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Peppers require patience -- and warmer soil

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

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED MAR 16, 2021

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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late winter Sacramento peppers soil temperature frost March Farmer Fred Hoffman weather transplanting gardening summer vegetables spring

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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3

November still offers good weather for fall planting:

* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.

* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.

* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.

* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.

* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.

* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.

* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.

* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.

* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.

* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.

* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.

* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.

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