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Weak stalks
- Thread starter MoWhiskey
- Start date
I would recommend posting pics, ensuring you get a good shot at the soil line. When you say they keep falling over, is it that they nodded over, or fall down flat? If they have simply nodded over, they should perk back up after the rain stops, unless the problem is that you did not pack the soil down enough around them. In this case, just push the soil down more, and add more if necessary. If they fell down flat - bent at the soil line - there's a good possibility they have the damping off fungus. Pics will help.
Once my plants get 8''-12'' tall I put a tomato cage around them. Great for branch support when they get larger but also limits the amount of "sway" during a good wind / thunderstorm.
At that size I've pushed a chopstick into the ground next to the plant and used a cable-tie or string around the plant/stick to limit the sway.MoWhiskey said:
Doesn't the sway of wind promote more sturdy stalks? Isn't that part of the reason people use fans indoors? So wouldn't anchoring them to stakes be counterintuitive to the issue?
Just curious as I have never used stakes or cages with my peppers.
Just curious as I have never used stakes or cages with my peppers.
Spicy Mushroom said:
Not if it's strong enough to knock them down and out. I have had to use skewers on some leggy seedlings from the nursery this season. Before I did the wind blew one pretty much right out of the dirt. The skewers and a loose twist-tie work great -- loose so there's some give to alow the plant to get stronger and grow yet tight enough to prevent it being knocked over/killed. If one twist-tie isnt helping try one lower down and one higher up.
Pic will be worth a 1,000 words but they could be too small for the big outdoors.
While this does seem like a valid point (I had thought so myself before), it doesn't appear to happen this way. I have had all my plants staked w bamboo since they have been exposed to the harsh outdoors. I'll just share from my experience here: the ones that were staked first grew taller much faster - presumably from less stress to the plant. The ones staked shortly after caught up quickly though. Now that my plants are in the 5 month range I can say that the stakes did not hinder the stalk growth at all. Most (if not all) of my plants now have stalks that are in the 1in thick range. My thought is that while the stakes add support, they as well sway in the wind - as the natural stem would do. This slight swaying motion is all that is needed to beef up the stalk from my experience. Extremes would likely just stress the plant unnecessarily.Spicy Mushroom said:
Personally, I will always stake my plants from this grow on out based on my experience. Plus the little bamboo stakes were only a dollar or two from Wally World (8pack I believe )
mine have a fan indoors and a decent root system but also seem to be falling over for whatever reason, the stalks aren't as big as a pencil, smaller like the size of a small crotchet needle.
My fix was to take the plant out, brush bottom half of soil off and repot with more soil on top. seems like these 3 inch pots aren't as tall as solo cups so they are more susceptible to this...
if i had space i would just pot up to a 1 gal and i'm sure they'd be just fine.
My fix was to take the plant out, brush bottom half of soil off and repot with more soil on top. seems like these 3 inch pots aren't as tall as solo cups so they are more susceptible to this...
if i had space i would just pot up to a 1 gal and i'm sure they'd be just fine.
In my experience, pepper plants seem to be very weak in the early months. Mine never "toughened up" until they got at least a foot tall. Even with a decent sized root ball the main stem would still be too flexible for comfort until it thickened a little bit. Not so bad when they're in the little pots, you can always add more soil or replant them deeper. Once I move them up to 1 gallon pots I start staking. When/if I move to larger pots (3 gallon or more) I use a tomato cage. It really sucks to come home from a days work only to find all your plants got tore up from a freak wind storm. The extra couple bucks per plant pay off in the long run. Even if the wind beats them up while in a cage, you can always tell yourself it could've been worse.
I would keep a eye out for damp off,that soil looks wet enough for it to start.My first time starting super hots learn me a lot.I just learn some more here to deal with other issues.That's why, I love this place.
First off, that pot is way too small for the plant. Get a larger pot and bury it deeper in the soil - that may be all that is necessary. That said, can you get a close-up of the plant near the base before you repot it? We may be able to see if it's just pot size or a possible soil fungus going on.juanitos said:mine have a fan indoors and a decent root system but also seem to be falling over for whatever reason, the stalks aren't as big as a pencil, smaller like the size of a small crotchet needle.
My fix was to take the plant out, brush bottom half of soil off and repot with more soil on top. seems like these 3 inch pots aren't as tall as solo cups so they are more susceptible to this...
if i had space i would just pot up to a 1 gal and i'm sure they'd be just fine.