Hi Everyone, I just happened to randomly click on a thread and wanted to chime in to the suggestion box. I agree with, Stein's suggestion that the your problem stems from over-watering - however, I'd also suggest that you evaluate the porosity of your potting mixture and amount of air circulation (especially, indoor plants). Roots suffocate if there is poor gas exchange in the soil. If an anaerobic environment is created, a new "soil system" will overtake the current one. Non-beneficial bacteria advance and begin a process of anaerobic decomposition. Air circulation (breeze) is the trigger for auxins to command the robust growth of cell wall structure at high stress points along the stem. It is also necessary (especially, critical indoors) to prevent the accumulation of water on the surface of the soil. THIS is where damping off, occurs - right at the soil line. This is why a lot of us prefer to water UNDER container grown plants than, to pour water directly on the surface of the soil. The plant shown with dessicated leaves IS NOT getting enough water; unfortunately, the reason is more than likely due to the decomposition of your plant's root system (root rot). It is very difficult to reverse the root rot process. And, it is especially difficult with plants that are not already very robust established specimens. The major system switch is from aerobic to anareboic and that is why hydrogen peroxide works so well. It kills anareobic bacteria, brings fresh oxygen to the roots that are still alive and aerates compacted areas in the soil. H2O2 is not a toxin that will accumulate in the living soil or plant. The most aggressive treatment of a plant with root rot (in my own experience) is to un-pot the plant and run water slowly over the roots to remove all of the soil. At this point, you will take the bare roots and have an initial soak in H2O2 at 3% for about 5 minutes. When you examine the roots you will see some will "slime off" and you want to remove as much of this without disturbing the other "potentially" still alive roots. You then dip it again in a fresh solution. Re-pot the plant in soil that you have microwaved or baked in tin foil in the oven. You want to kill ALL bacteria. The, find the most established healthy pepper plant in your garden and take a plug of soil out from below its roots. You will use this soil to infect your virgin potting substrate. Re-pot and hope it rebounds. It's a lot of work and you may want to just cut your losses. It would be easier to re-seed; however, I've found that troubleshooting is a big part of the hobby and it's good to try different techniques. I also like the suggestion of rooting a cutting very much - it's possible to "regenerate" the plant. This is very easy to attempt; however, I've found that success rates vary depending on the person. In my experience, using plain distilled water in some attempts and every root hormone in other attempts... I'd rate myself a generous 50% rate of success. Now, there are guys that just have a special knack for this stuff. They don't do anything special at all and they get 80-90% regeneration. I call these growers "Rooters", it's like being a "Green Thumb" on steroids. I really hope you get the plants turned around.. while I'm on a roll here I may as well put it out there that if you need seeds from anything in particular shoot me a PM. If I have anything you'd like to grow I'd be happy to send you some in the mail. Nice to meet all crazy chili heads.

Thank you all for making me feel normal! I'm going to water the plants now and hopefully get some sleep...