[CH] Rocoto Caution
DAN McWILLIAMS AND FAMILY (amos@mhtc.net)
Thu, 4 May 2000 22:47:40 -0500
Michele Mastandrea wrote:
[snip]
>Last March I sowed some Rocoto seeds and now I have about a dozen of seedlings. May I expose the plants to full-sun light >as I made until now?
[snip]
Well, Michele, I also started some Rocotos in my basement, under lights, early this year here in the Midwest U.S.. They were about (4) months old and doing very well. I also started the rest of my peppers and garden seeds in the middle of March and they were all looking great.
Last week the spring weather here in Wisconsin was almost perfect and I decided that it was a good time to start taking them all outside for a little fresh air and sunshine. The temperature was about 70 degrees F. The majority of my plants loved a few hours in the sun. But a couple of my Rocotos and a Chile Tepin good a sunburn. The leaves on one of my Rocotos in particular withered and turned a nasty dark green. Late this week all the leaves fell off and it is now a Rocoto stick. The Chile Tepin turned white in spots but survived. The other Rocotos weathered the nice weather with just a few dried leaves. So I would urge a little caution. Right now I have all my plants in the garage where they are warm and receive moderate light and they are thriving.
Probably I'll start reintroducing all of the plants slowly to the outdoors once more. Then I will plant a couple remaining Rocotos in a semi sunny spot in the garden and the rest in pots so I can better control the amount of exposure if need be. Good luck with yours.
The Chile Cheese Head,
Dan McWilliams