Bottom Pruning and Mulching Pepper Plants - Pepper Geek
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- Опубликовано: 31 май 2024
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In this video, we discuss the benefits of mulching and bottom pruning pepper plants. These two techniques are great for creating an easier-to-manage pepper garden that is also more attractive.
Mulching peppers is a great way to prevent weeds, reduce soil splashing and insulating the roots from the cold. We love using straw, but it can be a bit messy. You can also use grass clippings, black plastic, or wood chips (though you should use some caution with these).
Bottom pruning is optional, but definitely worth considering for its benefits. The goal is to remove lower foliage (but not low branches) from the plant, up to about 6" above the soil. This helps avoid soil hitting the leaves, and makes it much easier to access the plant for watering and harvesting.
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Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
0:37 - About bottom pruning
1:50 - How to bottom prune peppers
4:35 - About mulching
6:22 - How to mulch peppers
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Thanks for watching Pepper Geek!
#peppers #pruning #mulching #gardening #growing 
Хобби
Just found myself out bottom pruning my pepper plants at 12 am 🤣
I find myself doing as much 12am gardening as I do 12pm.
0111 for me. Lol.
Yeah its all the same around the World! 🤘🏻
Honest to god, that's the exact same thing I'm doing at the exact same time. I had some straws in the shed and I spread some of that on top of the soil too.
Did u see any ghosts near ur pepper plant?😂
Watched this, immediately went out and bottom pruned 37 pepper plants, never thought to do this. Thanks!!
You bet! Hope your plants are doing well :)
Went out as well this morning and trimmed mine. 👍
I find bottom pruning is the best way
trimming the base makes everything look bigger and better
;)
Now I know to go mulch my pepper plants when I’m back from vacation. I worry about my little plants but hope family who is watering them don’t forget any of them.
Sometimes neglecting peppers is the best thing you can do for them, so don't worry :)
the snap of the leaves coming off has a satisfying sound lol
Love the kitty. She's adorable!
Kitties always bring good energy to my plants! I do also put little colorful plastic forks/spoons/knives from Dollar Store, all over the top of the soil, to discourage any kitty using the plant pot as litter box. Is a great hack! It works great!!! Ahna Atlanta/Georgia
Very helpful video. I've got a bit of bottom pruning to do this weekend!
Thank you for the wonderful tips!🫑🌶🫑
Wood chips are fine. They aren't going to reduce the nitrogen in the first few inches of soil unless you are mixing them in to the soil.
I was going to post this, they don't suck the nitrogen UP but they will capture it on the way down (wood rotting microbes capture it to be accurate), and added N will speed the rotting of the mulch. So like he suggested at the end of the video pull back the mulch before adding fertilizers. Also I have seen compost tie up N when it was made with a high carbon content and not enough time to mature then mixed in to the top [seeding] layer. (ie municipal compost sourced near the end of pruning season and before the local grass has started growing tends to be high in half rotted wood chips.) Eventually the N is released as rotting progresses and then N additions should be reduced to compensate.
Ive heard that wood chips can be toxic to SOME garden plants. Personally i use straw but if i cant find it ill use hay. Both straw and hay will have seeds though unless you have a very credible reliable source for straw hahaha. Like PepperGeek says though just pluck them out.
The thin layer of soil touching the bottom of mulch might be an area with leas Nitrogen...but nothing to worry about unless its small seeds or seedlings. Even so just add bloodmeal worms i believe they are called. Or anything else that adds more nitro.
Great advice! Thankyou.🙂
I never heard about trimming the bottom and that it would make more shoot, thank you.
This was the video that made me subscribe, easy and nice close up instructions!
Thank you :)
I love bottom pruning. Puts more energy UP and makes it look like a tree
Thanks for the tip. I have some peppers and having some growth problems. I’ll give this a try
I bottom pruned mine and took the leaves, cut them with scissors scattered them in my garden to help repel bunnies. My jalapenos are producing like crazy.
I love this channel!
I learned to use Pine Straw to keep weeds from germinating. Mulching every month.
Such an informative video!
Glad you think so! :)
You can get free straw mulch from Farm Supply by asking them if you can sweep up near their stray bales... But I use that for containers only because it does have wheat seeds in them, could get gnarly if you let the weeds grow. Worth it to me, got enough for the year in one day!
thank you.
Thanks for you’re videos !!! Very helpful!!!!! I been trying to grow some special peppers from my country I just been successful for the last 2 years !! Fallow yours videos 👍🏻
Topped my pepper plants,WOW! Makes all the difference! It’s so fluffy n Bush in out🤙🏽🤙🏽🤙🏽
Mahalo pepper geek ;)
Nice!
It's June in Western NC. Can/should I top prune them
@@annasweynor6344 yesssssss! I was Wayover thinking it and I just took the scissors and gave them a nice haircut and it is amazing! Perhaps you might not want to do it in the heat of the day but I’m not sure that would even make a difference🤷♀️
I don't use mulch, I use river rocks on the top of my soil. It helps keep pest from laying eggs in my soil. The rocks do help keep my soil moist. I always bottom prune because most of the time your plant isn't going to need the bottom leaves and they are just taking up energy & nutrients from the plants!
Those companies would charge us for poop. Oh wait, they do. 😒
Anywho, great video as always. You're my bible as I grow my first peppers (habanero and piñata).
Yeah, we did buy some poop this year 😅...thanks for watching and good luck with those plants!
Awesome video length.
Hey Pepper Geek!
Thanks for all the content and all that you do! Wouldn't it be neat if you had a playlist on RUclips about peppers, wherein you make an in depth video on each type of pepper?
That'd be too cool!
Thanks for the idea - we will definitely give a closer look at some types later in the season when we have fresh pods! Not sure if we'll do a series but may try it out on a few.
@@PepperGeek yeah, one way would be to read off an encyclopedia of information about each individual strain or perhaps maybe tips, tricks and recipes for each type? Idkmaybe fresh salsa with ancho, poblanos and tomatillo next to stuffed bishop's heads, bells and jalapenos?
Thanks for the tips.
You bet, hope it helps
TBH I often remove the first 4-6 lateral nodes, keeping each plant to 4-8 stems diverging from the main stem, and I typically leave the leaves on the mainstem 2-3 weeks after pinching out the nodes before removing them. This gives the plant time to use those leaves to provide energy to the overhead stems until they can grow a little more and focuses energy on the intended stems. Ideally resulting in a 6 inch bare stem forking into 4-8 branches.
My greenhouse peppers are setting fruit. Pruned the tops and looking good.
I treat my pepper plants the same as my tomatoes. No leaves touch the soil.
Another great video Calvin. One thing I might add.. Make damn sure you get straw mulch that's WEED FREE. Mine was 99% weed free, and now I'm growing wheat with my peppers, lol.
Haha, yes I do think the brand we got may have seeds in it unfortunately
i really like your channel .keep Going
Just wanted to thank you so much for your videos. They are a joy to watch and extremely informative! This is my first year growing peppers (jalapeños, Trinidad Scorpions, Carolina Reapers, Siracha Peppers), and others! I have learned so much and will be doing things a little differently thanks to your videos! Thank you again for all your hard work into putting these videos together! It’s very much appreciated!
This was the perfect timing man. Thank you. Actually answered part of my question from my Dm on Instagram. I thought the lower sprouts were a sign that the plant was too root-bound. I'll just let them be and see how that goes.
Glad to help, thanks for watching us!
Thanks so much! Love your cat!
She’s a sweetheart 😸
My peppers are just getting big enough to start trimming the bottom leaves. I use grass clippings to mulch all my containers and raised beds. It's free.
grass clippings may contain harmful fertilizers and seeds of various weeds. But im sure you know this, just in case. Definitely not a bad idea
You can use those leaves in chicken soup..Yum! Thanks for sharing that about bottom pruning..
So helpful and thorough, thank you! I am assuming having a cat inspect the plants is optional but preferrable.
No problem! Yes, she likes to taste-test the leaves on occasion as well.
Yes, and all of that mulch is very inviting for a cat; both for nesting or littering, LOL.
@@UrbanGardeningWithD.A.Hanks14 Yeah...that's why I have a 2nd litter box outside. Caught him doing his business in my mulched row beds, gave him a nice, little lesson... and now he uses the litter box.
Great Videos . Keep it up
I just started growing pepper plants . And I am in dilemma. My pepper plants started to produce flowers already and the size of the plant isn’t to large about 24 cm . Is it best to pinch the flowers off and allow the plant to establish stronger roots and focus more on shoots and etc. any suggest or help would be great .
Thanks . Keep up the great videos
It may seen counterintuitive to clip off parts of your plants, but there is a logic there. Nice and informative video, thanks! Nice to see some footage of the garden too, looks good.
Ow, and be wary of the cat, he/she seems to have plans for that mulch.
Hahah, yes she seemed to be very interested, right away. Appreciate your nice words :)
Thanks!
Thanks for the super thanks - appreciate you!
Hemp mulch is also a great sustainable mulch and it doesn’t poke or splinter you hands
I've long been removing low leaves and sometimes branches, starting with seed leaves, when they (a) no longer look healthy; (b) are dragging on the ground or close to it; and/or (c) are completely shaded out by higher leaves and branches.
I experimented a lot with topping 2 years ago and did not find it very helpful except on leggy plants, and my pepper plants are rarely leggy even indoors under my grow lights. However, I do remove tops (and move plants out to pots to quarantine) if I suspect a virus like whatever causes the curly, smaller, dark, shiny leaves. In that case I remove the parts of the plants that don't look 100% healthy and hope for it to regrow. This works about half the time.
Have you considered doing a video (or set of videos) on growing peppers using hydroponics? In my living situation that's all I can do.
It's nice seeing a bottom pruning video on peppers. I don't generally prune mine at all unless the leaves become damaged or too close to the soil...but I've found it stunts the plant less (if at all) compared to topping them, and you don't generally end up with compact growth that weighs the plant down from being bushed out artificially.
I've seen both methods harbor success for certain peppers or growers, but the bottom pruning method always seemed to be more the more logical choice in general. The leaves are older, closer to pathogenic "splash" hazards, and there's less guesswork involved in determining the effects of losing a fully mature leaf/plant segment.
I started pruning the main stem the last 2 growing seasons. My peppers produced big time.
@@TimBeitz-vp2fw I've never topped mine but the local wind tends to bush my peppers out plenty by itself.
Funnily, as it comes to my FR-1125 "Tailed Beast" project, the trunk of the plant forks so low and symmetrical that, after 5 years of selective breeding, I can't exactly say they have a main stem anymore LOL.
I see you're using a grow bag. I'm new to these and currently growing some sweet potatoes in 5 gallon ones and they look great, but my bell peppers are in plastic pots and definitely not happy (leaf curl probably from overwatering). Do you have a video where you discuss the bags at all or do you have any quick comments about them? Finding your videos very helpful! Thank you for all you do!
BTW your plants are _gorgeous._ :-)
I've always bottom pruned my peppers but I also prune the lower suckers. I figure it will help the top growth grow more quickly since it isn't spending energy on all the new shoots. This is my first year using straw mulch on my peppers and am happy with how that is working out. I've only used straw mulch on my garlic but this year I'm putting it everywhere. :)
Nice! Yeah pruning the suckers is probably optional - might be better to remove some if you have a shorter season. A few people have mentioned that the brand of straw we showed may contain wheat seeds...so we'll be looking forward to weeding wheat all season 😂
@@PepperGeek yeah there is that. I think most do. We give ours to the chickens for a few weeks. They eat ALL the seeds for us. Didn’t do that one year and had tons of wheat sprouts.
I've been removing any leaves that look like they might come in soil contact if there was a very hot day and wilting while I'm at work, same for my tomatoes, if they look like the lower leaves could touch soil then snip snip. I've a number of black plastic pots that lose moisture incredibly fast on hot days outdoors, I find a little layer of weed mat or non-laminated cardboard/old newspaper sheets topped with a couple of inches of grass clippings prevents drying out an awful lot, very cheap too.
Nice, thanks for sharing the extra tips
is cultivation (loosening the soil) necessary if you have mulch around the plant? great video btw. subscribed bro
Another concept to do if you don't want to prune is cleaning the leaves. While commonly done for house plants outdoor ones could be rinsed after say a storm comes and splashes soil on them or old spice powders I use to keep rabbits away. It'll help your plant photosynthesize better and keep it clean
True. But to prevent splashing up of any type of particle... I myself place cut to size garden fabric with slits for stems. No more splash back if you mulch on top.
Greetings, would mulch prevent fungus gnats?
Do you have any concerns with mulching close to the stems of the plants allowing mould or fungus to grow ?? I have heard some advice that says keep mulch a little bit away from the stems. Not sure it makes any difference.
Great info! My peppers dropped their bottom leaves before I moved them into the garden! I think they became to large for their pots? They are doing great and I am happy to hear they don't really need the bottom leaves anyway, lol!
Nice! Thanks, and hope your plants are settling in well :)
That can be caused by a number of things. The most benign reason is that the lower leaves get shaded as the plants grow and the plant will drop the leaves that are consuming more energy than they can capture.
Also stresses like being root bound, especially when combined with things like shade, minor water stress, cool or hot temps, or low nutrient levels. I suppose there are also some pathogens that could cause it too but those tend to have other symptoms, usually it is not a pathogen issue.
New sub! Just planted a few pepper plants and I'm looking forward to you helping me not screw them up! Thank you!
Haha, we'll do our best to help! Thanks for subbing :)
Great video. Can you tell me where you get your straw mulch because where I live on Long Island New York the chances of getting straw that isn't contaminated with Roundup or even worse grazon is slim and none. Thanks
What is the tack in the mulch made of?
I noticed wild grass in your buckets...lol...I have the same problem.
Hello one of my small bell pepper here in dubai did not grow that fast and the top leaves are curling up. Can you pls tell me what are the reasons of that and what can i do for it to recover.
This is my first year attempting to grow ghost pepper plants. I'm using all your advice and taking it to heart. My plans are about 5 in tall. I live in southwestern Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh area. And I noticing at this young they are starting to sprout flowers already. Should I trim them off so that they don't start growing peppers so young? And when should I stop clipping the flowers and start letting them bloom into peppers?
So I just found the video you did on the subject. It was very helpful.
I use alfalfa as a mulch it doubles as a alfalfa meal providing nitrogen and other nutrients to the soil as it breaks down , great video thinks for the information keep up the good work !🙌🏽
Interesting - we have some alfalfa pellets we were planning to ferment and integrate with our soil but didn't get to it... thanks for watching!
@@PepperGeek I use the alfalfa hay , never used the pellet before but I’m not sure u would want to mulch with that
@@nateethegreat48 I have alfalfa hay so I'm going to try this!!
Just what I needed! I'm growing peppers for the first time ever and in addition to my seed-grown jalapeno I bought a pepper plant from a garden centre, as insurance in case my jalapeno never grows anything. That plant is growing extremely bushy and I had wondered about pruning it, but I think it's branching like crazy so probably shouldn't.
Question: as I bought this plant it had already started flowering but it is very small and low-lying. I planted it in a rather large pot as that was the only one available. Is there any hope for it to become larger even though it's very soon starting to push out fruit? Does it develop a root system to use this newly found space, or will it just focus on fruits and then that's it? Unfortunately I don't know the variety but I believe it's probably a mild generic red pepper and the growth looks a lot like the Hungarian pepper that was mentioned. I grow my plants outside on a balcony.
And thank you very much for your excellent videos that make chili growing feel very accessible!
Yes, don't worry about pruning - it will still continue to grow while it fruits, but just a little more slowly. The energy the plant produces is finite, so it needs to choose where to put it. Thanks for the nice words :)
I bottom prune stems that will interfere with the growth of the plant going up, and leaves that are shaded by the newer growth.
What about using fresh grass clippings? Do the have the same nitrogen robbing effects that fresh wood chips do?
Good info for me geek. Thanks and havagudunb.
the tap roots will also pop through the top soil cause the mulch provides moisture barrier. I use mushroom compost so when I lift the mulch I see that beautiful mycelium. have you ever heard of crop and drop? I highly suggest using cover crop
i use straw mulch in my outdoor potted plants. it seems to stop the squirrels from digging in them.
I agree both should be done I am surprised there is a video about somethings so obvious, then again I am an expert biocultivator, not an average youtuber. while you are at it teach people this species is a perennial lowland tropical tree that can be grown for years in a pot and will fruit at 50 F under low light once mature indoors in a window...
What about last years stump grinding chips?
I wouldn't top prune a large pepper plant variety like a bell. You actually get less fruit, thinner walls, and fruit that doesn't properly mature. When you top a plant, you are replacing one top, with 2, so you get less light to the bottom and inside of the plant, and it sets you back a couple weeks to get your plant to the size it was prior to topping, let alone the size it would have been if you hadn't topped it.
Smaller pepper varieties seem to do well with topping, like jalapenos, since they dont need as much time to fruit and mature, and have smaller leaves, so sun light still gets through decently. Top half your bells, and not the other, and compare. You will see a major difference in plant size, fruit size, and flavor of fruit.
Very silly question, but how do you know when to water when you have mulch? I like to see the soil and touch it to see how dry is it
With potted plants, we generally go by the weight of the pot, but it is also easy to move mulch to feel the soil
My plants have already been in the ground for about 45 days is it too late to trims the bottom leaves?
Some broadleaf herbicides commonly used on wheat crops are fairly persistent and do get absorbed by plant tissue - have you ever had a problem with straw contaminated with herbicide? Learned about the issue years ago in a master gardener class but haven't actually seen it happen...
Thanks for the insight on this - We have not seen it ourselves, but definitely something to be aware of. Herbicides are no good for peppers (or tomatoes) - I’ve heard some people who live near inorganic farms can have gardening problems from herbicide drift on the wind
@@PepperGeek I'll know I'm babying my peppers a *bit* too much when I insist on organic straw to mulch them with...
Hi! Can i use some pepper prune as mulch?
Cat be like: How to get your geek to provide more headroom and make a litter box from scratch, fertilizing made simple!
I really like the grow bag in this video, which one is that and where did you get that from?
Bootstrap Farmer makes them, but you can get them from many different companies. They are 'non woven' material which is important
@@PepperGeek Ok thank you, will take a look. Could you tell me why non-woven is important when looking out for one?
My red bell pepper plant isn’t growing well, although my green bell is doing ok. It is in a 5 gallon grow bag. Is this too small? It has been a very hot, dry, summer, so nothing has been overly productive, but it’s my first season growing so I’m unsure if maybe I should’ve given them more space. Drip, Ph, and fertilizer seem to be ok. Thanks for any ideas!
5 gallon should be enough for bell peppers. Thankfully, the green bell will probably ripen to red if you leave them on the plant long enough :)
Thanks for the video. My pepper plants does not healthy! They are curly bubbled and sometimes rusty stains! I am not sure what I am missing! Can you please provide some tips.
Hm, sounds like it could be a pest problem, or perhaps over-watering or over-fertilizing. If none of these seem like the problem, could be disease/fungus...
I used this straw for the first time last year. I loved it. I did not tidy up my vegetable garden last fall so I have to do it now. Is it okay to turn the straw under in the vegetable garden bed or will it take nitrogen from the new plants as it breaks down this planting season?
No, I would not turn the straw into the soil. I’d recommend removing it from the bed, doing what you need to do with the soil (transplanting plants in, etc.) then putting the straw back. It can last a few seasons before needing a refresher, at which point it can be composted or just left to decompose on the bed’s surface
@@PepperGeek thank you
Very useful. What size is the fabric pot shown in the video? Thanks
Thanks! That is a 7 gallon pot
I was wondering what size of grow bag you used for the demonstration pepper?
7 gallons
When I transplanted the bottom leaves were really bigger on bottom than the top....l mean most of the power had to go to those bottom 4-6 leaves....I guess I'll find out...thanks
I have some pinhole size holes on my hot pepper plants...thoughts? Keep adding those subs...love the channel
Hmm..could be some kind of mite or flea beetles - check for pests at various times of the day to see what you may have. Oh, and thanks!
@@PepperGeek Ive been looking and so far nothing I can see with my old eyes nut I will keep looking..is DE an effective treatment for these pests?
I use a mix of essential oils in water to spray the leaves of my pepper plants to avoid bugs feasting on the leave. Generally, 4-5 drops each of peppermint, clove, thyme, and rosemary essential oils mixed with water in a small (maybe 6-8 oz??) spray bottle. Spray on affected and surrounding leaves. Spray about once or twice a day until you no longer see any bugs. Worked last year when I had a serious aphid problem on one bell pepper plant.
I just mow the grass and put it in a pillow case. Then put it in the washer dryer. Now just apply the dry grass as mulch. It's not always possible to leave it to dry in the sun.
Just put mulch around my peppers and then realized the mulch has an added color to keep it brown. Probably not the healthiest thing for my peppers or those eating them.
If the mulch is there soil isn't going to be splashing up on the leaves anyway.
Can you plant 2 pepper in one pot
I want to use shredded leaves as mulch. Easy to spread and available. Would that consume nitrogen like wood chips?
That should be okay, not sure if it would rob nitrogen - I would just avoid working it into the soil and keep it on the surface
What is a good product to use for insects outdoors? Having a problem with it looks like holes on my leaves
Look up captain jack’s dead bug brew. If you’re specifically dealing with leaf eating worms look up Bonide’s Thuricide.
I’ve overwintered for the first time, if you mulch in pots how do you know when to water?visually ?
Yes, in pots we usually go by the weight of the pot. You can also move the mulching aside temporarily to check on the soil's moisture
What is the white thing on your soil?
WHERE do you get your straw mulch!!!?????
ive never head this about woodchips before. many gardening channels recommend woodchip or chipped bark for mulch.
what is your source for this nitrogen leeching you mentioned?
It occurs if the mulch is worked into the soil - so if it is kept on the surface it shouldn't be an issue. Wood chips are best for perennials, not veggie gardens. Here is some reading:
pss.uvm.edu/ppp/articles/woodchips.html
www.rootsimple.com/2017/06/the-mulch-robs-nitrogen-myth
South Florida here, and container gardening only. The soil stinks.
My problem with mulching is that I can’t find the appropriate mulch. Not kidding. The only stuff everyone sells here is landscape mulching. Totally different.
Also, we have to water very regularly because of high heat and evaporation…where we need to quickly be able to determine soil moisture. OR…
In spring and summer seasons, we have daily torrential downpours, where watering isn’t necessary for days and days. Aside from any risk of bacteria infection from water splash back, mulch isn’t necessary for water retention,
Where do you get that fine mulch? I don't think I ever seen it anywhere.
It is used for planting grass seed, so we found it at Tractor Supply. Should find it at big box hardware stores too
I have the same straw mulch from Lowe’s… hubs and I were arguing about it not being organic and hence messing up our organic garden 🤦🏻♀️ what are your thoughts?
The tackifier is questionable..it is apparently all natural but I don’t honestly know much about it. Couldn’t find much info about this brand
I use dried grass clippings to use as mulch
Wood chips can reduce the amount of available nitrogen and fresh grass clippings can be a source of nitrogen so instead of using wood chips and taking away nitrogen you can use grass clippings and add extra nitrogen
True, but only really if the woodchips are worked down into the soil where the roots live. As a surface mulch it doesn't have that negative effect.
@@PepperGeek well you’re the one who mentioned wood chips idk about that alli know is grass clippings add available nitrogen to the soil
What can you do besides wait if your side shoots are just not growing. I pruned a few plants that did not grow after that. It's been over a month. They side shoots seem to be at idle. Should you not prune some variety. The ones that didn't not like it are my super hots.
Hm, well if they are just not growing, it must come down to inadequate light, poor soil quality, poor drainage, or lack of nutrients. We typically only top prune those that are getting too tall or that were planted too early.
@@PepperGeek they are coming around now. Fed them a little and they are starting to do thier thing. Had me kinda bummed but they know what to do. Great videos btw. Thank you.
Bottom Pruning😆
I remove the bottom leaves and shoots just so the peppers aren't dangling in the dirt...
I don't think my peppers have ever get pathogens from the soil? just rot from too much rain...
I'm a top should I still prune them?