jalapenos

[obsessed]

How much do Jalapenos usually yield?

Grew them twice in Montana but had them cross with an Anaheim. I ended up with these weird long or short, skinny or stout things that varied in flavor.

This year in the south I had three plants which have yielded very little. They were however strangled a bit by a cucumber. But i definably got more in Montana.

 

[davaroo]

How much do Jalapenos usually yield?

Grew them twice in Montana but had them cross with an Anaheim. I ended up with these weird long or short, skinny or stout things that varied in flavor.

This year in the south I had three plants which have yielded very little. They were however strangled a bit by a cucumber. But i definably got more in Montana.

Cant answer that one, but I have few thoughts.

Peppers, while reputedly easy to grow, seem to have rather definite needs. I have never done exceedingly well with them, as many as I've tried. My biggest bugaboo is getting them to sprout reliably. I'm still looking for the magic formula.

There a many types of peppers, some adapted to one climate or another, and not doing so well in alternate environments. I got some habanero seed from Belize once, and they did most of nuttin here in SC. I would think your averge Jalapeno would be pretty eclectic, but who knows?

I suspect that part of the magic with peppers is a sandy soil. Lacking that, they seem to do only so-so. How much sand do you have in your soil?

 

[PotterWatch]

I have no idea how much they generally produce. Mine all have about 8 peppers on them right now and more popping up every day or two. This is my first time growing them so I don't know how they tend to be but mine seem to be doing well.

 

[Texan]

I suspect that part of the magic with peppers is a sandy soil. Lacking that, they seem to do only so-so. How much sand do you have in your soil?

Please forgive the hijack.

What do you mean by "sandy soil"? I guess what I am trying to ask is, how much sand? I've always been a little confused about that when I hear it.

My jalapeno plants yielded nothing to me. I have a bag of sand here at the house, can I mix some of that in with the soil for better pepper plants?

 

[Hattie the Hen]

Hi there

Now you have got me intrigued about this sand issue davaroo!!!! My peppers took a long time to germinate but apparently that's the way they are. But once they appeared they grew rather well & I have quite a few So I am going to try half of them in my usual potting compost & the others I will pot up in a half & half mixture of sand & potting soil. I want to see if it makes a lot of difference.

This is my first time growing them. I think mine finally germinated because I turned up the heat below the tray they were in. I started mine indoors along with my aubergines (another first for me) & tomatoes.

Sorry to prolong the hijack.

:rose Hattie :rose

 

[jlmann]

I'll put my two cents in. I'm in Virginia and I grow jalapenos and habaneros every year. Last year out of eight plants I got probably at least four bushells. They made it to probably waist high (I'm over six feet). I always pick them when thery're about the size of my index finger( jalapenos) or when they are completely orange (habaneros). Picking them encourages more blooms to form and thus more peppers, so I would say if you left the first peppers on long enough it could hurt yields.
Another thing to consider is support. New growth on peppers is fragile so once they get close to 18 inches I always put a short stake close and tie them very very loosely with twine. Heavy wind or an over-zealous pepper puller could damage stems and reduce yield.
Most hot peppers that I have grown REALLY like hot, dry weather. They normally don't "take off " here until mid-July and the biggest harvest from them is always in August or early September. I do mulch mine and water pretty regularly so I'm not so sure about the "dry" part. They really do like ninety degree days though.

Oh! Sorry for the book. I was just typing away. Peppers are one of my favorites!

 

[davaroo]

[
What do you mean by "sandy soil"? I guess what I am trying to ask is, how much sand? I've always been a little confused about that when I hear it.

My jalapeno plants yielded nothing to me. I have a bag of sand here at the house, can I mix some of that in with the soil for better pepper plants?

As long as it is clean sand, yes. When I say that, I mean soil that is visibly loose with the inclusion of sand. Im talking visible sand, as in "Hey, look there is sand in this soil."
If you want a measurement, I'd say something 1/4 -1/3 sand. This makes a light, well drained soil.
All the books say you need that: a deep, rich, well drained soil - which at least implies sand.

The other thing peppers need is heat, but it gets plenty hot here in South Carolina. I dont think that has been my issue. We are over orange clay, so any well-dug soil includes that.

Again, its an observation on my part.

 

[vfem]

I'm glad this is up for discussion.... I'm thinking of growing one in a pot just to see how it does... I read in a magazine about putting tin foil over the pot to increase the heat to the roots and it freaks out passing by squirrels and rodents who wanna mess with your peppers.

I'm guessing those cucumbers are giving your peppers hell... that is just my opinion.... my cucumbers are slowing the growth of one of my cateloupes by wrapping itself around it. So added even more bamboo supports! (The cucumber plant is the highest yielding plant I have, but I swear I need a machete to get around the garden because of that thing.)

 

[obsessed]

Well, mine are may be a foot foot and a half tall. So I will chalk that up to cukes from hell. I do have sandy soil so that is not a problem and we got the heat so heat can't be an issue.

I didn't pick the plants that often cause I wanted a red jalepeno. I did pick a couple early on and they weren't hot so I thought if I could get them to red they could be hot. None did turn red.

 

[jlmann]

I think the red in jalapenos is more of a random genetic thing , unlike bell peppers that will turn from green to red,yellow,orange or whatever as they mature.. With jalapenos, the ones that will turn red do so pretty early on and some never turn red. Hotness is relative to the ammount of capsascin in the pith of the pepper( white stuff around the seeds) and is affected by two things 1) the pepper variety and 2) hot temperatures. It seems that with jalapenos , the hotter and drier it is the hotter the pepper is. Also , people build tolerance to capsascin , so someone who eats tons of habaneros or thai peppers will find jalapenos mild by comparison. There was a really good article in our local newspaper last year about it and I think it quoted mainly from a research paper by a professor at one of the New Mexico universities. I'll see if I can find it online but I'm not hopeful since it has been quite a while.

Don't quote me on any of this since my memory isn't what it used to be , but I think it's fairly accurate. All this talk of peppers has me excited! I can't wait until mine are ready!