Please Help: Why Did My Peppers Die?

[I_love_peppers]

Hello,

My latest batch of peppers have all died and I cannot understand why. I filled small terracotta pots 3/4 full with MiracleGro Organic Choice potting mix and planted habanero, poblano, cayenne, early jalapeno, pimient de espellete and serrano seeds in moist soil. These pots were kept indoors and the temperature was consistently 60F to 70F. I was using a moisture meter to make sure I never overwatered and kept the pots under a plastic cover with holes above and a heating mat below. Once the peppers all germinated, I removed the plastic cover and heating mat and placed a gro light about two inches above the tallest seedling. I didn't use fertilizer and I continuously monitored the water level with my meter. Twice a day, I would lightly mist the plants and the soil direct below the seedling. The water I was using was filtered tap water.

My peppers all grew well and were working on their third set of leaves, the trunks of the plants were getting thicker and turning a darker color. Last week, one of the plants (serrano) started to wilt slightly. Within the next couple of days, the others followed and now they are all gone. I didn't move the serrano away when it started wilting because I thought that problems could only be passed between plants if they shared the same soil in the same planting container. At the bottom are pictures of my dead serrano and early jalapeno plants.

I'm at a loss as to what went wrong. I did find some little black flies on my plants one day, but I killed them and always watched for their return.

I really want to try again, but don't want to until I have some ideas about how to prevent this from happening.

Any advice or suggestions is much appreciated.

Jenny

 

[millworkman]

Did you water them when they started to wilt?

 

[MrArboc]

Are you sure your meter works? That soil looks bone dry.

 

[jolokia_jas]

Are you sure your meter works? That soil looks bone dry.

I agree I would check that it actually works. Maybe you could check the soil now get that reading then really give the soil a good soaking and check again. If it reads as it should then the problem may lie else where. But looking at that soil I'd say it's the meter. What sort of meter is it? Do you check far enough below the surface or are you checking just below the surface?

 

[Silver_Surfer]

Twice a day, I would lightly mist the plants and the soil direct below the seedling. The water I was using was filtered tap water.

You're plants died from thirst. The light misting was only watering the shallow top layer and not reaching the roots. Bottom water next time and avoid wetting the top layer and dodge the chance of a fungus forming that could cause damping off.

Your soil is too chunky for a plant of that size; sift out the larger particles until the plant gets larger and start of with a smaller container (easier to maintain the proper moisture level).

 

[Urdoneby]

In all honesty i dont like the potting mix you used. I have noticed by its self it does not retain water well. I bought 3 bags of this mix, i mix 1 part soil (from my garden)1 part MiracleGro moisture control and 1 part organic MiracleGro. I only still use it because i bought so many bags but they will be composted for next year now that my pots are filled.

 

[FadeToBlack]

That Miracle Gro Organic potting mix looks terrible, with alot of big chunks in it.
Like others have said it looks like your plants needed water.

BTW i used the non organic version of the potting mix and its consistancy is 100% better judging by your pics.

 

[I_love_peppers]

Did you water them when they started to wilt?

Yes.

 

[I_love_peppers]

I agree I would check that it actually works. Maybe you could check the soil now get that reading then really give the soil a good soaking and check again. If it reads as it should then the problem may lie else where. But looking at that soil I'd say it's the meter. What sort of meter is it? Do you check far enough below the surface or are you checking just below the surface?

I'm using a rapidtest moisture meter and I stuck it about halfway down the soil. Do you think I should have gone all the way to the bottom? I'll test the meter out like you suggest. Thanks.

 

[I_love_peppers]

You're plants died from thirst. The light misting was only watering the shallow top layer and not reaching the roots. Bottom water next time and avoid wetting the top layer and dodge the chance of a fungus forming that could cause damping off.

Your soil is too chunky for a plant of that size; sift out the larger particles until the plant gets larger and start of with a smaller container (easier to maintain the proper moisture level).

Thanks for your advice and I didn't realize the soil needed to be filtered. So with bottom watering, I add water to the tray underneath my planting container and then refill it whenever the water is all gone? Is there still a chance of dampening off doing it this way?

 

[I_love_peppers]

Thank you all for your replies. The first time I tried to grow peppers, I ended up watering them too much and found out that this caused the dampening off. Now it looks like I did the opposite. Ugh! It's just so strange to me that the seedlings were looking really healthy and then started dying so quickly.

I'll test my moisture meter and see about getting a different soil before trying again.

 

[Silver_Surfer]

Thanks for your advice and I didn't realize the soil needed to be filtered. So with bottom watering, I add water to the tray underneath my planting container and then refill it whenever the water is all gone? Is there still a chance of dampening off doing it this way?

With better soil the filtering won't be needed; the mix you have as it is now just isn't ideal for seedlings.

When bottom watering, place the pot in a shallow container filled with water, let it sit for several minutes until water has wicked up about two thirds of the pot's height, remove the pot from the water and don't water again until the soil feels dry when probed with your index finger up to the second knuckle or the pot feels light. With practice you can determine when the pot needs water just by lifting it. Damping off shouldn't be a problem as long as the soil's surface remains dry and a periodic breeze from a fan will help with this as well as strengthening the plant.

 

[FadeToBlack]

I dont think a meter is really necessary for detecting when a plant needs to be watered.
When a pepper plant gets really dry you can feel how light the pot it compared to when the soil is damp or wet.
Also the leaves will start to droop during the early stages and as it gets worse they will start to curl and the leaves will look pale.
If you have a plant that looks like its wilting in the shade, its almost a certain sign it needs water.

Get a better potting mix for starting seeds and keep the soil moist and you should be good.
Just remember peppers dont really like a ton of water.

 

[madhatter]

I dont think a meter is really necessary for detecting when a plant needs to be watered.
When a pepper plant gets really dry you can feel how light the pot it compared to when the soil is damp or wet.
Also the leaves will start to droop during the early stages and as it gets worse they will start to curl and the leaves will look pale.
If you have a plant that looks like its wilting in the shade, its almost a certain sign it needs water.


Get a better potting mix for starting seeds and keep the soil moist and you should be good.
Just remember peppers dont really like a ton of water.

+1
I agree a moister meter is not necessary. Like Fade said. You can get a good idea of how much water is in the soil by just lifting the pot. The amount of wood chips in that mix is crazy.

 

[HawaiiAl]

+1
I agree, the moister meter is made for mature plants then its iffy. place one pot in water let is soak up as much as can, pick it up than pick up a dry one.
get your self some SEED STARTING mix.use up the junk some place else.

 

[U)<now]

^ +1 again.... agreed

 

[Matt Berry]

To me your plants look a little leggy also, try increasing the amount of light you use, and if it is CFL make sure they are hanging really close to the plants. When plants get too leggy they have a tendency to flop over a bit and usually shrivel up and die shortly after. A finger is a good gauge of how moist the soil is, when they are young like that you don't want them to dry out too much, but you also have to make sure they are not sopping wet.

 

[I_love_peppers]

With better soil the filtering won't be needed; the mix you have as it is now just isn't ideal for seedlings.

When bottom watering, place the pot in a shallow container filled with water, let it sit for several minutes until water has wicked up about two thirds of the pot's height, remove the pot from the water and don't water again until the soil feels dry when probed with your index finger up to the second knuckle or the pot feels light. With practice you can determine when the pot needs water just by lifting it. Damping off shouldn't be a problem as long as the soil's surface remains dry and a periodic breeze from a fan will help with this as well as strengthening the plant.

Thank you so much for this description! This really gives me a good idea of what I need to do. Very much appreciated.

 

[I_love_peppers]

I dont think a meter is really necessary for detecting when a plant needs to be watered.
When a pepper plant gets really dry you can feel how light the pot it compared to when the soil is damp or wet.
Also the leaves will start to droop during the early stages and as it gets worse they will start to curl and the leaves will look pale.
If you have a plant that looks like its wilting in the shade, its almost a certain sign it needs water.

Get a better potting mix for starting seeds and keep the soil moist and you should be good.
Just remember peppers dont really like a ton of water.

Thank you for your reply. When I first tried to grow peppers, I believe they died from dampening off so when the leaves started to wilt this time, I thought I had overwatered again. What you described, definitely happened to my seedlings.

I'll do some research to find a better mix and try again. I refuse to give up! :-)

 

[I_love_peppers]

To me your plants look a little leggy also, try increasing the amount of light you use, and if it is CFL make sure they are hanging really close to the plants. When plants get too leggy they have a tendency to flop over a bit and usually shrivel up and die shortly after. A finger is a good gauge of how moist the soil is, when they are young like that you don't want them to dry out too much, but you also have to make sure they are not sopping wet.

Thanks for your observation. When the plants are older, such as actually producing peppers, are they as sensitive to overwater/underwatering? I definitely plan to give them the right amount (once I get the hang of it), but it's good to know for future reference.