i am havinh a issue similar to teh above. I got my seeds at wal mart. first thing i want to say is these are really difficult plants to grow. they take forever to germinate and are easily stunted by the harsh new england weather. so despite thier dificulty to grow i am determined to get a good harvest out of a bell pepper plant. i germinated a couple seeds. the dog ripped one out of the pot and i put the pother inside a small grow box with the lights on 12/12 (first mistake) after doing a bit of reading i switched the light schedule to 18/6 and now the leaves are falling off. I believe it may be overwatering though i havent been watering much and they are in well drained soil, above mentioned light green leaves (which mine are turning light green) and then falling off, they are all sitting right in the bucket. i do know i have a couple fungus gnaats kicking around and i spray a pesticide to kill them but it is rated for vegatable plants. it is called Eight insect control, and says trusted by bonide since 1987 (or something like that). my pepper plants are starting to blossom at a mere 8 inces tall. i think the plant is short because of the 12/12 light schedule i had it on in the begining wich forced it to stop vertical growth and begin its flowering period. (i am assuming bell pepper plants are a photoperiod plant) so the question is, is it bad genetics? is it overwatering? is it the change in light schedule and the plant reverting back to a vegatative growth stage? is it insect damage (i really dont think it is) just figured i would put my 2 cents in maybe it will help someone else along the way :) any responses will be greatly appreciated. Thanks Matt

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

I don't see a problem, either. The fertilizer spikes are something that most folks frown upon, however. I wouldn't use them. Josh

I am looking at the photo from May 16th (I didn't notice it before) and that looks like some bugs. And you say they came back. Can't tell for sure what they are, but they look like scale. I am surprised, have not seen scale on jades yet (maybe just my luck?) and I have grown many of them over the years. Anyway, test if scale: take a q-tip or cotton ball or even soft tissue or rag. Moisten in rubbing alcohol and wipe over the 'thing'. Do not 'push' hard; if scale, it will die on contact and comes off very easily. Scale is quite regular in shape, circle or oval, just slightly raised in the center. Google photos of scale and you'll see how they look. They do not move, rather stay in same spot. Almost as they are glued to the plant. You could scrape scale off easily with your fingernails...I prefer the wiping. Don't like dead bugs under my fingernails, lol. If you try that, it also should come off easily. If you have to scrape hard to the point of damaging leaves, it isn't scale IMO.