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Near death experience

mmcdermott1

mmcdermott1

Talked to my wife today around 2pm. Fairly cool day out, around 60, but nice and sunny. Figured it would be a good day for my bigger plants to get some sun. So around 2 she put them in the greenhouse outside. When I got home around 4:30..i about died! Several of them literally looked dead..leaves where laying flat and shriveled. Thank goodness, I gave em a drink of water and put them back in the cool basement and they seem to be coming out of it.
My question is...WTH? Was it maybe because the sun was to intense at that time of day even though they were in the greenhouse? From now on, until hardened off, it is morning and evening sun only.
 
I almost croaked a big Chimayo as my el-cheapo greenhouse overheated one day. I forgot to open the door, the plant was low on water and boy did it droop! After a drink, no ill effects. I did comfort it indoors for a few hours.

There apparently is a hardening off process even going into the gh. It's a half-way house, I guess, with plants still needing some adult supervision. My larger peppers are now full timers in the gh outside, but I err on the side of an open door during the day, but do check for extreme temp build up. It will sometimes hit near 90F, and I'll bust out a fan. So far no casualties.... :cool:

Are you running a box fan through your hoop house?
 
Actually Sil we have windows and doors...temp wasnt a problem in there..im guessing maybe mid 70's. Thats what I don't get. Unless it was the sunlight but its not the first time they have been in the sun and for sure not the longest. Only difference is that its always been in the morning and evening. This time was in mid afternoon.
 
Your whole season just passed before your eyes, dam that’s cutting it close!!

I've heard Jim Duffy talk about filtering down the direct sun rays especially when they haven't had much time to adjust to the sun. I'm not sure what you would use to do this, but this is part of his process.

Good luck!!
 
Well, mystery not solved. Your big hoop houses vs my little 4x7-foot likely presents a whole lot of different issues. It would seem the material on your hoops should diffuse the light even in mid-day, as long as temps didn't go crazy.

Maybe you just hit the vital edge of hardening off for those particular plants. Tomorrow, get them right back out on the horse... :cool:
 
gonna do just that :) It seemed to affect the orange habs more than anything else which was kinda odd cause my orange habs always seem to be very tough plants.
 
MMC...had the same problem last week...Impatience almost killed my plants. Greenhouse was way too hot and the plants wilted almost too nothing. Found out the hard way moving 20 5 gallon pots in 40 mph winds back into the house is not fun.
 
Yea I could undertand that :) Only problem..it was only in the 70's in side the greenhouse. Had windows and doors open and was only in 60's outside with fairly good wind.
 
McDermott:
I had a similar experience today though not quite so bad. I put my peppers outside around 11am this morning after it got past 50 degrees. It was bright sun and light winds. They get some good shade early but within a couple hours they were soaking in full sun. I went out around 2pm to look and a couple were very limp and wilted. It was supposed to hit 65 here today. One was an Orange Habby that was particularly distressed. I just poured about a cup of water around the stem and within a half hour he looked great. I just repotted my plants into 6" deep pots about 10 days ago and I dont think their roots extend to the bottom of the pots yet. They were all fairly dry when I put them out but not completely dry and I dont want to over water them. I will probably get them out tomorrow if it isnt too windy and will water them when I put them out. There should be some afternoon clouds rolling in too. It is only the 4th or 5th time I have had them out so far this spring. I haven't had a lot of chances and I may be pushing it too much. But I want to get them outside permanently as soon as possible.

It is amazing how they can look so bad one minute, give them a sip of water and they almost come back to life in front of your eyes. The key however is to get them before they get too far gone. Had I left them another hour or two, I might have lost them.
 
We are lucky that most peppers can bounce back when watered before it's too late. I also am amazed at how quickly they can bounce right back to normal. Save the planet... it's the only one with peppers.
 
check for rootbound on those that acted delicate

maybe roots crowding out the water?

hope they all recover and thrive :eek:
 
midwestchilehead said:
Glad to hear you didn't fry them all, mmc. Good luck with the recovery!
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+3 for a similar experience. I potted up my first group of 6 plants on Sunday, at 1:00 pm and put them in the greenhouse. Temp about 60F, thought they would be OK since they've been raised indoors on window sunlight. Potted up 6 more and in those intervening 15 minutes the first 6 looked like they'd been hit with Roundup! Added water, installed shades in the greenhouse for safety and all is OK.



"Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun."
 
They recovered when you gave them water so they were probably just thirsty. My bell peppers and tomatoes look pretty awful sometimes due to lack of water when I use all the distilled water on my hot peppers and neglect all the others. But they all come back once I give them water.

How many days have they been in morning or evening sun? I can't imagine that the sun would have been too intense for them when they have already been in some sun already.

The first day I put my peppers in the hoop house was way sunny and they were in there for a few hours with no issues but I use a HID light so they are probably somewhat hardened off already.
 
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