Followed you for quite awhile and you have always helped but worth mentioning… here in my area in Canada we may have severe temp fluctuations even into mid June so my suggestion for other Canadians is after checking all the things in this video, remember peppers grow slow and until temps get stable…have Patience! I reluctantly followed the advice last yr and had the BEST yr ever for my superhots..Patience my friends
A couple of years ago I started keeping a journal of my planting dates and how various plants responded to different planting dates. Some pepper plants grow much faster and only need 5 or 6 weeks before they can go in the ground outside. Others need as much as 3 months! I've found that most of the hotter peppers need more time to grow - cayenne, sport peppers, and tobasco all took a lot longer than jalapeno and bell peppers. You make some great points about the plants being stunted, and that's why I don't like them getting too big before I get them outside. If the soil temps are just right outside they'll grow quickly once they're transplanted into the ground!
Just the content I've been looking for. Thank you Pepper Geek. I'm a complete newbie and so glad I found your channel. I love how straight to the point and knowledgeable you are, thanks for the help!
I moved almost two years ago after spending my entire life so far with a good sized yard that was very fertile. I had a phenomenal garden every year. Then when I finally got married and moved in with her...I learned that clay soil with way too many roots underground is a nightmare. It's taken a year to get rid of all the weeds. The soil doesn't drain well at all. I resorted to raised beds to TRY and give the roots some breathing room and it has helped some, but now I have a deer, rabbit and pest issue. The weather has also been very hard to deal with in the past 2 years. 2 years running we have had an entire month of wind and rain in the 40-50 degree range and then the weather completely flips and it's no rain for a month plus 90-100 degree temps. It's an every day battle...but I am slowly figuring things out. Every time I dig up clay to put a plant in, I always amend it. Two years of working on this yard and beds...I finally am making some progress.
Oh man I'm sorry to hear about your battles with clay soil and pests. We wither all winter just waiting to grow and then you lose that whole year in essence. I figure I only have so many growing seasons left before I get planted, so losing even one is a decent percentage of all I have left. Your raised beds are a smart option for sure. Even try fabric plant pots if you haven't, it's nice to put them under a structure to keep rain away if you know you're going to get dumped on. My nemesis are woodchucks, they are relentless! Plastic barrels cut in half and put on 2x4's in an X pattern up high though, finally thwarted the bastards.🤪
This weather in Maryland on the east coast zone 7 is so damn bi polar that I can’t decide when it’s safe to put my pepper plants outside! I am growing them in 7 gallon boot farmers grow bags! I am buying them already potted from a nursery
Same zone 7 here the days are like 90 already but it's still going to 40 at night so I'm gonna wait till the 14th cause that's 2 weeks after the last frost i checked my soil temp at 12" today and it was at 75 so soil temp is ok just those night time temps
a little while ago i had some stunned pepper plants for about two months and it was because the soil was very compact. I transplanted into a better soil and the pepper plants came back and grew huge.
I was wondering about this and this video pop up. Thank you! One of my mini sweet pepper is not growing as fast as the others, even though they all follow the same process. I think it’s because I dropped it, spilled the soil and damaged a few leaves once… Time to do some troubleshooting.
I was hardening off my plants, a nice sunny day on a shaded east facing balcony. Only I didn't pay attention to the freezing wind, we are only just loosing the last of the snow here in Finland. My Blended Lemon and Starfish lost 2/3 of their bottom leaves. They are back under the growlight and I will start again in about a week
This year I put seedlings with just the first leaves on it in the garden. One isn't doing so good but the others are doing a lot better than I thought they would
Knowing my plants had just been delivered to my friend who had a greenhouse, I believe they wasn't harden enough and got sick and stayed sick and I should have replaced them Loads of information Sir Thanks 😊
Always informative, and the content seems to get posted at the exact time I need it 👍 I think I was just getting impatient with my plants ! Keep up the good work.
As you mentioned, New England is fairly safe for pH. Quabbin's water is 6.8, and while we 'can" get some acid rain, it typically isnt too bad. So, keeping an eye on when to up-pot, is my main concern.
Great video! This is exactly what I needed today. I have my first batch of habaneros from seed in the works. They were growing so quickly and now they seems to have slowed. This addressed so many of my questions. Thank you!
My pepper plants are moving slow. I have mine in double cups outside not fully in sun..They are no where like yours but I'm keeping the faith. I'm in Florida so you know I have excellent weather.
@@PepperGeek it's there I think...they are outside not in full sunshine, but bo way close to yours. As I said they growing feeble, but I'm just keeping the faith.
In southern Florida, my pepper plants seemed to stop growing. I am pretty sure it is due to high pH. The pH is around 7.5 now. It started at 7.7 before I started applying sulfur and composted cow manure. I understand it will take some time to lower pH due to it takes microbial action to lower pH.
One more thing - probably related to the PH level of the soil - if you add coffee grounds your play growth will also be stopped. I learned it the hard way but understood after a couple weeks as I had some plants I didn’t fertilize with fresh coffee grounds (left over caffeine in the grounds stops the plants from growing)
Used coffee grounds won't do anything to your soil's pH. That's a complete myth. You'd have to mix in so much coffee grounds to screw up your soil that it's not even funny. I promise you there's something else going on there. There is no way for coffee grounds to "reduce nitrogen." They're nitrogen-rich and break down pretty quickly. People actually use coffee grounds to kick-start compost piles because they're so nitrogen rich. It's not at all the same thing as mixing a bunch of woodchips (high carbon, very low nitrogen) into your soil, which take a LONG time to break down and tie up nitrogen doing it.
I top-dressed my peppers in grow bags. Plus I added some crushed egg shells. My plants have been slow growing and kinda yellow. 2/3days latter they are perking up,getting greener and looks like they are thinking of blooming. They are only about 5 inches tall, but looking much better. They have been in tbe grow bags for almost a month now. Crossing my fingers.
Thank you for your time and for covering all these options. I’m pretty sure the reason our pepper plants aren’t growing is because we did not harden them off correctly. Is there something we can do to help our plants grow? Or is it just a waiting game from here on out and we need to be patient? Lol. Also, do you think they will still produce peppers if they do start growing again?
@Defective Degenerate I added some Espoma Bio-Tone(mycorrhizae included) to the mix they are in at the moment. I think in my worries of getting dampening off again I underwatered too much.
I had this issue with Bell peppers...but i think it was because I was using a 70/30 mix of coco/soil that was probably quite nutrient deficient. On top of that I was using nutrients that were intended for hydroponics that I think wasn't quite potent enough for the lack of nutrients in the medium.
@Defective Degenerate myco is not a magic bullet. It really doesn't do very well with synthetic hydroponic-style fertilizers. It's REAL easy to kill off those beneficial fungi (and bacteria for that matter) with salt-based ferts like that. OttawaJames, if you're going to use hydro ferts, you're best off using them the way they're intended - in moderate amounts, every time you water. It's not that hydro ferts are weak or incomplete; they're designed to be used in totally inert mediums. You likely just weren't giving them enough, or often enough. And with hydro ferts you REALLY want to make sure your pH is correct or you can have all sorts of problems. If you want to use myco - again, use it the way it's intended to work: which is with slow-release organic fertilizers. Or better yet, in a complete living soil. Myco helps the whole cycle of breaking down more complex nutrients into forms the plant can use, and that is simply not required with hydro-style synthetic soluble nutrients.
@Defective Degenerate been using mycorrhizae inoculant for 3 years. I didn't notice much difference, tbh...Slightly less watering but not by a terribly huge amount.
@@dogslobbergardens6606 These plants were not something i was putting a lot of effort into, my cousin had started some seedlings in Dec (in zone 5a, weird I know) and she had given me some. I had been growing a different crop hydroponically (it's legal in my jurisdiction) but I didn't actually care for the system, I found it too finicky and difficult to adapt to, so when my cousin gave me the seedlings around christmas time, all I had was the coco from the hydro setup and a very small amount of potting soil that wasn't frozen solid, so I mixed them both together to pot the peppers. Then I couldn't find the kind of ferts I wanted at the store since it was winter in canada, so instead, I just decided to use up the rest of the hydroponic ferts I had left. Basically, these peppers were an impromptu crop that kinda ended up in a hybridised grow method out of necessity and also laziness and frugality. There was also a healthy dose of "What happens if?" Anyhoo, spring has sprung and the 70/30 mix is no more. Used up most of the ferts, except for the Cal/Mag supplement. Been using myco inoculant for years, and I am always on top of PH, my municipal water is usually in the 8-9 range so I often add a little apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. I heard the citric acid in lemon juice neutralises the chlorine though so I have been leaning that way more often than the vinegar recently.
I'm trying to figure out why my peppers aren't large. I guess I didn't start them quite in time I'm thinking as they weren't very large when I was able to move them outside. There's no chance they were rootbound as I planted in pretty large biodegradable pots and transferred them to a raised bed long before they were even big enough for those pots. Now... we had a freak snow storm after I planted them outside. I covered them as best i could and they seemed to weather it okay... that was mid May. The plants themselves look really nice actually and have lots of leaves and are a great healthy looking green. But it's July 8th and the've been outside a month and a half or more and they're only about a foot tall. That just seems... lacking. Am I just being impatient? It's a new raised bed so there's no soil impaction. I've been giving regular fertilization. There don't seem to be any pests on them. They look healthy. They've been getting flowers but I've been picking them off as I want them to grow more before they start in on that. Was it just that freak snow and will they not recover from that to grow to respectable size?
I've got a purple bell on which I accidentally broke off 99% of the roots. I took off the bottom leaves and burried it deep, and used a fertilizer that said it supported root development. It lived. But..it's a weird short little thing. It's not growing tall, but it's growing wide. The purple pepper right next to it is perfectly normal
I’m on Southcoast of MA and we had a hailstorm two weeks ago. Most of my peppers got holes in the leaves. I’m starting to see new growth and cutting off the damaged leaves as they get replaced but it is slow going.
I have been growing a jalapeno pepper plant for 2 years in Iowa. I cut off all the top growth, leaving a few leaves to bring it in. I usually would put it in southward window in September. This year I have had it under a grow light as you suggested. It was tons of new leaves in December. Should I leave it to do whatever it likes under the grow light? Will it produce in winter?
I did this with a Serrano, and after a while it did flower and produce a few peppers mid December (I did self-pollenate). I am not sure if this was the right move, but the plant is still alive and producing again outdoors (July)
I have my banana, green bell and jalapeno peppers in a west window and they are doing wonderful, all about 8" tall. My Habaneros, however, are still very small. All my peppers look very healthy and all have been potted up, so I am suspecting it is just to cold in the house. I will begin to harden them all off this week.
@@zarahsgarden2097 I had a Trinidad Moruga Scorpion last year and again this year. Last year it was in a big pot and still didn't get too big. Yet I got tons of peppers from it.
@@debbielarsen4831 Amazing! You must live in a warmer climate? I only got one scorpion pepper last year 🥲 I overwintered it to hopefully get more in its second season but I also started a Chocolate Trinidad Scorpion Pepper for this year 🌱💕 Hoping my new polytunnel will help! 🤞 Happy gardening!
I started mine indoors under lights in February and topped and then removed baby peppers until i planted outside in california after last frost date in april. Most are growing reasonably well except the topped ones. They are nit growing height or leaves, only a few baby peppers. Kinda wished i didnt top. They have been in beds for a few weeks now and am wondering if i should remove the baby peppers again for a while or just leave them. I did harden them off, the soil is perfect in raised beds with no weeds and plenty of space.
I'm trying sugar rush chilli this year. It's also my first time growing chillies haha. I showed the seeds in March, they've germinated, but stunted for a month or so. I think where it's not been very sunny yet in the UK they just weren't getting enough sun. My tomatoes have struggled too.
My peppers are stunted! I left them in the starter cells too long on accident while they were still inside under the grow lights. A few weeks ago I put them in 4" pots with good soil and there's some new growth but still not doing much. Have you ever used a liquid nitrogen booster? Giving that a try other I may have to discard over 20 plants 😭
My hungarian pepper plant has been growing since July 2022, I brought them in for the winter to continue to grow. The plants are healthy, very green, no yellow at all, no damages to the leaves and the stalk is tough and healthy. The only problem is, no fruit. I seen the plant had flowers but no fruit.
@@darioperez5084 flowers came out during the winter, so I pollinated the flower with a q-tip and fruit came. So no, bees not needed. No bees during the winter.
I have no idea why I have some stunted peppers this year. I have a garden bed that normally is full of peppers in the middle of the bed. This year every plant that I put in the middle of the bed is struggling. The weird part is that my volunteer sunflower and pumpkin plant are thriving in the middle of the bed. So then I pulled the pumpkin plant out and still nothing! The only plants doing OK is the sunflower and some random basil. Such a mystery.
Hm, very odd. I think probably a good call to pull the sunflower (they are so nitrogen hungry!), but maybe the peppers just need a bit more time to acclimate and get growing again. Ours always take about a 2-3 week vacation after transplanting.
I have 2 Ghorpian plants that are just not getting tall at all, I have transplanted all my plants into 7 gallon bags, while most of my plants are 7-12 inches tall, these are still only about 2 inches. They have 2 full sets of true leaves but just wont get any taller. I know those superhots grow slowly but dang...
master organic aphids! powdered milk and water in a sprayer! & if its really bad just add a small amount of neem and a squirt of dish soap! My egg plants is aphid free for weeks now magically! I was amazed! & I only say neem because I had a tiny bit of diluted neem water in my prayer when added 2 1/2 gallons of water and a few scoops of milk powder
I got several bell peppers going this year and the plants are stressed, the leaves where crinkled real bad. I cut off all the huge dying leaves and started watering them every morning and they are starting to recover and produce peppers but im concerned about them. Any advice pepper man?
I have 11 pepper plants in west-central Illinois that has been out since the end of may. Most are 6" or less tall, one is 3 feet tall, none have blooms. What is up with that?
I'm no professional but I know enough plants get root bound all the time even the store bought ones are usually root bound & go on to be fruitful. I would disturb roots less as possible. Just my 2cents as usual lol
For some reason all of my pepper varieties are growing sooo slowly this year. They all sprouted around mid-March and are just now barely starting to show the first signs of true leaves. That’s a full six weeks! Should I pot them on right now? Or wait until a couple of sets of true leaves have developed? Or harden them off in their cells and plant them out in a few weeks? In 6b, so not a very long season to be messing around with timing.
That is shockingly slow growth..have you fertilizer at all? Lighting? Those are my first two thoughts. I’d definitely wait until the plants are a bit larger otherwise there man not be enough root mass to hold the soil/root ball intact for transplanting.
@@PepperGeek Yeah, I mixed in some worm castings with the seed starting mix before planting, and have watered a few times with fish emulsion. I’ve got them under LED grow lights and on a heating mat set to 78°. I’ve been bringing them outside for a bit during the day for the past couple of weeks now that it’s a bit warmer. It’s worth noting that all of my other starts, including my tomatoes, are growing like gangbusters. All except my ground cherries which have had 0% germination rate for some reason.
I’m new to growing plants and just bought some pepper seeds. I was wondering do I have to put the pepper outside after a while? What if I plan on keeping my pepper plant indoors through its whole course? Will I still be able to get peppers from my plant?
Yes you can. Provide sufficient lighting and other necessary parameters, it will be just fine. It is more work, you need to be sure air is freshened, etc
Indoor growing is more challenging, as the air condition is usually not optimal for peppers. They like it more humid, warm, and bright. You'd need grow lights on for at least 12-14 hours a day, and monitor for temp and humidity. If pests come along, that's another headache! Outdoors is where we've always had the best results and yields for pepper plants
I think I had every single problem regarding peppers you have described on this channel. I should be an expert by the time im done hehe. I'm always trying, usually do better each time, rn i'm actually dealing with stunted plants. I've never used the pesticides, afraid that it may harm the bees also. but im gonna give it a try and see. I hear spraying them at night may be better since the bees are away. any truth to that?
Can to much light cause slow growth? My plants are approximately 2 months old and only about 6" tall. They are under 18on/6off light schedule in a heated grow room at 75-80. They seem to be growing the same rate as they did last year but seems slower than videos of people I have watched.
That seems about right to me, but there is such a thing as too much light (at least too _close_). As long as the plants look healthy and not burned you are good
My first and last frost dates late like 20 days apart lmao never bothered looking till now cause it never really happens First one is January 7th and last is the 28th lol
i have a jalapeno plant i overwintered....doing well but leaves & stems are getting long. at what point do i trim them back? and how far back? should i downsized when i pulled it inside...should i know transplant it back to my grow bags?
I bought several 6” pepper plants this week that have been outside. Now we are getting ready for a cold snap where night temperatures are going to be in the 40s and 50s during the day. Should I bring them in at night and out at day or just leave them in for several days? Or just leave them out?
I'm curious if anyone can answer this. I sewed some California bell peppers indoors this January. Eventually I took all my plants outdoors but didn't take the bell pepper as they were still too small. Well... I forgot about them. Well over a month passed and I just happened to see them through a window sill. They weren't very big but they were very much alive, no signs of wilting at all. How is that possible?
So, I have decided (for economic reasons) that this year we will only grow our own seedlings and a few seedlings I bought "too" early since spring is very late this year where I live. They are cheaper that early and I re-pot them and keep them in a warm spot until it's time to plant them in the garden. Now I see the size of my peppers compared to the ones sold. Mine have much bigger pots=more soil. The ones sold have tiny pots, but the plants are very tall compared to mine. In this video the peppers shown are similar to mine in size, not very tall, but sort of broader. Does anyone know how the sold seedlings became so tall and if it is good or bad? I think my plants seem healthier, but I could be wrong.
sounds like the tall thin ones are "leggy" meaning they likely aren't getting enough light and are stretching out to get it. plants that have adequate sunlight tend to be much more compact and bushy. PS. I think I just responded to your permaculture question on Epic Gardening channel too, lol.
@@MrEMan-cy5kl Haha! Thank you for reminding me! I forgot about it, but it's really interesting to me. I'll go read it now. And thanks for answering here too.
I have peppers that have great bottom growth. Pretty close to the soil. They are getting taller very slowly. Any suggestions on what to do with all the bottom growth. Leave it alone? Take it off for more top growth and flowers?
I successfully overwintered 1 out of 3 pepper plants, but I think it's dying right I can't get it to go back outside again. Each time I'm trying the hardening off process, it's loosing foliage, the leaves are burning... I'm really disappointed because this year, I also fail my pepper seedlings.
i seeded my peppers too early. they are 10-16 inches and still in 16 oz cups. I have to plant in garden with day highs in high 50s-60s and night lows in 40s and two 38 lows, or wait another 10 days . what would you do?
Great video. BTW, I subscribed here last month and thought you weren't making many videos but I just checked and found that I was unsubscribed from your channel. You might want to include a short message at the end asking ppl to be sure they're still subscribed. Peace
I think suffering from cold, especially when they're small, is the worst one. Peppers can recover from almost anything else pretty readily, but if they've been stunted by cold weather they never seem to catch up again.
I got scotch bonnets, reapers, super Thai chiles and scorpions. My foliage was nice and green. Within a few days the leaves yellowed and dropped. Most leaves. But the pepper flowers and peppers stayed. Not sure what's going on. My scorpion isn't producing anymore flowers.
I ordered plants from pepper Joe's. Very twisted, leggy, not hardened, wimpy plants. I dont think any are going to make it. Unsure if the plants were this way to begin with or if this happened due to being shipped in a dark cardboard box for 2 days.
I have one bell pepper plant. It is about 10 inches tall, it flowered and I have 2-3 peppers growing. Shouldn't my plant get bigger? My banana pepper plant is much bigger and they were bought and planted at the same time and started at the same size.
Generally, no pepper seedlings do not have weak stems. Healthy pepper plants stay pretty squat and stout when they're small. Usually when the stems are long and weak it's because they're just not getting enough light.
I've been using an 18-18-21 fertilizer while my peppers were growing, but now that they're flowering and producing fruits, is that going to be too much nitrogen?
how do you know difference between new growth twisting from calcium def or pest problem? growing seems so hard i wanna start producing plants for income because i love plants but it looks like i need to go to school
I watched a video on tiktok where the person “topped” their pepper plant to make it grow into a bush rather than a tall stalk. I did one of mine at 10inches like it suggested. This was a week ago. I’m nervous I’ve ruined my plant. Any advice?
Hey @PepperGeek, I was considering starting growing some superhots this year, and was wondering if you have any pointers and where I should stop transplanting if I just have 1 100w grow light and how many plants I could grow off of it if more than 1 plant. Thanks!
If it’s your first time I’d recommend doing a few smaller plants, so maybe look for ~1 gallon pots and grow 2-3 plants under the 100W light. They’ll be on the small side but you can always up pot later if you enjoy one variety
It does depend on the species and variety. Chinense always have much larger early foliage, and baccatums too. Annuum varieties typically have smaller, narrower leaves
I need more info for growing hot peppers in the Caribbean. Most of the info I get on RUclips is for growing peppers in the US where you have frost. Please help!
I have a Marconi and a California Wonder both of these plants have what appears to be the shape of peppers but they are all fuzzy, no flowers came out just these fuzzy ends the shape of peppers. If anyone has seen anything like this before please reply.
This man is the sole reason my pepper plants are alive you are a godsend.
Sole reason my "garden" is alive
Thank you for also adding the temperature in Celsius. It's been quite a hassle constantly using Google to convert F to C in the middle of a video
The fact that you’re looking it up shows you’re smart and careful. Wish the best for you and your crops!
Its the same annoyance we feel converting C to F. Very irritating lol
@@AdamJensen_ yes preach it.
Fahrenheit is like percentage.
0%-100% heat
C to f double c add 32 =f reverse
Followed you for quite awhile and you have always helped but worth mentioning… here in my area in Canada we may have severe temp fluctuations even into mid June so my suggestion for other Canadians is after checking all the things in this video, remember peppers grow slow and until temps get stable…have Patience! I reluctantly followed the advice last yr and had the BEST yr ever for my superhots..Patience my friends
A couple of years ago I started keeping a journal of my planting dates and how various plants responded to different planting dates. Some pepper plants grow much faster and only need 5 or 6 weeks before they can go in the ground outside. Others need as much as 3 months! I've found that most of the hotter peppers need more time to grow - cayenne, sport peppers, and tobasco all took a lot longer than jalapeno and bell peppers. You make some great points about the plants being stunted, and that's why I don't like them getting too big before I get them outside. If the soil temps are just right outside they'll grow quickly once they're transplanted into the ground!
Yup, we are still guilty of planting some seeds too early. It’s hard to wait after a long and cold winter, but eventually we all learn the hard way 😅
My peppers are doing fine but I am watching your vids anyway. Great channel you've got here!
Just the content I've been looking for. Thank you Pepper Geek. I'm a complete newbie and so glad I found your channel. I love how straight to the point and knowledgeable you are, thanks for the help!
Thanks for watching ☺️
I moved almost two years ago after spending my entire life so far with a good sized yard that was very fertile. I had a phenomenal garden every year. Then when I finally got married and moved in with her...I learned that clay soil with way too many roots underground is a nightmare. It's taken a year to get rid of all the weeds. The soil doesn't drain well at all. I resorted to raised beds to TRY and give the roots some breathing room and it has helped some, but now I have a deer, rabbit and pest issue. The weather has also been very hard to deal with in the past 2 years. 2 years running we have had an entire month of wind and rain in the 40-50 degree range and then the weather completely flips and it's no rain for a month plus 90-100 degree temps. It's an every day battle...but I am slowly figuring things out. Every time I dig up clay to put a plant in, I always amend it. Two years of working on this yard and beds...I finally am making some progress.
Geoengineering look up Dane Wig
Oh man I'm sorry to hear about your battles with clay soil and pests. We wither all winter just waiting to grow and then you lose that whole year in essence. I figure I only have so many growing seasons left before I get planted, so losing even one is a decent percentage of all I have left. Your raised beds are a smart option for sure. Even try fabric plant pots if you haven't, it's nice to put them under a structure to keep rain away if you know you're going to get dumped on. My nemesis are woodchucks, they are relentless! Plastic barrels cut in half and put on 2x4's in an X pattern up high though, finally thwarted the bastards.🤪
Thank you so much for this! It's time to put our peppers into larger pots. Blessings and greetings from Chicagoland.
This weather in Maryland on the east coast zone 7 is so damn bi polar that I can’t decide when it’s safe to put my pepper plants outside! I am growing them in 7 gallon boot farmers grow bags! I am buying them already potted from a nursery
Same zone 7 here the days are like 90 already but it's still going to 40 at night so I'm gonna wait till the 14th cause that's 2 weeks after the last frost i checked my soil temp at 12" today and it was at 75 so soil temp is ok just those night time temps
Northern Virginia same thing. Maddening.
agreed, i got tricked so bad that i think i stunted 30 of my pepper plants. sad.
As long as it doesnt freeze outside, I think u should be ok
@@hueyq4513 they'll be ok but they'll grow extremely slow compared to taking them inside at night
a little while ago i had some stunned pepper plants for about two months and it was because the soil was very compact. I transplanted into a better soil and the pepper plants came back and grew huge.
I was wondering about this and this video pop up. Thank you! One of my mini sweet pepper is not growing as fast as the others, even though they all follow the same process. I think it’s because I dropped it, spilled the soil and damaged a few leaves once… Time to do some troubleshooting.
I was hardening off my plants, a nice sunny day on a shaded east facing balcony. Only I didn't pay attention to the freezing wind, we are only just loosing the last of the snow here in Finland. My Blended Lemon and Starfish lost 2/3 of their bottom leaves. They are back under the growlight and I will start again in about a week
This year I put seedlings with just the first leaves on it in the garden. One isn't doing so good but the others are doing a lot better than I thought they would
hi from Utah! I'm a total tomato geek 🤓 but I'm not very good at peppers. I'm following along to get better at peppers. thanks
Our Peppers from last year survived in our greenhouse cool thing is now we have 4 already with 4 plus peppers on each :)
Knowing my plants had just been delivered to my friend who had a greenhouse, I believe they wasn't harden enough and got sick and stayed sick and I should have replaced them
Loads of information Sir Thanks 😊
I was just googling this last night and reading those article on this!
Always informative, and the content seems to get posted at the exact time I need it 👍 I think I was just getting impatient with my plants ! Keep up the good work.
Yeh my plant became stunted for a few weeks then began growing super fast recently. Hope i can get peppers out of them
Just want to say thank you for putting temperatures in Celcius to include the other viewers. The little things count and it does make a difference. 😊
No problem! Glad it was helpful
As you mentioned, New England is fairly safe for pH. Quabbin's water is 6.8, and while we 'can" get some acid rain, it typically isnt too bad. So, keeping an eye on when to up-pot, is my main concern.
Great video! This is exactly what I needed today. I have my first batch of habaneros from seed in the works. They were growing so quickly and now they seems to have slowed. This addressed so many of my questions. Thank you!
So glad to have helped :) good luck going forward
Hey I'm going some Habaneros too I have some sweet ones and I have a couple of rare cappuccino habaneros
Good info! I have some pepper seedlings that I started that are growing a little slower than I'd like.
My pepper plants are moving slow. I have mine in double cups outside not fully in sun..They are no where like yours but I'm keeping the faith. I'm in Florida so you know I have excellent weather.
Could be _too_ hot..not sure what the daytime temps are. Usually best between 70-90F
@@PepperGeek it's there I think...they are outside not in full sunshine, but bo way close to yours. As I said they growing feeble, but I'm just keeping the faith.
In southern Florida, my pepper plants seemed to stop growing. I am pretty sure it is due to high pH. The pH is around 7.5 now. It started at 7.7 before I started applying sulfur and composted cow manure. I understand it will take some time to lower pH due to it takes microbial action to lower pH.
One more thing - probably related to the PH level of the soil - if you add coffee grounds your play growth will also be stopped. I learned it the hard way but understood after a couple weeks as I had some plants I didn’t fertilize with fresh coffee grounds (left over caffeine in the grounds stops the plants from growing)
Used coffee grounds won't do anything to your soil's pH. That's a complete myth. You'd have to mix in so much coffee grounds to screw up your soil that it's not even funny. I promise you there's something else going on there.
There is no way for coffee grounds to "reduce nitrogen." They're nitrogen-rich and break down pretty quickly. People actually use coffee grounds to kick-start compost piles because they're so nitrogen rich. It's not at all the same thing as mixing a bunch of woodchips (high carbon, very low nitrogen) into your soil, which take a LONG time to break down and tie up nitrogen doing it.
Caffine shouldnt affect plants, its likely that the ph was too harsh because the coffee grounds didnt compost long enough.
I top-dressed my peppers in grow bags. Plus I added some crushed egg shells. My plants have been slow growing and kinda yellow. 2/3days latter they are perking up,getting greener and looks like they are thinking of blooming. They are only about 5 inches tall, but looking much better. They have been in tbe grow bags for almost a month now. Crossing my fingers.
Thank you for your time and for covering all these options. I’m pretty sure the reason our pepper plants aren’t growing is because we did not harden them off correctly. Is there something we can do to help our plants grow? Or is it just a waiting game from here on out and we need to be patient? Lol. Also, do you think they will still produce peppers if they do start growing again?
Fantastic information as always! My super hots are a bit stunted this year and this should really help me troubleshoot what's going on.
@Defective Degenerate I added some Espoma Bio-Tone(mycorrhizae included) to the mix they are in at the moment. I think in my worries of getting dampening off again I underwatered too much.
I had this issue with Bell peppers...but i think it was because I was using a 70/30 mix of coco/soil that was probably quite nutrient deficient. On top of that I was using nutrients that were intended for hydroponics that I think wasn't quite potent enough for the lack of nutrients in the medium.
@Defective Degenerate myco is not a magic bullet. It really doesn't do very well with synthetic hydroponic-style fertilizers. It's REAL easy to kill off those beneficial fungi (and bacteria for that matter) with salt-based ferts like that.
OttawaJames, if you're going to use hydro ferts, you're best off using them the way they're intended - in moderate amounts, every time you water. It's not that hydro ferts are weak or incomplete; they're designed to be used in totally inert mediums. You likely just weren't giving them enough, or often enough. And with hydro ferts you REALLY want to make sure your pH is correct or you can have all sorts of problems.
If you want to use myco - again, use it the way it's intended to work: which is with slow-release organic fertilizers. Or better yet, in a complete living soil. Myco helps the whole cycle of breaking down more complex nutrients into forms the plant can use, and that is simply not required with hydro-style synthetic soluble nutrients.
@Defective Degenerate been using mycorrhizae inoculant for 3 years. I didn't notice much difference, tbh...Slightly less watering but not by a terribly huge amount.
@@dogslobbergardens6606 These plants were not something i was putting a lot of effort into, my cousin had started some seedlings in Dec (in zone 5a, weird I know) and she had given me some. I had been growing a different crop hydroponically (it's legal in my jurisdiction) but I didn't actually care for the system, I found it too finicky and difficult to adapt to, so when my cousin gave me the seedlings around christmas time, all I had was the coco from the hydro setup and a very small amount of potting soil that wasn't frozen solid, so I mixed them both together to pot the peppers. Then I couldn't find the kind of ferts I wanted at the store since it was winter in canada, so instead, I just decided to use up the rest of the hydroponic ferts I had left. Basically, these peppers were an impromptu crop that kinda ended up in a hybridised grow method out of necessity and also laziness and frugality. There was also a healthy dose of "What happens if?" Anyhoo, spring has sprung and the 70/30 mix is no more. Used up most of the ferts, except for the Cal/Mag supplement. Been using myco inoculant for years, and I am always on top of PH, my municipal water is usually in the 8-9 range so I often add a little apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. I heard the citric acid in lemon juice neutralises the chlorine though so I have been leaning that way more often than the vinegar recently.
@@Ottawajames cool stuff!
Use up the Cal-Mag you've got and never buy it again. You can make the same thing yourself for a fraction of the cost.
@@dogslobbergardens6606 Yeah, mole asses apparently..
I'm trying to figure out why my peppers aren't large. I guess I didn't start them quite in time I'm thinking as they weren't very large when I was able to move them outside. There's no chance they were rootbound as I planted in pretty large biodegradable pots and transferred them to a raised bed long before they were even big enough for those pots. Now... we had a freak snow storm after I planted them outside. I covered them as best i could and they seemed to weather it okay... that was mid May. The plants themselves look really nice actually and have lots of leaves and are a great healthy looking green. But it's July 8th and the've been outside a month and a half or more and they're only about a foot tall. That just seems... lacking. Am I just being impatient? It's a new raised bed so there's no soil impaction. I've been giving regular fertilization. There don't seem to be any pests on them. They look healthy. They've been getting flowers but I've been picking them off as I want them to grow more before they start in on that. Was it just that freak snow and will they not recover from that to grow to respectable size?
I've got a purple bell on which I accidentally broke off 99% of the roots. I took off the bottom leaves and burried it deep, and used a fertilizer that said it supported root development. It lived.
But..it's a weird short little thing. It's not growing tall, but it's growing wide. The purple pepper right next to it is perfectly normal
Question: When a pepper says “X” number of days to mature, does that mean the plant? Or the fruit to ripen fully?
What fertilising regime would you recommend for seedlings planted in seed start compost ie no nutrients
I’m on Southcoast of MA and we had a hailstorm two weeks ago. Most of my peppers got holes in the leaves. I’m starting to see new growth and cutting off the damaged leaves as they get replaced but it is slow going.
I have been growing a jalapeno pepper plant for 2 years in Iowa. I cut off all the top growth, leaving a few leaves to bring it in. I usually would put it in southward window in September. This year I have had it under a grow light as you suggested. It was tons of new leaves in December. Should I leave it to do whatever it likes under the grow light? Will it produce in winter?
I did this with a Serrano, and after a while it did flower and produce a few peppers mid December (I did self-pollenate). I am not sure if this was the right move, but the plant is still alive and producing again outdoors (July)
I have my banana, green bell and jalapeno peppers in a west window and they are doing wonderful, all about 8" tall. My Habaneros, however, are still very small. All my peppers look very healthy and all have been potted up, so I am suspecting it is just to cold in the house. I will begin to harden them all off this week.
The hotter the pepper, the slower they grow. Don't be discouraged.
@@debbielarsen4831 ohhh that's why my Trindad Scorpion and Tobago Seasoning peppers are smaller than everything else! How interesting! 🌱💕
@@zarahsgarden2097 I had a Trinidad Moruga Scorpion last year and again this year. Last year it was in a big pot and still didn't get too big. Yet I got tons of peppers from it.
@@debbielarsen4831 Amazing! You must live in a warmer climate? I only got one scorpion pepper last year 🥲 I overwintered it to hopefully get more in its second season but I also started a Chocolate Trinidad Scorpion Pepper for this year 🌱💕 Hoping my new polytunnel will help! 🤞
Happy gardening!
@@zarahsgarden2097 they start slow, but they will out grow everything else, at least the Scorpion peppers in my experience
I started mine indoors under lights in February and topped and then removed baby peppers until i planted outside in california after last frost date in april. Most are growing reasonably well except the topped ones. They are nit growing height or leaves, only a few baby peppers. Kinda wished i didnt top. They have been in beds for a few weeks now and am wondering if i should remove the baby peppers again for a while or just leave them. I did harden them off, the soil is perfect in raised beds with no weeds and plenty of space.
I'm trying sugar rush chilli this year. It's also my first time growing chillies haha. I showed the seeds in March, they've germinated, but stunted for a month or so. I think where it's not been very sunny yet in the UK they just weren't getting enough sun. My tomatoes have struggled too.
My peppers are stunted! I left them in the starter cells too long on accident while they were still inside under the grow lights. A few weeks ago I put them in 4" pots with good soil and there's some new growth but still not doing much. Have you ever used a liquid nitrogen booster? Giving that a try other I may have to discard over 20 plants 😭
nice video, started watching you about a month ago and your info is great!
Appreciate that! :)
My hungarian pepper plant has been growing since July 2022, I brought them in for the winter to continue to grow. The plants are healthy, very green, no yellow at all, no damages to the leaves and the stalk is tough and healthy. The only problem is, no fruit. I seen the plant had flowers but no fruit.
Bees
@@darioperez5084 flowers came out during the winter, so I pollinated the flower with a q-tip and fruit came. So no, bees not needed. No bees during the winter.
Cheer~~~having been prevented from growing or developing properly.😢
I have no idea why I have some stunted peppers this year. I have a garden bed that normally is full of peppers in the middle of the bed. This year every plant that I put in the middle of the bed is struggling. The weird part is that my volunteer sunflower and pumpkin plant are thriving in the middle of the bed. So then I pulled the pumpkin plant out and still nothing! The only plants doing OK is the sunflower and some random basil. Such a mystery.
Hm, very odd. I think probably a good call to pull the sunflower (they are so nitrogen hungry!), but maybe the peppers just need a bit more time to acclimate and get growing again. Ours always take about a 2-3 week vacation after transplanting.
I have 2 Ghorpian plants that are just not getting tall at all, I have transplanted all my plants into 7 gallon bags, while most of my plants are 7-12 inches tall, these are still only about 2 inches. They have 2 full sets of true leaves but just wont get any taller. I know those superhots grow slowly but dang...
master organic aphids! powdered milk and water in a sprayer! & if its really bad just add a small amount of neem and a squirt of dish soap! My egg plants is aphid free for weeks now magically! I was amazed! & I only say neem because I had a tiny bit of diluted neem water in my prayer when added 2 1/2 gallons of water and a few scoops of milk powder
I love these videos I've watched nearly all of them. Full of information I've used tips for mh cayenne.
Thanks for watching our channel, we're so glad to be helpful :)
I got several bell peppers going this year and the plants are stressed, the leaves where crinkled real bad. I cut off all the huge dying leaves and started watering them every morning and they are starting to recover and produce peppers but im concerned about them. Any advice pepper man?
I have 11 pepper plants in west-central Illinois that has been out since the end of may.
Most are 6" or less tall, one is 3 feet tall, none have blooms.
What is up with that?
Wrong topic but newest video... Have you tried smoking peppers to make chipotle style seasoning/sauce? Do you have any tips? Thanks!
Can stunted root bound plants fully recover after transplant? Lossening the roots before putting in the ground?
That's what I'm wondering too. And what if you don't loosen the roots?
I'm no professional but I know enough plants get root bound all the time even the store bought ones are usually root bound & go on to be fruitful. I would disturb roots less as possible. Just my 2cents as usual lol
For some reason all of my pepper varieties are growing sooo slowly this year. They all sprouted around mid-March and are just now barely starting to show the first signs of true leaves. That’s a full six weeks! Should I pot them on right now? Or wait until a couple of sets of true leaves have developed? Or harden them off in their cells and plant them out in a few weeks? In 6b, so not a very long season to be messing around with timing.
That is shockingly slow growth..have you fertilizer at all? Lighting? Those are my first two thoughts. I’d definitely wait until the plants are a bit larger otherwise there man not be enough root mass to hold the soil/root ball intact for transplanting.
@@PepperGeek Yeah, I mixed in some worm castings with the seed starting mix before planting, and have watered a few times with fish emulsion. I’ve got them under LED grow lights and on a heating mat set to 78°. I’ve been bringing them outside for a bit during the day for the past couple of weeks now that it’s a bit warmer. It’s worth noting that all of my other starts, including my tomatoes, are growing like gangbusters. All except my ground cherries which have had 0% germination rate for some reason.
I’m new to growing plants and just bought some pepper seeds. I was wondering do I have to put the pepper outside after a while? What if I plan on keeping my pepper plant indoors through its whole course? Will I still be able to get peppers from my plant?
Yes you can. Provide sufficient lighting and other necessary parameters, it will be just fine. It is more work, you need to be sure air is freshened, etc
Indoor growing is more challenging, as the air condition is usually not optimal for peppers. They like it more humid, warm, and bright. You'd need grow lights on for at least 12-14 hours a day, and monitor for temp and humidity. If pests come along, that's another headache! Outdoors is where we've always had the best results and yields for pepper plants
can one use an aquarium/pool testing ph kit to test ph of soil? put some soil in water then test with testing kit?
You should try grafting multiple pepper plants onto 1 big one and see what happens, see how many varieties you can get to grow :D
This is definitely going to happen at some point on this channel, just a matter of when 😁
I think I had every single problem regarding peppers you have described on this channel. I should be an expert by the time im done hehe. I'm always trying, usually do better each time, rn i'm actually dealing with stunted plants. I've never used the pesticides, afraid that it may harm the bees also. but im gonna give it a try and see. I hear spraying them at night may be better since the bees are away. any truth to that?
My bell peppers seedling have a dark color near the bottom of the stem, the rest of the plant is nice and green, should I worry/what is it?
Greetings,
Thank you for your videos and advice.
My peppers plants have some leaves turning yellow and brawn, any advice?
Can to much light cause slow growth? My plants are approximately 2 months old and only about 6" tall. They are under 18on/6off light schedule in a heated grow room at 75-80. They seem to be growing the same rate as they did last year but seems slower than videos of people I have watched.
That seems about right to me, but there is such a thing as too much light (at least too _close_). As long as the plants look healthy and not burned you are good
My first and last frost dates late like 20 days apart lmao never bothered looking till now cause it never really happens
First one is January 7th and last is the 28th lol
Thanks for sharing another great video.
Thanks for being such a long time viewer!
At 8:00 you showed a picture of pepper leaves with black lines on them. Is this normal? My bellpepper plants have those black lines.
Yep it’s normal coloration on certain varieties
What about if you started from seed but planted the seeds outside?
Do plants that come from seeds harvested from grocery store fruit grow slower than seeds from seed vendors?
i have a jalapeno plant i overwintered....doing well but leaves & stems are getting long. at what point do i trim them back? and how far back? should i downsized when i pulled it inside...should i know transplant it back to my grow bags?
I would say just transplant back to a large pot and let it grow!
@@PepperGeek will do!
How about bringing them out to the greenhouse from indoors? Do you have to harden them off?
Yes if they're moving into sun, I would recommend a hardening period - if the sun is diffused it probably won't have to be as long of a transition
@Pepper Geek okay. Thank you for your response. Love your channel. Thanks for what you and your wife do to inform people. Cheers 🍻
When growing under lights, what PAR values do you recommend for various stages?
I bought several 6” pepper plants this week that have been outside. Now we are getting ready for a cold snap where night temperatures are going to be in the 40s and 50s during the day. Should I bring them in at night and out at day or just leave them in for several days? Or just leave them out?
Well if it’s 40 in the day I’d check those overnight lows. I would probably bring them in just to be safe and keep the plants on track
I'm curious if anyone can answer this. I sewed some California bell peppers indoors this January. Eventually I took all my plants outdoors but didn't take the bell pepper as they were still too small. Well... I forgot about them. Well over a month passed and I just happened to see them through a window sill. They weren't very big but they were very much alive, no signs of wilting at all. How is that possible?
I forget about plants all the time. Some how they usually survive. If a plant wants to live, it will. Glad you got some bell peppers.
Should I worry about microorganism pre-seed? Like drenching SeedStarterMix in EM1 before seeding?
So, I have decided (for economic reasons) that this year we will only grow our own seedlings and a few seedlings I bought "too" early since spring is very late this year where I live. They are cheaper that early and I re-pot them and keep them in a warm spot until it's time to plant them in the garden. Now I see the size of my peppers compared to the ones sold. Mine have much bigger pots=more soil. The ones sold have tiny pots, but the plants are very tall compared to mine. In this video the peppers shown are similar to mine in size, not very tall, but sort of broader. Does anyone know how the sold seedlings became so tall and if it is good or bad? I think my plants seem healthier, but I could be wrong.
sounds like the tall thin ones are "leggy" meaning they likely aren't getting enough light and are stretching out to get it. plants that have adequate sunlight tend to be much more compact and bushy.
PS. I think I just responded to your permaculture question on Epic Gardening channel too, lol.
@@MrEMan-cy5kl Haha! Thank you for reminding me! I forgot about it, but it's really interesting to me. I'll go read it now. And thanks for answering here too.
I think they use a lot of fertilizers for commercially sold plants..
I have peppers that have great bottom growth. Pretty close to the soil. They are getting taller very slowly. Any suggestions on what to do with all the bottom growth. Leave it alone? Take it off for more top growth and flowers?
I successfully overwintered 1 out of 3 pepper plants, but I think it's dying right I can't get it to go back outside again. Each time I'm trying the hardening off process, it's loosing foliage, the leaves are burning... I'm really disappointed because this year, I also fail my pepper seedlings.
i seeded my peppers too early. they are 10-16 inches and still in 16 oz cups. I have to plant in garden with day highs in high 50s-60s and night lows in 40s and two 38 lows, or wait another 10 days . what would you do?
Great video.
BTW, I subscribed here last month and thought you weren't making many videos but I just checked and found that I was unsubscribed from your channel.
You might want to include a short message at the end asking ppl to be sure they're still subscribed.
Peace
I think suffering from cold, especially when they're small, is the worst one. Peppers can recover from almost anything else pretty readily, but if they've been stunted by cold weather they never seem to catch up again.
I got scotch bonnets, reapers, super Thai chiles and scorpions. My foliage was nice and green. Within a few days the leaves yellowed and dropped. Most leaves. But the pepper flowers and peppers stayed. Not sure what's going on. My scorpion isn't producing anymore flowers.
Great information! I want the soil of my garden tested, I'm in North East, do you recommend any?
If your plant experienced stun growth and you fertilized it, do you remove the peppers that are not growing?
Lol...in my hottest month (July) my average nighttime low is 55F (13C). Going to use hoops and poly this year to add a degree or two.
I ordered plants from pepper Joe's. Very twisted, leggy, not hardened, wimpy plants. I dont think any are going to make it. Unsure if the plants were this way to begin with or if this happened due to being shipped in a dark cardboard box for 2 days.
I have one bell pepper plant. It is about 10 inches tall, it flowered and I have 2-3 peppers growing. Shouldn't my plant get bigger? My banana pepper plant is much bigger and they were bought and planted at the same time and started at the same size.
Do pepper seedlings typically have weak stems? Mine are falling over. I see you have a stick holding up one in the video. I may need to do that.
Generally, no pepper seedlings do not have weak stems. Healthy pepper plants stay pretty squat and stout when they're small. Usually when the stems are long and weak it's because they're just not getting enough light.
Yes many of our young plants are floppy early on, so we use little skewers to support them
Keep up the great vids
What is the average height size of Fresno chilly plant
I've been using an 18-18-21 fertilizer while my peppers were growing, but now that they're flowering and producing fruits, is that going to be too much nitrogen?
Potentially..I might reduce the strength by half at this point
Love your channel!
Thank you :)
Some whiteflies got into my plants inside so I planted some spiders but what I really need is a jumping spider to actively hunt the flies.
how do you know difference between new growth twisting from calcium def or pest problem? growing seems so hard i wanna start producing plants for income because i love plants but it looks like i need to go to school
0:44 in the left upper corner, what kind of pepper is?
I watched a video on tiktok where the person “topped” their pepper plant to make it grow into a bush rather than a tall stalk. I did one of mine at 10inches like it suggested. This was a week ago. I’m nervous I’ve ruined my plant. Any advice?
It will come back! Look for new growth at nodes below the cutting point, you should see some new shoots forming by now
Hey @PepperGeek, I was considering starting growing some superhots this year, and was wondering if you have any pointers and where I should stop transplanting if I just have 1 100w grow light and how many plants I could grow off of it if more than 1 plant. Thanks!
If it’s your first time I’d recommend doing a few smaller plants, so maybe look for ~1 gallon pots and grow 2-3 plants under the 100W light. They’ll be on the small side but you can always up pot later if you enjoy one variety
@@PepperGeek thanks for the advice! Also, what size grow tent would you recommend if it’s needed that is
I just found you now so I hope you see this but why are the actual peppers very small and have wrinkles?
It could be many things. If the plants are very small, not getting enough light, poor draining soil, overly dry, nutrients...
How do you get the leafs to grow so big and green, mine don't grow that much at the beginning
It does depend on the species and variety. Chinense always have much larger early foliage, and baccatums too. Annuum varieties typically have smaller, narrower leaves
if it's stunted because of the weather, will it grow normally again once it warms up? and will transplanting In too big of a pot cause stunted plants?
How big is the planter you are using? How many gallons planter?
I need more info for growing hot peppers in the Caribbean. Most of the info I get on RUclips is for growing peppers in the US where you have frost. Please help!
It will still depend of individual plant, i.e. genetics. Same care sometimes makes different results.
I have a Marconi and a California Wonder both of these plants have what appears to be the shape of peppers but they are all fuzzy, no flowers came out just these fuzzy ends the shape of peppers. If anyone has seen anything like this before please reply.
i have sweet red pepper that i grow from seeds.. they are still inside and the leaves are starting to turn yellow.... well, that go away??