peppers

Have just bought two sweet pepper plants to replace the seedlings I started way too late. They are currently about 4" & 6" high and in 3" pots. They seem sturdy with lots of leaves the lowest being about 1" above the soil level. Could I please have some advice on what to do now. That is, where to situate them, when to pot on, do I bury them at the same level etc. I have a couple of plastic greenhouse things which work well if needed as long as i open and close them when necessary and I don't mind doing that. I got a bit confused about when to pinch them so they bush out.

Help Please! :ntwrth:

 

Have a look at the bottom of the pots Sheelaghm and pot them to a bigger pot when you can see roots at the bottom. I would go for a 4 or 5 inch pot. By the time the roots get to the bottom of that pot they should be into flower and you can move them to their final pot, about 9 inches is big enough.
Peppers will do fine on a bright windowcill if you have room for them. Once they start flowering move them back from the window a bit during the day so that the flowers don't get scorched with sun.
I find they bush out by themselves and don't need to pinch them but if you find they're going straight up in the air then you can nip the top out.
Good luck and hope you get lovely peppers.

 

Thanks Alice will check their bottoms this morning!! and see if they need moving on. :wink:

Sheelagh

 

Should peppers be shaded in the greenhouse? I've never had good luck with peppers and perhaps that's part of my problem.

 

I don't shade mine, they are basically used to higher light levels than they get here, although the F1 varieties have been bred for the lower temperatures and poorer light conditions in our country.

They will be happy with similar conditions to Tomatoes in a greenhouse, but I keep mine humid - I have a gravel tray near them which I keep topped up with water, I spray them during the day, and damp down around them.

 

I wondered the same thing Greenjeans as I grew some (unsucessfully) last year and they kept wilting. Watering didn't seem to make any difference but they would pick up again in the evening. I thought maybe they liked light but not direct sunlight ?? :cnfs::cnfs:

 

Thank you! I can keep my gh moist with no effort on my part at all so that's something I'll keep in mind. Perhaps on the really hot days I'll move them to a cooler part of the gh.

Sheelaghm I suspect yours might have just been wilting from the heat of the day.....often we see plants do that and then perk back up with the cooler evenings. I know if you fertilize peppers too much they will grow greenery and very little fruit. I have to watch that this year.

I bought 4 plants yesterday so I'm off and trying it again.