skip to main content

From Bad, To Worst, To Down Too Pepper Plant Abuse.

11 years ago

Well this pepper season started off great for me this season, Up until a month ago. When I made a bad mistake. Instead of diluting the amount of fertilizer mix I normally use on my 1 ÃÂ½ year old plants in half. I ended up giving my 20 babies Ã¢ÂÂ 14Ã¢ÂÂ - 24Ã¢ÂÂ tallÃ¢ÂÂ the full dose of fertilizer. Well most of us here know what fertilizer burn looks like on the leaves. Ã¢ÂÂDidnÃ¢ÂÂt realize it until 2 days laterÃ¢ÂÂ¦..Ã¢ÂÂ I decided to get them out of the sun and into some shade and do the routine flush. Well after a week later I was going to give it one more flush then put them back into the sun, but it decided to rain for days straight. Thanks to TS Debby.

Well last week I notice they are getting worse figuring the lack of sun was doing it so I put them back out in the sun without doing a flush figured they got wet enough under the Ã¢ÂÂnice big orange treeÃ¢ÂÂ¦Ã¢ÂÂ that was shading them. Well today I figured I give it another flush and then it hit me. WTF did I do!!! I thought I really done it now they are going to be screwedÃ¢ÂÂ¦ so I decided to check the ph of top of the soil and put a five gallon bucket under each one I was flushing to check the water ph. And guess what I did wrongÃ¢ÂÂ¦ NEVER put plants under a citrus treeÃ¢ÂÂ¦.. OMG the top of the soil PH "depending where it was under the tree" was anywhere from 2- 4.5. The fertilizer test strength of most were on the breach of over fertilized and others where well over fertilized. Now for the water ph testing after flush. My normal water is like 7.5 ph and almost all the buckets flushed an average ph of 5.3 except for 1 that had termites living in the bottom of the bucket that one was a 5.9. Well my next step tomorrow when I get back home is to lime powder feed everyone. Now hereÃ¢ÂÂs where IÃ¢ÂÂm a newb to this I never raise the ph before in pots or in bucketsÃ¢ÂÂ¦ so my question is how much lime does it take to raise the ph 1 point in a 5 gallon bucket? I was thinking about 1 teaspoon per bucket and check ph every 2 days until I get ph to 6.5 soil and 6.5 - 7.0 water runoff. I would take them out and wash roots and plant in new soil but donÃ¢ÂÂt have the time or the money to do that right now.

Also another thing I notice is that the soil was more acidic on the side the sun hits the most on the buckets and typically had higher concentrate of fertilizer than the other side.

Anyways any ideas will help a lot like always. And I will get some pictures up tomorrow of the disaster when I get time to take some photographs.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (14)

greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
11 years ago
I add vinegar so that my fertigation solution is between 5.2 and 5.8 pH - that's a great range for the absorbtion of nutrients.

I can't remember exactly, but I think a Tablespoon per gallon raises pH about a point.
You might want to wait for some more exact advice before adding the Lime.

Josh
peppernovice
11 years ago
You may be micro managing a little too much. I'm not very experienced (with peppers). This is my first year growing from seed. I do however seem to be having a pretty successful season. I just watch the plants to see when they need water and give them some fish ferts or miracle grow once every 10 to 12 days. I don't really have a schedule as far as watering or fertilizing. I just watch the plants. I did add bone meal, (some say there's no need in containers)lime, osmocote, and made sure I used a good medium. I used the 5-1-1 listed here and made mine with pine bark mulch, sphagnum peat moss, and perlite. I was told early on not to get too involved. I believe this was excellent advice. I think sometimes you can create problems by trying too hard. I would suggest flushing them and try to let the plants recover. Hopefully someone much more experienced than me can chime in and give you some real advice. I just know you can turn a small problem into a catastrophe by trying too hard to fix it. Good luck!
Related Discussions
Your Best and Worst Plants for 2008
Q
Comments (6)
Hi there, I hate to see an unanswered post! I'm sure that everyone has plants they love and ones they love to hate, but maybe this is a place too far away from the beaten path for a lot of people to find. Maybe you would have better luck with it in a different forum, like one on herbs or vegetables. I am in a very different zone, but I have good luck with snapdragons, which reseed in my beds if I'm not careful. Sometimes they even winter over under some leaf mulch. Maybe it is too hot there? I don't really know. I grow Kentucky Blue pole beans, and they are quite nice, but so are Kentucky Wonders. We had a cool summer, so it was a great broccoli year here. I grew three kinds, and they were all great. I tried Opalka tomatoes this year, and they were not fast, but bountiful and I'll grow them again. Rosemary and lavender are two of my favorites! I have to grow my rosemary in a pot and bring it in every winter, but it seems to manage and I love having it. I have two kinds of lavender, both the sturdy hardy kinds, Grosso and Hidecote. It's a little dicey in my heavy-ish soil, but they manage. I look at the Brugs in the catalogs and think they are great, but they're not for me here! So you get to enjoy things that I don't! As far as germinating seeds, read and follow the directions on seed packages, and most of the time things work out. Try to grow things at the best time for the plant, like when it is cool for radishes and snapdragons. What kind of yarrow were you trying to grow? I have two kinds, but I've never tried to grow them from seed. The Moonshine yarrow has reseeded in my garden, but not too often. The Summer Pastels never has, but there is plenty to divide. My book on germinating seed says that yarrow needs light to germinate, can be sown inside at 70 degrees or outside. Sounds like the tiny seeds need to be kept moist and warm on top of the soil. Keep trying!
...See More
Calling The Plant Abuse Hotline !
Q
Comments (6)
So, arbo retum, I'm not the only one. I have (but for how long?) a beautiful Varigated Schefflera that spans about 5 ft. across and 4 ft. high. It had been the in the yard all summer, happy as a clam. But just right before it got cold, we had massive amounts of rain. It got way over watered. To make things worse, it's in one of those pots where the 'saucer' is part of the pot (you know, about two inches up from the bottom you see a gap). So it was never draining during all that rain. I had to tip it on its side to let it drain for a whole day. (Note to self: repot Schefflera). Anyhow, it was getting cold so had to bring it in. Barely. It was soooo heavy I had to drag it by the trunk (bad mommy). So I thought I'd let it dry out awhile. It's stuck in a back room (only place big enough for it and with a window) so.Â(you KNOW what IÂm gonna say)....I forgot about it. That is, until I walked by it one day and suddenly it was raining yellow leaves. It was in dire need of water, poor thing. I've been keeping an eye on it, but I dunnoÂ.. More and more leaves are dropping. And the worst thing is, it was a RESCUE PLANT !!! My boyfriend at the time had found it laying on its side, on the side of the road. God knows how long it'd been there because all the branches had actually started growing straight up towards to the sun. Picture sitting the pot upright and everything was growing horizontal. It was real funny looking. But after a few years of care, he turned it into an absolutely beautiful plant. Plus, he passed away in May so I 'inherieted' it. So I'd just die (no pun intended) if I killed it. I think after all its been thru, I should go WITH you to the Plant Police (with prior, as wellÂ.. :o)
...See More
Worst Pepper Experiance
Q
Comments (57)
I have been stung by peppers so many times you would thing I would learn by now. The worst by far was a few years back I decided to make some Habanero Mango sauce. Of course as usual I cut up the peppers not wearing any gloves, rubbed my eyes, and other unmentionables. This hurt but was mere childs play as to the pain that was to be unleashed later. As my wife doesn't like the smell of my pepper sauce cooking, I decided to fire up the propane burner on the back porch. It was a very hot summer day so to cool down a bit and to help even out the farmers tan I took off my shirt and began the cooking ritual which of course included many adult beverages. The small turkey fryer propane stove sat rather close to the ground so I spent the hour and a half to two hours bent over stirring my yummy concoction. I was tired, hot, and letting my jars cool so I thought it would be a good time to take a nice soothing shower. I turn the water on, get it up to a nice temperature. Step in. I let the hot water cascade over my aching head and back. This is a wonderful end to a hard days work, boy was I wrong. I turned to face the shower head and thought scalding water heated by the power of the sun had been poured over my body. The hot water seemed to activate the now relized chemical burn on my stomach and chest. As I spend the next 20 minutes or so in the now ice cold shower trying to make the burn stop, I relize that leaning over a steamy pot of Habanero peppers for any length of time is not a good idea. You may ask did I learn my lesson this time, fat chance. Bill
...See More
Plant fell over from too many fruit...
Q
Comments (7)
Tomato cages, while mostly questionable for all but dependable/short determinate types, are great for peppers. My anaheims generally produce so heavily during ideal conditions that even a strong/thick plant can't hold all the fruits they produce without bending down to the ground. Commercial growers (and some home gardeners) will trellis them to hold them, too. It's a cheaper solution, but more time consuming.
...See More
Rusty
Original Author
11 years ago
Sorry it took so long to get up photos. it has been raining again. I gave them a tsp of lime to help raise ph some. will check in a few days but now one plant looks like i might have mold in the contaner. pulled the wooden skewer out today on my TS and notice powdery white mold on it. hopefully its not to bad of a sign of root mold. but at least its a good sign of ph balance coming back.
peppermeister1
11 years ago
Well, those are some pretty F'd up plants. The good news is that they all seem to still be alive, and you'll get to see just how resilient chile plants can be. I would suggest, drilling a few more holes in the sides of those buckets to increase airflow. You can also make a diluted chamomile tea mixture to spray on the top of that soil to fight mold.
Otherwise, just hang tight and let the air in.

Here is a link that might be useful: PEPPERMEISTER! Hot pepper gardening, tips, and recipes
peppernovice
11 years ago
Things look a little rough right now, but Peppermeister is 100% correct. You will be amazed what abuse chile plants can take and still end up producing. My plants suffered through 2 hail storms in 4 days. They looked pretty bad. The leaves all had holes in them, several were blown completely over. Just keep faith and keep giving them what they need! Good luck!
maple_grove_gw
11 years ago
The soil looks really wet in the photos. Does it ever get a chance to dry out? I presume there are holes drilled in the bottom of the buckets for drainage, right?

Alex
Rusty
Original Author
11 years ago
Well sorry for the super long update from July on this post Ã¢ÂÂplus bringing it back to lifeÃ¢ÂÂ, but I have been very busy and barley taken care of these since then Ã¢ÂÂalmost gave up but not thrown in the towelÃ¢ÂÂ. HereÃ¢ÂÂs what I did to fix the problem.

First thing I did was took out the mulch Ã¢ÂÂon top of mixÃ¢ÂÂ. Ã¢ÂÂWhich I found out from a grower is the worst thing to have in a pot unless its stone or rubber makes ez mold to form.Ã¢ÂÂ Then I flushed it out, untill the top roots where showing. Then covered the roots with fresh dry soil. The next day, I took 1 TBS of lime in and sprinkled it into each bucket then gave half a fert+water dose to each one. Ã¢ÂÂI basically thought Ã¢ÂÂand wasÃ¢ÂÂ This was my worst pepper growing season, I ever had.Ã¢ÂÂ Reason behind it more rain than normal. Plus it being under a citrus tree didnÃ¢ÂÂt help.
I walked away for a few days to see what may happen. And as I thought the only new peppers IÃ¢ÂÂm trying to grow will die first... and of course it was my TS. Now my BJÃ¢ÂÂsÃ¢ÂÂor now IÃ¢ÂÂm pretty sure they are its sisterÃ¢ÂÂNaga M is loving it. The CJH are small Ã¢ÂÂexcept 1 Ã¢ÂÂnot in photosÃ¢ÂÂ which I saved to baby since her mother died recently to a dog leash Ã¢ÂÂehÃ¢ÂÂÃ¢ÂÂ¦..is doing fineÃ¢ÂÂ but the last few cold snaps, and with frost, we had here set off all the super hots. And now they are producing like crazy. I know this is not to be expected this time of year even in Central FL thatÃ¢ÂÂs for sure. But what can I say there mom is over 2 years old and she started out in the cold lol.

I know they might not look as great as everyone elseÃ¢ÂÂs but they all gave me about 60+ pods harvested and still growing more.Ã¢ÂÂ Btw harvested them before pictures and realized I forgot I had to share with my fellow pepper growers about this. And left a couple on.Ã¢ÂÂ
Sorry about the delay, I have been very busy.
And on that note PEPPERMEISTER1 is definitely correct. It is hard to kill them. But if you put them under a citrus tree for some shade. Ã¢ÂÂThey will dieÃ¢ÂÂ

P.s. PEPPERMEISTER1,
Sorry late response. Had lots of holes in bucket to let them dry up. Just rain way too much. If I known it was going to be a wet season Ã¢ÂÂand not dry like the past few yearsÃ¢ÂÂ, I would of used the 5-1-1. But Im not always here to baby them. But, thatÃ¢ÂÂs why I always take the strongest, healthiest and most producing, plant seeds to grow next year. After this fiasco these seeds probably grow into plants that can take a crap load of abuse lol.

Also these pictures was taken today 11/29/12
chilliwin
11 years ago
Nice pictures, lucky plants still they are able to stay outside. Are the plants ghost?
DMForcier
11 years ago
They look happy now!

I count twelve. I think you said you had 20. Did you lose any?
Rusty
Original Author
11 years ago
The peppers are eather Ghost's or its sister Naga Morich. I'm pretty sure they are naga's becouse of the skin texture. The darker leave and smaller ones are Jamaican Chocolate Habanero.

Yea i lost 9 plants this year. There are 11 in the picture. had 12 but gave my bro 1 naga. Lost all 4 Trinidad Scorpions, and 3 JCH's, and one Naga. Every year I always lose 1 or 2 but this year lost 8 babys and the JCH mother plant "
chilliwin
11 years ago
A kind of abusive ignorant, she is a baby yellow habanero she was sprouted on a different tray without light. I moved her to her big sisters' tray with light. Next morning I found her like this may be the light was too much for her. I thought she will be expired soon however still she is keep growing the stem getting a little bit green and taller. I googled to get some information but not yet found. Can she survive?
chilliwin
11 years ago
The outside container plant is habanero I abandoned her for the sake of the other healthy plants. Inside plants are preparation for the next season, now I have about 45 baby plants. May be my preparation is too early. Some of them are going to plant on the ground probably on the soil bags.

Foto taken 01.12.2012
Rusty
Original Author
11 years ago
Hey chilliwin
You can try to keep it going but most likely it will die. Out of all the sprouts that did that I had, I believe I had 1 or 2 out of the 6 years of germination survive, like that. They do need their baby leaves to grow but there is a slim chance it will survive.

As far how soon you start your plants. It may be way to early. I'm not sure other members here will know better. I live in Florida so my winter isn't like your winter.
chilliwin
11 years ago
Hello Rustacator, thank you. I hope so, it will die. Just for the experiment I will keep it.

Related Stories

DECORATING GUIDES 10 Design Tips Learned From the Worst Advice Ever

By Mitchell Parker

If these Houzzers’ tales don’t bolster the courage of your design convictions, nothing will

DECORATING GUIDES From Queasy Colors to Killer Tables: Your Worst Decorating Mistakes

Houzzers spill the beans about buying blunders, painting problems and DIY disasters

PLANTING IDEAS Easygoing Tulip Ideas From a Grand California Garden

Gather up these ways to use tulips to make a spring garden of any size overflow with beauty

KITCHEN DESIGN 16 Practical Ideas to Borrow From Professional Kitchens

Restaurant kitchens are designed to function efficiently and safely. Why not adopt some of their tricks in your own home?

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Sambucus Nigra

By Curtis Adams

Common elderberry is a highly adaptable shrub from the eastern U.S., with berries galore for wildlife and humans alike

EDIBLE GARDENS Garden BFFs? Why Your Vegetables Are Begging for Companion Plants

By Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Foster friendships among plants for protection from pests, pollination support and color camaraderie

MOST POPULAR 5 Ways to Pare Down Your Stuff — Before It Gets in the Door

By Laura Gaskill

Want to free up some room around the house? Rethink gift giving, give yourself a shopping mantra and just say, ‘No, thank you’ to freebies

ECLECTIC HOMES Houzz Tour: Run-Down Victorian Gets a Manhattan-Style Makeover

By Bryan Anthony

A pre-earthquake Victorian in San Francisco is revitalized with a mix of modern and classic design and a healthy dose of NYC glam

FUN HOUZZ Don’t Be a Stickybeak — and Other Home-Related Lingo From Abroad

By Mitchell Parker

Need to hire a contractor or buy a certain piece of furniture in the U.K. or Australia? Keep this guide at hand

FUN HOUZZ Everything I Need to Know About Decorating I Learned from Downton Abbey

Mind your manors with these 10 decorating tips from the PBS series, returning on January 5

Sponsored