please help !!!!!don't know what to do with peppers

[jem218]

hi there, i am new to veggie growing and already i love it!!! BUT (theres always a but lol) i am not sure whats best to do for my peppers?
They are growing brilliantly and have been out in the garden for awhile now, i noticed this morning that they are starting to flower-well theres little buds all over them??? what do i do about/with these? are they left to grow and when do the fruits start to grow?
Sorry if i sound silly
jane

[Kisal]

The flowers will create peppers for you. If you have plenty of bee activity, they'll do the pollinating for you. If you don't see bees around the pepper plants, you may want to help things along by hand pollinating the flowers. You can do that with a q-tip or a small paint brush of the type that artists use. Just gently brush the interior of the flower, to make sure some pollen gets on the pistil.

[jem218]

thanks for your reply and advice, we do have some bee activity but not a great deal, i may have a go at doing it by hand! how long does it take from the flowers to see the fruit?
jane

[Kisal]

I can't answer the question about the length of time from pollination to fruit, because I have plenty of bees working my garden. Since the bees are doing the work for me, I have no way of knowing exactly when a particular flower was pollinated, or even what day it was pollinated.

[jem218]

good point! the waiting and watching will add to the magic anyway! my children and i go out everyday to see if theres any changes in the veggie patch!-i have realised over last few weeks i wont have a lot of room when they are all grown! may of over planted the veggie patch! but its my first year having a go........any solid tips or advice?
jane

[rainbowgardener]

It's very common mistake of starting gardeners to overplant and put things too close together, starting with seedlings and not understanding how big they are going to get. What to do now, depends on how badly overcrowded it is. If things are really smothering each other out and starting to suffer, then I would dig a few out and transplant them somewhere else (even if you have to put them in a container).

Otherwise at this point, you can just keep an eye on it, make sure everything has plenty of water and fertile soil, so they aren't competing for nutrients. Watch for where one plant is shading another out and maybe pull a few leaves to cut down on that. And then keep an eye on things. As long as everything is growing well, no need to mess with things.

[jem218]

i think you would laugh alittle at my veggie patch if you saw it! it looks great at the moment but all of the plants are relatively small still, except the tomatoes and peppers! which are quite big already!!! i am thinking it should of been double the size for all i've planted lol, some strategic thinking maybe needed soon! are there any veg's that i cant grow together inparticular?
jane

[pharmerphil]

Jem...
It will depend on the variety of pepper.
Type (Sweet Pepper or HOT)
Climatic conditions (hot/cool/wet/dry/humid)
and amount of sunlight the plants receive.

Night time temps are the main factor:
Optimum Temps for sweet Pepper flowering, pollination, fruit set is aprox. 60°
while Hot pepper varieties should be between 65 and 80°
night time temps over 80° causes blossom drop
Day time temps over 95° and the pollen will abort and the fruit set will be reduced

It should also be said that the plants will produce many more flowers than actual peppers, doing as Kisal suggested is a great Idea, and great for a few plants... if you have many plants..
(we only have 125 this year, last year 186)
you just have to go with Mother nature and hope for the help of your Pollinators


To sum it up:
All key factors in place, from the time you have a blossom, to the time you should see a very small immature fruit forming..
about 10-14 days, at least thats my experience here in Minnesota.
Good Luck, I'm sure your patience will be rewarded with many tasty peppers

[jem218]

hi there, thanks for your reply, i am in the uk and the temps can vary quite alot-although its really hot here at the moment! we do only have a few plants, approx 10! i have lots of different vegs growing-but only a few of each to see how they do here! and already i am starting to see lots starting to sprout! cant wait to see them all grow and develop( hopefully) if night time temps drop low here what would you suggest? or do i leave it all to nature?
jane

[BrianSkilton]

If you have some wind that will do the pollinating for you, up here we do have bee's but if we didn't boy the wind sure would do the work, no problem there.

[jem218]

oooo now wind we have got! we live on top of a hill and we're quite exposed to the elements up here! even the bees need little engines to fly up here!!
had look this morning, theres so many flowers coming i think, some much bigger than others, but i figure we must get some fruit from these plants one way or another lol
jane

[tedln]

oooo now wind we have got! we live on top of a hill and we're quite exposed to the elements up here! even the bees need little engines to fly up here!!
had look this morning, theres so many flowers coming i think, some much bigger than others, but i figure we must get some fruit from these plants one way or another lol
jane

Jane,

If someone called you a "swampie" would it be an insult or a compliment? If I was fortunate enough to live where you live, it would be a compliment for me.

I've become very interested in the allotment system in Great Britain and am fascinated by the gardening techniques and produce in British gardens. I have a number of fellow gardening friends on allotment forums. I look forward to your posts on this forum.

Ted

[jem218]

hi there, yes i would find being called a swampie a compliment lol! i guess not many people would say that! the temperatue here -being on the coast- is a few degrees cooler than inland! my mums veggies are all a step ahead of mine and she lives in maidstone!!!! i am really surprised at the difference!
where abouts over here did you live ted?
regards
jane

[tedln]

I wish I could say I have lived in the United Kingdom, but I haven't. Different things fascinate me and I study them. As I said, the British allotment system interests me and I have done a lot of reading on the subject. Most gardeners in the United States talk first about how well their tomatoes grew. Most UK gardeners talk first about how well their potatoes grew. It seems every one in Great Britain also grows broad (fava) beans and complains about the black fly on the broad beans. In the US most home gardeners wouldn't have an idea how to grow broad beans. You folks also grow a lot of rhubarb. We don't grow much rhubarb. I simply find the differences interesting.

Please continue posting about your garden. I will follow with great interest.

Ted

[jem218]

cool hi ted,
i have also learned that there are great differences in what we grow (uk & usa) i have growing now such a multide of veggies! some are experimental like melons??! I'm not sure how our climate will affect them, not being so warm herer, but it seems to be growing fine so far- fingerscrossed! i have lots of different peas, runner beans brussels, chinese cabbage tomatoes and potatoes to name but a few! are they mostly typical of what you would grow there?
kind regards
jane