Peppers simply aren't growing, now turning pale

15 years ago

Hi all,

This is my first year gardening since I was a little kid helping my mother. I've been following the forums here like a bible for the past couple months and been having very good luck with nearly all my starts...except for my hot peppers (Hungarian Wax and Salsa Delight).

I thought I'd get a jump on the season and start 2 of each in early February 6 directly in 4" pots using Miracle Gro potting soil, pretty much just to see how they would grow. By Feb 11, the first were up and a few days later the cotyledons were free on them all. I've kept them about 2 inches from fluorescent lights and between 62 and 75 degrees the whole time. Natural temperature of the room is 62, then I start to second guess myself and put them under a heat mat for a few days, see no change so I take it away. I've been giving them a very small dose of balanced fertilizer every few weeks. I do water once a week, but it's a very generous watering (perhaps too much).

Here's where they stand...the plants are all about 2 inches tall with sturdy stems. In all of them the cotyldons are standing straight up with tips almost touching. Basically, they look like parenthesis (), with very tiny true leaves in between. The true leaves started poking through about 2 weeks after emergence, but they are only about 1/4-1/2" long and have never really spread. In the last couple days, the plants appear to be turning a pale yellowish green. I fear it may be from overwatering, but they hadn't been watered in a week. On the other hand, I'm wondering if they need more fertilizer due to the time in the pot. Up to this point, I'd been telling myself that due to the size of the starter pot, there was probably a lot going on below and they were just taking their time. I feel I'm at a crossroads right now between the true leaves not emerging fully, the cotyledons standing upright, the plants turning pale and the general lack of growth. Either I'm missing some small things that are holding them back or a week from now, they're going to be dead. Can anyone give some pointers or ideas here? Sorry about the long winded post, but tried to get every piece of information I could think of.

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Comments (6)

tn_veggie_gardner
15 years ago
It could be from over-watering, but my first thought was lack of sunlight (the cotyledons will usually only stand straight up at night time when they "sleep." Once the sun comes back out, they go back to the sides of the plant/parallel to soil). I might try, if your zone permits, to give them some sunlight during the daytime. Maybe don't water once a week, but get a spray bottle and give them a little bit every day (instead of a lot at one time every week). I wouldn't give them anymore fertilizer. I'd stick to your low-dose every few weeks plan with that, holding off until they're a little bit larger.
tsheets
15 years ago
Does the Miracle Grow have nutrients added? If so, it doesn't sound like the problem is hunger, especially since you are feeding them on top of that.

My guess would be overwatering.
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firstyear
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for the advice. I'll try moving them into natural light for a bit to see if that has any effect. Getting a pretty good amount of sunlight now, so hopefully this will do the trick.
gardendawgie
15 years ago
Miracle Gro potting soil has fertilizer. Any addition of fertilizer can kill the plants. This soil is not for seeds. It is intended for large full grown plants.
firstyear
Original Author
15 years ago
Just an update. I decided to pull one out of its pot to see if there was an issue below the surface and was surprised to see how stunted the root structure. No fertilizer burn or root rot that I could see. I pulled all of them at that point and same for each. Repotted all of them, 2 in seed starting mix and 2 in potting mix. In a week one of the ones in the starting mix has opened up and I can see the second set of true leaves coming in (the other unfortunately lost about half it's roots in the transfer, so not a good test example). The ones in the potting mix are showing some signs of growth, but not very much at all. I've come to the conclusion that my problem was using potting soil (Miracle Gro Organic) that compacted when I should have used seed starting mix. My original thought was to use the potting soil in a larger container to minimimze the amount of transplanting I would have to do. Looks like I learned a good lesson about why to start small with seed mix and potting up.
kiee
15 years ago
Firstyear, I am proud of you, you have used simi destructive reasoning and have come to the correct answer. So, from now on, use the correct starting mix!

Gardening with love, Kiee

Peppers simply aren't growing, now turning pale

Comments (6)

tn_veggie_gardner

tsheets

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Peppers simply aren't growing, now turning pale

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tn_veggie_gardner

tsheets

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