Crinkled Leaves and Dropping Flowers

[mesatrin]

First of all Hi all. I have been reading the forums as guest for a few weeks now but this is my first post.

So this is my first year starting hot peppers from seeds in doors. I am growing what I think are Bhut Jolokias. But I recently noticed that leaves on some of them are starting to crunch up...

The yellow color of the second one is being caused by the hps bulb. The leaves are really the color of the first picture.

And the second problem I am have are the flowers never seem to fully open and they brown and just fall off. This picture shows all the wider the flowers seem to open and you can see the stem of the one is already starting to brown.

So a little about my growing set up. I have them in 5 gallon buckets. They are in fox farms Ocean Forest Potting Soil, and I am using Chili Focus liquid fert (2-1-4). I have them under a 600W HPS bulb, which was recently upgraded from a 400W HPS system. The lights are actually owned by a friend and he needed the lower ones for younger tomato seedlings, so there is no going back.

So any ideas on what my problems are and how I might solve them would be appreciated.

 

[orrevs]

Heating problem? It culd also be simply as the plant arent ready yet to make pods.
Some flowerdrops are common, Prolly not a light issu, but how long does you have to lamp running per day?
I run mine for 12-14h. And do you help pollinate the flowers? if not please do!

But i think it will soon make some tasty pods for you, when its ready.

 

[Urdoneby]

Hi, I am not expert but i have read some leaf curl can be caused by lack of calcium. Also what have you changed before this started besides the light? Do you
check soil moisture, or just water when you feel they are getting dry?

 

[chillilover]

Hi, I am not expert but i have read some leaf curl can be caused by lack of calcium. Also what have you changed before this started besides the light? Do you
check soil moisture, or just water when you feel they are getting dry?

I think give them some calcium too. As far as the flowers, could be many things.

 

[Straticus]

I agree, it could of been the change of the light as well as the heat that was given off, or the distance from the plant to the light. It doesnt look like its getting burned, as in sun scald. Maybe your lamp is running for too long.

 

[mesatrin]

Thanks for the quick responses.

Heating problem? It culd also be simply as the plant arent ready yet to make pods.
Some flowerdrops are common, Prolly not a light issu, but how long does you have to lamp running per day?
I run mine for 12-14h. And do you help pollinate the flowers? if not please do!

I was running the light in a 16 on 8 off. The heat increased a bit, it went from low 70's to low 80 with the change. So I have started to cut the light back to 12-12 and added better ventilation to bring the heat back down to 70s, but there was never wilting of the leaves or anything.

I have been trying to pollinate the flowers. I am using a small soft paint brush and "painting" from bottom up on the flowers like I have read on the net.

Other than that for the last 3 weeks or so, when the first plant started to show buds I increased the amount of liquid fert. This is as directed on the bottle.


As for calcium what is a good source of calcium? Should I use Agricultural lime? How much and for how long?
I was also thinking of adding epsom salts to try to increase bloom. Is this a good idea and if so how much of this should I be adding to waterings?

 

[Wunder]

I have similar, though not as bad on around a third of my plants. Have also read that some calcium could do the trick.
Any tips on how to add some calcium?

Also, some plants have this effect that have been treated exactly the same as those that look OK. What is that about?

 

[Straticus]

An easy affordable solution for the calcium would be eggshells. Instead of throwing them away, crush them up into fine bits and you can either sprinkle them lightly on the top soil and water them in, or I've even known people who mix in eggshells into the soil. That should show some results. As far as epsom, I personally only use 1 tsp per gallon of watering for my plants. I know a lot of other people may use more, but plants can get burned pretty bad from overdoing the epsom.

 

[trinicoolieboy]

good old willard, reasons for flower drop:

1. Day temp too high, over 95F
2. Night temp too low, under 65F
3. Too much nitrogen fertilizer
4. Too much water
5. Low light levels (reduces fertility).
6. Very low humidity (reduces fertility)
7. Poor air circulation (air circulation contributes to pollination).
8. Lack of pollinating insects.
9. Size of pot
10. Too much mineral in feedwater.
11. Too much grower attention.


curling leaves: add cal. or mag.

 

[wordwiz]

What are you growing them in? A lot of problems with plants in containers are caused by the mix getting compacted, holding/not holding moisture and nuits.

Mike

 

[mesatrin]

What are you growing them in? A lot of problems with plants in containers are caused by the mix getting compacted, holding/not holding moisture and nuits.

Mike

I am using fox farms ocean forest soil in 5 gallon buckets. Here is a link to the soil I am using.

http://foxfarmfertilizer.com/products_soils1.html

 

[Matt Berry]

Another source for the calcium and magnesium is to use some of the hydroponic solutions like calmag+ or something similar. They are fast acting and do a really good job, just don't over do it as they will cause fertilizer burn.