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New pods falling off

Weird problem I have never had before, almost all my plants are having issues rejecting pods. While they all have at least one or two fully developed pods, I keep finding newly formed tiny pods in the soil. I see no signs of bite marks or anything. As if they plant is just rejecting them. Occasionally I find them in the flower stage but 95% of them are after the flower has fallen and a tiny little pepper has formed. More info about my current process...
 
  • Fabric pots
  • Pro Mix as base soil
  • Liquid fert - started with a more nitrogen heavy for foliage and switched to a bloom when the flowers start showing up
  • Add calcium once a month to supplement
  • Watered once a week-ish, might have to start a little sooner now that they seem to be drying out quicker
  • Plants sit on shaded porch and only get direct sun towards the end of the day, airflow seems pretty normal
  • Did have to put down some chemical laced corn to kill off fungus gnat problem earlier in the season, haven't had to reapply
  • Temps have been fluctuating between 60-85F from night to day 
 
Odd thing too is my Aji varieties seem mostly un-phased, seems my habs/super hots/paprikas are most effected.
 
Thoughts?
 
I grow my chilies in NYC, but I am from western PA and my parents still live there and have a garden (it is really my proxy garden, they are just attentive waterers who get to enjoy all the produce).  Assuming you are willing to water them more often, give them more sun.  Western PA is remarkably cloudy and not very hot at all compared to where I grow now.  It would literally be impossible to give them too much sun where you live (assuming you water them appropriately). 
 
NYC is consistently 5 degrees warmer than Pittsburgh.  My plants are on my roof, so they get full sun from sunup to sunset.  Early in the season I was watering maybe once a week, but now the chilies have filled out the grow bags and need water every day, or every other day.
 
Otherwise our culture sounds pretty similar.  I grow in straight pro-mix (great stuff for containers imo), 12 gallon white grow bags. Tomato-tone once every few weeks, miracle grow tomato every other week.  Never bothered with calcium. Water when they need it.  Could be once a week in may or once a day in august.
 
You might have other issues, but more sun can only help if you adjust the watering schedule accordingly.  Good luck!
 
Don't forget that these chilies we love are from Mexico, or Bangladesh, or Trinidad.  The hottest day in Pittsburgh doesn't even come close...
 
 
 
 
 
 
SacFly said:
I grow my chilies in NYC, but I am from western PA and my parents still live there and have a garden (it is really my proxy garden, they are just attentive waterers who get to enjoy all the produce).  Assuming you are willing to water them more often, give them more sun.  Western PA is remarkably cloudy and not very hot at all compared to where I grow now.  It would literally be impossible to give them too much sun where you live (assuming you water them appropriately). 
 
NYC is consistently 5 degrees warmer than Pittsburgh.  My plants are on my roof, so they get full sun from sunup to sunset.  Early in the season I was watering maybe once a week, but now the chilies have filled out the grow bags and need water every day, or every other day.
 
Otherwise our culture sounds pretty similar.  I grow in straight pro-mix (great stuff for containers imo), 12 gallon white grow bags. Tomato-tone once every few weeks, miracle grow tomato every other week.  Never bothered with calcium. Water when they need it.  Could be once a week in may or once a day in august.
 
You might have other issues, but more sun can only help if you adjust the watering schedule accordingly.  Good luck!
 
 
 
 
 
Ahoy fellow NY'er [emoji51]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Flower drop probable causes:
 
1. Day temp too high >95F
2. Night temp too low <65F or too high >85F
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/anxiety.
 
willard3 said:
Flower drop probable causes:
 
1. Day temp too high >95F
2. Night temp too low <65F or too high >85F
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/anxiety.
 
i don't agree with #3, #4, #9, #11
 
for the example, this pepper plant is in very small pot.  feed with a lot of nitrogen, water, ...
it can set fruit without any problem.
 
34598693551_3673059d06_b.jpg
 
lek said:
 
i don't agree with #3, #4, #9, #11
 
for the example, this pepper plant is in very small pot.  feed with a lot of nitrogen, water, ...
it can set fruit without any problem.
 
C. Annuum is much easier to grow, it grows almost like a grass even without fertilizing.
 
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