The clove sheaths contain enzymes with antimicrobial properties (if youâÂÂre a chemist, the trail starts with alliin lyase). Should the clove get injured, interaction between stored chemicals in clove flesh and sheaths interact to release aromatic allicin, which instantly lets a predator know what they have just bitten into. It is also likely that chemicals that leach out into the soil from the clove sheaths neutralize hostile microbes and attract those more likely to form productive partnerships with plant roots. Removing the clove skins deprives the growing plants of these advantages and defenses. ItâÂÂs a beautiful natural plan. I can certainly see removing the clove skins from suspicious planting stock, but only to examine the problem before pitching the cloves. Planting naked cloves peppered with fusarium wounds makes me shiver.

No disease! The black on the stems at the nodes is normal on peppers. The one-sided black coloration on the peppers is normal -- a reaction to very bright light. But I do wonder about your "standard green bell pepper " -- if you purchased the plant,I suspect the tag is wrong. A shopper returned the tag to the wrong pot.

Sheila, Does it wilt during the heat of the day and then perk up in the evening? Or is it still wilted in the morning? Also, have you checked to see if the soil is either very wet or very dry? In either case, wilting can occur. Occasionally I see the kind of wilting that occurs when the weather is just too miserably hot. I had a lot of wilting on plants growing in full sun in 2011 when our high temperatures were between 100-115 for 70 or 80 days, including being over 100 for the whole month of July with no rainfall. I tried to stop the wilting by watering more deeply, by mulching more heavily to keep the soil cooler, and by erecting a shade cloth over the top of the plant. I lost a couple of plants that year, but the others hung in there and survived, though they still sometimes wilted during the day. The key is that if a pepper plants wilts during the heat of the day but then is not rebounding overnight, it likely is something more than a heat-induced wilt. Soil infested with root-knot nematodes can harm the root system and vigor of the plants, but since you said the roots looked fine, I assume there weren't any of the galls caused by root-knot nematodes? Remember, too, that peppers are in the Solanum family so can be affected by all the wilt diseases that affect tomatoes.....southern wilt, bacterial wilt, fusarium wilt, etc. In Oklahoma, the sudden wilting and death of a pepper plant often is caused by phytopthora root rot. If your area has had lots of rainfall and the soil has stayed pretty wet, you might be seeing one or more of those wilt diseases. Peppers also are vulnerable to various viruses, and pepper plants infected with viral diseases often wilt before they die. When they wilt, is there a pattern at all? Something like the topmost leaves only wilt? Or wilt first followed by subsequent wilting of more leaves? The whole plant wilts all at once? Only one side of it wilts? Do the pepper plants look fine before the wilt occurs or have you been seeing spotting or something else on the leaves? It has been very hot here and not all that rainy, so I've put up shadecloth over my hot peppers, and I planned ahead with the sweet peppers and planted them where they would get shade from other nearby plants as the summer went on. I know that pepper plants are, technically, full sun plants, but have found I get a lot less wilting with them in periods of extreme heat if they are exposed to only 6 or 8 hours of direct sun. It seems like, in our climate, I'll see a lot of wilting if they are getting full sun all day long from sunrise to sunset in mid-July through mid-August when our temperatures are at their peak. Remember, too, that pepper plants are fairly shallow-rooted, so it is essential to mulch them with several inches of mulch so that the sunlight hitting the soil doesn't cook their roots. Dawn

Well, round two was a bust as well. I will attempt a third try with the remaining Maxiforts, and I have a few hybrids that I will give a go as well. I have a plexiglass "box" (2.5' x 2.5' x 2.5') that I salvaged several years ago when I worked in our seed lab. I will do the grafts, and place everything in there and place in a closet. I can't figure out how to bump up the humidity without adding a humidifier, and I fear that the temp will get too high in the enclosure. I think my fatal flaw on round two was removing the cover too soon, and not maintaining moisture. Apart from somehow rigging up a humidifier, perhaps these will stick and I'll have at least a few grafted heirlooms to compare with the non-grafted ones. Any ideas on adding humidity other than a daily misting? I can buy a cheap humidifier, but am afraid of too much heat. My house temp is set at 65F and we're starting to get some warm days now, so I don't think cold temps will be an issue. Thanks Everyone! Sorry that I haven't properly introduced myself yet. Paul from Little Rock. Botanist/horticulturist works in state government with nurseries/landscapers and spends a lot of time dealing with insects/diseases/and weeds, oh my! Former landscaper, now I only do that in my yard which is very steep and terraced with dry stack rocks. My garden plot is a community garden a mile away. I've got great sun there, but can't rotate since I have the same bed year after year. I grow mostly heirloom tomatoes and chili peppers there. Fusarium wilt is my bane, hense the grafting attempts. Oh, I've got a great recommendation on a pepper that I think is the best all around. Aji Amarillo is a Peruvian chili that ripens to a nice orange. It's about the size of a small Anaheim, moderate heat and is fairly sweet. Thin flesh and thin skin seems to work best sauteed or fresh and not roasted.