Forest Notes: Staking and Pruning Peppers

[@VeronicaFlores]

Chat finally got closed, but thanks to everyone who joined today! We'll be going LIVE live tomorrow for a Q&A session I've been chewing on for a while now, so come armed with all of your questions! (And lmk if we should do noon again or if there's a time that works better for people.)

[@imready4thelaughs]

Noon is nice.

[@VeronicaFlores]

@@lazaglider if you or anyone else is open to being a mod for chats, I'd totally appreciate it! Super grateful to @RadicalRalph Russo for taking the lead this round- idk if anyone was trolling or not, which made it really nice (a few comments seemed to disappear before I even saw them

[@GlassTopRX7]

If the wire was iron based it could provide nutrient to the soil as it rust.

[@junidhaniff6360]

Great looking peppers..so green no direct sunlight huh..Wow anyway great job veronica

[@DENNISPS78]

Noon is nice because it’s usually too hot to work in the garden then anyway

[@ChicoEscuela]

I saved this to rewatch - there are so many simple tips you get more from repeat viewings. Happy gardening!

[@dsnicker9719]

Anyone who can keep their knees bent like that for that long is tops in my book!!

[@napier11508]

I love your empathy for plant life. For me, it gives me the justification and the “why” for it what I do for my plants in order to help them strive.

[@VeronicaFlores]

Yes! When we begin to consider every living being in the equation, that's when I think we begin to "get" it. 🙂

[@edwardsmith239]

Had great luck growing clippings as of late. I am careful when cutting and skinning them and I try and give them lots of love, never even thought about the aloe trick! That is so awesome. And by the way, this was an awesome video. You are so good, don’t know how you do it but you always manage to teach us new things different things and or off the wall things. I also like your tripod, so simple yet so perfect. Thank you V.

[@VeronicaFlores]

Thank YOU! 🙂 I never stop learning, so there's hopefully always something useful and/or interesting to share. All I want is for more people to feel excited about engaging with their plants and immediate ecosystems! I know I'm super low budget, but I figure I might as well at least try to put that film school education to good use with the equipment I have. 😬

[@edwardsmith239]

You are putting it to good use. You are honestly doing a great job. Who cares about the budget, it’s the info and the way it comes across that we watch for. And as I said before you are natural and personal. I watch some over and over till I get the info to absorb through my thick head. Keep it up you are doing great.

[@magazineman3910]

You remind me of my daughter whose name is also Veronica. You are very informative and your knowledge is amazing. Thanks for all you do. Dan

[@DENNISPS78]

I’ve followed your recommendations on pruning and overwintering last year’s plants. The results have been amazing. Thank you. Looking forward to tomorrow’s video

[@rosslocincam9916]

Well done- will try that stick support technique for my bush dwarf tomatoes- nervous about pruning my 1 month old chilli and capsicums as we are in late January NZ and do not want to run out of the warm weather

[@samanthathornton9330]

Thank you! I have 3 beautiful bell peppers that stopped producing. I'm gonna prune them back a bit and see how it goes!

[@nargileh1]

Plant those stake branches *upside down* if they're freshly cut, and especially if you're using willow branches. A neighbour once done that to hold his tomato plants and he had 50% willow tree & 50% tomato harvest. Wherever the willow had rooted and come to life, the tomato plant stagnated.

[@escapegoat3472]

I did that with buddleia.

[@johndolby3472]

Your video is interesting, I grow in zone 6-b. I planted 27 peppers. The deer topped one perfectly 30 days ago, it is now bushy and setting peppers. Tomato horn worms ate every leaf off 1 pepper plant and the top off another. I saved my tomato and pepper crop with a black light flashlight. I picked 14 large tomato horn worms in one night. 1st frost around October 15th. I hope to get some peppers from the eaten plants. The Aloe pocket for your pepper cutting is ingenious. Please report back on your findings.

[@VeronicaFlores]

Ahhhh this horn worms can be so pesky! Will do on the aloe!

[@jimkoz5052]

Just found your channel and I love it. I am a subscriber now. You are so nice to listen to and interesting. I am learning a lot . Thanks and keep it coming

[@tomellison5588]

Absolutely beautiful! The peppers are really nice too...

[@rudy52350]

I really like re watching your vids , Love working in the garden and you seem to be an honest sweet girl , thank you ...

[@TheSHOP411]

Very well presented. I will also try the aloe trick. That was a new one to me.

[@VeronicaFlores]

yes but just dunk it don't leave it and plant it whole like my goofy self tried to do :P

[@TheSHOP411]

@@VeronicaFlores thanks for that follow-up. Whew

[@happydog4929]

That is a fantastic idea, making a little tripod. I have lots of Lombardo poplar trees so I have a good source of sticks. Thanks.

[@havocthi]

Absolutely beautiful and the peppers aren't so bad either. Thanks for the tips on growing Carolina Reapers myself.

[@flowergardener281]

You are the best...thank you for your work!

[@michellel5444]

I live in Missouri. I cut the main stems to prune my peppers and regret it. We had a ton of rain and ended up with a rust problem. I finally realized that the surrounding grass was likely the culprit even though they are in slightly raised beds. I use Serinade once a week on all my beds. Jalapeno did fine, banana peppers ok. And green peppers sucked. I may be wrong but I feel they would have done better earlier if I wouldn't have pruned them so young. Idk if that's true but they really had a hard time recovering. Love your videos! Next time I will pay more attention and trusr my instincts more based on the health of the plant. :)

[@VeronicaFlores]

Oh wild! I didn't think that grasses shared the same species of rust with broadleaf plants, though I suppose if the conditions and soil health are optimized for one variety, they may very well be for many. Haven't heard of serenade - hopefully your localized biology can bounce back with more resilience. In the future, it may be worth looking into incorporating lactobacilli foliar sprays when you see fungi popping up on plants. And yes - always trust your gut and personal assessment of the ecosystem and plants in question, when it comes to these sorts of things. ❤️

[@chrissede2270]

I may have found another use for my 2 aloe plants. Would have never of thought to use them that way.

[@VeronicaFlores]

Yes but just use them to dip cuttings in! Planting the whole thing got so gross lol.

[@justinengwall5347]

The advice in these videos is so plain practical. Thank you!

[@VeronicaFlores]

Yay! That's the goal. Thanks for joining! 🙂

[@cmc7106]

Thanks for the video!! I have lots of banana peppers this year but there are very few bell peppers on my plants this season. Each year is always different. Gardening is always fun and interesting!

[@VeronicaFlores]

I know the feeling! That's why I try to plant a variety, so that no matter what happens, something might produce. 🙂

[@edwardleroy7648]

I use sticks like that for stakes/trellises and strips of ripped up t-shirts for strings to tie with. Soft and compostable. I rooted some long woody limbs of lambs quarter in deep jars of water. I started with severalmbs li and ended up with 5 rooted limbs. I had to trim bottoms as they rotted until the survivors made roots. I began with parent plants that were volunteers in some potting soil. Will have lots of seed to save from parents.

[@VeronicaFlores]

T-shirt is great too for so many things in the garden! Thanks for the reminder on lambs quarters - I keep hacking the ones around here back for compost and mulch but forget I should let a few go to seed.

[@fnordone]

thanks as always,V! Trying to learn stuck in south Louisiana...just figured out cloning peppers-- will be tomatoes,sweet peppers and yellow squash and cucumbers for spring season. love me some V! Charles

[@-microfarmelhaj6958]

The hardest moment in human life is to wait .... I can not believe that I have to wait 2 hours to see that video!!

[@defaultuser1447]

I bought one jalapeno and one serrano to put in containers that sit over in a rock garden area. I pruned those per your old video but nothing since. They're doing pretty well, not falling over and decent numbers of fruit.

[@VeronicaFlores]

Love hearing that! I think the one I pruned would've fallen over less if I had taken the time to break the sod and clay below this space, but overall I'm pretty happy with how it's working out! (They're a little leggy bc it's shaded, but not horribly so.) :)

[@paulbrodie331]

I did a tripod like this for my cucumbers this year, it's nice, all the cucumbers are hanging in the air instead of lying in the dirt. I put single stakes on my green peppers. I put the stake in when I transplanted the plant to the garden so as to eliminate disrupting roots

[@VeronicaFlores]

Good call! I find I can't do single stakes because it's so windy here, but it's nice when that works out for others. :)

[@paulbrodie331]

@@VeronicaFlores we have very little wind generally

[@VeronicaFlores]

@@paulbrodie331 that totally helps! :) We get like 40-50mph gusts around here without warning lol. I'm shocked more things didn't snap in half this season!

[@paulbrodie331]

@@VeronicaFlores wow. Must make for a nerve wracking garden experience. Tripods are the way to go.

[@petset77]

How did the aloe trick work for cloning the pepper? Keeping the end moist is certainly important, but the enzymes thought makes sense too.

[@EvenTheDogAgrees]

Hmm. I use stakes that are made of medium thickness rebar. They got one straight end, approx. 15" in length that goes into the ground, and the rest is just a helix, which you coax your plant into. I find them pretty convenient compared to bamboo sticks or cut off branches. Never heard of tomato cages though, learned something new today. :)

[@VeronicaFlores]

Wow those sound really sturdy! Definitely moreso than tomato cages lol. (I don't find tomato cages to be great for tomatoes, but they can be decent for other slightly smaller plants like eggplants and peppers.)

[@EvenTheDogAgrees]

@@VeronicaFlores they hold up well enough. Just measured them at 1/4" diameter, 20" straight section at the bottom, followed by a 2" wide helix about 4 1/4 ft (130cm) long. And galvanised to last longer. Probably wouldn't have bought them myself, but my father brought them one day and I've been using them happily ever since.

[@marchanson2323]

Perfect. Most of my pepper plants have 10-20 peppers growing on them right now and seem fine. I have a few slackers like your plant here I might give them another prune and kick them into gear.

[@VeronicaFlores]

Let me know if it gets the job done! (And don't forget to give the slackers a little extra food!)

[@marchanson2323]

Veronica Flores Did the first harvest today. 50 lbs of peppers. Canning took all day long. Even the slacker bush had a single pepper on it.

[@purbious1030]

I love the use of the sour cream tubs😍

[@jeremiahacree3619]

that's a cool idea with the branches

[@HavocVulture21]

I've been experimenting with defoliating some of my peppers instead of pruning, with amazing results. If I take off every single leaf, it sprouts from all nodes at the same time! If I leave a leaf or two, they seem to just send their energy to the apexes. Might not work on young peppers. Most of mine are over 6 years old; I treat them like bonsai.

[@VeronicaFlores]

Nice! I may need to try that out. Do you have a time of year you do it?

[@mixingrecords]

Nice to hear. Most say not to remove more than a third or half of foliage.

[@cwsignu]

Is miracle grow good to use for my veggies in my garden? I also have 8-8-8 fertilizer as well. My peppers and tomatoes, and squash have not produced yet and I have been pruning them from the start and watering them regularly so them don't dry out..Thanks

[@VeronicaFlores]

I don't typically use synthetic fertilizers, so I can't speak to how "good" they are- my understanding in this space is that salts accumulate in soil and can cause nutrient lockout and water retention issues (bc cation exchange.) If you're having production issues and you have lots of leaves but no flowers, it could be an overabundance of nitrogen and/or not enough phosphorus.

[@danieljstimac]

Thanks for this, Veronica! My pepper sprouts started popping up a week or 2 ago (from seeds)...so this is going to be super handy info!

[@santaclaws7207]

Looking good.

[@Khepramancer]

Rooting cuttings in aloe like that, is pretty ingenious. I'd read about using the rooting hormones in willow water, but this method is really cool ; )

[@VeronicaFlores]

It seems happy so far! I did put a bag over it to keep humidity.

[@Khepramancer]

@@VeronicaFlores Definitely have to let us know how it does👍

[@brucea550]

Willow water works very well, I can’t wait to try this tomorrow! I am trying to create a lilac ‘plantation’ for a friend, and have been rooting lilac cuttings in Willow water for a couple years now. About 50% success rate.

[@PepperGuru]

Pepper on Veronica! Glad to see your season is going well!

[@VeronicaFlores]

Thanks! They've really exploded since I shot this. So glad - really needed a win this season. ❤️

[@PepperGuru]

Veronica Flores love it when it all starts falling into place. I finally found some time to sit down and edit ( never happens, ha) but I will have an update uploaded soon. Things are going well so far.

[@VeronicaFlores]

Yay! Lmk when it's ready.

[@rhondaburlin458]

Just watched the video 9 months later. Curious what actually happened with the pepper plants, basically the last one you pruned and the aloe pruning?

[@hermannschmitt4031]

Just watched that video and like to know that also.

[@dieantwoordrare281]

Also regarding your pruned branch, from what I've read it would have been best to stick it in some water or soil or a bottle of rooting hormone straight away and leave it there while you were waiting. I think time between taking cutting and it getting access to medium can be crucial. Kind Regards.

[@VeronicaFlores]

Yep! Or just trim it again right before rooting (though some plants do a little better when callused. Haven't totally figured that one out yet.)

[@Shaun.Stephens]

@@VeronicaFlores I've heard that cutting twice like that is counter-productive because as soon as you make the first cut the plant top send it's resources to the wound site. If you then re-cut you've set it back already so best to cut once and keep moist. Then again I've not done randomised trails to test the theory.

[@justinmatthew8978]

Thyme 2 turnip the beet! Who comes up with this stuff!?!?! LOVE IT!!! I totally cut my jalapeno and bell pepper plants back again after watching this. They did great up until the last 3 weeks and then just quit producing, maybe the new growth will make more peppers!

[@VeronicaFlores]

It's possible! I've done this so many times on stalled out plants and sometimes it's just what they need to give it another go. Make sure you give them a little food too! 🙂

[@ricardobejeraste3569]

Dear, I wonder if you have an update on how propagating on Aloe Vera worked for you. Would be fantastic to have some follow up videos for your experiments, and better yet if you could go back to old videos and add in the description the link for the follow ups!

[@philliplarking3255]

Thanks very helpful. Honey is also a great rooting hormone.

[@VeronicaFlores]

I still haven't tried honey, but I'm pretty happy with aloe!

[@richodegard3918]

Thank you for all the great tips. I really enjoy the videos and the information is so helpful. You rock, Veronica!!

[@VeronicaFlores]

Happy to be helpful! Thanks for watching! 🙂

[@krussell9995]

Just found your channel and had a question. I have trouble with bell peppers wanting to bunch fruit in clusters at the base of the pepper plant. I always space my peppers 18"-24" apart so it's not lack of room, would it be okay to prune at the bottom of the plant so I don't end up with a bunch of peppers crammed so close to the ground?

[@VeronicaFlores]

I'd say yes- so much of the pruning I do is situational, or to accommodate for potential issues I can foresee. I'd probably play with alternating pruning structures every other plant as well, just to really get nice vertical spacing (so have some near the ground and some higher up)

[@hallpaintandbody7717]

I see the clear bottle over the cuttings is the key. Did a test myself. Without the bottles, nothing. With bottles, new growth. Did the honey and cinnamon root compound. Curious about the aloe.

[@VeronicaFlores]

Yes keeping humidity up around a cutting while it's rooting is totally key. 🙌🏼

[@IIJOSEPHXII]

All my back yard peppers are developing black rot. It's been cold and wet in the main here in Manchester, England.

[@VeronicaFlores]

Ahhhh no! Any way you can cover them somehow? Send some rain my way please!

[@scavernelis]

Same here in South Africa... just one lonely pepper plant trying to survive the Winter!

[@VeronicaFlores]

@@scavernelis gonna be spring soon though!

[@IIJOSEPHXII]

@@VeronicaFlores I've got some of those clear totes that I could use. They're 18" high which is more than my peppers which are really stunted. Are you in CA? because I'd trade some of my rain for some of your sunshine.

[@jimjim7708]

Great video keep it up. You have probably already looked into this but the plant tops actually produce growth inhibiting hormones that travel from the top down so when you remove the tops it creates an unbalance that makes the plant focus on top development at the cost of root development also vice versa with the lack of hormone from the root the unbalance of hormone coming from the top will cause the cutting to root. Your idea is making the most of an established root system knowing there is a limited life span.

[@VeronicaFlores]

All about manipulating those auxins without totally killing my plants for sure!

[@rillo806]

Wow shes beautiful. I forgot what i came here to learn...... got distracted. Better watch it again.

[@usnmedic09]

Beautiful in the field. Must be a complete knock out when she gets all dolled up

[@VeronicaFlores]

Haha I've been told I have my moments (but am much happier covered in dirt!)

[@urbugnmetoday3183]

Perfect just the way she is...

[@Xerox482]

wow today you look so beautiful :) like those green plants

[@VeronicaFlores]

Thanks! Was kind of waiting for the fuzzy hair comments to roll in (wind+humidity+heat = NOOOPE lol) so if I can even hold a candle next to my lovely green friends, I'm happy. :)

[@brucea550]

You are a beautiful woman with a beautiful mind and heart as well. A rare treasure indeed!

[@Xerox482]

@@brucea550 yes she is my crush from the start when i watched her first video :) love her

[@coltonvlogs328]

Thanks for the great advice

[@canoom]

Thank you for all the pruning info and that of valuable Aloe tip.

[@shakoorsoomro6592]

Great explore thanks👍

[@maulikmotiwala5089]

I have several flowers already being developed on my Fresno pepper plant few days after I got it home from nursery. I would like to cut it back down, is still safe to prune the plant even if they have started to flower? The plant is only 1ft tall and it is not as leafy. so I was hoping to prune it to get more leaves and get decent sturdy plant vs a tall stem.

[@SlippyDude]

you're my go-to pepper master

[@jaculpiii]

Nice timing on this video, I was just debating whether to rip out my poblano pepper plants because they've stopped producing and look sad all of the time (Florida summer heat is rough). I'm going to try pruning them instead to see how that works out.

[@VeronicaFlores]

Yeah dude, might as well! Not much to lose, and usually give me as much production as a new planting might (and are a lot less fussy this time of year!)

[@riverrat3101]

so, tell us, did butchering your plants improve production? or do you now wish that you had simply applied fertilizer?

[@jaculpiii]

@@riverrat3101 I can't say if it was due to pruning or not but I have a 3' habanero and 3' cayenne plant that are still producing a ton of peppers 10 months after the post so I'd say it didn't hurt them. Poblanos did decline, I had tried fertilizer prior so the heavy pruning was a last resort anyway. That part of the bed ended up with a bad nematode problem so it very well could have been that that killed the poblanos, or just my lack of experience.

[@AWoodworkersLife]

I'd love to learn more about rooting and multiplying Aloe.

[@TargaWheels]

Its probably the most durable plant we have. When the keikis come out around the edge of the plant, I pull as much I can of that keiki out of the ground and re-pot. If it starts turning gray or brown, plant food usually brings it right back. Water it every day or two, and it grows like crazy. It can get out of control so you should keep an eye on it.

[@AWoodworkersLife]

@@TargaWheels Thank you. keikis is a new term to me, do I understand correctly that a keiki is a new shoot coming up out of the ground beside the parent plant?

[@TargaWheels]

@@AWoodworkersLife Yes that's correct. "Keiki" is child or baby. 😄

[@captnodge]

@@TargaWheels a chick maybe

[@christianpnorris]

The aloe-rooting is blowing my mind! WOW! Pure genius! ...do you then just poke the aloe into soil?

[@jeremyjames83]

I would garden with you all day long for the rest of my life. Beautiful

[@bigrickshaberdashery2759]

like the tripod idea, thanks

[@launchpad79]

Thank you! You've been a great help for my garden this year.

[@mariaracey9132]

Curious to know how the pepper plant turned out after you stuck it in the aloe. Did it root? Do you have an after pic?

[@VeronicaFlores]

You want to just dip it in aloe - trying to root it still in the aloe leaf = rot IME. 🤣

[@leonardwiley9592]

luv your vids, seems like every time I look up a question on here, it's your vids that come up & they're very informative & helpful. thank u so much. I'm a new subscriber as of now.

[@VeronicaFlores]

Glad to have you here! 🙂

[@shamanism295]

I'm always so happy looking at all those fig trees in the nursery :) See you on the next one, have a lovely week

[@VeronicaFlores]

There are so many! They make me happy too. 🙂 See you next time!

[@rock5138]

Great technique of rooting in an aloe plant! 🌿

[@edacevedo7746]

I learned the pepper pruning technique from you.... works great! Love the aloe trick... I'll have to try it. The honey on the rosemary roots one didn't work for me.

[@HavocVulture21]

Same, I had much more luck with pure water on rosemary than anything else.

[@AaronMC]

Been enjoying following your progress! Keep up the great work!

[@VeronicaFlores]

Thank you!

[@jefferyhopcus8300]

Does the amount of shade from the trees effect production?

[@VeronicaFlores]

Yes to some extent. But it also helps keep them from totally baking to death, so i figure it's in the wash.

[@jefferyhopcus8300]

@@VeronicaFlores true

[@btesh69]

You're amazing, I love what you do, thanks Veronica.

[@kentmuehlich]

Great video.

[@WOLFENCT]

Hi Veronica, curious how that plant worked out that you planted in aloe?

[@VeronicaFlores]

Oh let's just say that I learned that you should only dip it and not leave it to rot 😂

[@WhiTEwaLL_GamINg]

I love your shirt! “THYME 2 TURNIP THE BEET” 🤣

[@VeronicaFlores]

I do too! I need more garden puns in my life!!!

[@captnodge]

Prunalla the pruna

[@mppp1877]

Missed the chat, darn. I like to mention a plant I bought two years ago known as the butterfly plant, also known as milkweed? The lady selling them said this will bring butterflies and wow was she right. The plant gives seeds with little wings on them and I planted each seed. Now I have butterfly plants all over the garden and butterflies following me around the yard. The Monarch Butterfly can't resist this plant and now I have bees and butterflies pollinating my gardens.

[@alexriddles492]

If you are trying to attract Monarchs the caterpillars also feed on dill.

[@VeronicaFlores]

I do dill and fennel for them too! Going to do a longer live chat tomorrow now that I have good wifi. Just posted the link for it! 🙂

[@mppp1877]

Hmm Dill. Thank you buddy. another plant to research. I love the butterflies.

[@mppp1877]

One of our fellow gardeners just recommended Dill also. You just gave me home work cause now i have to look up Fennel. This is fun.

[@greghansmann590]

I’m just wondering for that particular pepper plant, it appears to me that there is a large tree blocking much of the sun that may be hitting that plant. I have that issue in my back yard garden. Production is much lower then in my full sun garden. Just wondering. Love your enthusiasm and you’re adorable!

[@user-hz7kv6js6l]

Hi I would like to you what your results were from using the aloe on the pepper plant cutting. It sounds like a great idea, just curious if it worked?

[@CosasdelJardin]

veronica, It surprises me that you have the peppers in the shade? or is it too early in the morning?

[@VeronicaFlores]

Nope! This was maybe 1pm? They get dappled shade almost all day. It gets really hot where I'm at, so this helps keep them alive and productive here.

[@CosasdelJardin]

@@VeronicaFlores dappled shade!!!! thats a new word for me. Interesting dappled shade loving peppers. :)

[@VeronicaFlores]

@@CosasdelJardin you'll notice in the background that some peppers are slightly taller and have broader leaves than others. Part of this is due to species, but I think a part of it is also that they get more light through the canopy than the others that are getting mostly shade.

[@CosasdelJardin]

@@VeronicaFlores i true to have poblano Pepper on partial shade with no success. What species are you growing? Thanks for answering

[@fungi42o0]

I find peppers do better in partial shade

[@puretoronto]

I want her in my garden ❤️

[@dieantwoordrare281]

Brilliant as usual thanks V :) pruned my little jalapeño as we discussed in comments, he's responding well, fingers crossed for a bumper crop!

[@VeronicaFlores]

Fingers and toes!

[@starlittle93]

I just plant my pepper last week. But since i found & watching your video lately, it make me wanna pruning my pepper. Lol 😂... Maybe i just need to wait they growing first 😂..

[@urbangardeningandchickenke1018]

Nicely explained

[@hoyola1]

Entered for the peppers stayed for you.

[@TheLjh73]

So, I know this is a last year video, but I am curious, how did the pepper do with the transplant in a leaf of aloe?

[@trik2o]

I just came across this randomly. Did the cutting in the aloe work out?

[@VeronicaFlores]

lol no - it was just a weird idea. Aloe helps, but not like that! 😅

[@westyw.4235]

After building an epic raised bed this season, all of my plants are yellowing from the ground up. The only ones that aren't are the coolapenos and gypsy peppers :(

[@VeronicaFlores]

Oh no! What planting medium did you go with? Hearing lots of reports from the "former lab scientist" farmers I know of bagged mixes testing super high in salts lately. That can really eff up the CEC of your soil and has an unfortunate ripple effect on both microbial life and nutrient availability (which we're learning are pretty much one in the same.) If it wasn't bagged, you might want to have it tested. Heck, even if it was bagged. It's honestly gotten really hard over the last decade to source decent soil from the usual suspects; luckily, there are a lot of epic soil builders emerging who are selling some truly biologically diverse stuff in manageable bulk. If it was soil you built, and especially if it had manure that was not fully cured or fairly fresh woidchips, it likely just needs a little time to work its own stuff out. Maybe consider a winter cover crop in the space. Definitely mulch it to keep it a little more active if you live in anything below zone 9.

[@westyw.4235]

@@VeronicaFlores That has to be it b/c it hasn't mattered where I've planted. In the past I've used mainly miracle gro but with these raised beds I used a manure/topsoil/organic potting mix/vermiculite/sand combo. Made it a foot and a half too!!! I didn't have the blossom end rot I usually get with containers but the yellowing is consistent, as well as below average yield. Tried to use some peroxide to mediate the moisture issues, only a band aid :( I mulched but it didn't help, I will try the cover crop this fall/winter. I will look up your vids for suggestions. Congrats on all your online success, you're the best :)

[@coleman318]

How many people use a cage or stakes? Mine only get 4 ft tall but they are also 2.5 feet wide...and I never used a stake or cage in the past someone was trying to tell me I needed it, I said I haven't needed it over the past 5 years.

[@russellpowell4917]

Really enjoyed this video, look forward to more!,

[@VeronicaFlores]

Yay! Thanks for watching 🙂

[@russellpowell4917]

Veronica Flores your welcome

[@davejacob2022]

Decided to give the pruning a try. I was scared to trim my Jalapenos but ripped the bandied off and gave it a go. You seem to know what you are talking about so it is all your fault if things go wrong... LOL only kidding , can't wait to see the results.. Thank You

[@GRUMPYGAMER]

Dont care about them peppers,am here for the purty girl :-)

[@robertchall8576]

I didn't know about the alp.

[@johnlombardo7816]

Curious about the aloe trick, with most plants you want bacteria, is it because its s young plant like using coco coire?

[@VeronicaFlores]

No leaving it in the aloe leaf doesn't work- apparently it was a poorly explained photo that I ran with lol. But dunking the cutting into aloe before rooting totally works, as there are tons of enzymes at play there.

[@shanli2693]

How well did the pepper shoot sprout?

[@VeronicaFlores]

The one in this video didn't because you're not supposed to leave it in the aloe lol.

[@johnwarfield7742]

Another excellent video .... Thank You.

[@VeronicaFlores]

Thanks for joining John! :)

[@johnwarfield7742]

My absolute pleasure ... : )

[@onnyt60]

So what was the outcome of that pruning experiment with Aloe Vera?

[@VeronicaFlores]

Oh gosh- just dip it in, don't keep it planted in the whole thing. It gets gross quickly lol

[@TargaWheels]

Interesting. I thought you were going to rub some aloe on the cut. Never thought of sticking it in.

[@VeronicaFlores]

I figured it's worth a shot! Seen a lot of people cloning in rubbermaid bins with perilite or vermiculite, a quick mist of water, and aloe studded cuttings poked in between it all. Seems to work well so I figured I'd give it a shot. :)

[@lilirishpunk5278]

Im wondering though too what that breaks down too. Good stuff id even take that little clone pod and put it in coco so you get an even decomposition as its rooting. Plus the coco helps balance the moisture.

[@jeep4ron]

Love your explanations. I did a similar thing this year with some sweet peppers I have. The trimmed one definitely is giving more peppers. If I harvest the peppers more it seems to keep produce more? Thanks for sharing. Have a fantastic day..!!

[@VeronicaFlores]

Thanks! Yep they'll keep trying to produce until they run out of steam or runway (or not, depending on if you pot them up and coddle them inside for the winter like I do lol.) Happy gardening! :)

[@titofrost958]

Looks like their under a lot of shade. Or is it just late in the day ?

[@VeronicaFlores]

Mid to late day yeah - a little shady but helpful in Texas!

[@titofrost958]

Veronica Flores I’m in Texas too!

[@ceaa6548]

What do you feed your plants and how much

[@stephenfield4593]

I just watched this and was looking for the results of the pepper/Aloe transplant. Anyone know which video it's in?

[@VeronicaFlores]

It's a quick aside in one of the Sunday Q&As- the TLDR is "do use aloe to dip it in, don't plant the entire leaf with it." :P

[@tonyfrazier292]

@@VeronicaFlores Just curious if you trimmed the bottom end of the aloe leaf before placing in soil? I have no experience with this, but it seems like the pepper would have a hard time rooting into the surrounding soil through the skin of the aloe leaf. I would trim the bottom 1/4 to 1/2 inch of the aloe leaf, then put some slits in the side, before placing it into soil.

[@bentgenetics8623]

How are you not getting sunburnt. Great video