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Peppers require patience -- and warmer soil

Don't transplant too early or plants may not produce as expected

Green pepper plants
These young plants need warm soil to thrive and produce peppers. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)



There’s a reason you should hold off transplanting peppers until April (or May): It’s too darn cold!

Many local gardeners have been tempted to plant peppers, tomatoes and other summer stalwarts. These seedlings have been appearing in local stores and nurseries – it must be planting season!

But wait; your peppers will thank you for your patience.

Even though the sun has been shining and Sacramento saw several recent days in the 70s, overnight lows and soil temperatures remain chilly. After all, it’s still winter (for a few more days).

Tuesday’s low temperature dipped down to 34 degrees in Sacramento. Neighboring communities, particularly in the foothills, saw late frost.

Pepper seedlings will die at 32 degrees. So even if they didn’t freeze this week, they’re not happy outdoors.

It’s not just the air temperature that affects their health and growth; it’s the soil temperature that can make all the difference.

According to UC Cooperative Extension master gardeners, pepper plants need warmer soil and air temperatures to thrive. Air temperatures below 55 degrees can stunt pepper growth and development. As of 2 p.m. Tuesday, it was only 55 degrees in Sacramento, even under sunny skies.

And the soil temperature? According to Farmer Fred Hoffman (who keeps track at his
www.farmerfred.com website), Sacramento’s soil temperature is still about 50 degrees; 46 degrees in the foothills.

Peppers need soil temperatures above 60 degrees to grow healthy roots. Transplanted into such cold soil, pepper seedlings just sit there and sulk. In fact, a cold start may be detrimental to the pepper plant’s overall health and keep it from producing up to its potential.

The answer? Besides waiting to plant in April when the soil is warmer, give your extra-early seedlings some added warmth.

Surround them with mulch (making sure to leave a 4-inch circle of clear space around the main stem to prevent rot). The mulch acts like a big heavy blanket over the soil, soaking up heat during the day and holding it in overnight.

Also, give your peppers their own little greenhouses with “hot caps.” Available at nurseries, hot caps are waxed paper or plastic tents that can be placed over individual plants to hold in warmth. Plastic row covers serve the same purpose, covering multiple plants at once.

Clear (not white) plastic one-gallon milk or water jugs can work as mini-greenhouses, too. Cut off the bottom of the jug and place it over the plant with the neck side pointed up. Keep the lid off the jug so the plant can breathe.

Peppers planted in containers warm up quicker than in soil, so that’s another option for early-bird pepper planters. But an extra-early start usually will not produce extra-early peppers in Sacramento – unless they’re growing in a greenhouse.

For more master gardener tips on peppers: http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/C604/m604yi01.html

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Flowers in My Back Yard Series

Aug. 25: Crape myrtles, Sacramento's unofficial tree of summer

Aug. 18: Pollinators adore scabiosa, aka pincushion flower

Aug. 11: Hardy hibiscus adds big tropical impact

Aug. 4: Dianthus a deceptively hardy flower

July 28: Naked Ladies put on summer show

July 21: Thank Luther Burbank for these long-lasting beauties (Shasta daisies)

July 14: How to keep hydrangeas happy

July 7: Grow these bright cosmos for bees and butterflies

June 30: Agapanthus adds blue fireworks to the garden

June 23: Easy-care gazanias fill those hot corners

June 16: Daylilies are perfect for water-wise gardens (and a lot more)

June 9: Grow coneflowers for pollinators -- and yourself

June 2: Sunflowers capture Sacramento's summer attitude

May 29: Are your roses going 'blind'?

May 26: Zinnias are the summer flowers every garden needs

May 19: Plant dahlias now for late-summer flower power

May 12: Know your coreopsis from your bidens

May 5: Mums the word on Mother's Day weekend

April 28: Majestic Matilija poppy is worth a look

April 21: Celebrate roses, America's favorite flower

April 14: Small flowers with outsized impact

April 7: Calendulas do double duty

April 3: Make Easter lilies last for years to come

March 31: In praise of a pollinator magnet (small-leaf salvias)

March 24: Azaleas brighten shady spots

March 17: The perfect flower for beginners? Try zonal geraniums

March 10: Keep camellias happy for years to come

March 3: Fruit tree blossoms are a fleeting joy

Feb. 27: Are your roses looking rusty?

Feb. 24: Treasure spring daffodils now and for years to come

Feb. 17: How and why to grow wildflowers

Feb. 10: Let's talk Valentine's Day roses

Feb. 3: Why grow flowers?

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Taste Summer! E-cookbook

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Find our summer recipes here!

Garden checklist for week of Aug. 16

During this break in the heat, feed your garden. Make sure to water before and after applying fertilizer.

* In the garden, direct seed beets, carrots, leaf lettuce and turnips.

* Plant potatoes.

* Harvest tomatoes, beans, squash, pepper and eggplants to prompt plants to keep producing. Give your plants a deep watering twice a week, more if planted in containers. Also, give them a boost with phosphate-rich fertilizer to help fruiting.

* Watch out for caterpillars and hornworms in the vegetable garden. They can strip a plant bare in one day. Pick them off plants by hand in early morning or late afternoon.

* Feed citrus trees their last round of fertilizer for the year. This will give a boost to the fruit that’s still small.

* Mulch can be your garden’s best friend – it conserves moisture while blocking out weeds. But don't let mulch mound around stalks, stems or trunks. That can promote rot.

* Camellia leaves looking a little yellow? Give them some chelated iron. That goes for azaleas and gardenias, too.

* Pick up after your fruit trees. Clean up debris and dropped fruit; this cuts down on insects and prevents the spread of brown rot. Then feed fruit trees with slow-release fertilizer for better production for next year.

* To prolong bloom into fall, feed begonias, fuchsias and container plants. Always water before fertilizing.

* Fertilize fall-blooming perennials, too. Chrysanthemums can be fed until the buds start to open.

* Prepare for a fall full of flowers by paying a little extra attention to your garden. Cut off spent blooms from roses, annuals and perennials, then give them a boost of fertilizer. Make sure to water plants before feeding. Roses will rebloom about six to eight weeks after deadheading.

* Indoors, start seedlings for fall vegetable planting, including bunching onion, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radicchio and lettuce.

* Sow seeds of perennials in pots for fall planting including yarrow, coneflower and salvia.

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Taste Spring! E-cookbook

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Taste Winter! E-cookbook

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Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series

Lessons learned during a year of edible gardening

WINTER

Is edible gardening possible indoors?

Hints for choosing tomato seeds

Starting in seed starting

Why winter is the perfect time to plant fruit trees

When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants

How to squeeze more food into less space

Potatoes from the garden

Plant a fruit tree now -- for later

Win the weed war by tackling them in winter

Tips for planting bare-root trees, shrubs and vegetables

Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space

Ways to win the fight against weeds

FALL

Add asparagus to your edible garden

Soggy soil and what to do about it

Plant artichokes now; enjoy for years to come

It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying

What to do with all those fallen leaves?

Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden

Plant a pea patch for you and your garden

As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers

Change is in the autumn air 

We don't talk (enough) about beets

Fava beans do double duty

Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?

How to prolong the fall tomato harvest 

SUMMER

Time to shut it down? 

How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch

Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning

To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?

: Put worms to work for you

Grow food while saving water

Enhance your food with edible flowers

Why won't my tomatoes turn red?

A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty

Does this plant need water?

 Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions

How to grow summer salad greens

 Weird stuff that's perfectly normal

SPRING

Help pollinators help your garden

Battling early-season tomato pests

Make your own compost

Where are the bees when you need them?

How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days

Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can

Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success

What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?

Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)

Grow culinary herbs in containers

When to plant summer vegetables

Don't be fooled by these garden myths

Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth