more plants, about 40-50 total indoors. all peppers and tomatoes

pic

some large tomato's

soil mix

more soil shots

ok, heres some stuff i need ideas on. i have this large tray that all my plants are in, and the plants are in the red solo's, however the drainage from watering is all going into same tray. Should i be concerned about this as if one plant gets sick, then it could effect all plants since they are drinking and draining from the same tray?

some plants that i am watching closely, i add drainage cups

and here, some of my super hots are showing odd looking leaves, i think i may of been under watering, but i also read about "pepper mottle virus", not sure if this looks anything like that.

notice how the leaves are all wrinkled

diff plant, sorta same effect on leaves

here you can see the older leaves are nice and green, no wrinkles, new leaves growing up top are showing some wrinkling.

that's it. I read a lot about virus's this year, and think i freaked out about every time a read about a new one.

Any suggestions or comments are welcome, even if they are critical.

I already plan to start adding a sand barrier on top of the soil, i read this is supposed to cut back on top soil algae.

Plants look good. Aside from the "crinkled" leaves, I don't see any real problems. Even the crinkled leaves are pretty common but I don't know if they suggest a real issue or not. As far as the water from one plant infecting others, I don't think that is a big deal. I bottom water all of my plants and use the same water for them all. So by the time I water the very last plant, it has runoff from each of the other 3 dozen plants. Three years running and it hasn't caused a problem yet.
Bruce

All your pictures look good. Your plants are looking much healthier than mine. Did i miss where you said when you started them?

Early January i believe, haven't really been tracking time.

Looks like a good growing season is in store for you.

I can tell you i have *always* experience crinkled wrinkled leaves with habaneros. Usually not until later in the growing season than you are now, but this issue has been a constant. I never get the issue with my cayenne or jalapenos.

From what I've read habaneros like calcium and it could be a calcium deficiency. The thing is, even tho my hab plants have all had this, the yield of peppers has *never* suffered. It just doesnt look good cosmetically, but I dont see it hurting the yield.

Another cause of deformed leaves is aphids. Aphids like to suck the sap out of young leaves. They're bastards. I had an awful aphid year in 2010. However that didnt happen until after the plants moved outdoors in May/June. I'm guessing that's not the issue here.

Agreed with Peps22. My seedlings are not curling yet but I've had them curl every year when they are larger. A bit of Cal-Mag once in a while fixed them right up and the plant flourished. The first year I wasn't sure what was wrong and still had a very nice plant so not sure if it really helps.

I have no idea if Cal-Mag is safe for seedlings of that size. You may want someone with more experience answer that.

Your plants look great!

Just try to avoid the classic pitfall of âÂÂkilling them with kindnessâÂÂ. Remember peppers (all plants really) WANT TO GROW. Capsicums have been around for millennia and have survived nicely without daily, or even weekly, visits from the water wizard or the fertilizer fairy. Just satisfy their basic needs and they will perform their own magic.

Hope you have a great growing season!

Rick

Water Wizard??? Fertilizer Fairy????
I love it. And rdback speaks with wisdom. More rookie growers kill their plants by "killing them with kindness" than do all natural hazards combined.

Good luck,

Bruce