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Stunted pepper plants??

10 years ago

I am fairly new to the backyard veggie gardening scene, this being my 3rd year to attempt a nice yield.

My question pertains to my hot peppers. I have several jalapeno and serrano plants, along with a habanero and a couple ghost peppers. In Houston it gets pretty hot and dry, and they get about 8-10 hours of direct sunlight. I tend to let them dry to near wilt before watering, 3 days or so.

None of the pepper plants seem to get very large, I even pinched off blossoms for the first several weeks to promote green growth. But each plant is maybe 6-12 inches high and not very full. They put on peppers, but I really want larger plants with more yield.

We use a manure/compost/soil mix with Microlife fertilizer and we fish emulsion every 1-2 months. The bed is raised for good drainage.

Is it possible they get too much sun here? I can't seem to figure it out.

I do have a potted Cayenne and Scorpion in partial shade, they aren't huge, but they are rather larger.

Anyway, any tips??

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Comments (5)

sjetski
10 years ago
I'll defer to others who grow in hot climates, but the temps/weather/sun may be shutting down your growth and blossom set.

Or at least that's what i always seem to read from hot climate growers, they are always trying to provide shade to their plants. Or they plant in spots where they only get sun early in the day, or late in the day.

There are many others in this forum that can clarify what i'm trying to say, based upon their experience with hot climates.
woohooman San Diego CA zone 10a
10 years ago
Never heard of heat being a deterrent to actual growth.

Bossom/pod development, yes. Growth, ???.

As far as your potted plants being larger, I've noticed container peppers to take off quicker than in-ground, but the in-grounds catch up eventually.

As far as the dead of summer heat affecting your plants, a 2-3 inch layer of mulch will help tremendously with temperature regulation and, as sjetski mentioned, shade cloth always comes in handy for the midday sun.

We get a different kind of heat here though -- I've been to the Midwest in the Summer. The nighttime temps barely cool down for weeks on end

I think the general rule is over 90F daytime or 75F nighttime for extended periods will effect blossoms.

Maybe some of the guys/gals in the deep South and the Midwest can give you more info.

Kevin
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MissVay
Original Author
10 years ago
Well, today we added a shade over the plants to relieve them for part of the day. We also added some perlite and sphagnum peat moss to the soil, a little manure compost, some Epsom, and mulched them in.

Hopefully that will help. If not, it isn't for lack of effort.

Anymore advise, especially from any with experience here in the south, would be greatly appreciated though.
DMForcier
10 years ago
For a Ghost (C.chinense) 6-12" at this time of year isn't terrible. They tend to be slow growers,
MissVay
Original Author
10 years ago
Well that is good to hear about the Ghost Pepper. My Serrano and Jalapeno are just as small though :(.

Any input from hot temp/southern gardeners?

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