13 inches too close?

[AlittleSalt]

Tabasco peppers are my Tomatoville avatar. We grow them just because of how beautiful they are. If you eat them early in the season here - they're a little hotter than a typical Jalapeno. They are every bit of 50,000 Scoville late in the season here.

We grew some Poblano peppers last year that were stunted due to way too much rain, and the plants were still pretty large. We started them out in a garden that was rain saturated clay. I moved them to our sandy loam garden two months after planting them and they still produced well into November.

We have storms coming in tonight. I need to go put the trays of peppers and tomatoes in the barn. The storms were supposed to be 100 miles east of us. (Storms generally move from west to east here.)

[greenthumbomaha]

I grow peppers square foot style in a 4 foot deep raised bed. I really packed them in at 1X1 (except for Jalapenos). I think the interior plants would do better with more sunlight. Maybe a staggered diamond grid would work if you are still planting. I have plenty of time to figure this out as I have at least a month to go so I'll look forward to the results of your size and shape "homework" if you don't mind sharing. . We are getting a spring snow tonight.

- Lisa

[Worth1]

I hope we get some rain the last fronts rain went around me.

Worth

[AlittleSalt]

I hope you get some rain too Worth. Of course, I watered tonight, but I won't complain if we get some rain - as long as there's no hail.

Lisa, I actually missed seeing some snow back in January and February. Where I'm at in Texas, we usually get a couple of snow events. I'm a brat about snow - I love seeing it on the day it falls, but the next day - I'm sick of it.

If it's on the ground on the third day - it's time to move closer to the equator.

[Worth1]

I watered everything today too.
The last few days I have neglected my garden because I was on the other project.
Last night I was up till 4 this morning reading forums and results of people that are going through the same thing I am going through on the motorcycle.
Then at ten I woke up had a cup of coffee and started watering and tying up plants.
Been on a steady run these last few days and haven't had time to post much here.

Worth

[Zeedman]

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

I'm thinking this is a volunteer pepper beside the volunteer tomato plant?

That looks like a tomatillo. I have better success with tomatillo volunteers than I do when planting them on purpose.

For most C. annuum peppers, I plant in rows 12" apart, with plants 24" apart in the row, in a staggered pattern row-to-row. This works out to about 15" between plants, and they are quite healthy & productive at that spacing. I mulch heavily around the plants to keep weeds down, but on poorly-drained soils - or where drenching rains are common - that might not be a good idea.

I would agree with those who mention that other species can grow much larger, and might require more space and/or greater care in their placement. Fatali grew over 3' tall & 2' wide even in my short summer.

[AlittleSalt]

There is a lot of hail piling up just to our north. Egg sized and tennis ball sized hail in many areas. Basically from Crowley and north - which means a lot of DFW areas. A lot of you friends live up there.

Our storms are around 50 miles to our west. I got in all the backup tomato plants and the pepper plants put up on the barn floor. They are warning us of 80 mph winds and hail.

Anyone new to the DFW area - this is normal late March, and April, and May, and June here. That's why we need to grow what seems like way too many extra plants.

[AlittleSalt]

Zeedman, I think you are right. I think they are tomatillos. There are several plants growing that bed. I took a flashlight out and looked at other tomatillos growing that I planted and they look the same.

I grew green (Verde) tomatillos in 2014 that produced way more than we could pick and use. The soil in that raised bed came from 30-50' away. I need to save a couple volunteers tomorrow.

Thank you Zeedman.

Originally Posted by Zeedman

That looks like a tomatillo. I have better success with tomatillo volunteers than I do when planting them on purpose.

For most C. annuum peppers, I plant in rows 12" apart, with plants 24" apart in the row, in a staggered pattern row-to-row. This works out to about 15" between plants, and they are quite healthy & productive at that spacing. I mulch heavily around the plants to keep weeds down, but on poorly-drained soils - or where drenching rains are common - that might not be a good idea.

I would agree with those who mention that other species can grow much larger, and might require more space and/or greater care in their placement. Fatali grew over 3' tall & 2' wide even in my short summer.

[4season]

I usually grow 4 rows a foot apart with 18 inch spacing. If they get squeezed a little closer there might be room for the extra tomato plants I started. Wife doesn't think so but the space between rows needs to be wide enough for my backside to fit when the plants grow up.

[Worth1]

I slept right trough what ever came through last night and we got almost an inch of rain.
There must have been some really high winds.
Worth

[AlittleSalt]

I've been looking around, we only got 3/10" of rain. Lots of wind and lightning, but not much damage.

[karla-]

We were in that line of storms last night - no more hail at my house, but several of my friends in the Metroplex have some serious hail damage to deal with today - luckily just things, no people or animals hurt that I know of. They had golf ball sized hail and bigger - could have been much worse!
As far as spacing for peppers, I have a square foot garden and plant peppers one per square foot. Last year I had several varieties of jalapenos, cayenne, pepperocini, & paprika and it was a bumper crop for all of them. The plants got huge and loaded with peppers. I saw no ill effects of growing them so close - no bugs or disease. They are grown in raised beds with an equal mix of compost, peat and vermiculite, so there is great drainage. I also have PVC pipe grids with tiny holes throughout that are set up on a timer for automatic watering. I don't mulch.

[AlittleSalt]

I took a couple seed magazines with us today on bill paying day. I was going to read more info about the pepper varieties I have to plant out. Sounded like a good idea... right?

No, I looked at all the varieties I now want to grow next year instead. I have to grow some NuMex Easter and Twilight and... Tomato Growers is going to love me

[clkingtx]

Wow, Salt; I really like the shape of your beds! I bet that makes it easier to tend to the plants that way.

Carrie

[AlittleSalt]

Carrie, I just saw your reply. Thank you. They are new raised beds. I gave them a lot of thought. I'm 6'-1" and my wife is 5'-0". To reach the center of the widest parts of the beds is two and a half feet. There are 4' walkways between the beds.

So far, they are easy to work with. I'll know more about them as the growing season progresses.

Carrie, I want apologize for not seeing your reply until tonight.