Every year as my plants pod up it seems that when the plant is full of as many pods as it can produce the some peppers set but then don't grow at all. The new blooms fall and then it stops producing flowers. I was wondering if this is normal and should I pull off the "just set" peppers that haven't grown as I pick ripe peppers so the plant will start flowing again? If I leave them will they start growing as I pick some ripe ones?
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Peppers set but thats it.........
- Thread starter chillilover
- Start date
For a given container size, a plant can only get so large and if your plant is already loaded with fruit, that makes matters worse. Once a plant reaches it's "fruit load" any lucky pods that due set could be very small due to lack of available water and nutrients. If you pick them off, and the plant does flower again, you will only get small peppers again if anything. My advise, leave them be and wait for the plant to unload the current batch.
Other than that, a plant can stop growing due to insufficient nutrients or not enough light. If you have not fed them in a while (more than 2 weeks) it may be time to give them another feeding. If you suspect a deficiency, then apply the appropriate nutrient. If you can get the plant longer hours of direct sun, I'd try that also.
I have some plants that don't want to stop producing which seems to be genetic, but I suspect that eventually (given the chance to keep going all year without harvesting) they would all grind to a halt.
I pick my pods as soon as they are about 70% ripe, that is I don't wait until the whole batch has ripened to perfection on the bush, then harvest. I pick them one by one and put them plastic bins to ripen the rest which takes a few days. As soon as they are as ripe as I desire, I either freeze em, blend em, dry em, cook em or eat em. Anyway, you get the idea.
Other than that, a plant can stop growing due to insufficient nutrients or not enough light. If you have not fed them in a while (more than 2 weeks) it may be time to give them another feeding. If you suspect a deficiency, then apply the appropriate nutrient. If you can get the plant longer hours of direct sun, I'd try that also.
I have some plants that don't want to stop producing which seems to be genetic, but I suspect that eventually (given the chance to keep going all year without harvesting) they would all grind to a halt.
I pick my pods as soon as they are about 70% ripe, that is I don't wait until the whole batch has ripened to perfection on the bush, then harvest. I pick them one by one and put them plastic bins to ripen the rest which takes a few days. As soon as they are as ripe as I desire, I either freeze em, blend em, dry em, cook em or eat em. Anyway, you get the idea.
Thanks. So once I start to pick some ripe peppers those tiny ones that just set but didn't grow will start to grow?
Typically, if they stop growing, they are done and they won't grow much if at all. From what I know, a pod has a limited amount of time to grow before some kind of internal timer says the time for growing is over. So if during this growing period the pod doesn't have what it needs to grow quickly enough, and the time runs out, that's all you get.
Early in the year when I get berry sized pods from the cold nights I let them get as large as they can and then let them get a bit darker green, then I remove them and use them in salsa or something.
So basically, during the time between when the flower sets and when the pod reaches full size, it is in your best interests to make sure the plant gets everything it needs during this period. That includes light and also most importantly water, if the soil is dry or the plant is wilted, the pods cannot pack on weight and without enough light, the plant doesn't have the energy to use what it has to grow.
I lavish my plants during this time as the plants can handle more fertilizer than normal and more water than normal. Once the plant is loaded up and stops producing (if it does indeed slow down or stop) then I treat it like any normal plant with no pods and just leaves and flowers.