Jalapeños wilting/drooping for no reason

C

ConMan1717

For the past few days my jalapeños have begun to set fruit and with that came extreme drooping of the leaves. For the past few days I have been watering normally and have added a small amount of 10-10-10 fertilizer. It receives about 6-8 hours of sun a day and is not bothered by insects or other pests. Help?
 
Most of the time every other day in the morning but lately I've been doing it everyday in just the morning because of the recent blooms. I don't water too much but a moderate amount
 
I vote for overwatering...
 
if you can....get your finger down to where the roots of the plant are and check the "wetness" down deep....that's where the problem with overwatering occurs...if you continue to overwater, you surely will get root rot...
 
If ever unsure, what does one more watering hurt? Just water the heck out of them, ( not a short one) and if they were under watered they should start picking up a tidge in minutes. And should continue to improve throughout the day.

If they don't pick up, then whoopsie.... Yeah I would hold off after that.

You can water plants every day and still under water them. Yeah if you just wet the ground really fast. Are you standing there for a really long time and assuring about 1/2 inch of water? Then you shouldn't have to water as often. Small bits of water often will just just hurt the plant.
 
let me add one little thing...if you want to kill a pepper plant.....overwater it....
 
Yeah twice a week is good for in ground plants in the summer. The spring fall once a week.. And if it rains, none.

Container plants usually need a little more attention.
 
juanitos said:
Yeah twice a week is good for in ground plants in the summer. The spring fall once a week.. And if it rains, none.

Container plants usually need a little more attention.
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That is likely how often I water.  Don't really pay much attention to a schedule, and mine are healthier than I am.  I am though, very much in tune with my plants.  If I notice not as much growth/changes one day, then I water. 
 
This year, my pots have been drenched by the rain.  Nearly every day in the month of June.  And even right now they are getting too much rain.  But my goodness are those plants lovely!  Wowza!  My habaneros look like they have about 100 or so flowers/pods in the works.  And I am using only 1 gallon or so pots.  I know I know....  But I would rather have more plants to take inside vs. larger ones.
 
Oh and guess what a baby bunny chewed on today?  One of my larger jalapinos in my garden.  I was leaving them on the vine until I was ready to eat them.  Grrr....   It tasted a Hungarian hot wax the other day.  I would like to see it sample a lemon drop and habanero..  Tee heee.  You would think being chased by a 4 foot cat would make them stay clear of my garden  Sigh....
 
What is the soil like?  It's hard to overwater (manually opposed to rain) in a raised bed unless you have poor soil that compacted too much.  However if you do, then yeah they shouldn't be watered for a while so the soil can dry out, then watered less often.
 
If ever unsure, what does one more watering hurt? Just water the heck out of them, ( not a short one) and if they were under watered they should start picking up a tidge in minutes. And should continue to improve throughout the day.

If they don't pick up, then whoopsie.... Yeah I would hold off after that.

You can water plants every day and still under water them. Yeah if you just wet the ground really fast. Are you standing there for a really long time and assuring about 1/2 inch of water? Then you shouldn't have to water as often. Small bits of water often will just just hurt the plant.

1/2 inch, is that for pots to, calculated on top or bottom dia. of the pot?
 
pwb said:
1/2 inch, is that for pots to, calculated on top or bottom dia. of the pot?
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Place a small disposable cup in your garden soil in a few spots depending on garden size, and mark the 1/2 inch point inside the cup. Once you hit that you have watered a half an inch.

For pots wait until dry and water until it comes out the bottom.
 
ConMan1717 said:
I'm near St. Louis just to the east. Great weather right now which is very rare
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Very cold at night here in PA right now.  Have to wear a sweater to go outside. Many years we hit the upper 90's at this time.  We are about 20 degress under that during the day.  Plus the rain just won't go away.
 
Have more gardening to do and it's just too cold.  I always work in the evening and night to avoid the sun.  Not right now....  Brrr....  Have lottsa landscaping work to do with rocks.  Before the cold spell came in, I fixed my cat garden up.  Just a small shaded corner hidden from view.  Threw in what I call ugly plants for my cats enjoyment.such as  catnip, spearmint and peppermint.  Grew those for 4 months so they would survive being laid on and rolled on.  When done, I sprinkled some extra seeds around. Figured it they survived, then great,  But cats can destroy baby nippy.   And actually, that small corner looks quite nice, since I threw a small hosta there also.
 
PS. Have you ever lifted plants out temporarily, moved them, or repotted, to fix the soil or sunlight conditions?   Some deep rocks and 50% moisture control soil would help you with your watering difficulties.  It has never failed for me (plants improve every time)  but can you trust yourself not to kill it?  I move plants all the time.  Even long established plants.  That hosta in the cat garden was moved also,  I jammed  that thing with a shovel and pried its roots from under a rock.  Actually I hacked at the roots and finally butchered them good.  Heck it was even in bloom when I did this.  Still fine...
 
Another thing a more nervous person can do is fix the soil around the plant, but not too close.  Dig a large moat around the plant and roots and relace the soil with 50% moisture control soil and 50% fresh cheap potting soil. The improvement won't be as sudden, but it will help. 
 
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