Need more k in the NPK. Potassium!

I agree with NPK but would look for a higher number in P Phosphorous. When they market "Bloom Booster" type ferts the middle number is higher. Also if your plants are healthy sometimes they just don't grow as fast as we would like. Let us know what you decide to do.

Yes, if your weather is moderated, then it must be some type of nutrient issue. However, those buds just dont open over night. They sit there a while teasing you. I am into my second round of peppers and like you, the first round was right in the midst of a long and nasty heat wave. Lots of blooms dropping. But they came through it fine and now that most if not all the pods are harvested from the first round on most of my plants they are strong into producing buds, blooms and a whole lot of pods with very little drops. I would say it is one dropped bloom for every 7 or 8 that put out a pod. I am sure the weather is a big part of that with moderating temps (except for 90's today) it has been mostly highs in the low 80's. I dont know that I will have a long enough season up here in Wisconsin to get them all to ripe but it looks like now I would have a bigger second harvest than the first. But I digress. Once mine started putting out its second set of buds, it took a week or more for them to start blooming if I recall correctly. Sometimes, time is the only cure. Oh, and someone on this list keeps telling me that if you check your peppers too often, they slow down in growing.

Have you tried epsom salts yet? I've had great results getting blooms to set after spraying with a 2 tbsp of dissolved Epsom salts per gallon of water mix, when blooms first appear then every two weeks afterwards. Spray the foliage (leaves and blooms) when the sun is not directly on the plants, evening time has worked best for me.

Helps set the fruit, I've seen noticeably reduced blossom drop and more fruit as a result.

So this epsom salt thing is not a soil nutrient but something you spray on?
Bruce

agreed, the epsom salts are a good addition if you're lacking in soil nutrients. The magnesium strengthens plant leaves as well as aiding in seed germination, photosynthesis and formation of fruits and seeds. we like to dilute in water and then add to our plants :)

Bruce(esox),
Epsom salts can certainly be dissolved and watered into the soil.
That would be the more efficient means of delivery, too.

I don't like to add nutrients to my soil unless I know there's a deficiency.
The thing with Calcium and Magnesium is that the two can create an antagonistic deficiency
if they aren't present in the soil in a favorable ratio.

Less is more, in my opinion. Start light. 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon of Epsom salts per gallon
of water (when you fertilize, add the epsom salts to your solution).

Josh

esox-bruce: if you are not certain if nutrients are the issue, you can try to place a dilute solution in one area, instead of the whole garden ---- you can then see if the plants respond well to your treatment. the dilute epsom treatment typically has good results, as this is well flushed through soils.

bruceghostpepperz: Thanks for the info. I wasn't planning on using the epsom right now. I was just asking about the delivery method. But GreenChileFan is the one right now that needs the advice on his situation and maybe he should try using it on part of his plants to see how they respond.
Bruce

What kind of soil are they growing in, and what are you using for fertilizer?? Also, where are you located?? That's important to know because temperatures, as you know, are key to flower/fruiting success. Also, the growing season is nearing the end for a lot of us.

Joe

we give soil dilute mixture of the epsom in soil, and also spray some of the leaves too --- this seems to work well for us. joe, good point about location ... here in So. FL we have a much longer grow season, so you'll need to tailor to your area. Whenever trying new treatment, we always start with a small area and dilute amount to see how plants respond, this way you can compare to others.

Thanks for the tips...they have started to bloom now and then the remnants of the tropical storm battered the heck out of them and the plants are all laying down. I'm trying to prop them up as best I can while they dry out.

Anyone have any luck with battered chile plants?

Not sure where you are at but here in MD, my Bhut in the ground and my Thai's took the beating of the storm. The Bhut was flat on the ground had to prop up with wooden skewers I had lying around, after awhile it perked back up and has flowers. The Thai's one did well no need to prop up the other completely bent over had to bend it back and prop up with a brick at the base of the stem has not bent back to it's formal shape but can't complain it's alive and still is producing peppers. But this week rain/T storms and maybe more to come the following week :-( I grow in containers also so bring the Bhuts I have in pots when weather gets to bad. Hope this info helps and hope your plants do well and bounce back.