Don't Let Cool Temperatures Keep You from GrowingGreat Peppers

摘要

Growing heat-loving vegetables in the Po-cono Mountains can be challenging. With cool nighttime temperatures in the 40's to 50's until mid-June that return by mid-August, one crop that has tested my efforts is peppers.For many seasons I diligently planted my pepper seeds, usually a variety of Bell peppers, in my greenhouse in early April and moved them outside after the last annual frost date, around Memorial Day. I nurtured them, planting them in well-drained, fertile, slightly acidic soil. I made sure the levels of phosphorus and calcium were abundant to encourage blossoming and discourage blossom end rot. I kept a watchful eye out for cutworms, aphids, flea beetles and other pepper-loving pests. My plants always looked healthy, but the fickle mountain nighttime temperatures always kept my yield low and my peppers small.