I live in a igloo with polar bears lol way up in northern Manitoba Canada. I won't see spring until May. On record, this has been the coldest winter yet. Tempature has been -45 -50 for the last two months. Brrrrr! I stopped watering the peppers for a week and all the leaves pointed strait down and curled up. I watered them last night and by morning they perked back to life! Ill try out the pollination and keep you posted;) Greatly appreciated! Ghostjuice.

Thanks for the reply. It does look like a calcium or magnesium deficiency, which if it is, is not likely due to lack of the nutrients but an uptake issue as you said (I use epsom salts foliar and bone meal in the soil). Does epsom salt increase soil salinity over time? The location is near the ocean and salt build up is a concern. Also, can high soil salinity effect nutrient uptake, like a mineral or ph level imbalance can? I don't believe it is a calcium deficiency though because I am not experiencing BER. The bottom (flower end) is not soft/mushy/rotten but tough and scarred like in the pictures above. Thrips and some spider mite damage may be at play, but again this seems unlike to be the problem since only new leaf growth is effected (maybe I'm wrong here, perhaps the pest are only attacking the young shoots first). It seems the most important, stand alone issue is trying to understand what is causing those dead ends and flowers to fall off, this is an issue I am having trouble explaining with any of the pest or nutrient issues we just discussed. Thanks for the input! I still haven't figured it out and need all the help i can get

Leaf curling/distortion usually indicates a deficit of Calcium and Magnesium... Get your hands on Dolomite Lime pellets (which has both Calcium and Magnesium)... Use about a Tablespoon or less either dissolved in water (then watered into soil) or sprinkled around the soil (then watered). If you can't get that, you can also use Epsom Salt to supply Magnesium, sprinkle half a Table Spoon around the base of the plant and water, then dissolve 1 Table Spoon in a gallon of water (distilled suggested) and spray on the top and bottom of the entire plant (in the morning or before night, NOT in the middle of the day/sun). Do this only every 2 weeks, never more. Calcium is a bit harder to do, milk works, best if you get your hands on powdered milk, ground egg shells work also, but are a VERY slow release (best if added to soil at the beginning of the year). Best bet is probably Dolomite Lime, it won't mess with your soil pH so much and it should dissolve quickly in water. Hope that helps :)

I would leave it alone. If you have trouble keeping it hydrated, use a drip-tray and shade the container. Josh