Pepper Santa FE Grande A pretty chile, Santa Fe Grande pepper (also known as Guero) matures from yellow to orange-red with mild heat and slight sweetness. It works well either cooked or fresh for salads, salsas, and other dishes based on chile peppers. Plants grow about 2 feet tall and are resistant to tobacco mosaic virus.
Season & Zone
Season: Warm season.
Exposure: Full-sun
Zone: Not winter hardy. Grow in Zones 4 and up.
Timing
Pepper Santa FE Grande seeds Peppers need plenty of time to mature before they will bloom and set fruit. Start indoors in early March to the first week of April under bright lights. Transplant only when weather has really warmed up in early June or later. Night time lows should be consistently above 12°C (55°F). Soil temperature for germination: 25-29°C (78-85°F). Seeds should sprout in 10 – 21 days.
Starting
Sow indoors 5mm-1cm (¼-½”) deep. Keep soil as warm as possible. Seedling heating mats speed germination. Try to keep seedlings at 18-24°C (64-75°F) in the day, and 16-18°C (61-64°F) at night. Before they become root-bound, transplant them into 8cm (3″) pots. For greatest possible flower set, try to keep them for 4 weeks at night, about 12°C (55°F). Then transplant them into 15cm (6″) pots, bringing them into a warm room at night, about 21°C (70°F).
Growing
Soil should have abundant phosphorus and calcium, so add lime and compost to the bed at least three weeks prior to transplanting. Mix ½ cup of complete organic fertilizer beneath each plant. Though peppers will tolerate dry soil, they will only make good growth if kept moist. Harden off before planting out in June, 30-60cm (12-24″) apart. Water in with kelp-based fertilizer. Using plastic mulch with a cloche can increase the temperature few degrees. Pinch back growing tips to encourage leaf production. this helps shade peppers and prevents sun-scald in hot summers.
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