Peppers will not grow

[Jeanus]

I am most perplexed, I am using sub irrigation system. I am using the same mix for my tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, and peppers. Everything else is growing well except the peppers they started got two leaves and stopped growing. I have several types so it is not just one kind of pepper. Is there a fertilizer, ph, that is different for peppers. I have searched the web for days trying to find the answers. The peppers I just repotted I added more perlight and DE to make the soil more airy. My original mix is 2 buckets peat moss, 1 bucket compost, about 1 coffee can of perlight and 2 handfuls of epsome salt. Opps almost forgot 1 1/3 cups garden lime. Any advice would be appreciated as I said everything else is growing well.

[luigiwu]

I find my pepper are just slower is all... I also garden in subirrigated containers.
I have read that peppers like it to be hot (weather) and dry (mix) - I don't have any ground to test especially the later part.

[yardn_gardn]

My peppers seem slow also. Some of the plants actually have peppers coming on but just no leaves. After reading your responses, I'm going to fix my sub irrigation system to not water the peppers as much as the rest of the garden. My tomatoes are probably getting more water than they need also. Thanks for the thoughts.

[AlittleSalt]

Peppers stop growing when the soil stays wet.

[Starlight]

Originally Posted by Jeanus

I am most perplexed, I am using sub irrigation system. I am using the same mix for my tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, and peppers. Everything else is growing well except the peppers they started got two leaves and stopped growing. I have several types so it is not just one kind of pepper. Is there a fertilizer, ph, that is different for peppers. I have searched the web for days trying to find the answers. The peppers I just repotted I added more perlight and DE to make the soil more airy. My original mix is 2 buckets peat moss, 1 bucket compost, about 1 coffee can of perlight and 2 handfuls of epsome salt. Opps almost forgot 1 1/3 cups garden lime. Any advice would be appreciated as I said everything else is growing well.

I see a couple of problems. First is you mix. You may not believe it but peppers are allergic to peat. They do not like it and will not grow in it very well at all. Peppers like a pine bark mix.

I also would not recommend using soil conditioner which is mainly all pine bark fines, because it holds too much water. I tried that product one year. Ugg what a pain it was.

I know you said you just replanted your babies. I would get me a couple of bags of Miracle Grow or actually I use Kmart's brand of KGRO. It's cheaper and the plants love the stuff and it has some fertilizer in it. Actually lots more than MG. I would shake off what mix you can of yours into a bucket or something and add a bunch of MG or other pine based soil and mix it in. Go heavy on the pine bark.

Once you get some pine bark instead of peat you should see your plants start growing again fairly fast and putting out new leaves.

The first couple of years I had trouble trying to get my peppers to grow and produce and a friend told me about how they were allergic to peat, as like you I was making my own mix of peat, perlite and vermiculite. Plants did terrible. When I switched my plants took off and I haven't looked back.

Here is directions from I believe it is NCTOMATOMAN"S site I had copied for somebody else who needed pepper help, on how he grows his peppers

"Hot Peppers can be grown in a one gallon pot

Don’t start feeding til week 3-4.
Then use slow release like Osmocote , Vitigrow, or MG. MG is 1 tbs per gallon every other week.

Soil Mixture … Mix 1 2.5 cubic bag of Miracle grow to 1 25 lb bag of compost manure.

Water once daily to a count with full open hose.
Count 1 second 2 second for one gallon
5 for 5 gallon pots
20 for 10 gallon pots
Til water coming out of bottom

Extreme heat days may require watering in morning and late afternoon."

I have grown alot of peppers in one gallons, but if you have two gallons they really do better. You get more fruits from stepping up one size. When the plants get 3 and 4 ' tall than I will transplant into a 3 gallon.

I don't know anything about the irrigation system you have, but peppers do not like wet feet at all. If the soil is too wet, the roots will spend time moping instead of growing.

They like to be on the dry side. You don't want to keep them so dry that they are to the wilting point, plus that just makes the peppers hotter.

I feed my peppers 1 TBS of Epsom Salt every other week. I just lay it on the top away from the main step and let it slowly water in. I used to use a product like Osmocote and switched to Vigoro as it is about 5 bucks a bag cheaper. I use 1 TBS of it every other week.

I also this year am using 1 TBS of Tomato Tone every other week too, not all the products at the same time. It is good for tomatoes, peppers and just about all the other veggies. My peppers are going crazy since I added it to my maintenance regime.

Peppers also don't like cool temps. Depending on cultivar most don't really start growing until temps are in the 80's. The hotter the peppers the longer it takes for them to grow too and develop fruits.

I also use a fertilizer siphon mixer. I use the HOZON brand as the hose is clear and you can see the ferts being taken up and also if you need to flush out the hose. Best 15 bucks I ever spent. A hort professor turned me on to using it as I couldn't afford a big fert injector system. I've been 5 years so far with my same siphon mixer. The hold up good.

It automatically measures out just the right amount of MG blue powder. I use 1/3 cup for each five gallon bucket of water. It attached right to your water hose spigot, so everything I grow plants and veggies all gets the same amount of MG. I water with the MG six days a week and just run one day of plain water so flush out excess salts.

Pic is some of my pepper babies from last year that I still had to transplant. Once I found out the secret to peppers was pine bark and not peat, I went pepper crazy. Planting every kind I could get my hands on.

[luigiwu]

Starlight, what you said about peppers not liking peat is in conflict with the mg potting mix or probably kgro rec. Potting mix is usually peat based

[beeman]

Originally Posted by luigiwu

Starlight, what you said about peppers not liking peat is in conflict with the mg potting mix or probably kgro rec. Potting mix is usually peat based

I have to agree with the peat comments.
I am growing two lots of Bell peppers just to experiment, both are growing well in a basic peat and pine bark mixture.
One set in the greenhouse in Alaska grow buckets, a form a SWS, big and loaded with peppers. The other outside, still in grow bags, slower due to the cooler conditions, but growing well.
It would seem that until you get the warmth, slower growth is to be expected.

[Jeanus]

Thank you Starlight I do not use miracle gro because the last few times I bought it it was full of little black flies. I was growing things in the house so not very happy about black flies, seedlings and hubby were not either. Switching to pine bark might mean a ph issue because peat is acidic. I will get some pine bark and add to the mixture. Garden lime is a natural product being crushed limestone and is used to adjust ph. I will add more epsome salts too Thank you again.

[tnkrer]

This is my third year of growing peppers. I also grow them in SWC containers. Most of my setup works great with tomatoes and cucumbers, however, I have not had much success with peppers. They grow slowly initially, do not set fruit and then all the fruits that do set are not ripe by the time season ends.

I am improving year on year though. So I hope to crack it over time. Like LuigiWu said, dryer grow media and hotter climate absolutely helps. I can control the grow media. I moved from 3:2:1 mix to 3:3:2 mix this year, and I already have a few fruits on the plants. climate, I cannot help. I also spray epsom salts (1 tbsp per gallon) every week. Last year after I started spraying epsom salt water, the fruits started to set. It could have just been the right temperature outside, but I am sure its not hurting, so I am doing that. I also moved peppers to area that gets 7 hours of sun (compared to 6 hours from last year)

With the early fruit set, I thought I was doing better this year, but then we had a lot of rain and I am seeing that fruit is not setting again, blooms are dropping .. Still, one thing is for sure, dryer and fast draining grow media absolutely helps. Next year, I will probably go to a mix that is closer to 5:1:1

[Nematode]

Thanks for the "too wet" info.
This is my first year using grodan cubes on top of perlite (instead of perlite only) and they hold a lot of water. The jalapenos have started to grow, but the rest just sitting there, I'll cut down the watering and see if they get started.

[seaeagle]

Peppers here seem to like a lot of water.I don't know but I wouldn't be shocked if we have had 15 or 20 inches of rain this month. I have already picked my first pepper on June 18th and some more are ready.Seeded them March 1st and planted them around May 10th.I know that seems fast, but it's true.If you want early peppers that last until frost try Fat N Sassy or some sell this as King Arthur.They are advertised as early and they really are and prolific too.Most of the garden is thriving with all this rain, but the tomatoes hate it

[Starlight]

I stand corrected. I didn't mean no peat at all. If I read Jeanus post right, other than some compost, she is using all peat. To me it is too much.

Since I discovered KGRO, I don't use MG. I was having to many issues with it. I didn't like the looks or feel of it.

The KGRO Proffessional Potting Mix for here is 55% pinebark, spagnum peat moss, perlite, dolomitic lime (ph adjusted) wetting agent and fertilizers.

For me, bells and sweets usually produce first than the Jalapenos. Habaneros or any hot pepper that has some Habanero in it or shape of we don't get full crops until near the end of September and non-stop production through October and Nov. They seem to always be the last to produce even if they are set out early.

If your blossoms are dropping, try brushing your plants. With no pollinators around and dead still air, I give mine a brush with the hand in the mornings when things just start to warm up right along with my tomatoes. Most peppers do fine on their own, but if you ever looked real close at the blossoms, you would find so many different colors and formations. Not all the peppers have an easy time of pollinating themselves.

When the weather is to hot and humid like now and most of the peppers normally would be dropping flowers til the temps cool, I use a shade cloth of cheese cloth. It provides just enough shade to keep the peppers producing.

If the temps are too cool, cover them with a taller hoop of plastic , open at both ends, and it builds enough heat to keep the plants toasty.

The main thing for me is the feeding them right. They like calcium same as the tomatoes do. The Epsom salt provides the extra Magnesium and Sulfur most fert foods don't have. The TT or TTF or Vigoro with Calcium is just enough. The TT has a lot of good Bacillus in it for your plants. Products with the higher middle number will help with the fruiting.

[Jeanus]

Starlight, No not all peat 1 bucket compost and 2 buckets peat then a coffee can of perlight, 1 1/3 cup garden lime and a handful of epsome salts. I just tried a 50 50 mix and sand on a couple of my peppers. I gave them all some epsome salts and am going for the lime. Pine bark will have to wait, until next month.