was in a hydroponic garden. I went to the local pot growers supply store and they sold me 3 quarts of General Hydroponics nutrients and the plants all love it. I have 4 plants now, 3 are a year old and 1 is 2 years. In a 4 gal water container I mix 1 milliliter of each and a double shot of 'Fish and Poop' and feed them 2 or 3 times a week. They are watered every day and when the temp is over 100, twice. The instructions that came with the seeds and everyone else says these peppers want and need 5 hours of direct sun a day. But this is Fresno and 5 hrs. of sun here, at 105+ temps, would kill them. I moved the big boy under a white canopy to cure the spots and he is getting no more but also is giving very little fruit compared to the plants on Avery Island. I plan on moving him over with the other three, they get about 3 or a little more hours of mid-morning sun that is cut off by shade from a tree and they are doing well and give a little more fruit.
I invite you all to tell me what I shouldn’t be doing, what I can do better, and what I am not doing that I should be. I freely admit my ignorance and that what I have done was with the advice from this site and the guys over at the 'Super Roots Hydroponics' store.
I plan on these peppers wintering over but not sure what to do. Should I prune them back and if so how much? The temp here mostly doesn't get below 28 degrees and I have a covered porch with a corner for them that I can put up some plastic sheeting. How cold can they get and live?
I forgot (I do that a lot). Do I have to be a paying member to post pictures? I can't find a list of thing available to free members.
My daughter came back from vacation with a seed kit from Avery Island, Tabasco peppers. Grow us something to eat, she said. It'll be fun, she said. I planted 8 seeds in 8 peat buttons and got 8 plants (this is Fresno). I gave 7 away and the 8th went into her house. For a year. She brought it back. It's not growing, she said. It's not giving me peppers, she said. That's not fun, she said. So I put it out on the patio in a pot as big as my ex-wife’s uh, biggest pot and loved on it a bit. Fed it, pruned it, and turned it so it got sun on all sides.
3 or 4 months ago I was looking, on this site, for a solution to a problem of leaf curl (2 types) and some spots on some leaves. I found a large paragraph by a guy that seemed to know what he was talking about that took care of the problems, for the most part. I swear, I saved that page to my favorites but now I can't find it. He spoke of treating an older potted pepper like it was in a hydroponic garden. I went to the local pot growers supply store and they sold me 3 quarts of General Hydroponics nutrients and the plants all love it. I have 4 plants now, 3 are a year old and 1 is 2 years. In a 4 gal water container I mix 1 milliliter of each and a double shot of 'Fish and Poop' and feed them 2 or 3 times a week. They are watered every day and when the temp is over 100, twice. The instructions that came with the seeds and everyone else says these peppers want and need 5 hours of direct sun a day. But this is Fresno and 5 hrs. of sun here, at 105+ temps, would kill them. I moved the big boy under a white canopy to cure the spots and he is getting no more but also is giving very little fruit compared to the plants on Avery Island. I plan on moving him over with the other three, they get about 3 or a little more hours of mid-morning sun that is cut off by shade from a tree and they are doing well and give a little more fruit.
I invite you all to tell me what I shouldn’t be doing, what I can do better, and what I am not doing that I should be. I freely admit my ignorance and that what I have done was with the advice from this site and the guys over at the 'Super Roots Hydroponics' store.
I plan on these peppers wintering over but not sure what to do. Should I prune them back and if so how much? The temp here mostly doesn't get below 28 degrees and I have a covered porch with a corner for them that I can put up some plastic sheeting. How cold can they get and live?
I forgot (I do that a lot). Do I have to be a paying member to post pictures? I can't find a list of thing available to free members.
just kidding lol
