The 2021 Peppers Are Now Outside

For the second year in a row, the outdoor transplanting event was delayed a week later than I had hoped. This time around, however, all of the plants were doing just fine in the temporary pots – none really showed any signs of cramping or general unhappiness like the plants did last season. But, long story short, all of the pepper plants are now in their Summer homes and ready to really start growing.

As you can see above, I can be a bit nerdy (the wife prefers dorky) with how I get about transplanting the peppers outside. I like to have a couple variations of plant mapping based on variety, heat level, etc. The plan this season, was to generally stick to heat level in the beds, while the new 13 gallon pots and self-watering buckets were more for looks and rarity. Most of the ornamentals or those with attractive foliage are in the green and blue pots that run down the newly extended mulch bed.

My process for transplanting is perhaps a bit tedious, but it works for me. Once the seedlings are laid out, each is planted with a moderate handful of bone meal and blood meal with just a pinch of epsom salt. I neglected to purchase Trifecta+ which I have used in seasons past to great effect, but there were a few potted plants that got the dregs of the five pound bag that were left over.

This past weekend’s overnight lows were on the cool side, but with a swift rise this coming week, I new the plants would be fine and make a quick recovery from any impact that the cold may have had on them for a night or two. This time of year is already super exciting and I cannot wait to watch all these little fellas grow bigger and start putting out fruit over the next 5-6 months.

Until the next update, happy gardening!