The month of May can make or break the success of your pepper plants in several different ways. So in this article, I Am going to share five things you should be doing during this month to set your pepper plants up for success, including one new thing that has a bunch of different benefits.
Hardening
Most plants benefit from this process which is essentially gradually transitioning indoor plants to the outdoor elements over time. So whether you buy plants from the nursery or you’ve overwintered a plant, or you plant it from seed, it’s really important to give your plants at least 1 or 2 weeks, gradually transitioning outside instead of just plopping the plants into direct sun. If you took that approach, you’re going to end up with scorched white leaves that crumble at your touch.
And in extreme cases where the sun is especially intense, your plants may end up dying. This process is so important for getting the plants used to sunlight, wind, and precipitation. So once the weather starts warming up and temperatures during the day are getting into the mid-60s, bring the plants outside. On a cloudy day, it is the perfect day to start hardening off and allow them to enjoy the outdoors for at least a few hours. If you live in a very sunny place
where you don’t get cloudy days, you can just put them into the shade instead of direct sun for the first 2 or 3 days. After that, give the plants some exposure to direct sun for about 30 minutes, maybe an hour on the first day, and then get them back into the shade from there. It’s just a matter of gradually increasing that sun exposure time over 1 or 2 weeks, until the plants start to put out new growth that is much hardier and can handle full sun during this period it’s totally normal to see some drooping leaves, especially on the older foliage that was formed indoors under grow lights. Those leaves just aren’t going to beef up and become accustomed to direct sun.
You’re relying on the new growth that the plant is going to form during the hardening-off process and beyond. Some leaf scorch is fine as well, as long as it’s not covering the entire plant and killing off all of the foliage. A few white crispy leaves here and there is normal. Don’t worry too much about it. Again, look to the new growth instead.
Your plants may also benefit from some rain during the hardening-off process, so don’t shy away from rainy days. Rainfall is usually pretty nourishing to your plants and can actually provide a boost to the plants. If you’ve been using tap water to water your plants, it’s also really important to bring the plants back indoors overnight. If you expect the temperatures to drop below 55°F, Anything below 55°F and the plants can suffer somewhat. So get them indoors, into the garage, or a breezeway somewhere slightly warmer and more insulated until they can go back outdoors the next day.
Pest Protection
While your plants are hardening off, there is another important thing to pay attention to. This isn’t something that we like to think about, but it’s important to be prepared for pests and critters. I’m not just talking about insects. I’m also talking about small animals like rabbits, chipmunks, and voles. While your peppers are young, these scavengers can destroy a plant very quickly. So here’s what I would like to do to prevent it.
Number One
I always want to keep your pepper plants elevated at least a few feet off of the ground while they’re hardening off. Leaving them directly on the ground leaves them in a very vulnerable place for pepper plants that are already in the ground.
Number Two
I had great results with liquid vents. This is a natural deterrent that I spray around our garden beds every few weeks or directly after it rains. Blood meal has also been shown to be very effective against rabbits and chipmunks, and blood meal is also very high in nitrogen, so it serves multiple purposes in the garden.
Number Three
Finally, a physical fence is your best defense against critters and deer, but it does need to be several feet high, and ideally, it should extend underneath the ground to prevent things like groundhogs and voles from getting into your garden.
So those are the big critters that can do damage very quickly, but you do need to keep an eye out for insects as well. Thrips and aphids are some of the first insects to arrive, and they love doing damage to those newly forming pepper leaves. One great option is to use insect netting to help keep pests off from the start. This can also help to keep out critters, so it kind of serves multiple purposes as well.
And of course, if you do notice aphids on your peppers try to resist the urge to spray insecticides because typically early in the season, a light infestation is nothing to worry about. In fact, one of the best ways to attract ladybugs to your garden is to have some aphids around for them to feed on instead of trying to kill off aphids or thrips outdoors in May, I recommend planting those flowers like alyssum and yarrow, to attract those beneficial insects to your garden early on. There are other pests in the garden to keep an eye out for, like slugs and caterpillars.
One last thing about pests is to make sure that you don’t bring those plants outside back indoors after they’ve been hardening off. Even a single day. Outside is enough to bring in pests to your house plants, but if you don’t have houseplants or any indoor plants to worry about, this wouldn’t really be a concern for you.
Transplanting at The Right Time
The next thing I do in the month of May for our peppers is so important, and so many people seem to overlook this and potentially get the timing wrong. And that is transplanting your peppers. Now, depending on what size pot you planted your seeds in. Or maybe you got your plants from the nursery, that’s all going to impact when exactly you transplant and what size container to transplant into. But let’s take an example of jalapenos that were sown in six cell trays. And if you were to lift these plants up slightly, you might see the roots starting to circle around the pots inside. And that’s a good indicator that it’s time to move into a larger container.
Whenever your peppers have outgrown their containers, you don’t want them to spend any more time in that outgrown pot, because you’ll risk those plants becoming root-bound, which can potentially lead to stunted pepper plants. Now, a lot of times this will happen during the hardening-off process, and that’s totally fine. You can transplant during that hardening off-stage before it or after it. It’s really just important to pay attention to the plants and transplant them when they’re ready.
Now, if you don’t want to transplant into bigger containers, you can transplant them directly into the ground. But just make sure that the overnight temperatures are not dropping below that 55-degree Fahrenheit mark. Usually, this happens about 2 to 3 weeks after your average local last frost date.
New Tools for Transplanting Earlier
I mentioned that I am experimenting with something new this year, which can actually push that date forward up to a month earlier so that you can transplant your peppers outdoors up to a week or two before your last frost date. And that is using a cloche.
Now, cloches are essentially little coverings for your plants, and they can be used for a variety of different reasons, but in this case, to insulate our plants from the cold in those early spring nights. Cloches come in a variety of different form factors. mine are filled with water, but they can be a little bit more time-consuming to fill up and get around the plants. You can also just use an upside-down bucket over your plants, as long as it’s not going to
crush the plant and the process to keep them insulated overnight during an odd cold spell. So whether it’s young pepper seedlings or ones that are a little more mature, make sure you’re paying attention to those roots and getting them into larger pots or into the ground at the right time.
Flower buds
The next thing that I am doing in May can be a little bit painful to do, but it is necessary to make sure that you’re getting the best growth out of your plants as well as the best yields later on. And that thing is removing those early flowers and fruits. If you’re seeing flowers on your young pepper plants, this is a good indication that your pepper is ready to be potted. But in the meantime, you should be removing those flowers that appear instead of trying to remove every little flower bud that appears.
I would recommend waiting until the flower buds are big enough to avoid damaging any of the branches or leaves surrounding it or waiting until they start forming fruits to remove them at that time. If you do leave flowers or peppers on young seedlings, it will stunt their growth and this is very common to see when you’re shopping for pepper plants at the nursery. If a fruit is growing on a seedling, the plant is going to put all of its energy into growing that pepper and the seeds instead of growing bushy and tall like we want it to. But at some point, you do need to stop picking those flowers. And we do recommend waiting about 2 to 3 weeks after the plant has been transplanted outdoors, and it’s in its final location.
Plant Support
The last tip is something that a lot of gardeners are already doing, but not usually for their pepper plants. But I would argue that it’s pretty important to do this for peppers as well, regardless of the variety, and that is providing support for your plants when they’re still young. As soon as you transplant your peppers into the ground, the first thing I like to do is provide a simple central stake right alongside the pepper to keep them upright and protect them from things like wind and precipitation. This can be as simple as a small metal stake or a bamboo stake, wood, or even branch clippings from a tree. This is especially important if your peppers are tall and lanky and have a tendency to flop over.
It’s really important to keep them growing upright and in the right direction. So insert a stake about an inch from the base of the plant and attach the main stem to the stake using garden Velcro or something similar. If you’re growing varieties that you know are very tall, you might want to use a taller stake like a four-foot stake, or even upwards of six feet if you want to try to train your plants to grow upright. But I like to take it one step further and use tomato cages. And I’ve said in the past, and I’ll say it again, I think these should be called pepper cages because they’re much more appropriate for growing pepper plants.
If you’re growing bell peppers, banana peppers, poblanos, any heavier varieties that you know are going to weigh down the plant later in the season. Having this structural support around the plant from a young age is super helpful, and it’s much easier to do it at this stage when the plants are tiny, you can simply insert it into the ground around the plant while it’s at its seedling stage, and then it will naturally grow up. And through all of these holes over the course of the season, it’s much easier to let the small plants grow naturally into the support structure, rather than trying to hassle and wrangle it around a larger plant later on. Trust me that by adding support, you can save yourself some serious headaches like I had last year with one of our huge Dorset Naga plants. I did have a central stake, but I should have had more support surrounding the plant from an early age.
Conclusion
The month of May is one of the busiest months of the year, and in my opinion, it’s the most important for having a successful garden, especially when it comes to peppers. There are just so many tasks to do and I hope you found this article helpful. And maybe it gave you an idea or two on how to have a more successful year.
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