Pepper Isolation Tactics

[greenthumbomaha]

I've just started reading about isolation for peppers, and there is a lot of general information but I have still more questions. This is not for going the tulle route (which I will do in the city where space is limited), just spacing in a large garden.



I read 30 feet is suggested between hot and sweet, buildings in between help, and planting pollinator plants attract pollinators on their journey and they drop pollen by the flowers before continuing to a pepper.


Before I even start on details, is 30 feet an adequate minimum?


Should I grow my "hots' bed north and bells south garden end or vise versa?


Grow all cayennes of one variety together , another variety yet isolate again, with flowers in between?


What are good examples of that pollinator plants that would make a likely pollinaor get so excited that it would stop and get the old pepper pollen off (more sticky pollen?)


As you can see I am a novice at large scale isolation, and I would prefer to overthink than bite into a hot marconi next year.



- Lisa

[Nan_PA_6b]

I use organza bags to cover the flower buds.

[jtjmartin]

Nan:

When you bag your blossoms (tomato or pepper) - does the bag ever damage the blossom? Seems like a good percentage of my blossoms fall off.

Tips?

Jeff

[Nan_PA_6b]

If the tomato plants are diseased, the bagged flowers might abort.

I tried bagging the first pepper blossoms this past summer and many did fall off. I don't know how much the bag contributed. Then I started putting the bag over the whole stem, trying to avoid any bag/flower contact. The less it touched the flower, the better it worked. Maybe later flowers are tougher or maybe all pepper flowers hate to be touched; I don't know.

[jtjmartin]

Thank you. I'll give it a try.

Jeff

[Patihum]

Unless you can distance separate varieties by at least 1/4 mile bagging is the only way to get pure seed.


This may answer some of your questions -



https://www.southernexposure.com/iso...rs-ezp-34.html

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by Patihum

Unless you can distance separate varieties by at least 1/4 mile bagging is the only way to get pure seed.


This may answer some of your questions -



https://www.southernexposure.com/iso...rs-ezp-34.html

I LOVE your link to SESE since Jeff McCormack knows more about isolation distances for not just peppers but also tomatoes.

Jeff was the original owner of SESE, now there are new owners. And it was Jeff who did the original website design for Glenn Drowns/Sandhill Preservation.

I gave up on growing especially hot peppers several decades ago and I had trouble preventing X pollination with plain old bell peppers as well no matter HOW I tried.

If you bag blossoms for peppers you'd be surprised how many wee insect pollinators can get inside.So it also depends on which insects are present where a person gardens.

Just my experience with peppers, too darn many variables involved, but good luck to the rest of you.

Carolyn

[KarenO]

Sometimes it’s easier to bag the whole plant, depending on the plant.
A tomato cage and tulle or is other fine mesh will work

KarenO

[jtjmartin]

Thanks KarenO - may try that too. I have some mosquito netting we used to use on missions trips -that should work.

[Cole_Robbie]

I would think that prevailing wind direction would be relevant as well. Pollen travels a lot farther with the wind than against it.

[AlittleSalt]

This won't help, but every variety of every plant ever was a hybrid or the first of it's kind. How to isolate it is a mankind thing. Tossing a condom on it should work, but that's not how nature works.

Lisa, I apologize. I believe in nature more than mankind.

[jtjmartin]

On the other hand, Salt, much of my work over the years has been to overcome or improve on "nature:"

disease is natural,
poverty is natural,
weeds are natural

. . . I won't even get into raising a teen!

[rhines81]

Originally Posted by jtjmartin

poverty is natural,

Poverty is man-made and a very subjective term.

[jtjmartin]

Good thread on isolation of peppers - including gluing the blossoms closed.

I got the glue last year - but didn't find the time to try it.

http://tomatoville.com/showthread.ph...ht=pepper+glue

[roper2008]

I may try bagging blossoms next year. I’ve bought these little muslin bags about 4 years ago for this purpose and never tried it once.