keyword: pepper plants – density 2%

One of the most crucial stages in a plant’s life cycle is flowering. A successful flower must do more than be attractive to bees long enough to ensure pollination. It must also be able develop into seed bearing fruit bodies. When it comes to pepper plants, this particular stage is closely tied to soil temperature. Therefore, if the soil temperature range falls outside of 60 – 70 degrees, the flowers will fall right off, even if pollination has occurred.

Among other things, it is best not to plan on encouraging pepper plants grow and mature faster. Pepper plants are naturally slow germinating and growing. That said, even smaller plants will start flowering if the conditions are right. Unfortunately, budding and flowering may occur near the end of spring, or just when temperatures are going to go out of the ideal range for several hours each day.

Irregardless of where you are in the world, you can still successfully grow pepper plants if you take a little bit of extra care. If the soil temperature is too low, there are many kinds of cold frames and mulches available. Typically, it is a little bit more difficult to lower soil temperatures if they are too high. That said, there are still a number of things you can try.

To begin, you will need a thermometer and the ability to monitor your pepper plants at least 3 to 4 times during the day. A floating aquarium thermometer housed in a plastic or glass tube will work well. The thermometer should be set in the ground, so that the bulb is buried in the soil. It is important to keep the thermometer near the pepper plants, without disturbing their roots.

Next, you will need to consider ways to insulate the soil from temperature changes. One of the best ways to keep soil cool is to use hay, or dried grass clippings. Aside from cutting down on weeds and preserving moisture, hay will also enrich the soil once you dig it into the soil in preparation for next year.

As may be expected, sunlight is the number one heating agent. By simply shading your pepper plants for a few hours each day, you should be able to control soil temperature. As an example, allow pepper plants full sunlight until approximately noon. From noon until evening, place a shade over the plants. I’ve used barbed wire arch cages with tin foil (shiny side up) with great success. It is very important to let at least some of the leaves continue to have sunlight. Remember, you are looking to shade the plant, not completely block all light.

Finally, if you see the temperature rising too high, simply place some ice cubes under the hay. Not only will these provide cooling, as they melt they will give the plant a little bit of extra moisture. That said, the old watering rules still apply. If you are going to water your pepper plants, you should still wait until the sun is low so that you don’t shock the roots with extreme temperature changes.

Even though peppers are one of the tastiest foods available, they can be difficult to grow. No doubt, as global warming continues to escalate, gardeners may find that their pepper plants will lose flowers more than before. By controlling soil temperature, you can resolve this issue and continue to enjoy eating fresh peppers from your garden.