Very Dark Green, Almost Purple Shriveling Leaves

davisdd

davisdd

Hello all!
 
This is my first post after lurking around and learning from all you experts.
I recently discovered my love for hot peppers from a good friend who introduced me to his crop of super hots and gave me some of his extra plants, what a good friend!
 
I am trying to keep the plants (small container plants compared to the ones i see from you guys here) producing during the winter, just for fun.
 
I have an issue which i can't seem to find an explanation for. I recently built a small (8x10) grow room to move my container plants in, furnished it with a combo of CFL and T8 fixtures, small heater etc. within a few weeks the leaves closest to the lights and the new growth that was coming out was turning a VERY DARK green, almost purple and wrinkling. they eventually dried up and fell off. the older leaves which are lower on the plant seem to be ok, but of course the bottom leaves are showing signs of yellowing.
 
Has anyone else experienced this? could it be too much light at the top of the plants?

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You can see the older, lighter green and the darker ones along with the shriveled new leaves and flowers in these pics
 
Heater, close to lights, ambient heat etc... do you have ventilation? You could be cooking your plants. Maybe introduce a fan and maybe some phosphorus or what ever nutrient it is used by the plant ti convert light to energy
Heater, close to lights, ambient heat etc... do you have ventilation? You could be cooking your plants. Maybe introduce a fan and maybe some phosphorus or what ever nutrient it is used by the plant ti convert light to energy
 
Thanks for the advice on pics, i uploaded a few.

some more info for you guys...the heater in the room is a small ceramic oscillating fan model with thermostat set at 82 degrees which keeps the room at 80 according to the thermometer. I have a small fan in the room circulating the air. I read somewhere a long time ago about phosphate? is that the nutrient that converts light?

thanks again for the advice.
 
Thanks for the info. Great link.

I do have some browning on the tips of leaves. I use diluted Alaska fish fertilizer sparingly. I also just noticed that the plants my friend gave me to overwinter which I just put in the room last week are starting the exhibit the same symptoms, very dark leaves at the point of new growth at the top of the plants. These plants I have never fertilized and they had no issues in the garden. Is 80-85 too hot? Maybe P deficient.

Thanks again for the advice, just started this and having a lot of fun growing. Starting my first set of seeds also this winter.
 
80-85 is not too hot unless they're that temp 24/7. If they are I'd begin to be concerned. They need a break at night tbh. Keep in mind that these are tropical plants, they're supposed to be growing in South America, harvested by Incas. ;)
 
Fish ferts are high in N and low in P and K iirc. Use bonemeal for P, potash for K. Both are rich in one element and poor in others making them good for targeting specific ailments. Keep in mind that potash is inorganic and will release lots of K at once so it's easy to add too much if you're not careful. Bonemeal on the other hand is organic and will therefore release P very slowly. That said, it takes a very long time for P to leave soil, so be careful with that as well.
 
Good luck!
 
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