2018 Peppers Are Off On Their Grand Adventure

This past weekend, I set about getting all of my pepper plants into their outdoor homes. The weather was just about perfect — not too cold and mostly cloudy with predicted rainfall in the afternoon. But before we got dirty, a run to the local nursery was in order to finish filling out the my overflow plot down the road from the house.

As usual, the nursery had a plethora of pepper plants though the vast majority were your standard Jalepeno, Serrano and the Lunchbox reds and oranges. Those are all well and good, but I was looking for something different — not necessarily hotter, just different varieties to go along with those that I had already sown at home.

I ended up with two different variations (the label images looked similar, but they were branded with different names) of red Trinidad scorpions, three yellow Scotch Bonnets (labelled something like Jamaican Yellow Yellers) and an Aji Rico which is apparently a hybrid grown for its early-season fruiting abilities. We’re now up to 55 plants for this season, a much larger number than I managed last year.

Let’s Get Dirty!

I tackled the raised beds first, but before getting the plants into the dirt, I laid them out to make sure that I liked what I saw and I could fit as many as I wanted in each frame. Once everything looked good, I get each into the ground with a roughly three tablespoon scoop of Trifecta+ from MIGardner (mixed into the soil). I have never used this fertilizer, but have read good reviews of it and decided to give it a shot.

Self-Watering Buckets

With both raised beds completed, the self-watering double buckets were next. I was excited to use this set-up again this year as the plants that were in them last season seemed to be the healthiest throughout the year. We’ll see if that’s the case again this time around. All ten plants here also received a scoop of the Trifecta+ fertilizer mixed into the soil immediately around the plant.

While the beds are home to a variety of habanero and bhut jolokias (along with a couple of other plants), the buckets feature some of the most fiery plants I’ve got including a couple Carolina Reapers and chocolate scorpion variations to accompany a Bahamian Goat and Pequin in their fold.

The Overflow Plot

Once completed at the house, I packed up the remaining plants, some additional compost and set down the short drive to the overflow plot to get everything else in prior the forecasted rain that was on the horizon. Again, just like with the raised beds I laid out the 21 plants to make sure that everyone had enough space to grow and flourish.

I was making good progress getting every body into the ground successfully, until I started feeling a couple of light drops of rain with about eight plants left to wrap up. Those small drops quickly turned into a chilly shower as the sky opened, drenching the plants and myself in the process. You can’t tell in the last two photos, but big rain drops are coming down pretty steadily as I packed up my stuff for the quick drive home.

All in all, I’m pleased with how yesterday went. The weather, as well as today’s forecast, should allow the plants the opportunity for a smooth transition. Those at the home are all looking good and made it through the rain and the cool night just fine. I’ll be riding the bike over the overflow plants during lunch today to make sure they all are taking to their new home.