Hi all. Returning to Usenet after many years, as well as to gardening.

I've had some early successes so far this year (Lettuce is doing nicely
and some cherry tomatoes I started way too early in December have some
nice fruits already).

I'm also growning peppers again, which I've tried in the past with
minimal success. I'm in upstate NY, Zone 6, growing California Wonder
bells and Hungarian Wax, both from a local seed company. I planted them
in mid-January and started transplanting into my raised bed about a week
or two ago. The area I've planted them in gets plenty of sun.

The trouble I've always run into has been that peppers for me have never
grown much beyond about 9-12" and only set a few fruit. I was surprised
to read recommendations for staking peppers.

I had a soil test done last fall, and the area has plenty of phosphorus,
magnesium, and calcium. No notable deficiencies. The pH was 7.2, and
I've since added a good bit of peat moss, partly to lower the pH but
mostly to break up the clay soil.

I'm wondering if there's something obvious I'm doing wrong. Is there
something I should be looking for that would explain why they haven't
thrived?

Thanks in advance for any advice. It's nice to see such an active
newsgroup still going strong.

~~Andrew