Certainly, 'leggy' seedlings can be planted more deeply than the top of the roots. Containerized plants may be hardened prior to transplanting by increasing ventilation, but enough water should be applied just before transplanting to hold the media together. Field planting . Peppers should be planted after all danger of frost is past. Row covers are sometimes used to warm plants early in the season and protect them from wind damage.
Row covers are sheets of non-woven polyester fibers which are draped over the plant row.
Although they do not provide much frost protection, row covers can give plants a daily 5 degree F warmer environment, promoting earlier flowering and taller plants in cool weather. It is not clear how, or if, covers should be used in the South except as protection from wind blasting of stems and leaves. Such damage can open the way for disease. Even in the northeastern states, row covers are most effective in early plantings. In late plantings in Connecticut, row covers delayed ripening of fruit by 8 days and reduced fruit size compared to non-covered peppers.