annuum Questions regarding Jalapenos - Beginner

[Bhunivelze]

Hello everyone. I have a few questions regarding Jalapenos. This is as far as I have ever gotten with peppers.
 
 

 
I have 3 small Jalapeno plants in the same pot (I know). They are fertilized with Miracle Gro with one every 2 weeks. Here's some general information. The weather for the past few weeks has been 90-95 degrees during the day and drops to 70-75 during the night. Only my new buds are falling off while jalapenos that are still maturing remain on, not a single one has fallen off. Before the buds fall off, they turn a lime green color from the darker green they used to be. It has been so hot, when I come home from school, the leaves are beginning to droop because of how hot it has been, forcing me to water once a day.I am assuming this is the weather and not because of my watering. I am I correct on this assumption?

 
 
 
 
 
 
Next, my jalapenos are beginning to have spot with black streaks. I thought this was a bit early for Jalapenos if it were color change, especially since they don't look as big as they should be. The packet says 5" (Jalapeno Gigantia). I've looked into it and seen posts saying it might be normal (leaves seem unaffected). If it was color change and not parasites such as fungus or bacteria, why is it changing color before it has reached expected size? (Images below)

 

 

 
Thank you for taking the time to read my post. Any comments are appreciated.

 

[Grass Snake]

Move them off the hot concrete if possible and to a place with more shade. My jalapenos get only 4 hours of direct sun and they are super happy. Just some suggestions, I'm no expert.

 

[seasmoke]

Nice looking peppers. It looks like your plant has decided that this is enough production for this year and is aborting further new pod development, normal behavior in a high heat (stress) situation. They look fantastic!

 

[Bhunivelze]

Move them off the hot concrete if possible and to a place with more shade. My jalapenos get only 4 hours of direct sun and they are super happy. Just some suggestions, I'm no expert.

Thanks very much for the tip. I will have observe sun patterns in the area on the weekend and see if they do well in them. Maybe this can stop buds from falling off and water drying out so quickly.
 

Nice looking peppers. It looks like your plant has decided that this is enough production for this year and is aborting further new pod development, normal behavior in a high heat (stress) situation. They look fantastic!

Thank you very much. They look really nice and I just want to eat them off the plants but I restrain myself from doing so. I cut off the first few buds for a few weeks to allow the plants to branch out more (one of them is still really small) Hopefully when things start cooling down I can get more fruits. Last time I counted, I think there are about 10-13 Jalapenos altogether, if it turns out like it should on the packet, everything should be fine. 

 

[JoynersHotPeppers]

Lot's of good advice, they can take plenty of full sun but having 3 in the pot will use a ton of water and being on concrete compounds that...
 
Wait a few weeks and they will look like these I picked last night.
 

 

[RaelThomas]

Yes, 3 plants in a smallish pot on a hot surface is going to dry out pretty quick. But that's ok for now if you're watering when needed, I suppose.

As everyone else said, they look great!

 

[kentishman]

The very hot weather is causing the flowers to drop. With the cooler weather you will have soon, I expect you will see more flowers forming, and they should set pods.

Since your plants are relatively small, consider overwintering the plants to get a quick start on next year's production. There are plenty of posts here that tell you how to do it. I'm in SC with similar growing conditions. I would cut them back and leave them all in the one pot over winter, then, in spring, pot them separately. I overwintered three Big Jim Hatch chiles last year. I cut them back to about 8 inches, which took off about all the leaves. Before it got cold the plants were putting out new leaves, then they sat like that through the winter. In mid-April, after last frost, they went in the garden. I've got a lot of pods from them this year, and I might overwinter them a second time.

As far as the black spots you mention, what I see in your picture is the initial stages of ripening from green to red.

I can't explain why the pods are not getting as large as they are meant to.

Good luck with it and have fun!

Tom

 

[willard3]

Flower drop probable causes:
 
1. Day temp too high >95F
2. Night temp too low <65F or too high >85F
3. Too much nitrogen fertilizer
4. Too much water
5. Low light levels (reduces fertility).
6. Very low humidity (reduces fertility)
7. Poor air circulation (air circulation contributes to pollination).
8. Lack of pollinating insects.
9. Size of pot
10. Too much mineral in feedwater.
11. Too much grower attention/anxiety.

 

[CMJ]

Beautiful plants! I agree that three plants in one pot may cause you some problems, but they look fine to me. The dark coloration is just something that happens to Jalapneños sometimes and it is completely normal. Has nothing to do with ripening.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

 

[Bhunivelze]

Lot's of good advice, they can take plenty of full sun but having 3 in the pot will use a ton of water and being on concrete compounds that...
 
Wait a few weeks and they will look like these I picked last night.
 

 
Just moved the pot off the concrete into the grass today. Your Jalapenos looks amazing  I hope mine can turn out half as good.

Yes, 3 plants in a smallish pot on a hot surface is going to dry out pretty quick. But that's ok for now if you're watering when needed, I suppose.

As everyone else said, they look great!

Thank you very much!
 

The very hot weather is causing the flowers to drop. With the cooler weather you will have soon, I expect you will see more flowers forming, and they should set pods.

Since your plants are relatively small, consider overwintering the plants to get a quick start on next year's production. There are plenty of posts here that tell you how to do it. I'm in SC with similar growing conditions. I would cut them back and leave them all in the one pot over winter, then, in spring, pot them separately. I overwintered three Big Jim Hatch chiles last year. I cut them back to about 8 inches, which took off about all the leaves. Before it got cold the plants were putting out new leaves, then they sat like that through the winter. In mid-April, after last frost, they went in the garden. I've got a lot of pods from them this year, and I might overwinter them a second time.

As far as the black spots you mention, what I see in your picture is the initial stages of ripening from green to red.

I can't explain why the pods are not getting as large as they are meant to.

Good luck with it and have fun!

Tom

Thank you Tom. I was planning to overwinter them to get a good start in production for the next year. Weather should start to cool down throughout the next two weeks and maybe I can get some pods going again
 

Flower drop probable causes:
 
1. Day temp too high >95F
2. Night temp too low <65F or too high >85F
3. Too much nitrogen fertilizer
4. Too much water
5. Low light levels (reduces fertility).
6. Very low humidity (reduces fertility)
7. Poor air circulation (air circulation contributes to pollination).
8. Lack of pollinating insects.
9. Size of pot
10. Too much mineral in feedwater.
11. Too much grower attention/anxiety.

Thanks for the list, I now know what to look out for during the flowering stage.
 

Beautiful plants! I agree that three plants in one pot may cause you some problems, but they look fine to me. The dark coloration is just something that happens to Jalapneños sometimes and it is completely normal. Has nothing to do with ripening.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

Thanks CMJ. I'm just glad it wasn't something fearful for the plant.