“Next year, I think I’m starting my own peppers...”
I bought 4-packs of Ancho Peppers and Jalapeno Peppers. they are WIMPS compared to my home-frown varieties!
I’ll try to remember to post some pictures for comparison when I get around to it. The purchased plants are really, REALLY lagging. Not sure why - everyone is treated the same!
The 4-packs I buy are started in a greenhouse, transported, then sold out of another greenhouse. The plants have always been ‘healthy’ as far as disease is concerned, but I have a hard time getting these tiny little plants acclimated to being outside in the sun/weather. I start them in dappled shade, then to a spot that gets morning sun, then keep moving them ‘til they get sun all day. I did this with the cukes & to my surprise/horror, they sunburned something terrible - the biggest leaves turned absolutely white. Fortunately, there were some little leaves coming underneath & that is the only thing that kept them going. My cherry tomatoes sunburned slightly and really struggled in general. I split the 4-packs with my SIL who (other than you!!) has the “greenest thumb” I know - both cukes/cherry tomatoes died in her garden. Tough year getting things going, for sure.
Picked our first head of romaine and the first radishes. Tiny tomatoes and lots of flowers. Our first year of using Chicken Soup for the soil and also their tomato fertilizer.