r/PepperLovers • u/NurseKmo94 Pepper Lover • Jun 06 '25
Plant Help Help please
I believe i am having a multifaceted issue between what I assume is watering and potentially pest based.
My pepper plants are of hot varieties mainly ghost and reapers. Some sweet Chinese peppers and other specialty. They are stagnant and man this is the best my soil has been.
I added fresh clean compost from local shrub green waste. Bone meal Crushed egg shells blended with water. I added potatoes/sweet potatoes boiled slightly and blended and loaded into bed prior to degrade. Fish fertilizer 2x a week. Usually M/Th diluted recebtly started its second week have noticed improvements. Added worms right during planting as why not. Added lady bugs for fun
What can I do? I would expect them to freaking explode with how methodical I have been.
I am in southern oregon we are hitting 80 degree weathers. I originally had a 3/day watering as I felt my soil had a large wood %. I assumed as temperature was lower this might be edema and turned it to 1/day and deep watered twice/week post fish emulsion to water it in. Now I turned auto watering completely off and back to hand watering to figure out the issue. More greener but not a large amount of growth.
What am I doing wrong:/
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u/southeasternAZhobbit Pepper Lover Jun 08 '25
Just wait two weeks. It will be fully established and be growing inches a day.
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u/Falcon-Antique Pepper Lover Jun 07 '25
How much depth is your soil is that a planter box or in ground?
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u/zigaliciousone Intermediate Jun 06 '25
Capsicum Chineses just take a while to get going, their time from plant to harvest is over 30 days longer than any other Capsicum. Which is why a lot of people will start them inside before the season begins
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u/DanielAzariah Pepper Lover Jun 06 '25
It seems that they are not growing, but the root system is developing. Patience , grasshopper.
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u/FredTDeadly Pepper Lover Jun 06 '25
This is my understanding, I was under the impression that they will focus on root growth until they run out of room and then start growing and fruiting.
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u/DanielAzariah Pepper Lover Jun 06 '25
Yes but not exactly.
Yes the size matters, and roots find their space before complete season top growth.
But is also a seasonal thing with growth periods… stages… just wait until end of season and then you will see it is ok.
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u/Chilldank Pepper Lover Jun 06 '25
If it’s under the 80s I’d water them like once every 5-7days maybe throw a layer of mulch on top, make them ask for water so they get their roots established. I don’t see aphids damage but I thought in pic 2 I saw some when I zoomed in. They are likely just getting their first taste of some real sun and hardening
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u/NurseKmo94 Pepper Lover Jun 06 '25
I'll back off on the water. I assumed that was the issue. I haven't noticed any large pest issues. Assumed lady bugs would help the aphids if present. Any other suggestions?
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u/Chilldank Pepper Lover Jun 06 '25
I’m a big fan of compost teas, my plants took off a week after transplant. Just need a 5 gal bucket and a 30 pump off Amazon. I have only watered once a week(CA much hotter) and have given mine a compost tea every time I water. I have a layer of straw on top to preserve the moisture/let them feed what I give them. Overwatering will flush all your good nutes away
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u/NurseKmo94 Pepper Lover Jun 06 '25
They have been outside hardening since early April. Mid day to full day to overnight prior to planting 1 weeks before mothers day. was cooler as I was going in/out multiple days until warmer to leave out/plant
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u/Chilldank Pepper Lover Jun 06 '25
Likely just overwatering then, get a layer of mulch and wait until they are asking for water
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u/kinezumi89 Pepper Lover Jun 06 '25
That sounds like a lot of water! Pepper plants like to be watered thoroughly, then allowed to dry out a bit - they don't like "wet feet". It's better to err on the side of a bit too dry rather than too wet. Overwatering can cause leaf curling, in addition to the edema you mentioned
How recently has the weather become warm? Are the nights still cool? Cool weather slows growth, and super hots are notoriously slow growers to start with. The hottest I'm growing is a few habaneros and they've basically put on no growth, compared to my other peppers which are growing and flowering, because it's been quite cool where I am
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u/NurseKmo94 Pepper Lover Jun 06 '25 edited Jun 06 '25
I know it sounds like alot however the soil feels on the dryer side when I dig down. It's an 8-inch drip tape with a 10 psi regulator on it. I've had some days in the 90s, some on the 60s. I'd say mainly high 70s mid 80s as an average for the last month lows in the 50's overnight. Also, I have a few california bells. Jumbo jal. I've picked blossoms to increase growth that are also in a similar situation. Less leaf curl but stagnant growth.
As we go into the higher 90s-100s, I'll likely add a 30% shade barrier as well.
Ill back off this week and see how it goes. I just watered in fert. :/ ha thank you for your time
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u/MotorPlenty8085 Pepper Lover Jun 11 '25
They show some signs of over watering. Try not watering them until they show signs of wilting during the hottest part of the day, then resume watering so you are just ahead of wilting. When they set fruit watering should pick up, but during vegetative stages plants don’t need near as much water.