Beginner. Need a bit of help.

[msalah]

Hello,
This is my first time ever growing anything, let alone peppers. They're about 4 weeks old now and i recently moved them outside because the weather here is getting warmer. The days actually get very hot, maybe 30-35 degrees Celsius. i keep them in the shade most of the day and water them everyday. I've noticed that progressively more and more of my plants are losing their color and the leaves are curling up sideways. I've tried to research this and i cant find a definitive answer. Do they need more water, is it nutrient deficiency or are they still too young for this heat?
Thank you. 

 

[LocalFart]

Pictures will definitely help.
 
Could be that you're overwatering them too.

 

[msalah]

It seems that i can't upload images from my computer, only share images from a photo sharing website since i'm not an upgraded member. If there is another way you know of to share a picture on this forum i'd be happy to. I considered that i may be over watering them, however, i only water them when i see the soil is very dry, which is daily since its so hot. 

 

[moruga welder]

!   whats your  fert. ?  do you use cal / mag ? 

 

[pandak]

It seems that i can't upload images from my computer, only share images from a photo sharing website since i'm not an upgraded member. If there is another way you know of to share a picture on this forum i'd be happy to. I considered that i may be over watering them, however, i only water them when i see the soil is very dry, which is daily since its so hot. 

 

you can use
http://postimage.io
after upload pict - copy link from postimage

 

[CAPCOM]

The frequency of watering seems way too often. But could be justified by size of container, drainage qualities of media, dryness of the geographic area and amount of water being used.
Generally speaking though, watering every day is 4-5 days too much.

 

[msalah]

 
I use the flora series fertilizers, its the only fert i have for now. I know that watering every day seems excessive but im not over watering, the soil drys out because its so hot and dry. Also i'm noticing that growth has become painfully slow and cotyledons are falling off.

 

[Powelly]

Put them in bigger containers with 1/3 - 1/4 of the mix a high quality compost

 

[msalah]

I thought i'd wait until they got  a bit bigger before transplanting them, you think they really need it now?

 

[Powelly]

They don't need it no but it's not going to hurt them. Potting up and adding a large quantity of premium compost solves most issues

 

[CAPCOM]

Do you have drainage holes in those cups?
You do not have enough root mass to go and transplant to bigger yet. Lets get those healthy and bigger first. start doing too many things and you chance loosing them.
 
 

 

[lek]

from my experience, pepper plant doesn't need large pot.  i will show you some example of my pepper plants in 3oz cups.
 

 

 
The next one in 9oz double wall cup is quite tall. 
 

 
 
you need to provide oxygen at the bottom of the pot. soil mix should have plenty of room for air flow.  when you make it right, there will be no large root ball.
 

 

[CAPCOM]

from my experience, pepper plant doesn't need large pot.  i will show you some example of my pepper plants in 3oz cups.
 

 

 
The next one in 9oz double wall cup is quite tall. 
 

 
 
you need to provide oxygen at the bottom of the pot. soil mix should have plenty of room for air flow.  when you make it right, there will be no large root ball.
 

 
If I am not mistaken those indoor plants correct?

 

 

[lek]

 
If I am not mistaken those indoor plants correct?

 

 
these 4 plants are indoor.   outdoor plant grows a lot larger than these.

 

[CAPCOM]

I remember some years back, a study was done where they raised a rainbow trout in a glass tube. they provided the trout with a fresh highly oxygenated water supply at the optimum temp and conditions, a constant food supply and as a result the fish grew to the constrains of the tube.
 
The conclusion was, given a clean and nutritious environment a fish could be raised to adulthood with out providing the usual growing space.
 
Yes, it can be done. But is it practical?
 

 

[Powelly]

I've never been able to do it but hats off to lek they are awesome looking plants

 

[CAPCOM]

I agree the plants look fantastic. My point is though, the OP needs to correct his H2O saturation and possible drainage problems 1st and foremost and when the time is appropriate transplant to a large container. I know of NO ONE on the forum that will strive to grow tree sized pepper plants out of a 3oz Dixie cup. It is just not practical. This year after 3 years of steady progression, I am going to grow my plants in 10 and 15 gal pots.

 

[msalah]

I agree the plants look fantastic. My point is though, the OP needs to correct his H2O saturation and possible drainage problems 1st and foremost and when the time is appropriate transplant to a large container. I know of NO ONE on the forum that will strive to grow tree sized pepper plants out of a 3oz Dixie cup. It is just not practical. This year after 3 years of steady progression, I am going to grow my plants in 10 and 15 gal pots.

 
I definitely have drainage holes at the bottom of the cups, 4-5 per cup. How would i know exactly if they are not sufficient and i need more?. Also just thought of something, i feel foolish for not realizing this sooner, the bottom of those cups have protruding rims that they stand on. These rims would surely block the water from escaping meaning the water would just pool under the cup and not drain out completely. This could lead to the symptoms i'v been seeing in my plants?

 

[solid7]

these 4 plants are indoor.   outdoor plant grows a lot larger than these.

The size of a plant is a function of its rootmass. You won't get much bigger plants out of a container that size, indoors, or out.

 

[solid7]

I definitely have drainage holes at the bottom of the cups, 4-5 per cup. How would i know exactly if they are not sufficient and i need more?. Also just thought of something, i feel foolish for not realizing this sooner, the bottom of those cups have protruding rims that they stand on. These rims would surely block the water from escaping meaning the water would just pool under the cup and not drain out completely. This could lead to the symptoms i'v been seeing in my plants?

If you have one drain hole, you have sufficient drainage. Drainage isn't something that needs to be calculated like pressure or flow. It's an absolute. If you have one drain hole, and it does its job at all, it does its job completely. Now, multiple drain holes are for redundancy, but I wouldn't think too hard about it.