9 sq feet - how many Jalepenos?

[arivaraci]

So I have a 9 sq ft spot, and I want to put 2 jalepenos there. I have a good 18 inches down with what I think is a good soil mix.

Is that adequate space and nutrient soil (assuming the soil is good stuff)?

Thanks

[Worth1]

Well a square 3x3 would be 9 square feet so I would say it should just do it.
If it were 2 x 4.5 it would be even better I would try 3.

Worth

[puttgirl]

Square ft. gardening...possibly nine plants if the space is 3x3 and the soil is super rich.
If it is 3x3, I personally would put four plants in.

[puttgirl]

Square foot gardening...if it was a raised bed with rich soil you could put in nine plants. If it is 3x3, I would try four plants (depending on what is growing near the edges).

[puttgirl]

Sorry, tried to delete a post...guess it didn't work!??

[arivaraci]

It is 3x3. Beside my garlic and the edge of my garden. I planted the garlic last fall without planning my spring rows. So now I have this 3x3 spot. Hoped to utilize it with jalepenos. Probably try the 2 as I am new to jalepenos.

Thanks for the input.

[RebelRidin]

I would go for four jalapeno plants in that space.

[Worth1]

I just put I think 18 in a 5X6 space.
We shall see.

Worth

[RebelRidin]

Originally Posted by Worth1

I just put I think 18 in a 5X6 space.
We shall see.

Worth

That's one too many!

[Tracydr]

You can do two in my area, the jalapeños get big. But, if they are done by October, I would plant 3-4, assuming good soil.
I have a 6 foot tall, 2 year old jalapeño that I need to go buy some sort of sturdy trellis for as the branches are breaking and it's too bushy for the stakes I have.

[livinonfaith]

Originally Posted by arivaraci

So I have a 9 sq ft spot, and I want to put 2 jalepenos there. I have a good 18 inches down with what I think is a good soil mix.

Is that adequate space and nutrient soil (assuming the soil is good stuff)?

Thanks

Hi! You and I are not too far from each other. Are you holding up under the "yellow snow" that has covered the area?

I grew three jalapeno plants last year and spaced them 18" apart. Mine did great at that spacing. They certainly were prolific. I ended up giving away bags of them to a coworker. You could definitely put four in that 3' x3' space, but that's a lot of jalapenos! If it were me, I would find another type of pepper, preferably hot, to fill in those two spaces.

If you don't have a good hot drying pepper, now is the time to throw one in! I bet you'll like it!

I have an 8" long, thin, very hot and sweet "mystery" pepper that is now my all time favorite. (The mystery is that it grew from a packet of sweet Aconcagua seeds last year, but is nothing like an Aconcagua.) You can use them either fresh or dried. I also grew some Cyclon peppers that we roasted and ground up for paprika.

The drying types are far more versatile (and easy) than I had thought they would be. I just pick them and spread them out in a warm clean place to dry. When I need some I either break it off and crumble it or run it through a small grinder and save it in a jar or baggie. That's it.

I'm only growing one jalapeno plant this year, just because I end up using the others so much more.

[barkeater]

Originally Posted by arivaraci

So I have a 9 sq ft spot, and I want to put 2 jalepenos there. I have a good 18 inches down with what I think is a good soil mix.

Is that adequate space and nutrient soil (assuming the soil is good stuff)?

Thanks

It depends on the variety of Jalapeno. Peppers produce more if they touch each other as the plants are reaching maturity so if you are growing Early Jalapeno or Jalapeno M, which are small plants, I could see 6 fitting in - two rows of 3. If it is a large plant like Goliath Jalapeno, 4 would comfortably fit.

[rockhound]

I would say crowd them a little. The best-producing peppers I have are usually the crowded ones.

[arivaraci]

Wow! Thanks for all the input! I might try 4 in my spot.

I tried different peppers last year, and unfortunately my husband can't stomach, pretty much, any hot (or sweet) peppers beside jalepenos. I make barrels of salsa a year. So I am trying to grow everything I need for my salsa. Craig hooked me up last year with peppers, but I couldn't cook or use any of them, due to my husbands limiting dietary restraints. That makes it lowest priority for space in my garden.

I need to start a couple more seeds like right now for that space!

Thank You!

[Tracydr]

I'm growing chiltepans this year for a dried pepper. They're a tiny " bird" type pepper. Very hot, native to the desert southwest. Hope to have lots of seeds to share this fall. The plant is really beautiful and the birds will love it. Makes a lovely bush with tiny, red peppers.