A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Food Garden Forum Vegetable Gardening Sickly Bell Peppers

My poor little bell peppers look just pitiful ... They look a little wilted and haven't produced and bell peppers. They kind of look like little wilted/dryed-up flowers where I think the peppers should be.. Any suggestions? Help

ya got many bee's/polinaters (sp?)??
are you watering deeply?
how many bell pep plants do you have?

I only have the one.. I have seen a couple of bees.. Sorry I forgot to put a pic.. I know it helps.. I am going to try to d it right.. I know last time it was too big, and i think I fixed it.. please bare with me if it is wrong, I am not that great with the techy stuff..
This is the little "flower looking things:

This is the plant which is about a foot tall:

Oh, and I guess the name is "Big Bertha" if that helps. THanks guys.

I could be very very wrong here, but to me they look o.k.

In the first picture, it looks like the flower pedals are spent & falling off & under that there's a pepper!

In the second photo, the plants do look a little stressed, but not terribly. I'd pull up those weeds (those are weeds, right?) water well, and put some mulch (straw or grass clippings) around the plants to help retain moisture.

Is this what others think, too?

I agree.weed n' mulch and it should improve.

Yep. I'd water with a fish emulsion fert. or miracle-gro. The leaves are pale, which to me seems like it's not taking up nitrogen, it could correct itself as the plant matures, but a little help would be great. Don't worry about the N-P-K ratios yet, as the plant is still small. It will take up what it "wants" for now. Next time you water, though, put down some bone meal or a fert. higher in P to aid in fruit development.

The quickest way to turn the pale bell pepper leaves to dark green is to spray the plant with Epsom salts. Epsom salt is a good source of magnesium, something needed by the pepper plant to set fruits. Mix one teaspoon of Epsom salts in a 32-oz spray bottle filled with lukewarm water. Shake well, let cool and spray the solution to the leaves and blossoms. Repeat application in 2 weeks.

Awesome... Thanks guys! I have the hardest time with weeds, esp. the grass looking stuff in the pic. It grows along low to the ground and it is EVERYWHERE!!! I weed every couple of days and it comes back soooo fast.. I was scared to use much cause I read if the stuff is already growing it would take the good stuff out of the soil?? Maybe, I read it wrong.. THanks so much for the info.. Oh, I thnk a little about what made me worry is that it is next to the cherries tomatoes and they are like twice the size.. and this being my first garden~ ever, LOL! THanks so much!

Papito- Cool! Could I do that with Spinach, too? THese are a lot lighter than the package, but then again they are a little young still.. Just curious.. THanks so much!

Spinach can grow with low level of magnesium; unlike peppers and tomatoes which need higher levels [of magnesium]. If the spinach leaves are dark green you may not need to spray them. If you have to spray, use only half strength Epsom salts solution. BTW, the magnesium in Epsom salts may help prevent BER [blossom end rot] in tomato fruits.

Oh neat!! Do I spray the tomatoes the same way? Just making sure..

OH, and I am so embarressed after looking at the pix really well.. I weeded first thing this morning.. *blush*

You'll notice that I don't post pics much, I have a little problem keeping things weeded!
Any crop you grow for the leaves, spinach, lettuce, asparugus, etc., benefits from N (nitrogen) and anything you grow for roots or fruit (potatoes, peppers and tomatoes) benefit from P (phosphorous), as well as potassium (K) and magnesium. In simplest terms, P for fruit, N for leaf, then the other elements.
I use lots of bone meal for the P content with tomatoes, etc. and manure and/or bloodmeal for leafy vegetables. All plants need the various elements to one degree or another.

That is some awesome advise!!!!! Thank you so much! I am going to write that down!