pepper plants

[kittykat8]

My pepper plants are tall and very bushy, and have loads of fruit and flowers on them would I pull off some of the leaveas to give them light they are very close together


Marion

[Kristen]

I reckon they ought to be 18" apart, in each direction. Taking leaves off won't help if they are closer than that, and will rob the plant of some ability to make energy. Worth taking off any yellowing / worn-out! leaves though.

If you are really overcrowded it might be worth putting some of them outside. I reckon you will get a heavier crop at the correct plant spacing than having them overcrowded.

I would have them in 9" pots, or bigger (or 3 to a grow bag).

[kittykat8]

they are planted directly in the ground in the tunnel


Marion

[gojiberry]

Not much hope for mine then as they are in a bed only 6in apart. Lesson for next year.

Ian

[zazen999]

I had 3 in a trough last year, about 6 inches apart and they were fine.

I wouldn't remove any leaves, they aren't like toms in that respect - just water and fertilise every week.

[maytreefrannie]

Help please - I have two pepper plants each in its own pot. They've grown to about 6 inches in height, no flowers yet. Is this normal? Is there anything special to be done with peppers? I've never grown them before.

[Kristen]

"they are planted directly in the ground in the tunnel"

That's OK, but 18" apart in each direction would be best, IMHO

"Not much hope for mine then as they are in a bed only 6in apart. Lesson for next year."

I would suggest seriously consider pulling alternate ones out ...

"I had 3 in a trough last year, about 6 inches apart and they were fine."

Well that's a good point, Presumably they had room on each side? That's like a raised bed, you can plant closer together because they have all the space of the paths each side to make up for the close planting. But planting a "crop" at 6" apart in all directions is going to stunt the plant and yield IMO

"They've grown to about 6 inches in height, no flowers yet. Is this normal?"

I don't reckon they are tall enough yet. Mine grew to about 18", maybe a bit less, before they flowered. Mind you, that was earlier in the year and it was colder and less light. Yours will therefore probably start flowering at a smaller height. Not sure about two in each pot though ...

... but I haven't got any scientific evidence that planting further apart will give higher yields, even though overall there are fewer plants.

[moggssue]

Just to add my two'pennoth - my peppers are in a bed on the lottie, about 8" apart (just the one row) and about a foot tall and have just started to develop flower buds the past few days.

I guess they're really too close since they're not getting particularly bushy so I will be giving them more room next year, but still holding out hopes for a crop this year.

Good luck to all my fellow pepper growers - lets compare notes later on and see how well we did so we all have a better idea next year?

[zazen999]

Agreed!!!!!!

[Kristen]

"I guess they're really too close"

I don't think it matters overly if there is nothing on either side of them - they can spread sideways.

Just for info: mine are in pots 2' apart. The plants "head" is 20" diameter and 26" high (from the top of the pot). They have not been pinched out, so they have bushed up like that by themselves.

[Demeter]

I've got two sharing a container, they are about 10" apart I would guess, and have grown to probably 30" high, lovely and bushy with several flowers each, and more buds developing, but no fruit yet. I was going to pinch them out but couldn't bring myself to do it as the growing tips all had buds on them!!

Anyway, they are just about OK as long as they don't get any bigger - if I had more than 2 they would definitely need to be further apart, probably twice the distance apart - which ties in with what Kristen is saying - just to accommodate the size of bush they are.

I bought them as young plants at the beginning of April and they have grown steadily but not fast - intend growing them from seed next year if I get a sensible crop, and reckon I will need to sow very early indeed!

[kittykat8]

I will post some pics of my tunnel this weekend and it is a lesson on how not to grow to much


marion

[devon-surfer]

I am into my second year of growing chilli's. Lat year I had 5 plants in tubs all produced hundreds.
Since last year I have decided to grow chilli's and make things and sell them at local farmers markets.

I have about 80 plants in all this year, I have about 15 on the allotment ranging from Bell peppers and chilli's from mild to the "ring of fire" honest its called that!
I have the remainder all in my greenhouse, in the ground and pots, they are all thriving well, what you must do if they become leggy and reach about 8 -10" is nip of the growing tips so it makes them direct their energy into bushing out and producing fruits.

MOst of mine have now a good crop of chilli's ranging from 1" - 5"

Take a look at my gallery on my website

[unconcerned]

Talking of pinching out, can I just quickly pinch out the myth that pinching out encourages the plant to fruit - it does not. It encourages the plant to grow more green shoots. If you pinch out when the plant is about to flower then it will switch it's engery from fruiting back to growing.

Also remember that there is huge variation in capsicum species. Annuums, and particularly Baccatums, are naturally inclined to grow quite tall. Whereas a Frutescens like Tobasco will naturally grow very bushy. So unless you are all talking about the same species and cultivar then you are not comparing like for like and so your spacing comparisons are fruitless so to speak.

Hope this is helpful. Comparing notes is great but if you are growing the Annuum Prarie Fire, you won't need to space it at 18" like the person growing the 8 foot tall Baccatum Starfish.

[Kristen]

Good point, I took kittykat8 to mean Sweet Peppers, but my blow-your-head-off Chilli Peppers are tiny plants, by comparison to my Sweet Peppers