Pathetic Peppers

[Marb67]

Well, a complete disater of no fruiting, or distorted, twisted pathetic Chilli's and peppers. Kept in very sunny garden all summer and greenhouse. Fed and in decent Compost
No idea what they are so poor

[Nicos]

When did you sow them marb?

[Snoop Puss]

Well, they've been trying as you've got lots of flowers, so they've done the best they could.

I grew twelve red pepper plants this year. All outdoors. Absolutely beautiful plants with loads of flowers and burgeoning fruit. But I haven't picked a single one. All damaged by sun scorch and too much heat. The old boys who grow veg here think that September is the best month for picking bell peppers, as the days are still long but the temperatures are considerably lower (most years). If I were you, I'd keep them going as long as you can, see if you get some late fruit.

Also, the leaves look very yellow. They should be much darker green than that. What feed have you been using? You say they get good light. Maybe it's just the time of day, but in your first photo the light level looks quite dim.

[Marb67]

Its overcast today hence the low light. Fed with comfrey and a bit of seaweed so plenty of food. The chocolate chilli's have fruited (small) but they aren't even warm, let alone one of the hottest chilli's you can grow. Just like a normal salad pepper. I sowed them early spring but they took their time germinating. Same time as the toms but they have been great.

[ameno]

Peppers need sowing a bit earlier than that, really, especially the hot ones. February is standard.
Although your biggest problem looks like it was lack of pollination. Peppers are self-fertile but they dont' easily self-pollinate the way tomatoes do, so they usually either need insects or they need you to help them out. Maybe next time try using a small brush to hand-pollinate?

[Jungle Jane]

What size pots are they in,they look very small? Root space affects the size of plant & fruit,it doesn’t look like those pots are big enough?

[Marb67]

About 6-7 inch. The pot sizes are fine, although I could plant them out in the garden and put some plastic bags over them ?

[Snoop Puss]

I grow mine in the ground, but 6-7 inches sounds small to me. I've just had a look online and most people recommend 10-12 inches. Are you growing a dwarf variety, Marb? If not, sounds like Jungle Jane might have hit the nail on the head.

[peanut]

Hi Marb,
I agree about pot size being too small, I grow peppers in 9 inch pots and they've done really well but could easily enjoy a larger pot.
I also think that overall light is an issue, having read your previous posts and looked at your previous photos, whilst to your eye you might think they get good light in your greenhouse, I just don't think it's enough.
How often do you feed and how often do you water? Do you water daily as standard? Do you feed once, twice or more a week? What's your routine?
Won't be long till February and we can all start sowing again, so that's something to be cheerful about!

[Marb67]

I feed about once a week and water when dry. Peppers do grow in very hot countries with little water. Some have been growing inb the garden all summer which gets plenty of sun. Its Winter when my garden gets no sun at all.

[Snoop Puss]

Marb, have you had success growing peppers like this in previous years?

[ameno]

I feed about once a week and water when dry. Peppers do grow in very hot countries with little water. Some have been growing inb the garden all summer which gets plenty of sun. Its Winter when my garden gets no sun at all.

Those peppers in hot countries are in the ground, though, where the roots can spread much further in search of water.
Also, those peppers are irrigated reasonably often when there is no rain.

[Marb67]

Marb, have you had success growing peppers like this in previous years?

Only shop bought plant from Asda that had loads of chillies on it. And that was in a small pot!

Sadly, I haven't seen any since.

[ameno]

Only shop bought plant from Asda that had loads of chillies on it. And that was in a small pot!

Sadly, I haven't seen any since.

Dwarf varieties can be grown in small-ish pots, but varieties which produce medium or large plants cannot. Not if you want any success with them, anyway.
Over 10 years ago I tried growing some snack peppers in troughs (the kind you'd usually use as window boxes), two plants to a small trough or three to a large trough. Despite my best efforts to keep them watered and fed, they did pretty poorly, producing only a handful of tiny fruit, so I gave up on growing peppers.
Then I started growing them again a couple years ago, but this time I grew them either in the ground or in much larger pots (about 8 litre size for one plant, and I also use a mix of manure and garden soil to fill them, rather than bagged compost), and they do so much better. It's like night and day. Although even in pots that size when the whether is hot and dry they need watering daily.

[Snoop Puss]

I agree with Ameno above.

Also, you can keep chillies a bit thirsty, but not sweet peppers, which in my experience need quite a bit of water. And if you let your chillies dry out too much, you end up with wrinkly, scorched things that aren't great to use fresh and don't dry well.