Chilli plants seem to be dying - please help!

Hi
I'm new to growing chillies but I was given a small growing kit last Christmas. I've really enjoyed the process - I got 12 healthy plants & had to give 9 away to friends for space reasons (I live in a flat in London, UK). My 3 remaining plants have done really well & I've had plenty of chillies. I've been feeding them fortnightly with MiracleGro Grow your own vegetable & fruit liquid plant food.
However now they are not looking so healthy - the leaves are drying out & dying - see pictures. There are also small white beasties in the saucer - see picture. I don't imagine that that can be good!
I'd be really grateful for any advice on how to save the plants - I would love to be able to keep them over winter!
thanks!

 

 

 
 

Well....you have a pest issue no doubt.

Not sure what kind though....someone will chime in with with the answer.

I would remove infected damaged leaves and get those critters dealt with asap.

Thanks Masher. Yes let's hope someone will reply with the answer!

Can't be what they are but they look like fire ant larvae. I see them when I kick an ant hill.
 
Edit: Again, no help but another thing they look like is tapeworm. Regardless, if they move I'd be spraying them with something. or taking them outside.

HI DWB - yes I don't think they're ant larvae - they don't seem to hatch into anything! Thanks for the suggestion though

I have not had this pest issue before but I have had root pests before. I'm not huge on a chemical solution so what I would normally do is:
1. Remove the plants from the pots.
2. Gently remove all dirt from the root ball (keep it in a sealed container because you can still use it as a growing medium, or at least a mix).
3. Rinse the root ball as well as you can. I do this outside to avoid pest cross-contamination.
4. Fill kitchen sink with water and soak the root ball for 1 hour.
5. Rinse entire plant as well as possible.
6. With new fresh water in the sink, soak it again. I found the longer, the better. Take note on if there are any floating pests. If there are, go rinse and refill the sink for another run. Do this until you see no evidence of any pests.
 
Meanwhile, wash your pots VERY well. A heated dishwasher run with a heated dry is good enough but if you don't have a dishwasher, hand wash, then bleach, then rinse, then dry.
 
Also, clean the area around where your pots are now. Do it well with cleaner (Lysol works for me).
 
If you plan to re-use the soil (I highly recommend you get brand new potting soil), lay it out on a cookie sheet and bake it at 350 for an hour. This will kill off everything, even the good bacteria but it will bake out the bad stuff, too. I have had major success with this but I only did this when I didn't have the means to go and buy new potting soil. I would not use the same source of soil you have used before.
 
Once you are positive you have rid your plants of the bad stuff, you have fresh soil, and your pots are clean, you can re-pot. You plant will be stressed but that is ok. She may shed leaves but again, that's ok. Keep the soil moist but NOT wet. You want your soil to dry out after a watering.
 
Note: This method has worked for me and it has worked every time. Do it at your own risk but the more thorough you are, the better chance you will have.

Thanks Shandley for this detailed advice! It's tricky for me as I live in a small apartment so I'm not really set up for growing plants but I will see what I can do.
 
I had thought that the small white insects were not a pest - they've been there for some time & it's only recently that the leaves are dying. But maybe it's that they've taken a while to do their damage!

There is a good chance those are just Springtails and are of no real harm to your plants.
 
http://thehotpepper.com/topic/52666-springtail-larvae/
 
As Springtails usually show themselves in/on soil that has been wet for prolonged periods, there is a good chance that the damage to your plants is simply from  overwatering. Back off on the watering and wait until the soil drys out before watering, and only spareingly. 
 
Also, it would be best to drain all the excess water from those trays under the pots within 1-2hrs of watering. Leaving water in those trays simply keeps the soil wetter for longer.
 
Best of luck,
 
 
SR

Yes Shorerider - that's what I previously reckoned the white beasties were - Springtails! Thank you for reminding me!
 
I will try watering less & see what happens...

I had the same problem the leaves would get so stretchy and turn upside down never figured wat was wrong with them tried everything to save them and lost all 15 plants

Looks like too much nitrogen combined with not enough light and also may be too close to a draft from a heater. And yeah, those are springtails, no threat to your plant.

Looks to me like what happens here where im at... since you are in london i will assume your weather is the same if not colder... It looks to me like they are simply too close to a cold window and are starting to over winter themselves...  if you can get a table a few feet back from the glass to put them on and trim off all the dead... odds are they will grow back some, but probably wont fruit anymore till the sun light hours increase in the spring... otherwise if you leave them where they are they may look completely dead but will still come back next year if you keep them moist... doesnt look like a pest or nutrient problem... just looks cold... they will keep more leaves and stay alive looking with some supplemental light to increase the hours and a pull back from the window...

Indiana_Jesse said:

Looks like too much nitrogen combined with not enough light and also may be too close to a draft from a heater. And yeah, those are springtails, no threat to your plant.

Click to expand...

 

could be the opposite too like he said... is that a heater below them? has cold on one side heat on the other... all in all i say its a temp issue one way or the other...

Shorerider said:

There is a good chance those are just Springtails and are of no real harm to your plants.
 
http://thehotpepper.com/topic/52666-springtail-larvae/
 
As Springtails usually show themselves in/on soil that has been wet for prolonged periods, there is a good chance that the damage to your plants is simply from  overwatering. Back off on the watering and wait until the soil drys out before watering, and only spareingly. 
 
Also, it would be best to drain all the excess water from those trays under the pots within 1-2hrs of watering. Leaving water in those trays simply keeps the soil wetter for longer.
 
Best of luck,
 
 
SR

Click to expand...

 

this too... dont water till the plant needs it... they arent like other house plants... i wait till the first sign of NEEDING water... slight drooping.. then water...