water Is this overwatering? New guy on deck

[Papyrus]

Hello Everyone,
 
Glad to have stumbled across this forum as my success with growing hot peppers without a community to reference has met mediocre results.  Growing peppers because I love the taste of them and not necessarily the heat (although heat is good too).  I've got a few different varieties of Habaneros growing on my deck and they seem to be doing poorly.  I live in a stacked town home so they are in pots on a deck that gets a ton of sun but not very much water.  I water the cr@p out of these little guys trying to keep them from drying out and am afraid I've over watered them.  Looking for a few opinions to confirm as it's going to be a long winter up here in Canada without any self made hot sauce. 
 
Also, if you guys would mind confirming what type of pepper the third picture is I'd greatly appreciate it.  A lady I work with said it's a Carolina Reaper but I'm guessing it's a Trinidad Moruga Scorpion pepper as none of them seem to have a tail.
 
Thanks in advance for forming the community, looking forward to digging into your brains for more pepper knowledge.
 
 
 
 

 

[dragonsfire]

What kind of soil you using? Well drained is required so they dont drown, causing yellowing in my experience. I like to use coco coir and vermiculite/perlite to loosen up the soil and help keep moisture as well as good draining.
Welcome to the Forum !!

 

[The Hot Pepper]

to THP!
 
A more qualified person will be with you shorty.

 

[Edmick]

Whens the last time you fertilized them? In my opinion, If you have to ask if you're overwatering, then you are. But they look hungry to me too.

 

[cruzzfish]

Whens the last time you fertilized them? In my opinion, If you have to ask if you're overwatering, then you are. But they look hungry to me too.

Overwatering often presents itself as looking very similar to needing food. I made that mistake a lot and wondered why they weren't greening up until I cut back on the water.

 

[Papyrus]

I was making sure they were moist enough to keep the soil damp but not enough that they dried out.  It's definitely not a lack of food as I've been using bone meal and epson salt in the soil once a month.  The plants aren't that large either (probably from being stuck in pots).  I used promix (potting soil) for them.  All of these peppers are first year plants except for the scorpion moruga which is a forth year.
 
I realize this question is hard to answer but should the soil be completely dry between watering?  I also noticed some types of hot peppers tolerate more water than others.  How familiar are you folks with the variance between them in terms of water and light?  Just trying to gauge how deep the rabbit hole goes.  I'm probably over thinking this...either way thanks everyone for the fast response! 

 

[Papyrus]

Cruzzfish, how often are you watering them in the summer months?

 

[Edmick]

Overwatering often presents itself as looking very similar to needing food. I made that mistake a lot and wondered why they weren't greening up until I cut back on the water.

I totally agree. Been there, done that and not going back. But like I said, If you have to ask if you're overwatering, then you probably are. I let my plants go almost completely dry in between waterings.

 

[MNXR250R]

Looks like too much water in the top pic. Can't tell what kind of pepper those are... bet they are spicy !!!
 
Pots are tough to work with. In the heat of the summer those things will dry out super fast !  Then when the temps are lower, they don't need water but every couple three days !!  
 
Look at the plant. If the leaves look normal, then don't give them any water... Let those roots grow and dig deep !
 
For me, the only time that I water my 7gal (I use fiber ) pots is when the leaves start to wilt... just a little bit. After a while you will definitely be able to tell when the right time to water is. I give them a 2-3 cups of water when needed, and then every once in a while I will wet the entire pot. Never enough water so that it "drains" out of bottom the pot.... just enough to get all of the soil moist (helps those bugs to break down the soil and give me nutes !)
 
One more note. If you have a lot of sun like you said, black pots can get very hot which makes your roots very hot. High temps cause the oxygen levels to decrease, which decreases the health of the roots themselves. Wrap those pots with something like burlap or whatever to keep the direct sunlight off of them.
 
Good luck and Happy Growing !
 
Jeff