Help me save my pepper plants

M

mitchNC

I typed this whole thing up and it didn't post.
 
My peppers are not looking good.  They have been growing on my deck but I just realized that the sun is now going behind the trees at around 2pm.
 
I just relocated the plants to my garden area that still gets sun until about 5-6pm.
 
I side-dressed with organic 5-5-5 about 2 weeks ago, and last week I gave them some diluted fish emulsion.
 
I hand-water so water isn't an issue.
Soil is organic compost with good drainage.
 
Any ideas?  My pepper plants in the raised beds are still a deep green and flourishing.
 

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They look overwatered. Did you put holes in the bottom y of those buckets? What's the soil or media like in the buckets? It looks to me like the roots are having trouble getting o2 and/or other essentials.
 
Yes there are holes and water drains out after about 10 seconds of watering.

We did have about 2 weeks where it rained every day. But it didn't affect my raised beds.
 
Does look like too much water to me and that's a bigger issue with containers than raised beds. If it's still raining a lot I'd lean toward solid fertilizer vs. liquid.  Also sometimes when it rains a lot I'll move my containers under cover like on the south side of the house under the eaves.
 
I see some great looking dark green back there in the raised beds though.
 
CaneDog said:
 
I see some great looking dark green back there in the raised beds though.
Click to expand...
 
Yeah, those are my bell and banana peppers.
 
We're not supposed to get any rain this week. 
 
Pick up the pots. After picking them up a few times youll be able to tell how wet or dry they are based on how heavy they are.

The top layer of soil can be dry with heavy mud in the bottom of the pot. I learned this the hard way several years ago.
 
It sounds like you're doing the right things. Solid fertilizer back when it was raining a lot. Liquid now that it's drier. It's probably just a matter of time to recover from the recent rains.  I'd probably keep letting the pots dry out more, then once they're ready for water again, water shallow with a diluted fish solution and watch for the new growth coming in darker green.  Sometimes the hardest part is just patiently waiting for the results after you've taken the right corrective measures.
 
CaneDog said:
It sounds like you're doing the right things. Solid fertilizer back when it was raining a lot. Liquid now that it's drier. It's probably just a matter of time to recover from the recent rains.  I'd probably keep letting the pots dry out more, then once they're ready for water again, water shallow with a diluted fish solution and watch for the new growth coming in darker green.  Sometimes the hardest part is just patiently waiting for the results after you've taken the right corrective measures.
Click to expand...
This is really good advice. We want instant fixes and sometimes things take time.
 
A raised bed is  not a container.  They have very different properties.
 
Is your raised bed in contact with the ground? (does the compost touch actual earth, or is separated by cloth?)
 
That's the difference between your raised beds, and your containers.
 
Your raised beds are draining right into the ground. (since the compost is touching the earth)  Your containers have a massive perched water table in them.  You will absolutely suffocate  (drown) plants in a container by using a heavy media like compost.
 
 Compost is added to a properly built container media, for the purpose of retaining both moisture and nutrients.  But used alone, it's just a huge sponge, and is a recipe for disaster.  Some people can get away with it in certain climates, but not many.
 
I see this very issue come up with a bit. I really should do a remedial potting mix post.

It's really late in the season now. Not sure if it's worth it for you, or not. My recommendation for fixing it, is 70/20/5 peat/perlite/worm casting.

Or, build another raised bed, and just plop the plants in, and backfill. Even planting them in ground will be better.
 
No sir. Every media has a unique perched table. And it's not based on size or shape of container. It's absolute.
 
Solid, you think I can transplant them at this stage? My cuke bed is finished and free.

It would the stress drop the fruit and blossoms?
 
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