Flowers dropping and leaves curling

[burnmymouth]

I have the following in my garden this year:

15 jalapenos
15 cayennes
6 habaneros
6 bhut jolokias
3 thais
3 tabascos
3 fresnos
2 tomatoes

Some are in buckets, some are in various gardens that have different sun times and temps, all are having the same result: Little fruit, dropping flowers and curled leaves. The cayennes seem to be doing the best but I cannot get any fruit on anything else. My tomatoes were looking outstanding then decided to quit growing all together. All the plants appeared to be very healthy with good size and color. Within the last week or so, however, they don't look as great. I am afraid I might have used too much Miracle Grow veggie food on them but I'm not too sure. I should have tomatoes by now but the plants aren't growing anything and the flowers do nothing. Most of my bhuts leaves curled up and look very ugly. Some of the other plants did, too, but they have recovered for the most part. I had a coworker show me his amazing garden a month ago and had 7 foot tall tomato plants. He said he fed them Miracle Grow twice a week so I took his advice and this was my result. Did I use too much to cause this issue or could is be something else? If it is the issue, what can I do to get them to recover? Bonemeal? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Also, I live in Tennessee where it's been pretty hot all summer thus far. This has never stopped my plants from growing and I should have pounds of peppers by now. I cannot believe it would be the heat causing this issue, especially seeing the yields my coworker is getting from his humungous tomato plants.

 

[SRBII]

Howdy

first of all its tough without pics we love pepper porn...

if it has been good hot sun and you let the soil get too dry in the heat they will wilt and curl there leaves to try to protect them selves and show sun scorch on the edges

and for the flower drop ill quote the famous willard post from all over the interwebs

Flower drop probable causes:

1. Day temp too high >95F
2. Night temp too low <65F
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.

and as far as the MG food i stopped mine shortly after the plants had loads of flowers now they only get foliar feed now of fish emu epsom and calcium and they have at least 15 pods on each i sowed in march

best of luck and try post some pics for better help.

 

[burnmymouth]

Howdy

first of all its tough without pics we love pepper porn...

if it has been good hot sun and you let the soil get too dry in the heat they will wilt and curl there leaves to try to protect them selves and show sun scorch on the edges

and for the flower drop ill quote the famous willard post from all over the interwebs

Flower drop probable causes:

1. Day temp too high >95F
2. Night temp too low <65F
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.

and as far as the MG food i stopped mine shortly after the plants had loads of flowers now they only get foliar feed now of fish emu epsom and calcium and they have at least 15 pods on each i sowed in march

best of luck and try post some pics for better help.

Thanks for your reply. I will post some pics this evening when I get home. This is not being caused by lack of water and dry soil. I keep the soil moist and also have an inch of mulch covering it. I have seen the plants droop from lack of water but never curl. It has been a steady temp above 90 every day here for a few months now and this issue didn't start until I fertilized with MG twice a week. The fact that it is happening to every plant, no matter the kind, leads me to believe I used too much MG. I am going to put some more bonemeal down and fish fert to see if that will help but the stuff drives my beagle crazy!

 

[millworkman]

Pictures would be the best way for us to help you.

 

[Jetchuka]

Ya pictures would help, otherwise i'd lean towards a combo of too much nitrogen (miracle gro) combined with heat + persistently wet soil leading to a flower drop.

I'd hold off on adding any more nitrogen (fish emulsion) for at least a week till things sort themselves out.

Also note that peppers in the ground are not water hogs like tomatoes and cukes.

 

[burnmymouth]

Here is a pic of what is happening to my bhut jolokias. Some of them appear to be recovering with the curled leaves getting bigger but this one still looks ugly. Any ideas? I don't keep the buckets completely moist at all times. I actually had a drooping cayenne when I got home today in need of water so I don't think I am overwatering. It's been hot, but it has been for a few months now. I grow these things every year here in the heat and this is the first time I have seen them curl up.

PS, the white is from a recent dusting, which is a must around here unless you like feeding little critters

 

[MrArboc]

What are you "dusting" them with?

 

[burnmymouth]

What are you "dusting" them with?

Sevin dust. It's not that causing it, either, if that's what you were thinking.

 

[MrArboc]

Sevin dust. It's not that causing it, either, if that's what you were thinking.

I wouldn't put that on anything I planned to eat... Nevermind.

Your plants does not look dusted. They look smothered. Hose them of and you'll probably get new healthy growth!

 

[burnmymouth]

I wouldn't put that on anything I planned to eat... Nevermind.

Your plants does not look dusted. They look smothered. Hose them of and you'll probably get new healthy growth!

It doesn't last long and I've been using it forever. (I'm still alive and kickin We have rain in the forecast for the next few days and it will all wash off with it. This is the first time I have used it in several weeks so I doubt it would aid in the growth of the plants. My only concern is it is keeping the good guys away from pollonating the flowers. What would you suggest I use as a pesticide? My mother taught me many, many moons ago to keep the plants dusted at all times and she has had major success each year.

 

[MrArboc]

I don't use pesticides until I see any pests, and if I do soap and water + alcohol usually does the trick.

 

[MrArboc]

Hi! I'm Erik from Sweden BTW! :-)

 

[burnmymouth]

Hi! I'm Erik from Sweden BTW! :-)

Nice to mee you, Erik! My name is Kevin. Thanks for your tips! We could all use any advice given to us. Every environment is different, however, and there are so many methods people can use to have great harvests. Finding one that works is what we all come here for and it's great to be in an online community of experienced pepper growers!

 

[Jetchuka]

Still a little hard to tell from that pic, but i do see swollen/rippled center veins on a couple of the leaves, but the color seems right(?) I've seen it before but can't recall why it happens so i'll defer to the experts here.

There is a virus call PVBV, pepper vein banding virus, but a quick google search makes me think that your plants do NOT have it.

Is that two plants crowded into one bucket? When your plants recover you may want to consider snipping the smaller/weaker one.

 

[burnmymouth]

Still a little hard to tell from that pic, but i do see swollen/rippled center veins on a couple of the leaves, but the color seems right(?) I've seen it before but can't recall why it happens so i'll defer to the experts here.

There is a virus call PVBV, pepper vein banding virus, but a quick google search makes me think that your plants do NOT have it.

Is that two plants crowded into one bucket? When your plants recover you may want to snip the smaller/weaker one.

The color is fine on all the plants. They get enough calcium from bonemeal to keep them nice and green. I usually plant 2 seeds per pot. Is that not a good thing? That hasn't ever been an issue before.

 

[bigt]

Geez, I hate to sound like a broken record, but would you guys stop with all this fertilizer BS. It's amazing that peppers ever found a way to grow before man came along with all these "Miracle" fertilizers. Just leave your plants alone besides giving them necessary water and they'll be fine. STOP with everything else. My 2 cents.

 

[Jetchuka]

I usually plant 2 seeds per pot. Is that not a good thing? That hasn't ever been an issue before.

Just a root space thing, and the one plant per five gallon bucket "rule". Don't think it would cause any real issues though, just two smaller plants with less branching per plant. My father does the same, to ensure that at least one seed sprouts and survives, so he often ends up with "dual stem" plants. His plants are also in the ground.

Sorry for veering so far off topic. Otherwise i'll stick to my earlier recommendation of not adding any more ferts in the near future, especially nitrogen.

 

[burnmymouth]

Thank you all for your feedback. I hear you, bigt, about using any fert at all. Besides a little shake and feed and some bonemeal when planting, I don't think I am going to use any next year, to see what my results are.

 

[bigt]

Thank you all for your feedback. I hear you, bigt, about using any fert at all. Besides a little shake and feed and some bonemeal when planting, I don't think I am going to use any next year, to see what my results are.

I used 2 tablespoons of Osmocote 14-14-14 for a 5 gallon container this year and I think that was too much. Next year I'm going to cut that in half and try another container with just a measly 1 tablespoon of Tomato Tone for the whole bucket and see what happens. I use Pro-Mix BX that only has starter nutrients and I wouldn't be surprised if that by itself was enough. Certainly any Miracle Grow soil already has too many nutes for peppers and most people should probably cut it 50/50 with a mixture of perlite and peat moss. Bonemeal has never done anything for my peppers that I can swear by. Whatever you use - use less than you think. Avoid micro-managing peppers, they like to be left alone and they'll do their thing. Your thing is to pick pods and eat them.

 

[burnmymouth]

I used 2 tablespoons of Osmocote 14-14-14 for a 5 gallon container this year and I think that was too much. Next year I'm going to cut that in half and try another container with just a measly 1 tablespoon of Tomato Tone for the whole bucket and see what happens. I use Pro-Mix BX that only has starter nutrients and I wouldn't be surprised if that by itself was enough. Certainly any Miracle Grow soil already has too many nutes for peppers and most people should probably cut it 50/50 with a mixture of perlite and peat moss. Bonemeal has never done anything for my peppers that I can swear by. Whatever you use - use less than you think. Avoid micro-managing peppers, they like to be left alone and they'll do their thing. Your thing is to pick pods and eat them.

For my buckets and pots, I used a 50/40/10 (black cow/MG organic choice potting soil/perlite), half a cup each (if that) of 10/10/10 rose bloom and bonemeal. I will add bonemeal later on if I see the plants losing color and it will make them super dark green within a few days. This year, I decided to follow the advice of a coworker to MG my plants twice a week, after seeing that his tomatoes look like they are on steroids. A few days after the second application of MG, some of my plants started curling up and my tomatoes quit growing completely. I've already tossed the MG in the trash from frustration and will never use it again.