[CH] Growing Chiles in Raised Beds

Islandman (islandman@islandman.com)
Mon, 14 May 2001 18:09:50 -0400 

Heya Folks . . .

I ran across this list over the weekend and was hoping that a few of you
might offer some suggestions about growing chiles in raised beds.  I've got
a limited amount of space in my yard for a vegetable garden and am therefore
going to try using raised beds for growing peppers and tomatoes.  This is an
experiment for me, as I've not had much luck in the past growing peppers
where I live (I'm on an island off the coast of Maine).   I'm going to be
growing 8 different varieties of peppers and would like to be able to space
them as closely together as possible without having a negative effect on
pepper production.   I've got three 8' x 8' x 20"  boxes for peppers and
would like to try to space them 16" apart so I can get 108 plants into the
garden (6 x 6 per box).  I realize this is pretty tight, but I'd like to
know if it's even reasonable.  I'm also interested in finding out which of
the varieties I'm growing produce the tallest plants, which the shortest,
and which generally take up the most space.  This will help me with laying
everything out.

Here's my list:

    Chilhuacle Negro / 9 plants

    Takanotsume / 9 plants

    Devil's Tongue / 9 plants

    Marconi Golden / 9 plants

    Habanero, Red Savina / 9 plants

    Habanero, Chocolate 'Congo Black' / 9 plants

    Habanero, Long Chocolate / 18 plants

    Sweet Pepper - Ariane Hybrid / 36 plants

Any ideas?  Can chile plants be productive spaced 16" apart or is this just
wishful thinking on my part?  Any suggestions/feedback would be greatly
appreciated.

--John

* * * * *

John A. Gasbarre

Vinalhaven Island, Maine  USA

Maine Zone 27 / Coastal Knox County

44°04' N  68°50' W

USDA Zone 6