Peppers struggling (pictures included)

xantius · Jul 21, 2013

I've been struggling to grow several types of peppers for the last 3 months. I started the seeds indoors but they have done nothing but struggle since being put outdoors. Last year at this time, my pepper plants had grown a fair amount and were starting to produce peppers. Now that I've taken to trying to grow peppers for real, they've done nothing but sit there.

I water them every other day. They've had fertilizer once, which caused leaves to yellow and fall off. They get full sun most of the day. All that said, they are maybe 4" high. Have a look and let me know what you think. Is it possible that the potting soil I used is crap and that they need real dirt?

homefry319 · Jul 21, 2013

could be many things, the soil looks pretty wet. best bet is water when they need it not on a set schedule. Depending on when/how much nutrients you put on them you could have also shocked the plants. Then the last thing could be the lighting from the start, though thats much less likely of a case.

xantius · Jul 21, 2013

homefry319 said:
could be many things, the soil looks pretty wet. best bet is water when they need it not on a set schedule. Depending on when/how much nutrients you put on them you could have also shocked the plants. Then the last thing could be the lighting from the start, though thats much less likely of a case.

I took this picture literally right after I watered them this morning so they are very wet, but for clarification, how dry should they get? I've put my finger into the soil two knuckles deep before and the soil was cool, but barely damp. How do I know when to water? I put a teaspoon of fertilizer sprinkled around the base of the plant when I applied a few weeks ago.

ms1476 · Jul 21, 2013

+1 on the possible overwatering. Growth can be slowed bigtime when overwatering. Let em get totally dry before watering again. If you think you have crappy soil, what do you have to lose by transplanting into a quality soil/quality compost/perlite mix?

xantius said:
I took this picture literally right after I watered them this morning so they are very wet, but for clarification, how dry should they get? I've put my finger into the soil two knuckles deep before and the soil was cool, but barely damp. How do I know when to water? I put a teaspoon of fertilizer sprinkled around the base of the plant when I applied a few weeks ago.

xantius · Jul 21, 2013

ms1476 said:
+1 on the possible overwatering. Growth can be slowed bigtime when overwatering. Let em get totally dry before watering again. If you think you have crappy soil, what do you have to lose by transplanting into a quality soil/quality compost/perlite mix?

Basically nothing. My thought was to see how they did this season, and if they don't recover, I'd mix the potting soil with some regular soil and replant them. Since this is my first real year growing peppers, I wanted to take the chance to learn so I'll try watering only when the leaves get droopy and see how it goes. Not sure I could kill them any more than they already are. :-)

ms1476 · Jul 21, 2013

I water when my plants look like they are thirsty, they get droopy and look unhappy overall. The soil should feel dry past the 2nd knuckle. Your pots should have plenty of drainage holes. You should have about 1 1/2 inches of untreated mulch on top of your soil to keep them cool and moist. I am having 90 degree temps and I need to water once every 4 days. I water until it starts running out the bottom. Back off the watering and you will be able to learn what a thirsty plant looks like. Only water when they need it.

xantius · Jul 21, 2013

ms1476 said:
I water when my plants look like they are thirsty, they get droopy and look unhappy overall. The soil should feel dry past the 2nd knuckle. Your pots should have plenty of drainage holes. You should have about 1 1/2 inches of untreated mulch on top of your soil to keep them cool and moist. I am having 90 degree temps and I need to water once every 4 days. I water until it starts running out the bottom. Back off the watering and you will be able to learn what a thirsty plant looks like. Only water when they need it.

Awesome. That's great to know. Our temps have been 100, but if you're watering every 4 days, I will at least start every 3 days. Thanks to everyone for the input!

heatofmiami · Jul 21, 2013

Too much sun as well?

pepperdan · Jul 21, 2013

Looks like you didn't harden them off correctly, put them in partial shade and they can pull out of it in a few weeks, no ferts dry soil to 3"

megahot · Jul 22, 2013

Poor soil is a bad thing! Also you prob. Over fertlized them when you fed them causing the leaves to fall off and set them back. Improper hardening off might be part of the case too

U)<now · Jul 22, 2013

megahot said:
Poor soil is a bad thing! Also you prob. Over fertlized them when you fed them causing the leaves to fall off and set them back. Improper hardening off might be part of the case too

+1 ^

Jetchuka · Jul 22, 2013

Pretty late in the season unless you plan on overwintering. They do have an overwatered look, could be low root oxygen, or both.

It looks like a well draining gritty mix, could have probably used some more perlite though. It may have a moisture control agent holding too much water. What brand potting mix is that?

OP: never fill a container with "real dirt" because your problems would be worse.