I'd think it has something to do with the phosphorus. I use a lot of bone meal, and my soil is around 7 PH, which seems to work fine. I've used Epsom salts to cure BER, but I'm trying "Tomato-Tone" fertilizer this year. It has 8% calcium...

Peppers like sulfur. Putting matches in with a newly planted pepper supposedly helps produce a stronger plant. People also just use sulfur powder the same way. Ive done it in the past with good results but in recent years have just skipped it and still got good results. Using matches goes way back , I first herd of it 30+ years ago and know other people who swear by this practice. If anything it will not harm your plants so do it if you desire.
Epson salts helps with fruit set so foliar feeding every other week is a good idia 1tsp. per Gal. good thing to do. Foliar feeding with fertilizer gives an instant boost so can also be useful . Some people rotate Esalt one week Fert. the next with good results. Do you add time release fert. to your soil? I do in the ground using Plant tone [organic] but in pots I use MG and hit foliage and soil every 10 days.In my garden Epson salt about 2 times a month ,always had good results. Bell peppers can be touchy the variety you grow makes a difference depending on your aria . There might be a good one for you out there you just haven't found it yet. Cubanells taste better anyway so why bother with bells if you have luck with them.

I have always wanted to pre treat my dirt with a calcium supplement, mainly because my habs get that "puckered" look by the 4th of July.

One thing makes me hesitant, I heard that dogs can smell bonemeal from a mile away, and will dig it up, along with your plants. Any thoughts?

To provide Calcium (and Magnesium), I like using Smokemaster's Witches Brew. Smoke taught me to mix vinegar with Dolomitic Lime in a jar. (Don't seal it because gas is released.) Stir it until it stops generating gas bubbles. At that point all the vinegar has been used up and the liquid contains both Calcium and Magnesium. Smoke says it really helps the plants produce flowers (and fruit). I also use it on tomatoes to help prevent BER. I don't know about dosage, but I add a tablespoon of the liquid to a gallon of fertilizer solution. You can keep adding more vinegar to the jar because there is excess lime.

What Dave said.

The only thing I would add is that the original post made it sound like acidic soil and adding sulfur were mutually exclusive. They aren't. Most, if not all, peppers do prefer (very slightly) acidic soil. And you can still add sulfur to that.

I am one of the matchstick people. The idea is just that the match sticks contain a small quantity of sulfur in a form that is accessible to the plants. I also add egg shells to provide calcium (but I immerse them in boiling water first to kill salmonella bacteria).

I don't do the Epsom salts. Maybe I should, but I find that I get the plants raining peppers without them. :)

One caution about fertilizers: a high nitrogen fertilizer will tend to encourage the plant to produce foliage instead of fruit. So be aware of that. :)

Angie

Can dolomitic lime be purchased in small amounts? Or are we stuck with getting huge bags for $40?

I am totally trying the witches brew on my habs this summer!

This post was edited by peps22 on Sat, Apr 26, 14 at 18:48

Thanks guys. Keep your ideas and methods coming.
I have already learned quite a bit. I am sure others can benefit of it too.

I do add dolomitic lime to my potting mix. It already contains both calcium and magnesium. I also mix in Slow Release fertilizer. I will try Smoke Master's method to produce readily available Ca and Mg. Probably the Ca and Mg in Dolomitic lime are not available to the plants right away.

I also will take Dave's advice on Sulfur and foliar spray.

Any ideas on foliar spray of Hydrogen Peroxide ? I have heard that it occurs naturally with thundering and lightening and plants love it.

@ pepps 22
As Josh mentioned a bag of dolomitic lime costs about $6, at HD and Lowes.

That witches brew sounds interesting. What is the ratio for the vinegar to lime? I don't wanna over do it.

What is the ratio for the vinegar to lime? I don't wanna over do it.
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I also want to know it. But if you add less vinegar to a given amount of Dolomitic lime, there will some lime left. So it is not/should not matter much. But If vinegar is more than what is reacted with lime, you will end up with some vinegar in your brew.

Seysonn is correct. Use plenty of lime. All the vinegar will react. You need to keep stirring until no more bubbles of gas are given off. At that point all the acid in the vinegar has been used up. Let the stuff settle and you can pour off the liquid leaving the excess lime in the jar. You can pour more vinegar over it and repeat the process.

If you want, you can buy Foli-Cal:

http://www.montereylawngarden.com/product_information.aspx?242000p=f57d7b74-c030-4e60-b13d-2763bed4b322&240000p=7dd648e8-a73c-4a82-8d60-3bcdc816a4f9

The Dolomitic Lime in the witches brew also provides Magnesium, which isn't in the Foli-Cal. Smoke thinks the stuff gets peppers to set buds faster.

I don't have any secrets. They're actually pretty easy to grow. Seed starting can be a challenge for novices, but once you post a couple times on GW, that problem goes away. ;)

Semi-fertile soil that's well draining. DON'T overwater. Maybe side dress a couple times per season with some compost and more organic meals. Mulch goes a long way towards keeping the soil cool and water regulated through the hot months. Shade cloth does wonders for preventing sunburn and again, for keeping cool when it's scorching. BT K every 2-3 weeks from May forward just so i don't ever have to worry about hornworms.

Kevin

I've also had trouble with Bell peppers... I get really excited when I see them growing, then they just sort of stop. All small and shrunken.

I have, however, had great luck with cayenne. This year I'm trying cayenne, jalapeno, and lunchbox peppers. Hoping the lunchbox will be more successful than my former attempts at bell peppers.

For epsom salts... do you just sprinkle onto the soil or dilute with water then spray? Roots only or foliage too?

With Epsom salt I just sprinkle a little on the soil early on. But I might do couple of foliar spraying during the season. ) a little less than a TBspoon for 2 gallons. It is an instant quick action thing.

Daisyjoy I used to have bad luck with bells until I grew them one year in self watering containers (SWC) like Earth Box etc. Boy I had more bell peppers then I knew what to do with. I don't know if it was just a good year or there is something to SWC and bell peppers. But YMMV.

Earthworm, I've had great results with SWCs. It has been amazing how much they produce compared to plants in my conventional garden. I'm trying Earthboxes this year for the first time. Got my fingers crossed!

I used to have bad luck with bells until I grew them one year in self watering containers (SWC) like Earth Box etc. Boy I had more bell peppers then I knew what to do with.
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interesting !
What does SWC do differently from regular container or on ground to account for the difference in production ?

Here's a picture I took last October when I cleaned out my SWCs to make room for broccoli and collards. They are superhots (Bhuts, both Chocolate and Peach, Black NagaJolokias, and Goroonongs). I'd picked heavily through the summer, and this is what was still on the plants when I pulled them.