In our last fun filled episode, Fri, 12 Sep 2003 07:52:42 -0700,
"Mike Cormack" proclaimed:

I need some advice for next year. I grew Jalapeno, Thai, Cayenne and 1 other
hot pepper from Sarawak. None of them are spicy. They are growing fine,
ranging from 16" to 24" tall with plenty of fruit. I grow them in raised
beds, use alpaca poop fertilizer, consistently water them.

It's too late for this year. I want to investigate and prepare for next
year. I don't know what I did wrong, but my assumption is the soil is
broken.

If your plants are healthy and producing peppers, there is
nothing wrong with the soil. As a couple of people have
already pointed out, the problem is more likely over-watering.
It could also be that you're harvesting them too early, let
a few get red if you haven't tried that already. And lastly,
consider that there are scads of varieties of jalapeno and
Cayenne peppers. (Thai peppers are just a variety of Cayenne.)
The heat range goes from no heat all to pretty darn fiery. You
might want to spend a little time investigating different pepper
varieties before you plant next year.

I planted 4 Fish peppers this year, to give you an example of
what too much water can do. They're an African-American
jalapeno-type heirloom from the Chesapeake Bay area. The early
peppers off all four plants were pretty wimpy, but I'm in what
has, this year, been the Eastern Monsoon belt. Then it suddenly
turned into a tradition Southern August around here. Hot, hot,
hot, and the rain dried up for a few weeks. Suddenly my Fish
peppers are something to brag about, nice and hot and yummy!


Pam







--
"Maybe you'd like to ask the Wizard for a heart."
"ElissaAnn"