Head Slapper

[digitS']

Peppers don't do real well for me. I think some of the circumstances are good for them, some bad. (Good thing I didn't have them out in unheated "protective growing" last night after a lovely 72°f afternoon; it's 42° in there this morning !) Wide temperature swings are the norm, right through the growing season and that has to be tough on them.

Having nice bell peppers has been the biggest problem, so I go exploring . I have to! If I find a good choice, it's a hybrid and the dang seed companies must consider some varieties like Paris dress fashions. Nobody wants last year's choice ..!

I grew Snapper for a number of years. Park still has it, although it's now an "exclusive" ... at 20¢ a seed! The Big Early had a weird name but it was great in my garden! ... it's gone. I see Bonnie Plants has all these customers post on its blog about how they luv, luv, luv The Big Early. From 2012, folks ... it's gone.

I'm trying to add to my reliance on King of the North, which I don't hold in very high estimation. But, it's open-pollinated so maybe 1 company can't make all the decisions for thousands of gardeners. This year, the little Red Knight plants are growing like champions! Who knows how long the variety will be on the market??

It ain't just bells! This has happened to me with nearly everything I've grown over the years! I gotta stay on my toes! But, even with a big garden, it ain't easy.

Steve

 

[aftermidnight]

I haven't had good luck with peppers here the last couple of years, not warm enough but I sure could have grown them here last year. A number of years ago I had great success with one called Park's Whopper, I don't know if they still sell that on or not. The only pepper I'm growing this year is a hottie, Piri, Piri in a tub so I can move it into the greenhouse if necessary.
Annette

 

[Ridgerunner]

The two years I spent in Denmark, the only way I could get tomatoes to ripen was to grow them inside an unheated greenhouse. They'd grow and set but not ripen. That was probably a bit further north than either of you, I was just north of of Copenhagen. Certain plants just need warmth.

I checked. It was quite a bit further north.

 

[Nyboy]

Ridge you have lived all over the world, did you settle down in Arkansas because of family or just good place to live?

 

[Ridgerunner]

We have family in Kansas, Tennessee, and Louisiana. We are a day's drive from all of them, a long day to east Tennessee and south Louisiana. East Kansas is closer. But family restricted us to a certain region.

And it is a good place to live. There are three Fortune 500 companies headquartered here which helps improve the culture and stabilize the area in many ways. We have four seasons but avoid the bitter cold some people see. I can handle the heat. The water supply is assured, we will not be rationing water here though it gets dry in most summers. My irrigation bills can be high. The cost of living is pretty good, especially compared to what you see. With the University of Arkansas just up the road there are at least some people around with an open mind so we can find some people with different points of view. I like that diversity. There are also athletic and cultural opportunities at the University, plays and lectures as well as sports. There are enough people concentrated in this general area that medical facilities and care is pretty good. At my age that can be important.

There are some drawbacks to being in Arkansas but the corner I'm in is pretty good. I'll put up with the rest.

 

[digitS']

College town also, if I remember right, @Ridgerunner . I used to think I'd like to retire to a college town. Fun place. However, the nearest college town is often the coldest place around! Not moving there! No sir ...

@aftermidnight ,, I used to grow Whoppers. They did fairly well. Not even Park's has them anymore!

I'm glad I learned to make an "unstuffed" pepper casserole with Italian sweet peppers. I've never grown one of that group that didn't perform, at least, fairly well.

Steve

 

[Ridgerunner]

College town also, if I remember right, @Ridgerunner .

That's why I mentioned the University of Arkansas. That was one of our requirements when we were looking for a place to retire to. I think a college adds quite a bit to a place, both from the people they attract and the activities they have or make possible. We don't take advantage of it as much as we probably should but some of our friends are professors or retired professors and we have been to lectures, plays, and a few sporting events. It's been a bonus.

Funny how this started as a pepper thread. Speaking of which, I'm going to grow some Paprika peppers again this year. I grew a few last year but with our floods and such it was a really bad year in the garden for peppers and many other things. I only got about a half-pint of powder. I let them ripen well, cut them into chunks and remove seed and any bad spots, then freeze the chunks. At the end of the season I put them in the dehydrator, and then put them through the blender.

I'll be growing ALMA, ANTOHI ROMANIAN, PCR PAPRIKA, ROMANIAN SWEET, and SZEGEDI GIANT. The Alma are a medium heat, the rest are all sweet. All of them mature to some shade of red but I think that may be a requirement for a paprika pepper. All I've seen are red when they mature. It should make for an interesting mix. I'm hoping to have enough volume to include paprika in my Christmas gifts this year along with my jams, jellies, and chutney.

 

[ducks4you]

How about blocking with straw bales? I think that might block any breeze that would steal the heat from your peppers and insulate them. My best crop of sweet peppers was a few years back when we had some REALLY hot weather, and then I had buckets of big, bell peppers, that we ate, I dehydrated for cooking later, like for chili and meatloaves and I shared.
We have to realize that we are trying to grow tropical vegetables and they LOVE heat.
I love bell peppers so much that I'll pretty much try Anything to get them. Otherwise I just get a lot of leaves and tiny fruit.
OH, and avoid purple bell peppers, unless they are just for eating, because they cook to green.

 

[digitS']

I have a yellow, Sunsation, this year, again. They really do fairly well but aren't consistent. As with all my peppers, I suspect that they are stunted from going out early but waiting into July for those 50°f nights ... I'd rather not.

The wind block is something I'd like but there are several problems. First, prevailing winds are from the south and southwest. I'd be blocking both wind and sunlight. I have the little veggie garden in a location with very little wind. I can't cram everything thing in there. I'd have to shrink my garden space to about 30% of its current size. Oh, and it isn't warmer, tucked up against the north side of a hill.

I've wondered about plastic film. Putting the young plants in tomato cages with an open top would work, I'd bet. Still, I've got lots of plants.

No, I'm committed to varieties and the seed companies pull them out from under me. I've learned that I should have the standard and try something(s) different every year. But, plant varieties become like old friends. For example, I must have grown Earlivee sweet corn for over 10 years. Somebody made a decision and it was terminated.

Steve

 

[Ridgerunner]

Steve the way I understand it peppers usually breed true, like tomatoes. Pollinators can transmit pollen but I think the main way they help is just by shaking the flowers to get them to self pollinate. I'm going by memory, which is dangerous, but I think the pistil on the hot peppers is typically a bit longer than on the sweet peppers so hot peppers are a little more at risk for cross=pollination. I could easily have that backwards.

Where I'm going is have you considered saving your own pepper seeds? They need to get fully ripe which may be a challenge in your climate, but maybe build a mini-greenhouse around one plant you will save seeds from, leaving room for pollinators to shake those flowers. At least you won't have to rely on the seed companies.

I understand that. Burpee quit offering the sweet corn "Breeder's Choice" that I've been relying on for years. I'll get Bodacious from the local Mom 'n Pop this year and try it.