I have been harding off long season peppers for 9 days and it looks like some of them may not make it. I have about 20 in 12 inch pots(started to early) and around 80 still in cups that are going in 12 inch pots as soon possible. The ones in the pots are taking the worst beating because the ones that are in cups are in carriers and wedged in together forming a canopy shading the lower leaves. I am harding them slowly as they are just now starting to get set out in direct sun part of the day and it has been in the low 80's the past three days. I watch them very closely but it seems everytime they get set out they start looking worse and worse. Does anyone know about how long it takes for them to get there color back? The only two seven pots I have are in the worst shape. The extra light green, almost yellow leaves are spotted black, some semi curled, and they are near death. They kept the same schedule as the rest of the plants that are being hardened off. They are so bad even window lighting alone is making them worse. So what should I do with the 7 pots(and the other plants that are on life support) to give them even a hope of survival. Artificial light, no light, partial window light only, outside shade only???? I have now adjusted my hardening off schedule since I obviously burnt some of my plants to near death. I was under the impression 2 weeks of very slow and gradual increases of light and wind would be all it would take but the plants are saying different. I need to do a search on how to post pictures and if I can figure it out I will edit the post with some pics.
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Hardening off question
- Thread starter Southern-Pepper
- Start date
i could be wrong, but it sounds like you have other issues that are coincidentally happening at the time your trying to harden off. It sounds like your hardening off correctly, and from the temperatures your describing, these guys shouldn't be stressing.
Get some pics on here asap to get some opinions
And do some research on nutrient deficiencies and plant diseases
Also, how big are your plants? If you still have some in cups and others in 12inch pots, you may have potted up to big too fast....there will be many different opinions but imo i would pot up a little more gradual than from cup to a 12 inch pot....also it's important the roots have filled up the cups first before you transplant, carefully slide the plant and soil out of a cup in one whole piece, and if you can see roots all over the edges of the soil, then it is def time to pot up, but don't go too big
Get some pics on here asap to get some opinions
And do some research on nutrient deficiencies and plant diseases
Also, how big are your plants? If you still have some in cups and others in 12inch pots, you may have potted up to big too fast....there will be many different opinions but imo i would pot up a little more gradual than from cup to a 12 inch pot....also it's important the roots have filled up the cups first before you transplant, carefully slide the plant and soil out of a cup in one whole piece, and if you can see roots all over the edges of the soil, then it is def time to pot up, but don't go too big
oh, and don't get over paranoid and start ferting like crazy, that can be just as bad, just research first, and post some pics
I tried taking pics but the thing is every picture I took the leaves look green even when I turned the flash off. I may try again tomorrow outside and see if I can get the true color of the plant to show. Most all the plants look decent, it's mainly just my 7 pots and anitillnis caribbean(spelling?) that are in rough shape. The others are showing some wear and tear but nothing for me to be alarmed about. All the long season peppers are already producing flowers that I am pinching daily, well except for the two types I mentioned and my manzanos. The roots were very thick when I potted them up and they were not root bound. The ones still in the cups are root bound by now because they were all started at the same time. However I have always had luck manually adjusting the roots but this is my first year from seed. I will be growing about 300 hundred pepper plants(rough estimate will not count them till they are planted) this year in the ground. Problem is I only have two seven pots and I really want pods from them. The ground has been pre-fertilized and plowed but the plants so far have only received fert from the potting mix itself no additional added. The only other thing I can think of is that before taking them outside the antillnis carribean's and the 7 pots were always set by the window where they received the most intense light out of all the plants. They were showing some stress even then so they may be lacking in some department. I will keep a close eye on them later this morning...........chronic insomnia sucks.
Does your soil drain well. It's not packed hard is it? Also, the light color of your leaves, is it more of an actual yellow, or just pale green like your plants are loosing "greenness" slowly? Are ALL the leaves paling, or just the new leaves? Are the stems/branches turning pale as well? You mentioned some leaf curling, the edges or just the tips? You mentioned spots on the leaves but do the leaves look "burnt" either on the edges or the tips? Does it look like the veins in the leaves are getting pale faster than the rest of the leaf?
And most importantly, you need to do a pH test of your soil, and your water that you regularly use....if it is a nutrient deficiency, it can be caused by an off pH, it will hinder the plants from getting the available nutrients in your soil. If your pH is good, then we can look at the answers to the above questions to figure out what nutrients it could be lacking
And most importantly, you need to do a pH test of your soil, and your water that you regularly use....if it is a nutrient deficiency, it can be caused by an off pH, it will hinder the plants from getting the available nutrients in your soil. If your pH is good, then we can look at the answers to the above questions to figure out what nutrients it could be lacking
If you can't get your hands on a pH tester fast enough, in the meantime, just to rule a few things out flush your pots very well with R.O. water (maybe even with a small peroxide treatment) (and by well, keep adding water to the top until it is pouring heavily from the drainage holes, and then add just a little more)