Finally Success With Peppers

[@nickthegardener.1120]

Wow Bruce those peppers look amazing, well done in your climate especially as it was so wet this year. You gave some great tips in this video which I will implement next year.👌🤠👍

[@REDGardens]

Thanks! I was really pleased!

[@xaviercruz4763]

@@REDGardensreally thank you for this. Are you going to make bush experiments vs your pruning method? I suggest that if you take 9 months preparing these then it’s better to find them a permanent home and maybe insulate the tunnel double. I know of this guy in South Korea having coffee plants with snow outside in a passively heated tunnel (no electric heating just what you have)

[@lisahodges8299]

I needed to watch this again as I am still trying to get decent peppers, thank you. Bird

[@mornkel2125]

Great video. Good tips on the pruning topic. My impression is, that it is quite moist and humid in your green house, you got mold all over the place, on the stems of the plants, on the fruits. This can cause lot of problems to your plants but also to yourself (when you are working there for hours). To overwinter pepper plants and keep on growing them over the years has the advantage that they are bigger and yield an earlier and bigger harvest. There are two possibilities: overwintering in a cool place or overwintering indoors in a warm spot. Overwintering in a cool place makes the pepper plants dormant, no growth. When you tried to overwinter your plants in a cool place, the soil in the containers was completely dry, this is probably the cause what killed them. Next time you might want to keep the soil moist. When overwintering the pepper plants indoors they will not become dormant but will continue to grow leaves, flowers and even fruits. They will need artificial light and normal amount of water and nutrients. Another option is to start a LOT earlier from seeds. This year i sowed California Wonder on 24th october and they started to bloom at the beginning of december. After seeing your pruning tips i will remove all flowers and keep on developing the stems of the plants. In january/february i will keep the flowers, so i have a decent headstart for the next season which will start in mid may in my region. October was maybe a bit early, but december/january is a good time for sowing peppers. If you want to sow and grow in winter indoors you will need a good grow light, the winter day light is not sufficient.

[@REDGardens]

Yeah, humidity is the big issue in the polytunnel. I did try the cool overwintering, and kept them moist, but not too wet. The clip I showed was months after they had died. I am ogling to try sowing a lot earlier, probably at the beginning of January, though the plants will take a lot more work and extra heat to keep healthy and happy until the polytunnel is warm enough for them.

[@ptngarden]

thank you for sharing.very good video

[@bobbun9630]

I live in a hot summer climate (Arkansas Ozarks), so these plants grow pretty easily. The thought that crossed my mind watching this video is that the measures you're taking to overcome your climate issues seem to be creating a lot of labor. The combination of reduced light intensity due to the higher latitude and growing in the tunnel, combined with pruning, is creating much taller plants that need all that support and the labor that goes with it. I don't prune and find these plants capable of supporting themselves most of the time, though I do still stake them and tie them off a couple of times to keep the wind from blowing them over as they can be top heavy. The rot issues are probably from high humidity in cool temperatures combined with low air movement. I seldom see rot begin with molding. Here it's more likely to start with sunscald as the summer sun is fairly intense. Your pruning would likely make things worse as there would be fewer leaves to shade the fruit.

[@REDGardens]

Yes, you describe the issues really well. Getting a good crop through these methods is labour intensive, and being efficient with this, and being space efficient within the limited space of the polytunnel, are the main issues I am trying to improve, at least if I want to grow lots of peppers! I have had issues with sun scald during really hot and sunny periods, but these are less common than the cool and high humidity conditions, as you mention, both compounded by the lack of wind.

[@matthewstone7367]

I have really struggled with sweet peppers. Thanks for making this video and including lots of great tips!

[@REDGardens]

Hope you have better luck next year.

[@bobaloo2012]

Here in western Oregon we have the same issues, but it does get a little warmer here in August most years. After years of failure with open pollinated peppers I about gave up, but these days I get bumper crops of peppers by switching mainly to hybrid varieties and growing in my largest high tunnel. They grow faster, ripen earlier and produce much more. I mainly grow Flavorburst, a yellow pepper, Gilboa, an orange pepper and Red Knight, obviously red. I do grow a lot of one open pollinated variety called "Jolene's Italian", which looks almost exactly like your Marconi, which produces a delicious pepper with very thick walls and tons of peppers. Some of the plants yield 15-20 peppers. Near the end of the season I pick all the ripe peppers, slice them and vacuum pack them for freezing. They're just as good all winter, for cooking at least, and I use a ton of them. No need to blanch them, just vacuum pack and freeze. Despite my fondness for open pollinated varieties, almost all the peppers and eggplant I grow are hybrids. In a marginal climate they can make the difference between a great crop and no crop.

[@bonniepoole1095]

Hi! I'm in western Washington and haven't had a good crop of peppers yet. Thanks for suggesting successful varieties. It's been so warm here! Calendula, dandelions, peas, and rosemary are blooming! I've got pussy willows and the decorative plum looks like it wants to burst into bloom. I'm afraid for my fruit trees- - OMG--what if they blossom in January!??? It will mean no fruit!!

[@mylaughinghog]

The Flavorburst bell peppers are by far the most productive I've grown. They would have 20 peppers per plant while King Arthur would have about 6. For a red bell, I might try the Red Knight you mentioned.

[@REDGardens]

Yeah, the hybrid varieties seem to do a lot better in this marginal climate. Ill have to try the vacuum pack technique, thanks for the suggestion.

[@FantailValleyHomestead]

Perfectly timed video for me, thank you! We are coastal in the south of NZ so seem to have similar growing conditions to you, so I really enjoy learning from your experience. I was just thinking yesterday about how I'm going to prune my peppers this season, I think after watching this I'll try the single stem option. I managed to over winter 4 plants from last year and they already have fruit well established on them, my new seedlings are only 15-25cm tall with no flowers yet so I too am going to try any over winter more this year

[@REDGardens]

It is so cool that our seasons relay like that! Great that you got some to overwinter, I am looking forward to trying that option next year.

[@noorazianbintiyeob3778]

1:10 mymmmmmmmmmmymmmmmmmmm..b.b.v.m😅

[@rustyandrews8375]

Although I live in a hot weather climate (Alabama) My experience with overwintering pepper plants has been amazing. I had grown egg plants, bell peppers & cayenne peppers & learned these plants were perennials. They were somewhat difficult to not allow to dry out in my heated house, I did keep most alive. As soon as spring broke, I had peppers almost imeadiatly. Lots of each. They seem to slack off after two or three years but always better to have a few ready to set out as soon as the weather permits.

[@REDGardens]

That is awesome! I really want to try it next winter.

[@isimotmuheeb4024]

Thank you for your honesty.Now I know it’s not just me and I will keep trying.❤

[@REDGardens]

🙂

[@brians1001]

Your peppers look great! Perfect timing! I was thinking yesterday that I would give peppers a try again. I'm in southern Germany, cool, wet, short season. I grow outside. I tried bell and Marconi in the past. Turned out fairly well, but just when they were producing it was time for frost. Great tips in the video! This year I'm going a bit earlier, and for the first time, will try the pruning technique, seems that would help immensely, I hadn't even considered it. Maybe on a few I'll remove that first blossom. I was also motivated by other videos that profess over wintering and will try that as well. Thank you for the hard work and sharing.

[@REDGardens]

Growing outside would be tough around here, but an interesting challenge!

[@brians1001]

Challenging, 🤔With black fly, slugs, allium fly, carrot fly, aphids, late frost, early frost, blight, mildew, and wind, it calls for a beer to celebrate when I can manage to just pick some lettuce 😄@@REDGardens

[@Pixieworksstudio]

Thank you, this came just at the right time for me. I was notebook at the ready.

[@REDGardens]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Pixieworksstudio]

@@REDGardens very much so!!

[@steviekehoe]

Very intested in your future work on this! Love this type of work.

[@REDGardens]

Thanks

[@suebar5177]

The fruits are huge😊

[@mileopen2298]

2 stems is best method, you only need to prune flowers in the middle to avoid crowding. I live in hot climate but I now people in mountains they have much colder climates and different varieties of pepper and they are smaller but taste very well. I think you need to stick with smaller peppers

[@REDGardens]

Yes, smaller may be better in this context.

[@jeshurunfarm]

Thanks Bruce Respect from Africa 🇿🇦

[@REDGardens]

🙂

[@thebiosoilcompany]

I’d like to mention that I have had great success with peppers in zone 6a southeastern Pennsylvania USA by heavily pruning off flowers early in the season until the plants are at least 12-16” tall. I start them indoors every year and pay close attention to not only our recommended transplant dates but the weather weeks in advance to get them out as early as possible. These outdoor grown peppers typically produce 300-600 small peppers per plant at two foot spacing…and interplanted in heavy competition. Even our bell peppers will produce 20-40 enormous peppers per plant. I believe giving the plants an early deflection of energy to root production rather than early peppers is the main reason, followed by the diversified compost, no-till, bio tea foliar applications, and maintaining a healthy soil ecosystem. #TheBioSoilWay

[@C3Voyage]

I've attempted Bells over decades, all manner of cultivars, open pollinated and hybrid. I've never been a fan of the limited fruit production and long times to maturity. Several years ago, I asked myself why I keep trying bells. I came to the conclusion that they're too big for everything but stuffed bell peppers, and when we harvested, we always ended up chopping up and putting into the freezer. So, in essence, the large factor made no sense as we typically used them as additions to other dishes. That began my journey to create a thick-walled smaller sweet pepper that was highly productive. One that will set fruit all season long similar to a jalapeno, or snacking pepper, in most ways, but taste more like a bell pepper and finish red and really sweet. I enjoy both a green and red bell pepper so I took into account both color and use at different stages of growth from immature to mature. I just finished my breeding goal this year. I call it Terzetto Bella. It is a pepper that is about 2" x 4" and thick-walled. Immature, it begins as a cream color, then transitions to yellow, then orange, and finally a cherry-red. Immature and mature, it's similar to a Bell. I love the colors as they grow. The same plant can present cut fruit of many colors. The plant looks like Christmas lights growing and she's highly productive. One of the parents was Lipstick, which gives it most of it's sweetness, but TB is much more productive. We certainly appreciate the continued harvests of immature and mature fruits. They cut in half perfectly for topping, stuff well, and we don't have to chop and freeze pepper to save for later. I guess I'm saying all this in great detail mostly because I'm happy to have reached a breeding goal of mine and provide my backstory for my question to you. Have you considered a smaller, more productive Bell replacement? It should end your long ripening issues, lack of consistent production, and fruit softening or going bad. As I was working on mine, in the beginning, I'd considered breeding with California Wonder, Red Knight, Palmyra, Red Marconi, Jimmy Nardello, Snacking Peppers, Tangerine Dream, Ajvarski, and Banana. I grew out all, and even crossed with a few, to assess the flavor mature and crossed. Lipstick was the winner for taste. Next was the cross to bring in color and productivity. I used a hot pepper Sante Fe type chili and selected for no heat. That's my story and my question. I know you enjoy trialing. I do as well, but is it worth trying to make Bells work? Keep up the fantastic content! I really enjoy your videos.

[@REDGardens]

That is all really cool. Thanks for sharing. Smaller makes sense. Perhaps I need to explore more small varieties. The Lipstick was interesting and nice to use, but significantly lower yield in this trial. I went with the bells this past year to see if I could get a good crop, but that isn't necessarily the best overall type for this context.

[@Tippler0611]

Should you ever need a novice grower to test your new variety, I'm happy to volunteer! A smaller thick walled sweet has been difficult to find. Gypsy was reasonably thick and prolific, the best so far. But I'd need a couple dozen plants to get our family through winter, and the pale yellow color at maturity was less than appetizing after slicing and freezing.

[@Simlatio]

Its a challenge growing in the heat too, despite being a heat loving plant. The sun here in sub-tropical Australia can on a bad day absolutely mangle the delicate new growth and fruit of heat loving plants like tomatoes, capsicums and eggplants. I practically have to do dense block planting to provide enough shade for the fruit, as well as choose to plant them in a position that will give them less direct sunlight than what is typically recommended. Sometimes our heat waves produce the same effect as a frost would. I guess as the old saying goes 'it isn't always greener on the other side'.

[@REDGardens]

That is a very different challenge. I did get some sun scald on the peppers last year during one of our rare 'heat waves' (temp maxed at 30ºC)

[@sreddy11000]

Thank you Bruce, very informative...peppers are a crop I like to grow

[@latinoenturquia8486]

I can't have a nice productive peper but is my second year. Lets see how it goes next spring. Thanks for sharing your experience!

[@REDGardens]

🙂

[@angelad.8944]

All so very interesting. Thanks for sharing. I find peppers a challenge for some reason. The heat chilis grow well enough but the sweets don't like to perform for me. I will be trying out your tips and tricks next summer. I am excited at the prospect of a higher yield overall. ☺ One thing I do know is that I have to wait for the yo yo weather to settle before planting out or I will get next to nothing. They really don't like the trauma of any cold dips.

[@BlackJesus8463]

Same. The bigger and sweeter the harder to grow in my experience.

[@REDGardens]

Yeah, they seem to want more steady warmth than most plants.

[@nigelmccomb8106]

We are in the Vancouver Fraser valley area and also grow peppers in a poly tunnel. Although we are at a lower latitude than you and have much warmer summers, we have many of the same challenges. We have been allowing the plants to bush and have been struggling to find a good support method. We did not find Florida weave to be effective but have come up with an idea for this coming season. We will also try the 2 stem approach and see how it goes. I would recommend a fan or 2 to get some air movement, ventilation is very important. Thanks for the video.

[@REDGardens]

It seems that the bush method only really works in the outside in a hot climate, where the benefit of shading the developing fruit is very useful. I think you are right about a fan, something I need to look into.

[@scootertasmania6619]

Good effort

[@REDGardens]

Thanks

[@Tomhohenadel]

My peppers grew well this year. Many large peppers but slow to ripen. I may have used too much nitrogen, plants were very tall, close to 6’. Will try pruning them next year. Thanks Bruce for the tips and advice. Merry Christmas. Grew only California Wonder.

[@REDGardens]

Interesting that they grew so tall! I should lo more exploration of different fertility levels.

[@benm9910]

Thanks loads for the top tips. We've also had disappointment results with first few years of pepper growing in Leeds, tho lots of good chillis. We've had grafted peppers recommended before, planning on trying Demetra F1 and Thor F1 (RHS AGM, & heaviest yielding in their trials). Will definitely pay more attention to pruning following your results, does feel like peppers often get sidelined and left to fend for themselves. Cheers as always and happy solstice! Ben in Leeds

[@REDGardens]

Yeah, I think I have been sidelining or slightly ignoring peppers in the past, but now that I am paying more attention to them, things are working out better, imagine that! I would like to try grafting as well.

[@ivyclark70]

Congratulations! Great to see your amazing pepper plants. If you like a particular variety and are concerned about cross pollination affecting the seeds, you could try using the stem cuttings to propagate the plants. I needed to prune back a couple of my Thai bird's-eye chilli plants, and decided to try this method with some success. I've not tried it with bell peppers yet.

[@REDGardens]

With the scale I am working at, with only around 10 of each variety, it doesn't really make sense to save my own seeds, so stem cuttings would be interesting to try. I find it a lot easier to just buy in the seeds, and store them in the freezer. One packet will last for years.

[@ivyclark70]

@@REDGardens you can let a plant grow and bush out, so you could easily take many cuttings from that one plant. Good luck! Look forward to seeing your video if you give this a go. I've also done this with the suckers off tomato plants that I've accidently neglected to create new plants by simply poking them into seeding mix in a protected spot. 😊

[@PHILCHUDS]

Hi , i made a similar fail with peppers this year. I dont have a poly tunnel , but a decent sized greenhouse. Have grow my carrots there for the past few years , plus a 2 year old grape vine. I took the carrots out too early , and put the peppers in to late. Sweet bells , cayenne and Scots bonnetts. Was still picking them mid November , Devon UK. Next spring i've set aside half a lawn which i've dug up for carrots , peas and maybe a couple rows of potatoes. Peppers will be under the glass by mid april next spring , rather than end of June like this year . This years pepper harvest didnt turn out bad , but would have been better planted earlier. Got a lot of seeds though !!!

[@shanec8812]

Another great learning video. If you haven't tried the Jimmy Nardello pepper it is a great one. Although the peppers are not as large it is a very prolific and great tasting pepper. Out of every pepper I have tried it is a keeper. I am growing the Marconi for the first time next year. It looks to be a good one as well.

[@REDGardens]

Thanks for the suggestion.

[@johnsweeney1898]

I think it was a particularly good year for peppers and chillies. I've been growing Corno Di Toro for a good few years.

[@REDGardens]

I'd like to try that variety next year.

[@gabejones5147]

The rococo chilli is an abunbant chilli doesnt mind a bit of cold. It survived melbourne australia winter weather.

[@Mastadex]

I found that the Nu Mex Big Jim is a good substitute for the Marconi. It did very well here in southern Ontario this year, which wasn't the warmest. Good video, I'll have to try heavily pruning them next year.

[@mylaughinghog]

I recommend the NuMex Heritage Big Jim, which is an improved cultivator from Big Jim.

[@REDGardens]

Thanks, I will keep an eye out for that variety.

[@Mastadex]

@@mylaughinghog I'll have to keep an eye out for the heritage variety. Thanks for the tip!

[@qtpwqt]

My peppers did well this year

[@REDGardens]

Nice! What type did you grow?

[@qtpwqt]

@@REDGardens We did banana peppers this year .

[@REDGardens]

@@qtpwqt Nice!

[@jeanhallingstad9132]

Definitely try rocoto if you like hot peppers! They do great in our coastal Washington state climate, cool dry summers and long days. Start them in January, and they are relatively easy to overwinter and grow as perennials if you have a place that doesn't freeze for them.

[@REDGardens]

Thanks for the suggestion.

[@omarjaved9748]

Agreed, rocoto are great hot peppers that are easy to overwinter and keep their leaves through most winters and produce heavy crops.

[@benjaminbarber2840]

Im planning on over wintering a few choice pepper plants this coming season , too see what advantages , disadvantages , if any come from this strategy.... Its been said that this over wintering gives a significant head start ..... will see .....

[@REDGardens]

I have heard both good and bad results from overwintering. Hope you have success!

[@ihopeugrow]

I have a giant Marconi I bought from home depot in 2020. It’s planted in a 7gal pot and has always stayed outside no matter what the temp is. It still a good producer my only complaint is that there are times when it comes out of dormancy very late, like in June. But I still get a good harvest maybe because it doesn’t go in dormancy until Jan/Feb. I’d rather start from seed every year but I’ll keep this one til it croaks.

[@REDGardens]

Really cool that plants still keeps producing! Interesting experiment to continue with!

[@oscarherrera9049]

i dont know if someone else recommended it already but you can cut peppers when they are still green to let the plant produce more because red ones kind of stop production.

[@REDGardens]

That is useful, but I much prefer the red ones. Perhaps I need to adapt my tastes so that I can get a bigger overall crop.

[@DogSlobberGardens-i7f]

It's def worthwhile to start pepper seeds indoors earlier than recommended, especially if you only want/need a few or a couple dozen plants. And it's also worthwhile to prune off first flowers to let the plant make roots and some sturdy "infrastructure" above ground before letting it try to develop fruit. When to let the flowers get pollinated and form fruit depends both on the length of your season, and whether you want green peppers or fully ripe ones. Fully ripe ones can take several weeks longer to be ready to pick. And if you want fully ripe peppers, pick off all new flowers until those are almost ready for harvest. You may only get one set of ripe peppers, depending on variety and season length. I do overwinter pepper plants indoors every year, but I only select 1 or 2 of the healthiest, most productive plants from each variety for that. Be sure to not let the soil dry out over winter; that's the number one cause of failure. They'll most likely drop all their leaves and look dead. But if the roots don't dry out, chances of springing back to life the next season when they get more light and heat again are very good. Overwintered peppers don't need anything special other than moderate soil moisture levels and temps above 60F, so save your prime indoor area with good lighting for starting seeds or for plants that are actively growing. You are very much on the right track for growing peppers in your short, cool season. I'm confident you'll have even better success next year. :)

[@REDGardens]

Thanks for the suggestions. I am going to start them much earlier, probably going them next week.

[@christinefarrow5188]

Great video! For some reason yellow pepers ripen for me much faster than red (north england), so I grow yellow california wonder and hungarian wax, plus a few red ones.

[@REDGardens]

That is interesting. I will have to try some yellow peppers. Thanks.

[@cresentiae]

Thank you #savesoil

[@lksf9820]

First year for peppers here, I hate Bell peppers and am not mad keen on chillis so not much effort or research was put in, we got given the seeds. I was like a kid being made to do homework on a subject he hates. That said, all of what you discovered rings true, the only things I have to say of possible use are this: The chillis were very mild which was interesting and useful (to me) as they added flavour to the dishes without making them too hot. There is some good chilli advice here on YT and I think they're quite a fussy and niche plant to grow here, but worth it if you're really into them. A reasonably decent seed vendor has recently sent me a list of chilli seeds claiming that the time is now to sow, this fits in with yours and my discovery that a long growing season is needed, so maybe you should be sowing now if you have the environment. I've currently got many of this years plants in the house with us, despite living in a cold (but frost free) house they still seem to be just about alive and will hopefully survive to produce more next year.

[@REDGardens]

I want to try sowing really early, but I am concerned that it increases the risk that the the plants will get hit with a late frost

[@lksf9820]

Yeah, I was thinking of maybe bringing them on in the house if you have a suitable place, but the amount you grow it wouldn't be practical. May be worth a try with a small amount and see what happens? I don't know how cold hardy they are, whether a fleece over them if a frost hits when they're in the PT would protect them or not.

[@jeroenvan-3958]

All my plants with leaves survived the winter, but the plants that were cut back entirely all died on me. The leaves make it much easier to see if the plants need water while indoors. A much earlier harvest result,Greets from Holland

[@REDGardens]

That is interesting.

[@kuschyredeye1641]

Have you ever tried overwintering pepper plants? I had pretty good success with it in southern Germany. The advantage of this is that the plants can start the year with a fully developed root system.

[@kuschyredeye1641]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jnjcm6dsntBsd68si=Z4FrGhh7yOqUSpXn

[@REDGardens]

I tried last year, and they all died. Want to try again next year.

[@do4699]

Gypsy peppers have been the most productive sweet pepper for me. They are a cross between sweet Italian bullhorn peppers and bell peppers. They are also relatively compact for a sweet pepper so they need less space in the garden and less support.

[@REDGardens]

Sounds interesting. thanks for the suggestion.

[@whatabunchocrap437]

Looks like you may need more calcium in the soil for some of those funguses. I always put two match stick heads at the base of the step to help fruit production. I think it's the potassium nitrate that helps a lot.

[@wmpx34]

Nice Bruce. It’s a good feeling to succeed after trials and tribulations like that. Those hybrid seed prices are wild though…

[@bobaloo2012]

Those are relatively cheap. These days a lot of the top strains are $1 to $2 per seed. It makes sense for commercial growers, but not for home gardeners.

[@REDGardens]

They are, in comparison to the open pollinated, but I can spend €5-7 on a pack of 50 seeds and have enough for our own use for 5 or more years (if I store them in the freezer), so not really an issue.

[@DB-pm2vy]

My seeds came from supermarket pepper that looked good and ripe to me. It did well despite being outside propped against a south facing wall. Later in the season I lent an old window over them for more protection. I got several good sized peppers on both plants and will definitely be sowing seed earlier with chillies this month. I’ve used a lot of seeds from supermarket plants especially during lockdowns when couldn’t get out. Peppers, butternuts and tomatoes did really well. I was in Lincolnshire then now I’m in N. Yorks. I’ve also used supermarket garlic with good enough results. Thanks for showing the pruning, I’d never thought of that. Regards and thanks for your interesting vids. Take care.

[@firefly5421]

Hm... very interesting results and perfectly timed for my spring planning. Have you ever been approached by anyone from the Irish Garden magazine? I think some of your variety trials would make for excellent articles for the publication. I know you have infinite amounts of free time to pursue that though ;) Hope you're enjoying a relaxing and well deserved holiday break!

[@REDGardens]

I have not been approached by magazines yet, but would likely turn down the option. I figure it would be better suing the time it takes to write an article to make another video.

[@twofathoms1]

Try jimmy nardello sweet Italian. Very prolific in northeast us.

[@gwenscoble6229]

Last year my peppers (and aubergines) were disappointing as they were shaded by taller plants. The dull summer also didn't help. The 2 string method has been a game changer over the 'bushy and stake' method, with toppling over and crowding of fruit. The molds and slug marred fruit was so disappointing. My polytunnel is set up for cordon tomatoes and cucumbers so single string peppers and aubergines seems logical. I grow smaller aubergines, (1 portion per fruit) and think smaller thick skinned peppers are the way to go too. Fresh pepper every day, rather than keeping a cut one in the fridge, seems best. Storing the excess, I find freezing veg for later addition to meals, underwhelming. I prefer to make a few meals and freeze them, I enjoy red pepper and blue cheese quiche for a taste of summer, before the new crop is ready. Steve's seaside kitchen garden and allotment (Lytham), finds he grows peppers in covered raised beds. The opened covers give more airflow but protection when needed. No scope for stringing though. Thank you for your research and videos very inciteful for Anglesey.

[@jeffmartin693]

I grow a lot of the types of plants here in NE , USA as you do there and would like to see you try king arthur bell peppers, they are year in and year out the best bell pepper here.

[@REDGardens]

Thanks for the recommendation.

[@Nick_Jarrett]

OK so for cooler climates, try baccatum or pubescens (rocoto) varieties but make sure you start them early. Rocoto turbo pube is a great producer outside here in Norfolk, giving sweet juicy bell like taste with no bitterness and a little heat. For sweet peppers, try lesya from Ukraine.

[@REDGardens]

Thanks!

[@_SunRa_]

Thanks for your pepper growing assessment ! Maybe I’ll try that red star hmmm i need to look how bc Canada compares to your climate. Love the Marconi ! They were some of the first I grew and they did decent here in BC I really like the Antohi Romanian pepper it’s like lipstick but I found it produces better and has strong root growth.

[@REDGardens]

I doubt the Red Star is available in Canada. The variety selection between Europe and North America seems to be completely different, apart from a few of the older open pollinated varieties.

[@billastell3753]

My experience with sweet peppers, in central Ontario Canada, has been saving my own seeds is the key. Sweet pepper seeds from seed catalogues aren't grown to suit our shorter season. We do get the hotter summers with longer days though. For several years now I mark the best plant in my rows and save those seeds. I now get, on average, 5 very big peppers off each plant. They aren't consistent in colour or shape, that's not what I care about, they are consistently early with plentiful big thick fleshed fruit. I do get the odd dud/throwback but not often.

[@REDGardens]

That is interesting. Are you growing only one variety?

[@billastell3753]

@@REDGardens I began with several varieties. One was sent to me by a friend living in Bulgaria. Others I bought from local seed companies. I grew them all over the last several years and simply saved the ones that worked best in my conditions. Since they crossed, what I have growing best for me can't be identified as on variety. The genetics are diverse but work where I live. Where you live they may be of no value. I'm an obsessed believer in saving seeds that best work where a person lives.

[@friedastrong4160]

Thank you for the video it w 12:17 as very informative. I find growing peppers in my pollytunnel also challenging. This year I dug one peperplant up in late autumn and potted it up and it sits now in my windowsill. It’s stil green and made new leaves . I wonder what will happen next . Hope to plant it out in the tunnel when the temperature in spring is suitable. Will my pepper be of to an early start? ……time will tell….great to do experiments !😊

[@markus_selloi]

I hope you got an update on this years situation!

[@REDGardens]

Sorry, not this year. Had less success with the crop, for boring reasons.

[@Superstephen1977]

Amazing as always.. So as I mentioned before regarding zucchini powder mildew is nasty try Sulphur spay pre flower. Every 2 weeks this will keep the plant free of issues.. More food ).more fertilizer I haven't seem another plant that's a higher feeder ..have you ? I seen leave curled upwards? Some imbalance? Your hot pepper trees looked perfect! Like strawberries I pick of. All buds for 6-10 days. .so your only offsetting your harvest 2 weeks .. Peppers are weird, long wet periods ,then some dry out time .. At the end of fruiting ..

[@REDGardens]

Yeah, I want to work on better fertility,.

[@Superstephen1977]

@REDGardens I got animals ducks chickens rabbits.. This is a separate job ..but you could trade with someone..just a suggestion

[@michelemarble6799]

Have you ever tried King of the North variety. They have a much lower maturity date and are a bell pepper for colder shorter seasons. I get mine from Fedco of Maine USA. Might be worth a shot.

[@REDGardens]

I haven't tried that variety, it is not available here in Europe.

[@LamiaBrahmi14]

Thank you for the video. Great tips. Can I ask when you sowed these peppers? And did you protect till after the last frost? I often sow mid Feb but thinking about doing it earlier this year. Thanks

[@REDGardens]

Thanks. I sowed them in mid February, and grew the seedlings in the house under lamps and in the propagation box until end of April when they were transplanted into the polytunnel. I did cover them for a bit with horticultural fleece (in addition to the protection of the polytunnel plastic) to give them some extra warmth during the cool nights of April and early May. I might also do it earlier again this year, but that means more protection for longer.

[@kubaistube]

When in February did you.seed? Beginning? I am usually starting on January 15, but artificial lighting is necessary to start that early. Pruning first flowers is a must when starting that early otherwise plants are severely stunted focusing all the energy on first fruit. Then Second wave of fruit comes too late in the season. At least that's my findings..

[@REDGardens]

In the middle of February, with artificial light in the warmth of the house.

[@gregbluefinstudios4658]

Bruce, I've never checked, but when do you have frost/freezes and what are your season high temps? I have a last frost of End of April/Early May and Mid Oct for 1st frost, with temps into 80's and 90's mid August. (27C - 35C). I plant my pepper seeds Jan 15th, with moving them outside 1st or2nd week of May. I am picking some Peppers end of June. Peak is probably Mid August. Mostly, I am growing Sweet Bell (Coral Bell, Sunbright Bell, California Wonder, Purple Beauty, Big Red Bell) and a Sweet Banana, as well as Lemon Drop Aiji (medium hot pepper) my yields were somewhat similar to yours: 1.8kg to 2.8 kg per plant, with the bells on the lower side, and the Lemon Drop being my highest yield.

[@gregbluefinstudios4658]

Compared to prior years, I would say, I pruned LESS, and had better yield. My guess is, it had less to do w/ pruning and more to do with better weather. As you mentioned, I also prune the first flush of flowers, and let the plant develop more, and feel that helped with better harvest this year.

[@REDGardens]

We can get quite late frosts, up to end of May, and even into June, but in the polytunnel there is a bit of protection. Most years the typical high daily temperature stays below 20ºC (68ºF), and the nighttime lows are often around 10-12ºC (53ºF) in the summer. It can get a lot warmer, but our heat waves rarely last longer than a week or two, and I don't think we have ever seen temperatures above 31ºC (88ºF). So quite different and not very suitable for peppers. The polytunnel helps, but it is still quite cool at night.

[@gregbluefinstudios4658]

Ahhh, got it. @@REDGardens For some reason, I thought your temps were similar to here, but turns out, not really. Substantially less heat than here across the pond in New England. Also, turns out, your winters are milder, too! We often get feet of snow. At least a few storms of inches (5-8 cm) , and some years a couple storms of feet (30-45cm). AND, february can hover below freezing all month.

[@charlespalmer3595]

I've always been a 4 heads kinda guy, which works well in my warmer season. But with the hard freezes I get it isn't worth trying to overwinter them.

[@REDGardens]

I suspect overwintering in our climate will be a problem because of the high humidity.

[@lisahodges8299]

Please can you explain a bit more about arriving at getting paprika? Did you use a dehydrator? Birdy

[@REDGardens]

Yes, I dehydrated them completely, then ground in a spice grinder.

[@BlackJesus8463]

Very nice peppers Bruce! 😘👌 Chili peppers might be easier to grow in every environment with a mild jumbo jalapeno might be the best pepper in the world.

[@REDGardens]

Thanks. It does seem that the chilli peppers are easier to grow in a cool climate, which is a bit counterintuitive.

[@BlackJesus8463]

@@REDGardens Forealz! I don't believe bell peppers would last two sessons without humans intervention but they sure are good.

[@ashtonswinburn8414]

Hi, I'm looking to getting into seed saving and I was wondering if Broad beans which are my choice of green manure/cover crop will cross pollinate with runner beans.

[@REDGardens]

They are different species, so won't cross pollinate.

[@ashtonswinburn8414]

@@REDGardens thank you

[@karlbutlerking]

The rotting you were experiencing is BER blossom end rot from low levels of calcium... It can also be from adverse pH levels in the growing medium. The preferred pH is 6.3 to 6.8. this range allows the maximum nutrient uptake.

[@REDGardens]

Not sure about that, I don't think most of it is blossom end rot. And not much I can do to lower the pH of our calcareous soil, so stuck with 7.5pH range

[@karlbutlerking]

@@REDGardensI highly recommend basalt rock dust with other trace minerals , plenty well rotted manures to improve structure. Sharp sand will increase drainage, allowing more air to the shallow fibrous root mass , peppers will only grow large roots after several years growth. If you do manage to regulate your pH you will see less blossom end rot and more green healthy growth.

[@aupanner20]

Thin your fruit then none get “stuck”.

[@gonnagetya1433]

Have you tried to overwinter your pepper plants to give them a faster start in spring?

[@REDGardens]

I tried last year, but they all died. Want to try again next year.

[@nadiah3664]

Hi, can i ask where you purchase the seeds?

[@REDGardens]

A variety of different places, including Moles Seeds in the UK, Seedaholic and Irish Seed Savers here in Ireland, and Bingenheimer in Germany.

[@notforwantoftrying1]

I like to grow "habanero type" (chinense) peppers. Yes they have a long season, but the purpose of the fruit is for flavour not calories. If one pepper contains enough heat to add spice to an entire meal, I probably only need around 20 peppers to last the entire year - this many can be grown on just a couple of plants that take up a relatively small space. Growing sweet peppers in the UK is a mug's game. As you correctly pointed out, the yield is not worth it in most contexts.

[@BlackJesus8463]

All chinense taste like flower perfume. It's garbage-tier flavor you can get from any herb.

[@REDGardens]

I would like to grow habanero types. I do like the flavour in some things.

[@Susanonwow]

I grow habanero and jalapeño varieties in Eastern Ontario with great success. They are extremely prolific but they can be dried for later use. I also cook down tomato sauce with a healthy volume of hot peppers, then freeze the result in large square ice cube trays to make super spicy bouillon cubes. We like hot food so it’s super nice to throw a frozen cube into a dish and get a wonderful burst of flavour and spice.

[@jeanettebot193]

I have noticed that my peppers overwinter much better if I don’t prune them too much.

[@REDGardens]

That is interesting!

[@flofi4397]

Chili peppers are easier then Paprika peppers. A lot. The best, you can let them grow as you did and just harvest in the end. I never had a too late harvest with my chili's. Different from Paprika and tomatoes where the time is definitely important, as you noticed

[@REDGardens]

A lot of my chilli crop rotted at the end of the season, so I think I need to harvest earlier.

[@LOVEisTHEultimateLAW]

🙂

[@Fabermorrow]

I would really like to see the results of little to no pruning against the hard pruning you are doing.. With chillis and pepper plants I have always been told to actually not prune them at all by indonesian growers who have bren cultivating them for years.. but obviously there are many different methods.. i seem to get really results by doing a little in the earlier part of its life then leaving it to become bushy.

[@Fabermorrow]

I'm also in northern New Zealand by the way which is slightly sub tropical weather but we have cold winters.. but I feel like it would be worse off for us and Indonesia with rot and things due to humidity.. all so interesting 🤔

[@REDGardens]

Yes, I should do a proper trial of different pruning methods. I think it probably depends a lot on the context and climate.

[@Fabermorrow]

@@REDGardens absolutely! Love all your work by the way, hands down the best gardening channel on KZbin for sure

[@REDGardens]

@@Fabermorrow Thanks!

[@SpringNotes]

Off topic, but are you an American who moved to Ireland ? Just curious, because of your accent.

[@REDGardens]

Canadian who moved to Ireland 🙂

[@SpringNotes]

​@@REDGardensThank you ! Mystery solved 😂

[@chrisp308]

I have to hand it to you, you did a good job but I probably wouldn't even waist my time trying to grow bell peppers that far north you would likely like banana peppers much better because they start putting on fruit much faster. We start our bells early even here in South Carolina home of the Carolina butt ripper😂

[@BlackJesus8463]

hot cherry pepers

[@chrisp308]

@@BlackJesus8463 yeah but he's trying to grow sweet peppers

[@REDGardens]

Thanks for the pointer about banana peppers.

[@mylaughinghog]

Sweet banana peppers are a favorite of mine, either light green or ripened.

[@BlackJesus8463]

@@chrisp308 He already did that. Marconis are way better than banana peppers. It's not even close.

[@dikarajo2543]

Using urine as fertiliser ?

[@REDGardens]

Yep, I have found it useful in situations when more nitrogen is needed.

[@mgrams4203]

New video out on the channel: Robbie and Gary Gardening Easy..... Robbie uses tulle to control rodents.

[@IamSedrik]

Did you switch your microphone at kzbin.info/www/bejne/ambGhYRsqbSshJY ? :) Great video as always

[@REDGardens]

Thanks! I filmed that section the next day, so different position of the microphone I guess (and also think my voice was a bit hoarse)

[@gailthornbury291]

I just can’t grow these damn things.

[@REDGardens]

I use to think the same ... then just kept trying.

[@karlbutlerking]

Cage the pepper plants and stop pruning them. Leaves = energy, energy = more flowers = more peppers. There is absolutly no gain in yield when a pepper plant is pruned, you are only changing its growth habit

[@REDGardens]

The problem is a lot of mildew/rot in the centre of the plant and not a lot worth harvesting, or at least that is what I experienced in the past in our climate. Should try again in a side by side comparison.

[@DB-pm2vy]

⁠why don’t you have a fan in your tunnel?