James McKerr asked:




Let there be light

Chili plants love light. At the very least you will need a south facing window sill to grow you plants on. Even better would be a conservatory or greenhouse where you plants will benefit from all day long sunlight.

Another great little tip is to get a head start on the chili growing season be starting you chili plants just after Christmas. As soon as you plants germinate they need light. While you wait for the spring sunshine to arrive you can grow you plants inside. To help promote growth use an ordinary fluorescent tube light positioned about 10cm above your seedlings. These lights provide just the right spectrum of lights required for young seedlings. Once spring arrives you should have a set of good strong plants much closer to fruiting chillies than if you had relied solely on natural sun light.

Don’t be a droop

One very common problem many people encounter when growing chili plants is flower drop. This is when you chili plant produces flowers that then go brown and drop off the plant without any chillies forming. This is a common issue many chili growers encounter particularly when growing indoors or in a greenhouse. The cause is lack of insects pollinating your plants. To resolve the issue simply replicate the actions of the insects and pollinate your plants yourself. To do this take a small paintbrush and lightly rub it inside the flowers on a plant. To avoid cross pollination be sure to clean the brush between pollinating different plants.

Rose Maven

Keith Markensen asked:




Even if you live in a home with no yard or in an apartment, you
can still have room for gardening. All you need is a deck, patio, balcony,
patio or sunny window to plant your own container garden.
You will be able to bring some plant life into your home, while
being able to eat from your very own garden as well. The
following information will help you to understand how container
gardening works.

Container gardening brings gardening to more people than just the
landowners, as was common in the past. You can have a beautiful
landscape without having to mow a lawn. The container can grow perennials, annuals,
vegetables, small shrubs and small trees.

Just like traditional gardening, you must plan before beginning
your garden. First, you will have to find your USDA zone in
order to know what type of plants you will be able to grow. You
will also need to know how much daylight your apartment receives.

With this information, you can choose the types of plants that
you wish to grow.

One helpful hint is to buy the plants from a local nursery. It
is much easier to do this than to start from seedlings, which
require very specific conditions to grow properly. The plants
that will be in your containers will be fragile, so they should
not be kept outdoors in temperatures below 45 degrees F or in
high winds. Frost will quickly kill the plants.

The though that plants that typically grow in the ground won’t
grow in container gardens is false. Any plants can potentially
grow in containers, as long as the container has proper holes for
drainage.

It is not expensive to begin container gardening. Containers can
be very cheap, and the plants are not expensive either. Also,
they require little fertilizer and water.

Many types of vegetables thrive on growing in pots. They only
require sunlight and water for you to have fresh vegetables to
eat. It is fulfilling to feed yourself and your friends with
food from your own garden.

If you do not have a balcony or a deck, don’t worry. Window
boxes work very well for container gardening. You can grow
plants all year long in your window, as long as it receives ample
sunlight and is insulated decently well.

If summer is over and fall is beginning, you do not have to stop
container gardening. You will just have to choose plants that
are resistant to frost. Some examples of these are Eulalia
grasses, Mexican feather grass, Cornflowers, Lavender cottons,
Jasmine, Million bells, Stonecrops, and more. You can add color,
life, and provide food all year long easily by having a simple
container garden.

Mini Garden

Sharon Grean asked:




Bell peppers are used for cooking food in many households all across the world and contains a rich history which originates from the region of Central and North America. Peppers are an exceptional choice for growing ground provisions from the dwelling place. In the early phase when the bell pepper is not yet well developed it may appear green but when it grows then it can turn into different colors like red, orange, green etc. At this stage the texture and the taste of the pepper will change. Locations with hotter climate are more appropriate for growing bell peppers because the plant thrives better in a warm weather.

Required Tools:

- Spade
- Gardening Fork
- Gardening trowel
- Rake
- Gardening knife
- Scissors

Required Materials:

- Bell pepper seeds
- Water
- Compost
- Fertilizer

Instructions are as follows:

1. First pay for your pepper seeds from a reputable farm house that is recognized for selling quality seeds. Plant the seeds into a 2 inch pot about ¼ inch deep, two weeks before you decide on planting it outside. The germinate process will take place within six to eight days. When the first set of leaves begin to appear, then you can begin planting one seed per pot.

2. Now begin to prepare the land to plant the pepper seeds. This consists of finding soil that is damp, clearing out all the stones with the rake and digging the location, and also applying manure and other fertilizers.

3. Create lines with the spade and fork which are about 24 to 36 inches apart from each other to plant the seeds. Every seed should be around 18 to 24 inches apart from each other. Once the temperature and the weather are right then you can start transposing the seedlings outside from the pot. If the climate is still too cool then you may need to hold back the relocation for a couple more days.

4. After planting the bell peppers the earth will need to be mulched often in order to retain the soil’s moisture and keep the weed from emerging. After the first pepper begins to grow then place around 2 tablespoons of fertilizer around every plant approximately six inches away from the stem along with water. This will increase the quality and amount of the pepper crop. Throughout the growth process, it will need to be watered frequently.

5. Bell peppers generally take 70 to 90 days to mature and will continue to produce until the weather becomes too cold. They are usually reaped when they grow into an palatable size. When they are young then they come out green and can also be harvested at that time. The mature ones on the other hand are red, yellow, orange, purple or green depending on the kind of bell pepper. When it is harvest time, rather than pulling off the plant, use a gardening knife or scissors to sever the plants.

6. After harvesting, thoroughly wash and dry the goods If you want the peppers to last for three weeks or more after they have been harvested then the peppers should be stored at 45 to 55 degrees and at relatively high humidity.

Tips and Warnings

* When the seeds are put in the pot refrain from wetting up the bell pepper seeds on point but rather holes into the base of the pots and place the water into a pot dish and permit the soil to soak up the water for a couple of minutes without letting it become too drenched.

*They are much more difficult to mature in cold regions and easier to be spoilt so if you reside in a cold area try to cultivate it in the hottest time periods. Linger until the soil is about 70 to 85 degrees before arranging the seedlings out. When the seeds are planted in the pots, you can use heat lamps to keep the soil warm to promote a more successful and faster fertilization.

* You can utilize pots that are bigger than two inches so that the stem can develop better and produce a more sturdy plant when it is time to transplant the plant to the garden. Also if you want to have a great looking bushy green plan with just a couple bell peppers you can add extra nitrogen to the crop.

*Use dust or organic insecticides to eradicate insects like spider mites, aphids, Colorado potato beetles, flea beetles, hornworms and borers from off the bell pepper plant.

* Bell peppers should never be planted with other solanaceae plants like potatoes, eggplants and tomatoes because they are vulnerable to the same kinds of diseases. Also don’t store bell peppers with other fruits and vegetables because they produce ethylene gas which affect bell peppers.

Rose Maven

Chad Ketteridge asked:




Jalapeno peppers are a fairly easy to grow plant and you can start them from seed or buy the small plants from a garden center. The most cost saving method is growing from seed of course, but if you are in a hurry buy the plants. Definitely use seeds if you plan on growing a lot of plants and get started early.

As far as your soil goes, Jalapenos can prefer a more sandy soil. If you live where the air is less humid the plants may do best, but a lot of peppers are grown in the humid southeast. They do grow well in the southwest states with their low humidity.

If you live in a cold climate start your seeds early in your home or greenhouse so they will be ready to transplant when the outside conditions improve. Put the seeds about ¼ inches deep in your pots or growing tray. If indoors put in a sunny window or use a grow light to help the seeds along.

A lot of people do not fertilize their Jalapeno plants. They can also get buy without a lot of watering, must be why they do good in dry locations. Thin your seedlings out as they grow till you have enough distance between the plants as they mature.

If you are short of space then keeping them in pots would be a good way to grow them. If you have seen those Topsy-Turvy containers, they will grow your plants pretty good also. Remember to give the plants plenty of sun, do not over water and use a sandier soil.

Mini Garden