Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
leftyman1

Continuing Pepper Plant Problems

leftyman1
10 years ago

Last year was a struggle for my pepper plants, and this spring is no different. I prepared the holes for (4) bell pepper and (3) hot cherry pepper plants with stone in the bottom, then insect screening to keep from clogging up the drainage stones, and then backfilled with potting mix, a little 10-10-10, 2 tbsp. of Epsom salt. The above peppers were transplanted May 13, 2013, at which time I also transplanted my tomatoes.

The photos show the dismal conditions of both kinds of pepper plants. Note the leaves have purple/black areas for both the hot cherries and the bells.

This is a Hot Cherry pepper plant. It grew about 3" in 4 weeks. Don't mistake the curled leaf on top for a small pepper (I wish):

Here is a bell pepper plant. It grew about 2" in 4 weeks:

Here is a pic of a tomato plant put in at the same time. (5 times bigger than when transplanted)

About a week ago, I evidenced insect troubles with leaves being eaten. I sprayed all surfaces with a mixture of water, dish detergent, and canola oil, and reapplied the mixture 4 days afterward. I used this mixture last year, because I thought I had an aphid problem, and later in the summer with small brown grasshoppers. Last year, I applied ground up egg shells around the peppers. I repeated this egg shell application 1 week ago, but I'm sure the calcium hasn't reached the root structures yet.

If this would be solely an insect problem, I would have seen more evidence by now.
Any assistance will be appreciated.
Thanks

Comments (2)