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CROPS
- GROWING HOT PEPPERS
Climate
Hot
peppers love heat. They need warm soil and
air temperatures throughout the growing
season and are very sensitive to frost.
Use plastic mulches, row covers, hoop
houses, anything that will help grow this
wonderful vegetable more quickly in cooler
climes.
Soil
Hot
peppers need high amounts of nitrogen,
potassium, and phosphorus. They like well
drained soil in full sun they will do well
in raised beds filled with good topsoil,
compost, and rotted manure mixed in. A pH
near neutral (7.0) is ideal.
Spacing
Hot
peppers grow into small bushes and need
good air circulation. Give hot peppers
enough room by spacing them 12"-18" apart
in rows at least 24"-36" apart.
Direct
Seeding
Direct
seeding is not normally practiced.
Seeding
For Transplants
Start
hot peppers indoors 8 weeks before the
last frost. Using a 2" or slightly larger
pot will produce larger plants with
better-developed root systems.
Sow the seeds shallowly, about 1/4" deep
in a moistened lightweight growing mix.
Keep the mix moist (but not wet) and warm
- about 80°-85° during
germination. Keeping the mix warm results
in a quicker germination and healthier
plants. After the first true leaves have
appeared, thin the plants to one per pot.
If the seedlings are out-growing their
cell-tray or pots, pot them up to 2"-3"
pots.
Do not use plastic covered seed starting
trays to start seeds. They create a very
humid environment that is too
stagnant.
Do not use peat pots as they tend to
absorb and retain too much moisture for
growing some types of hot peppers.
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