Pepper plant problems

[johnny_greenbeans]

I am still a beginner gardener and grew peppers last year for the first time. All in all it was a pretty successful growing season but I had a few problems. I grew peppers both on my patio in planters and in a garden plot at the community garden.

Problem 1 : The peppers on my patio (sweet banana, mini bell and a northern breed) all thrived and did very well. Except for one problem. My peppers would get spots on them, almost like rotting spots and this would consume the entire pepper like a cancer. I'm pretty sure it wasn't bugs. I was told it was too much sun. After I took them out of the sun this seemed to happen less (but I'm unsure) I live in southern Manitoba (Winnipeg area) close to the North Dakota border.

Is this a problem with peppers? I was giving them full day sun.

Problem 2: The peppers in my garden plot stayed very small and didn't seem to grow very much. They also had a very poor yield. Right from the start they grew poorly. I did however notice they were lighter green in color so could this have been lack of nitrogen or other fertilizers? Though my tomatoes, corn, cucumbers, radish, carrots and cherry tomatoes did very well there. Also my celery didn't do good there at all. I actually didn't fertilize there all year because everyone there told me you don't need to in that garden.

Sorry for the long message, just trying to learn and grow (pun intended )

[Smitty]

what do you mean by full day sun??? my peppers(west of winterpeg) grow on the west side of my house.

Inge will be able to hhelp you when she sees this post but to me it sounds like they got lots of water and then dried out and cycle repeated..they don't like that much

as for the ones in community gardens..maybe a fertilizer problem..although mine don't get any fertilizer other than the manure put on gardens in fall.

[johnny_greenbeans]

winterpeg eh? brrr. but we had a pretty decent winter this year. Nice to meet a fellow manitoban!

The watering and drying cycle you mentioned. That happened a lot. Because they were on the south side of the house they had sun light basically from the time the sun came up until it went down. I often moved them too. The soil would dry up so much that the plants would start to droop dangerously. I lost one or two because of it. Then I would water them quite well and it would all repeat

[Smitty]

that's what I thought...try a bigger pot and place a diaper in the bottom of it...it'll hold more moisture and the soil will leech it out as it needs it. you could also add that soil with the moisture beads in it.

It was a beautiful winter!!!!!!! was worried about gardens with no snow but apparently all is well so far.

Welcome to the forums

[Dumbo]

In part 2, direct in the garden, what type of peppers were these that stayed small? Bell peppers? If so, I've seen this a lot with Bell peppers and only Bell peppers. Curious what you find out.

So far the little bit of reading i've done says soil temperature when planting them, or too much Nitrogen. Apparently you want Bell peppers in soil with low nitrogen, per what I've read.

Never had issues with any other pepper besides Bell peppers.

[Eeyore]

You could also add Coir Fibre to your potting soil. It will extend the time between waterings and a large enough pot should manage to last all day. You might have to water morning AND evening if you plan to keep them in the hot sun on the south side.

[Dumbo]

You could also add Coir Fibre to your potting soil.

I've never heard of this before. After looking it up I think I've seen hanging baskets made of this.

Seems Home Hardware sells it.

Have you used this yourself?

Do you mix it in the soil? Or put some at the bottom?

[OGrubber]

And that's a wrap! laf
Welcome to the forums johnny_greenbeans.

[Eeyore]

The coir I am referring to is shredded coconut fibre. It comes in a compressed block that you soak in water to expand. It is sold under the name "Soil Sponge" for one. Yes, I've used it and I love it! Unlike peat it does not turn rock hard and resist water when it is dry. I use a mix of about 1/3 coir fibre to 2 parts potting soil. Like potting soil, it has no nutritional value for the plants so fertilizer is a necessity.

[Smitty]

And that's a wrap! laf
Welcome to the forums johnny_greenbeans.

LOL!!!!!

Dumbo mix it in with your regular potting soil