steelnut Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 Soooo, once again looking for advice. We've had a garden at our home since we bought it 30 years ago. Some years things go well, some years not so well. One thing that always, always did well was peppers. I usually plant 6 different varieties. Last year was terrible and this year is a repeat. Anyone else having pepper problems? TIA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 Do a Penn State soil test to see if the necessary nutrients are available to the peppers. pH is important with them. If it's off, then they can't absorb what they need even if it's already in the soil. Also, prune the plants so there is no central stem above the second set of leaves. That forces the plant to get down to business and grow fruit in stead of leaves. You can buy a pH meter from Amazon, or you may be able to find one locally. You will use it a lot once you set started and realize how much soil pH can be off for specific plants even when you fertilize and water well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelnut Posted July 23, 2019 Author Share Posted July 23, 2019 22 hours ago, Petee said: Do a Penn State soil test to see if the necessary nutrients are available to the peppers. pH is important with them. If it's off, then they can't absorb what they need even if it's already in the soil. Also, prune the plants so there is no central stem above the second set of leaves. That forces the plant to get down to business and grow fruit in stead of leaves. You can buy a pH meter from Amazon, or you may be able to find one locally. You will use it a lot once you set started and realize how much soil pH can be off for specific plants even when you fertilize and water well. We've done the soil tests and all was well. We fertilize every year, so we're stumped. Two years in a row after so many years of beautiful pepper plants. I've read everything I can find and still can't figure it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 Exactly what problems are you having. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 It's the stupid weather. Things that have been growing well for the past 20 years are not doing well anymore. The peppers however were fine this year. Go figure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 I would tend to think that it's more than just the weather because at the Outdoor Education Demonstration Gardens in Brookville, the peppers are amazing this year, and they're in containers in the handicapped accessible beds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 It's called microclimates. There was a time that I couldn't grow peppers while a relative a half a mile closer to town got beautiful peppers. We had cooler nights due to our location. That seems to have changed. Now we get pepplers and hot weather crops to fruit and the cooler weather crops are not doing so well. Last year onions were great. This year they are not doing well. Broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage did nothing last year. This year they are ok but not as vigorous as they were 5 years ago. Fairly sure it is the weather. With all the rain I had a farmer tell me that he has some of the best corn and some of the worst corn he has ever had depending on when he planted and where. Climate has a great deal to do with how well crops grow. Ask a farmer. steelnut 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshyn Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 The past 2 years my peppers have done horrible. They grow but very tiny and then they are no good. Also my tomato plants aren't fairing too well. I am getting zucchini and some cucumbers but that's about it. I blame the weather! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 i agree with lavender. This year my garden is doing terrible. There has been to much rain. I am sure most have seen the peppers pics I have posted the last few years. my garden is sad looking this year. I have lost a lot of plants. Even my celery looks like crap. My soil is perfect so it has to be all the rain we had. We haven't had nice slow steady rain it has been torrential downpours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 My peppers are good, tomatoes just so-so, zucchini gone wild. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 15 hours ago, Sunshyn said: The past 2 years my peppers have done horrible. They grow but very tiny and then they are no good. Also my tomato plants aren't fairing too well. I am getting zucchini and some cucumbers but that's about it. I blame the weather! My tomatoes are awful this year too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 5 hours ago, Jay said: My peppers are good, tomatoes just so-so, zucchini gone wild. We have a new rule here. Zucchini at every meal. Try this one. Slice zucchini very thin like with a mandoline or a food processor. Marinate on the counter with lemon juice. When it softens layer it on toasted crusty bread. Sprinkle with olive oil and parmesan cheese. I'm going to try it as a salad here shortly. I think it would be just as good on lettuce. steelnut and Lupara 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lupara Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 2 hours ago, lavender said: We have a new rule here. Zucchini at every meal. Try this one. Slice zucchini very thin like with a mandoline or a food processor. Marinate on the counter with lemon juice. When it softens layer it on toasted crusty bread. Sprinkle with olive oil and parmesan cheese. I'm going to try it as a salad here shortly. I think it would be just as good on lettuce. Not even a soupson of roasted garlic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sapphire Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 4 hours ago, lavender said: We have a new rule here. Zucchini at every meal. Try this one. Slice zucchini very thin like with a mandoline or a food processor. Marinate on the counter with lemon juice. When it softens layer it on toasted crusty bread. Sprinkle with olive oil and parmesan cheese. I'm going to try it as a salad here shortly. I think it would be just as good on lettuce. Zoodles! Steelnut introduced me to them. They are very good....with everything. 😊 steelnut 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelnut Posted July 28, 2019 Author Share Posted July 28, 2019 41 minutes ago, sapphire said: Zoodles! Steelnut introduced me to them. They are very good....with everything. 😊 Lol, we just had them today with home made pesto, we absolutely love them! Back to the garden, everything but the peppers look great and are doing well. I'm just so puzzled about the peppers because for over 30 years, not one problem except before the electric fence, the deer loved to munch them. We used to give away 4 - 5 bushels every year after I made spaghetti sauce, pickled peppers, peppers in sauce, pepper relish, sub peppers, stuffed hot sausage peppers that we froze for the winter and I know I'm forgetting some things.... Now two years in a row they're terrible, frustrating!!! Pappy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 I'm assuming that you are rotating your crops annually so the crop before can help feed the crop after, and not leave behind a soil deficiency. How does crop rotation affect the soil? Each crop has different fertilizer requirements. By changing the location of your crops you can avoid the risk of depleting the soil of specific nutrients. Some crops will actually add essential elements to the soil. By using crop rotation, you can actually build up the soil over the years. How do I do this? It’s easy! Plants are often grouped by families that share similar growth habits and cultural requirements. By knowing your plant families (and their garden companions) you can create a plan for your own garden rotation. The following example divides the garden into four sections. As you can see, each year, the vegetable groups are planted in a different section of the garden. There are a few simple rules for crop rotation: • Don’t follow tomato, peppers or eggplant with potatoes, or each other. • Allow 3 years before replanting the same group in any given bed. • Onions may be planted throughout all groups. • Beets, carrots and radishes may be planted among any group, and replanted as early crops are removed. • Don’t forget to interplant with companion plants to minimize pesticide use. See the Companion Plants handout for some ideas on this practice. • Keep good notes so you can duplicate successes. Another interesting idea-“Green Manure” To help build organic matter, you might also consider using a “green manure” sometimes called a cover crop. There are both summer and winter cover crops. Buckwheat makes a great summer cover, and would be used in conjunction with your garden rotation plan. Cereal rye is a good choice for fall planting. Sow it after your fall garden cleanup and then till it under in the spring. By adding organic matter in this way, you will increase aeration and water holding capacity of your soil, prevent weed growth and soil erosion, and support the beneficial organisms necessary for a healthy, living soil. Year 1 Nightshades Peppers, Tomato Eggplant Potato Greens Cauliflower Cabbage, Broccoli Lettuces Legumes Peas Beans Pole beans Squash /Corn Cucumbers Squash Corn Pumpkins Year 2 Squash /Corn Cucumbers Squash, Corn Pumpkins Nightshades Peppers, Tomato Eggplant, Potato Greens Cauliflower Cabbage, Broccoli Lettuces Legumes Peas Beans Pole beans Year 3 Legumes Peas Beans Pole beans Squash /Corn Cucumbers Squash Corn Pumpkins Nightshades Peppers Tomato Eggplant Potato Greens Cauliflower Cabbage, Broccoli Lettuces Year 4 Greens Cauliflower Cabbage, Broccoli Lettuces Legumes Peas Beans Pole beans Squash /Corn Cucumbers Squash Corn Pumpkins Nightshades Peppers Tomato Eggplant Potato Also, was the soil ball root bound, did you mix the proper fertilizer into the soil before you planted (1-1-1) and follow it up every two weeks with another top feeding. Did you prune out the central leader to make the plant bush out? steelnut 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelnut Posted July 29, 2019 Author Share Posted July 29, 2019 We do it all and make sure to rotate every year, always have. It's just stumping us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 1 hour ago, steelnut said: We do it all and make sure to rotate every year, always have. It's just stumping us! Do they have 100% sunlight all day long? Have you had your soil tested this year or last year? Not a Walmart store test, a lab test, and do you have a pH meter? Some thing like ashes can change the pH of the soil more than you might think. Your soil may even be over fertilized but how would you know without a test. Pepper do not line manure. It could be something as simple as that. Did you plant more than one variety? Did you grow your own plants? Are there any insects or any marks at all on the leaves? How are the stems, soft and pliable or woody? Were they buried deeper than normal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 17 hours ago, Lupara said: Not even a soupson of roasted garlic? Sure, why not? Lupara 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanibel Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 14 hours ago, steelnut said: We do it all and make sure to rotate every year, always have. It's just stumping us! I think it is too much rain...this year and last. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 I've been thinking on the rain. All of the area got deluged this spring. Why did it affect some gardens more than others? The only two answers I can think of are that it could have leeched the nutrients out of the soil, or the soil in some gardens has little to no oxygen in it to begin with. If you till regularly, then this is probably your problem because it breaks down the tilth of the soil over time. If a soil have become silty and heavy over the years, then it will automatically hold more water for a longer period of time. Take a long spade fork, or a broadfork, and punch some holes down around the peppers. Maybe even give them a very, very slight lift if you can get down under the roots. While you are doing that, drop your fertilizer down the holes along with some light compost. Does the water pool around the plant or does it disappear immediately? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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