watering i think i under watered my scorpions, leaves are yellow.

[gangaskan]

recently my scorpions turned yellow, i'm suspecting that it was due to under watering 
 
sadly, i had some family issues during the past week or so  and it poured last Saturday, Sunday, and maybe Tuesday if i recall.  i have been unable to water them since then, and yesterday i saw that alot of my plants that were in pots had super dry soil (to the point that it was shrinking in the pot or container and hard as a rock)  
 
 
at any rate, i think they're under watered and was wondering if there were any tips i dont shock or kill my plants?  thanks in advance  

 

[juanitos]

just water them every couple days, give them some fertilizer, yellow isn't usually from underwatering (they just wilt and die).

 

[gangaskan]

will do!   i'll keep you updated 

 

[juanitos]

post a picture of them =]

 

[AJ Drew]

First some assurance: Pepper plants are very resilient.  Also, letting them dry out a bit now and then is often a very good thing.

Juanitos is dead on accurate when he said underwatering usually results in wilt and death.  That is almost always the case in a potted plant.  Organic plants grown in the field can show yellow due to lack of moisture over an extended period of time.  I suspect it is because there is enough moisture to sustain the plant but not the bacteria in the soil which helps to feed the plant.

 

[Lovepeppers]

Pics will help you get a better answer.

 

[geeme]

To clarify a bit more - yellowing is most often caused by overwatering, especially for new growers. Chile plants like things to be a bit on the dry side (but not bone dry.) It doesn't matter if the water is coming from you watering or rainwater, they only like moist, not soaking wet.

 

[Dave2000]

Are you using undersized pots or poor soil? Seems like a nutrient deficiency to me, but as others mentioned pics would help.

 

[gangaskan]

 
 
i think i'm using a big enough container, i want to say its a 10 gallon

 

[Lovepeppers]

There starving for ntrogen! Feed them.

 

[gangaskan]

There starving for ntrogen! Feed them.

 
 
i did yesterday  hopefully they will bounce back 
 
 
and the girlfriend is snagging me a bag of Starbucks today! 

 

[Lovepeppers]

Lol
, yeah they will bounce back for sure!
, yeah they will bounce back for sure!

 

[AJ Drew]

Ganastan, oh damn.. when you said they were turning yellow I never thought glow in the dark yellow.  What LovePeppers said but also, put them poor things in the ground where they can be free.  OK, I am slanted away from containers.

 

[gangaskan]

Ganastan, oh damn.. when you said they were turning yellow I never thought glow in the dark yellow.  What LovePeppers said but also, put them poor things in the ground where they can be free.  OK, I am slanted away from containers.

 
 
i only threw them there because i didn't want them to cross pollinate with my others that aren't as hot     those are up in the front as well 

 

[hottoddy]

Yikes! Maybe it's the photo, but I've never seen leaves that yellow still attached to the plant. Are there lots of holes on the bottom of the lug? Definitely looks like overwatering is at least part of the problem. They are also set very deep inside, which blocks sun and air flow.
 
Be careful with spent coffee grounds. They can provide some nitrogen, but are also acidic. I would only use them in moderation with peppers, and ideally you want them to compost down a bit. You may be better off with a gentle dosing of liquid nitrogen fert. Best of luck!