Problems with Peppers - Ep. 197

[00:00:00] Growing peppers is one of the most asked about topics at the farm stand and the most played

[00:00:06] episodes of this podcast. Most of the time, the frustration comes with either not getting

[00:00:10] bell peppers to grow large enough or other problems for peppers like sunscald, top heavy

[00:00:16] plants and just generally poor plant growth and low production levels. And of course,

[00:00:21] there are always the problems with pests and diseases. Today on Just Grow Something,

[00:00:26] tackling all of that and more. If you've had issues getting the most out of your pepper

[00:00:30] plants or if you're brand new to the pepper game, this one's for you. Let's dig in.

[00:00:56] Or all your family's favorites. Consider me your friend in the garden. So grab your garden

[00:01:01] journal and a cup of coffee and get ready to just grow something.

[00:01:13] Look Bumble knows you're exhausted by dating. All the must not take yourself too seriously

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[00:01:38] the new Bumble now. If you are new here, thank you so much for listening and welcome

[00:01:43] to our little gardening community. If you are an OG returning this week, I truly

[00:01:48] appreciate you tuning back in. And if you are one of my junior gardeners listening

[00:01:52] alongside your adult today, shout out to you guys. I'm told a lot of you listen

[00:01:57] with the kiddos in the car and some of them now recognize my voice when I come

[00:02:01] on. So to my junior gardeners, hey there, thank you for listening. Quick reminder

[00:02:06] that the question of the month for May is ask me anything. We will be celebrating

[00:02:12] the 200th episode of this show the day that I would normally be reviewing your

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[00:02:36] there are some fun spring and summer designs over in the shop at

[00:02:41] JustGrowSomethingPodcast.com and those designs are on some tanks and some teas

[00:02:46] and some travel cups and all kinds of other fun stuff. It's a cool way to

[00:02:49] support the show and show off your love of gardening at the same time. I am

[00:02:53] ever so grateful for those of you who have done a little shopping here

[00:02:56] recently. If you're out in the garden or out and about sporting one of my

[00:03:00] designs I would love to see it so tag me on show so I can see. So I will link

[00:03:06] to the replay of the original full episode on peppers that I did back in

[00:03:11] season 2. I replayed it this past December with a little bit of an

[00:03:15] audio fix to make it easier on the ears. So that will be linked in the

[00:03:20] episode description in whatever podcast player you are currently in or

[00:03:24] in the show notes on my website at JustGrowSomethingPodcast.com. That episode was a deep dive into all things pepper, the ethnobotany and the nutrition facts and how to

[00:03:36] harvest and store and all that kinds of fun stuff. Today we're going to look

[00:03:39] specifically at what common problems gardeners face when growing peppers and

[00:03:45] how to prevent or mitigate them. So the first thing to understand is that

[00:03:53] peppers are in the Solanaceae family. They are one of the nightshades right

[00:03:58] alongside eggplant, tomatoes and potatoes. Now to me eggplant and peppers

[00:04:04] have more of a similar growing style or growth habit and tomatoes and

[00:04:10] potatoes kind of seem to be in their own little category. Peppers are a

[00:04:15] tropical perennial. They were native to the Caribbean, South America and

[00:04:20] really southern most parts of North America. These are all very, very warm

[00:04:25] climates. It cannot survive a frost which is why it's usually grown as an

[00:04:30] annual vegetable and if you live somewhere that doesn't get winter

[00:04:34] frosts it can actually survive several seasons and just continue to grow

[00:04:38] into a large sort of shrub. This is also how you can overwinter them in

[00:04:43] containers. You can bring them inside to achieve the same effect but this

[00:04:47] sort of origin story of being a tropical perennial explains a lot about the

[00:04:54] very first problems that we have with growing peppers in other than tropical

[00:04:59] regions. Gardeners in climates that have limited warm weather growing days

[00:05:06] are often in a rush to get their plants into the ground but peppers

[00:05:11] absolutely object to this. Planting them too early can stunt their growth and

[00:05:17] that is the first problem that we might see, this sort of failure to thrive. So

[00:05:23] if you're starting your own pepper seed indoors they like the seed starting

[00:05:29] mix to be at about 85 degrees Fahrenheit or 29.4 Celsius. That is

[00:05:34] really warm for seed starting and even at that temperature they can take

[00:05:39] a while to germinate like up to 10 days and even longer if the soil temperature

[00:05:43] is cooler than they like. And they will take a while to really take off once

[00:05:48] they do sprout. This is one of the first stumbling blocks that you might

[00:05:52] face when you're trying to grow peppers. Hot peppers are even slower

[00:05:56] to germinate than sweet peppers too for whatever reason and I've had those

[00:06:00] take as long as three weeks to germinate even in those really warm

[00:06:04] soil temperatures. They're definitely an exercise in patience for sure. Peppers

[00:06:09] will generally not germinate at all in soil temperatures that are below 55

[00:06:15] Fahrenheit or 12.8 Celsius. So that gives us an idea of how picky they

[00:06:20] might be about the soil temperature outside once it's finally time to get

[00:06:25] them transplanted out into the ground. So whether you have sprouted

[00:06:30] them yourself or if you've brought them home from the nursery, the air

[00:06:34] temperature outside when transplanting ideally should be staying between 65 and

[00:06:40] 75 Fahrenheit or 18 to 24 Celsius during the day before you even think

[00:06:46] about transplanting. The overnight air temperature should be staying above

[00:06:51] 55 Fahrenheit or 12.8 Celsius consistently. And then the average soil

[00:06:58] temperature should be at least 65 degrees Fahrenheit or 18 Celsius

[00:07:04] before you put your peppers out into the garden. This is likely going

[00:07:08] to be about three weeks or so after your average last frost date depending

[00:07:13] on where you're gardening. Peppers are actually almost the last warm

[00:07:19] season crop that I put out into the gardens. The only two things

[00:07:22] that are planted later are sweet potatoes and okra and that's

[00:07:26] because I'm waiting for the soil temperatures to warm up and the air

[00:07:29] temperatures to settle. So don't be in a rush to transplant your

[00:07:33] peppers outside. Cold temperatures can weaken those plants right at

[00:07:38] the beginning and they may never fully recover. This is one reason

[00:07:43] for stunted growth and low production in peppers. The weather

[00:07:47] should be very warm and settled before you put them outside. So

[00:07:51] make them one of the last ones on your list. Now another thing

[00:07:55] that can cause stunted or slow growing plants is a lack of organic

[00:08:00] matter in the soil. Peppers thrive in soil that is slightly

[00:08:04] acidic and well draining and that organic matter absolutely helps

[00:08:09] with the drainage. It also provides a slow release version

[00:08:15] of nutrients as that organic matter breaks down. We also want

[00:08:21] our pepper plants to have the most amount of sunlight of almost

[00:08:25] any of the plants in the garden. Yes, they are a full sun

[00:08:29] plant and like we talked about last week, full sun is six to

[00:08:33] eight hours per day. But if any of the plants I grow, I

[00:08:38] will say that peppers are the most likely to appreciate

[00:08:42] more than that if you can give it to them. Eight to ten

[00:08:46] hours is preferred in my garden in the Midwest because

[00:08:51] the strength of the sun is just not the same here as it would

[00:08:55] be somewhere closer to those tropical climates that are

[00:08:58] closer to the equator, which means if you garden even

[00:09:01] further north than I do in the northern hemisphere, your

[00:09:05] peppers may prefer closer to 12 hours per day. Now can they

[00:09:09] grow in four to six hours of daylight? Yes, but will they

[00:09:13] be leggy and will they produce fewer smaller peppers? Also,

[00:09:18] yes. So give your peppers the most amount of light that you

[00:09:21] can now if you are one of my gardeners that has a very

[00:09:25] short growing season, you may want to opt for smaller

[00:09:30] varieties of peppers that mature more quickly than those

[00:09:35] huge bell peppers or capsicums. There are lots of

[00:09:39] varieties to choose from that may work out better for you.

[00:09:42] If you can get your plants to a bigger size by starting them

[00:09:45] earlier and then transplanting when they're already getting

[00:09:48] pretty mature, then this is going to help you even more.

[00:09:51] Of all the things that I start in transplant, the one

[00:09:53] that I don't mind putting out when they're larger than

[00:09:57] ideal is pepper plants. They tend to handle the

[00:10:00] transplant really well even at a larger stage of growth.

[00:10:03] So that will allow a short season gardener more time to

[00:10:08] get to a full harvest. So choose smaller varieties and

[00:10:12] then let your plants get a little bit further on in

[00:10:15] maturity before you actually transplant them outside. Now

[00:10:19] another problem is either having too much foliage on the

[00:10:24] plant or not enough. So in most instances, this comes

[00:10:27] down to your nutrients. If you do a soil test

[00:10:31] beforehand, you will know whether or not any of your

[00:10:34] primary nutrients are depleted. Peppers need nitrogen

[00:10:39] early on for leafy growth, but once that canopy is

[00:10:43] created, they rely mainly on phosphorus and potassium for

[00:10:46] the root development, flowering and fruiting, and then

[00:10:50] calcium and magnesium for solid fruit walls and

[00:10:52] nutrient mobility. In fact, many of the problems we

[00:10:55] might face in peppers has to do with nutrient

[00:10:57] imbalances, but not always with a lack of nutrient

[00:11:01] availability. So let's go through each of these nutrients

[00:11:05] one by one and talk about what peppers need from each

[00:11:08] of them and what can happen if they don't have it or

[00:11:11] if they have too much. First up, nitrogen. Nitrogen is

[00:11:19] a vital component in chlorophyll, which is what

[00:11:22] makes plants green and helps them to produce energy by

[00:11:25] photosynthesis. Pepper plants need nitrogen early in

[00:11:29] the season to produce green growth. This means early

[00:11:32] nitrogen use helps give us plenty of foliage that

[00:11:34] supports the fruit development and strong stems to hold

[00:11:38] that fruit up, but too much nitrogen later on can actually

[00:11:42] delay flower and fruit production, which is going to

[00:11:45] reduce the number of peppers you get from the plant.

[00:11:49] Next up, phosphorus. Phosphorus plays a crucial role

[00:11:52] in root development, pollination and seed formation.

[00:11:56] When phosphorus levels are low, peppers will develop

[00:11:59] weak root systems, which means they won't be able to

[00:12:01] effectively take up water or nutrients. Phosphorus also

[00:12:06] directly affects bloom quality and fruit production.

[00:12:10] The last of the big three is potassium. Potassium is

[00:12:13] also vital during flowering and fruit development by

[00:12:16] supporting nutrient transport. Potassium aids in

[00:12:19] the transport of sugars and other essential nutrients

[00:12:22] and energy from the roots to the leaves and the

[00:12:25] fruits. Potassium is also responsible for the

[00:12:28] thickness of cell walls and overall plant immunity,

[00:12:32] which gives us a stronger plant structure and helps

[00:12:34] the plant better withstand disease. Now there are

[00:12:40] plenty of micronutrients that come into play with

[00:12:43] any plants health and peppers are no exception. Now

[00:12:46] while all of them are needed in some form or

[00:12:48] another, the two main supporting micronutrients for

[00:12:51] peppers are calcium and magnesium. Calcium is

[00:12:55] important for strong cell walls in both the plant and

[00:12:58] the fruits, and so it's very important for fruit

[00:13:01] development and nutrient uptake. Two common signs of

[00:13:05] a calcium deficiency in the plant include leaf curl

[00:13:09] and blossom end rot. Now this does not necessarily

[00:13:13] mean that the soil is deficient of calcium, only

[00:13:17] that the plant can't take up the calcium that's

[00:13:20] available or that it isn't getting where it needs to

[00:13:23] go in the plant. The plant needs a relatively

[00:13:27] low amount of calcium to perform these functions, and

[00:13:30] most soils aren't lacking that calcium. However,

[00:13:34] inconsistent moisture affects how well calcium can

[00:13:38] move through the soil and how it moves through the

[00:13:41] plant. Calcium is not a mobile nutrient. It can

[00:13:45] only move up in the plant and it cannot be moved

[00:13:48] into new tissue. This affects the fruits the most,

[00:13:52] and this is when we see the blossom end rot

[00:13:54] starting. So if you see blossom end rot in peppers,

[00:13:57] evaluate your watering situation to be sure it's

[00:14:00] consistent. Remember less frequent, more thorough

[00:14:03] waterings are best. We also don't want the plants

[00:14:06] waterlogged, which is why that organic matter in the

[00:14:08] soil is so important. The other micronutrient

[00:14:11] that's very important in peppers is magnesium.

[00:14:14] Magnesium is super important for photosynthesis

[00:14:17] because it is a central component of chlorophyll. If

[00:14:20] photosynthesis is reduced, then we end up with

[00:14:23] stunted plants. The other role magnesium plays is

[00:14:26] in the uptake of phosphorus, which is why you will

[00:14:30] see people talk about what a magical thing it is

[00:14:33] to water your plants with Epsom salts, which is

[00:14:36] magnesium sulfate. So if magnesium increases

[00:14:41] the intake of phosphorus and it boosts production

[00:14:44] of chlorophyll, then if we give them Epsom salts,

[00:14:47] it's going to give a healthy green color to the

[00:14:50] plant leaves and it's going to encourage that

[00:14:51] absorption of CO2. And a lack of magnesium can

[00:14:55] contribute to just a sort of anemic appearance in

[00:14:58] your plants. So if you correct that, the plants

[00:15:01] are going to look much healthier. But there's a

[00:15:03] catch. An overabundance of magnesium can actually

[00:15:08] harm your soil and hinder your plants. Too much

[00:15:11] magnesium actually hinders calcium uptake. So

[00:15:16] there is this delicate balance with the

[00:15:17] magnesium and the calcium because they actually

[00:15:20] compete with each other for uptake in the plant.

[00:15:23] And if there's too much magnesium, it wins and you

[00:15:26] end up with a lack of calcium. Most soils aren't

[00:15:30] lacking in magnesium. But if your plants seem

[00:15:33] like they need a boost in this area, then use

[00:15:35] the Epsom salts as a foliar spray, not a

[00:15:39] drench, a foliar spray to help give them a

[00:15:42] boost. But just don't overdo it. If you're

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[00:17:17] So besides stunted growth, nutrient

[00:17:20] deficiencies, and blossom in rot, what

[00:17:22] other issues can we encounter in

[00:17:24] peppers? You might find yourself

[00:17:26] frustrated that either you're not

[00:17:28] getting very many blooms or those

[00:17:31] blooms aren't producing

[00:17:33] fruit. If it's really a lack of

[00:17:35] blooms, that's usually an indication of

[00:17:37] too much nitrogen or not enough

[00:17:39] phosphorus, so do a soil test. But if

[00:17:43] there are plenty of blooms and not many

[00:17:45] fruit developing, there can be a few

[00:17:47] causes to this. The first is improper

[00:17:51] pollination. Now, peppers aren't super

[00:17:54] fussy about pollination and they can

[00:17:56] often be pollinated without the

[00:17:57] help of insects because they have

[00:18:00] perfect flowers. Botanically what that

[00:18:03] means is they have both female and

[00:18:05] male parts on the same flower. So

[00:18:07] even a light breeze blowing is enough

[00:18:09] to get them pollinated. But if the

[00:18:11] humidity has been really high, not only

[00:18:14] does that reduce pollinator activity,

[00:18:17] it also makes the pollen sticky and

[00:18:19] heavy. And if there hasn't been much

[00:18:21] in the way of a breeze, your flowers

[00:18:23] may not get pollinated. All it takes

[00:18:26] is for you to go along your plants

[00:18:29] and just give them a little zhuzh

[00:18:31] when the flowers are opened and that

[00:18:32] can often resolve this problem.

[00:18:34] The other reason for a lack of fruit

[00:18:37] set is the temperature. If temperatures

[00:18:39] are too hot or too cold, especially in

[00:18:42] the overnights, peppers can be very

[00:18:44] temperamental when it comes to setting

[00:18:46] their fruit. Nighttime temperatures

[00:18:49] below 60 Fahrenheit or above 75

[00:18:52] Fahrenheit can reduce fruit set. So

[00:18:56] it may be that you'll just need to

[00:18:58] have a little patience when waiting

[00:19:00] for your peppers. This is one of the

[00:19:02] reasons I generally have a huge flush

[00:19:05] of peppers as we move into the fall. In

[00:19:09] fact, I joke all the time that peppers

[00:19:11] here are more of a fall crop than

[00:19:13] anything else and I think our

[00:19:15] overnight temperatures are why.

[00:19:18] Another really common complaint with

[00:19:21] growing peppers is why people's

[00:19:23] peppers don't turn

[00:19:25] red or orange or yellow like they're

[00:19:27] expecting to. So if you've grown bell

[00:19:28] peppers or those little tiny snacker

[00:19:30] peppers or even your hot or chili

[00:19:32] peppers,

[00:19:33] you know that they generally will start

[00:19:35] out green in most instances and then

[00:19:38] depending on the variety, they may turn

[00:19:40] one of these fun colors when they

[00:19:42] finally get to finish their ripening

[00:19:44] process.

[00:19:45] But a lot of the time we'll see that

[00:19:47] they're just sitting there green on

[00:19:49] the vine and we've sort of checked

[00:19:51] the maturity date to make sure that

[00:19:53] yeah, we've waited long enough and

[00:19:55] they still aren't turning colors. So

[00:19:57] what do we do? First thing check to

[00:19:58] make sure that it is the right variety.

[00:20:00] Make sure that it is something that you

[00:20:01] planted that

[00:20:03] is supposed to turn colors because

[00:20:05] oftentimes there are bell peppers that

[00:20:07] are just

[00:20:08] specifically green bell peppers and

[00:20:10] they won't ever

[00:20:11] turn colors. They'll just rot on the

[00:20:13] vine if you leave them there for too

[00:20:14] long.

[00:20:14] The other thing to do is check and

[00:20:16] make sure that you are not harvesting

[00:20:17] these peppers too

[00:20:18] early. It typically takes a minimum of

[00:20:21] about

[00:20:22] 10 days up to two, maybe even three

[00:20:25] weeks

[00:20:26] for peppers to go from being fully

[00:20:29] mature

[00:20:29] green to being fully colored.

[00:20:33] And that always depends on the variety.

[00:20:35] So when you're planting these guys

[00:20:38] make sure that you're saving the tag

[00:20:39] or make sure you're saving the seed

[00:20:41] packet

[00:20:42] because it will usually tell you

[00:20:44] something like

[00:20:45] you know 60 days to green, 80 days to

[00:20:48] red.

[00:20:48] So keep that in with your garden

[00:20:51] plan or your garden journal

[00:20:52] so that you have something to reference

[00:20:53] to to make sure that you're not

[00:20:54] picking them too

[00:20:55] early and they're not getting a chance

[00:20:58] to get to that

[00:20:59] that maturity level. Make sure also

[00:21:02] that you are providing the plants with

[00:21:03] adequate

[00:21:04] nutrients. Low nutrients is going to

[00:21:06] mean

[00:21:07] slower maturity rates and a longer

[00:21:09] time

[00:21:09] to get them colored up. And then

[00:21:12] finally we have to think about the

[00:21:14] temperature.

[00:21:15] So peppers prefer temperatures between

[00:21:18] 70 and 85 Fahrenheit or 21 to 29

[00:21:21] Celsius

[00:21:22] for ripening. Temperatures like in

[00:21:25] the overnights that drop below

[00:21:26] 55 are definitely going to slow down

[00:21:29] that process. It actually could damage

[00:21:31] the plants if it gets

[00:21:32] below 50 Fahrenheit and then

[00:21:34] temperatures that are

[00:21:35] consistently below 70 Fahrenheit

[00:21:38] either

[00:21:39] daytime or nighttime can slow them

[00:21:41] down too. And then there's also the

[00:21:43] possibility that it is too

[00:21:45] hot. Yes these plants like the heat

[00:21:48] but if it's too hot like above 90

[00:21:50] Fahrenheit this

[00:21:51] also slows down the metabolic

[00:21:53] processes in the plants

[00:21:55] and so that can delay ripening because

[00:21:58] the plant is focused on survival at that

[00:22:00] point and not

[00:22:01] reproduction which is essentially what

[00:22:03] that fruit is.

[00:22:05] So if it's in the middle of the summer

[00:22:07] or the height of the summer

[00:22:09] and it's just getting too hot outside

[00:22:11] we see this happen with our tomatoes

[00:22:13] they won't ripen they stay green on

[00:22:14] the vine. The same thing can happen

[00:22:16] with our peppers. So at that point it

[00:22:18] very well may just be a matter of

[00:22:20] patience to wait for those

[00:22:22] temperatures to sort of settle. Again

[00:22:24] this is why I oftentimes will say that

[00:22:26] around here peppers are more of a fall

[00:22:30] crop. That is when we get a boatload of

[00:22:32] our peppers.

[00:22:33] Now you can ripen

[00:22:36] mature bell peppers and even some of

[00:22:39] the smaller peppers too

[00:22:41] indoors. If you are sure

[00:22:44] that the pepper that's on the vine is

[00:22:46] fully mature meaning

[00:22:48] it's as big and as green as it's

[00:22:50] going to get and you're just waiting

[00:22:52] on it to ripen to whatever color you

[00:22:55] expect it to be

[00:22:56] then go ahead and pick it and bring it

[00:22:58] inside.

[00:22:59] Now in order for these peppers to

[00:23:01] ripen indoors they're definitely going

[00:23:04] to need some high humidity

[00:23:06] and they need that warmth. So in

[00:23:09] very humid climates like here in West

[00:23:11] Central Missouri it's just humid all

[00:23:13] the time in the summertime.

[00:23:14] You can actually just place them on a

[00:23:16] sunny window sill

[00:23:18] where the temperature stays around 70

[00:23:20] to 85 to get them to color up

[00:23:23] in about a week or so maybe sometimes

[00:23:25] two weeks.

[00:23:26] You just want to keep a very close eye

[00:23:28] on them to make sure that they don't

[00:23:29] start to wrinkle up.

[00:23:31] The other option is to put them into a

[00:23:33] paper bag in a warm area.

[00:23:35] Just leave the end open for air

[00:23:37] circulation. We don't want them getting

[00:23:39] moldy

[00:23:40] or if you've got a lot of peppers

[00:23:41] you could also do this in a cardboard

[00:23:43] box. Just space them

[00:23:44] separately from each other on top of

[00:23:46] sheets of newspaper and then put that

[00:23:48] box

[00:23:49] out of direct sunlight and leave it

[00:23:50] open for the air circulation and just

[00:23:52] check on them.

[00:23:53] Again this could take you know a week

[00:23:55] two weeks sometimes three weeks

[00:23:57] depending on what it is that you're

[00:23:58] growing

[00:23:59] but high humidity is definitely the

[00:24:01] key with this to keep them from

[00:24:02] getting all wrinkly

[00:24:04] and then the airflow is important to

[00:24:06] keep them from getting moldy. So

[00:24:08] worst case scenario if they really just

[00:24:10] aren't ripening for you and

[00:24:12] coloring up make sure that you're

[00:24:13] picking

[00:24:14] fully mature green peppers but then

[00:24:16] bring them inside and try to see if

[00:24:17] you get them to ripen up that way.

[00:24:20] Now one of the reasons to take them

[00:24:22] off of the vine

[00:24:23] to ripen them indoors may be because of

[00:24:25] another complaint that pepper growers

[00:24:27] have and that's

[00:24:28] sunscald. So if you're leaving them on

[00:24:31] the vine waiting for them to ripen

[00:24:33] you are obviously exposing them to

[00:24:36] more sun and if your plants don't

[00:24:38] have enough leaf cover on them

[00:24:40] then this can cause those peppers to

[00:24:42] burn and they get a nasty soft spot

[00:24:44] that starts to rot and then that

[00:24:46] spreads and then you've lost the

[00:24:47] entire fruit. So

[00:24:48] if you see sunscald starting on your

[00:24:51] plants and it's usually kind of obvious

[00:24:53] it is just this pale

[00:24:55] spot on the side of the fruit that

[00:24:57] looks completely different from

[00:24:58] everything else it might even start to

[00:24:59] get a little bit wrinkly

[00:25:01] you want to remove the fruit right

[00:25:02] away cut that part off

[00:25:04] and use it immediately. Now to prevent

[00:25:06] sunscald

[00:25:07] you got to make sure that the

[00:25:09] plants are getting the proper nutrients

[00:25:11] they

[00:25:12] need from the very beginning in order

[00:25:14] to grow a proper

[00:25:15] canopy. So like we talked about this

[00:25:18] involves

[00:25:19] nitrogen early on but this is a very

[00:25:22] delicate

[00:25:22] balance with peppers because too much

[00:25:26] nitrogen

[00:25:26] early on may promote a lot of lush

[00:25:29] vegetative growth

[00:25:31] but that also may result in fewer

[00:25:33] fruits.

[00:25:34] Peppers usually respond better to

[00:25:36] phosphorus fertilizer so

[00:25:38] it's something that you kind of

[00:25:40] have to play with

[00:25:41] and something that you have to use

[00:25:42] your experience with if you know

[00:25:45] from previous years of growing your

[00:25:47] peppers that maybe they didn't have a

[00:25:49] good enough canopy to be able to

[00:25:50] protect those fruits

[00:25:52] from sunscald then you might try

[00:25:54] adding just a little bit more nitrogen

[00:25:57] at planting time to make sure that

[00:25:59] they get that little boost

[00:26:00] early on and see if that helps you

[00:26:02] out.

[00:26:03] Another thing at transplant time that

[00:26:05] may be important

[00:26:06] is if you have you know plants that

[00:26:09] have been in their pots for a

[00:26:10] little while

[00:26:11] and they haven't gotten super big

[00:26:13] but they're already trying to put

[00:26:14] blooms on just because of the age

[00:26:16] you want to pick off those very early

[00:26:19] blooms at transplant time.

[00:26:21] I'm not a huge proponent of this if

[00:26:24] the plant is already looking healthy

[00:26:25] and fairly lush

[00:26:27] but if it's a small plant and I

[00:26:29] mean and by small

[00:26:30] I mean maybe it's only I don't know

[00:26:33] four inches tall

[00:26:35] and it only has a handful of leaves

[00:26:36] on it and it's already trying to put

[00:26:37] on a bloom.

[00:26:39] Normally this is due to stress it's

[00:26:41] probably

[00:26:42] root bound in its little container at

[00:26:43] that point

[00:26:44] and it's just trying to do what it's

[00:26:45] supposed to do which is reproduce before

[00:26:47] it dies.

[00:26:48] Okay so if you're transplanting it into

[00:26:51] a larger area

[00:26:52] that is the time when you do want to

[00:26:54] pick off those very early blooms

[00:26:56] because we want that plant to focus

[00:26:59] on two things at that point

[00:27:00] getting its roots established in the

[00:27:02] ground and then developing that

[00:27:04] canopy.

[00:27:05] The bigger the canopy the more it's

[00:27:07] going to be able to feed

[00:27:09] the plant to be able to give you

[00:27:10] more blooms and more fruit later on.

[00:27:12] Again it's a delicate balance we don't

[00:27:14] want too much vegetative growth so don't

[00:27:15] go start you know dumping a bunch of

[00:27:17] nitrogen in there because

[00:27:18] you've got a little plant and you're

[00:27:19] trying to get it to grow bigger

[00:27:20] faster.

[00:27:21] Let it do what it's going to do only

[00:27:23] do those nitrogen fixing

[00:27:24] activities if you know you're

[00:27:27] deficient or you've had problems

[00:27:28] before.

[00:27:29] But if you're transplanting very

[00:27:30] small plants and they already have

[00:27:31] blooms then I definitely recommend

[00:27:33] picking them off and allowing them to

[00:27:34] get

[00:27:35] established before they try to use

[00:27:37] their energy for putting out

[00:27:39] fruit and that should give you a

[00:27:40] little bit more of a leaf canopy.

[00:27:42] Now the other thing to do with this is

[00:27:44] to plant

[00:27:45] those pepper plants closer together.

[00:27:49] 18 inches is often like the sweet spot

[00:27:53] when it comes to peppers and this is

[00:27:56] through years and years of me like

[00:27:57] following the 24 inch

[00:27:59] guideline that I have seen places and

[00:28:01] realizing that

[00:28:02] they just don't need that amount of

[00:28:04] room and they often

[00:28:06] just prefer to hold hands. They like

[00:28:08] their canopies

[00:28:09] touching each other as they get to

[00:28:12] maturity.

[00:28:13] And this helps with the sun skull

[00:28:16] because

[00:28:17] one plant is oftentimes shading the

[00:28:20] other one and vice versa so the

[00:28:22] fruit that develops underneath that

[00:28:23] canopy

[00:28:24] is less likely to be scalded by the

[00:28:26] sun. This is also super important if

[00:28:29] you do

[00:28:29] think that you might have some

[00:28:31] deficiencies in the nutrient area

[00:28:33] and that canopy maybe isn't as lush

[00:28:36] as we want it to be

[00:28:38] then they can also help sort of again

[00:28:40] hold hands together and have their

[00:28:42] canopies touching so that you're not

[00:28:43] getting that sun scald.

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[00:29:19] And then finally let's talk about

[00:29:21] pests and diseases.

[00:29:22] The biggest insect pests to peppers

[00:29:24] tend to be aphids,

[00:29:26] flea beetles, pepper borers, and pepper

[00:29:29] maggots.

[00:29:30] And I know here it's the aphids for

[00:29:33] sure mainly because of our humidity

[00:29:34] but we also have flea beetles that

[00:29:36] enjoy making swiss cheese out of the

[00:29:38] pepper leaves.

[00:29:39] So for aphids, a good spray from the

[00:29:41] hose helps to knock them down and as

[00:29:43] long as you're not using any really

[00:29:44] harsh insecticides,

[00:29:45] then you usually will have ladybugs

[00:29:47] and other aphid predators just sort of

[00:29:49] move in and deal with them before

[00:29:51] they begin to damage the plants. For

[00:29:53] flea beetles,

[00:29:54] try planting some strong smelling

[00:29:56] flowers or herbs with your peppers to

[00:29:58] help deter them.

[00:30:00] And then use row covers or insect

[00:30:02] netting when the plants are small to

[00:30:03] help to exclude them.

[00:30:05] You'll just have to remove them at

[00:30:07] flowering time.

[00:30:08] You can also try dusting the leaves

[00:30:10] with first Saturday lime or use a spray

[00:30:12] that has some kale and clay in it.

[00:30:15] And then for borers or the maggots,

[00:30:17] the borers you kind of have to remove

[00:30:19] by hand and just destroy the

[00:30:20] infested plants.

[00:30:22] If they've been a problem for you

[00:30:23] in the past, you can spray beneficial

[00:30:25] nematodes

[00:30:26] that will attack the borer larvae in

[00:30:28] the soil

[00:30:29] and that will help prevent an

[00:30:31] infestation.

[00:30:32] If you've got pepper maggots, there are

[00:30:35] those yellow sticky traps that you can

[00:30:37] hang above the plants and they're

[00:30:38] going to trap the flies

[00:30:40] that lay those eggs. And then you can

[00:30:42] also plant trap crops to lure them

[00:30:44] away while you cover your,

[00:30:46] you know, preferred peppers in the

[00:30:48] early stages.

[00:30:49] And then as far as diseases, peppers

[00:30:51] can suffer from

[00:30:52] cucumber mosaic virus, bacterial leaf

[00:30:55] spot, powdery mildew,

[00:30:56] and phytophthora blight that can

[00:30:58] weaken or kill your pepper plants.

[00:31:00] The cucumber mosaic virus, once you've

[00:31:03] got it, you need to pull out the

[00:31:05] entire infested plant.

[00:31:07] If you can control aphids, that's the

[00:31:09] best way to prevent getting that mosaic

[00:31:11] virus because the aphids actually

[00:31:13] spread

[00:31:13] that virus. For the leaf spot, the

[00:31:16] powdery mildew, and the blight,

[00:31:17] these are all fungal foliar diseases.

[00:31:20] You want to maintain good

[00:31:21] air circulation around your plants,

[00:31:23] avoid that overhead watering because

[00:31:25] you want to minimize the moisture on

[00:31:26] the leaves,

[00:31:27] and then if this has been a problem

[00:31:28] for you in the past, you can plant

[00:31:30] disease-resistant pepper varieties.

[00:31:33] Diseases can definitely decrease our

[00:31:35] yield or even kill off our plants

[00:31:37] early, so trying to spot those

[00:31:40] problems early on and getting a

[00:31:41] handle on them before they get out

[00:31:43] of control is really critical in

[00:31:44] maintaining healthy pepper plants.

[00:31:50] We are moving into prime planting

[00:31:53] time here in the northern hemisphere.

[00:31:54] I haven't put any of my peppers out

[00:31:56] in the ground as of yet. I'm focused

[00:31:58] right now on tomatoes,

[00:32:00] squashes, and cucumbers, and like I

[00:32:02] said,

[00:32:02] peppers will be one of the last

[00:32:04] crops to go in.

[00:32:06] If you start seeing issues with your

[00:32:08] pepper plants or the flowers or the

[00:32:10] fruits,

[00:32:10] I recommend checking your nutrients

[00:32:12] first, watch for signs of pests and

[00:32:15] diseases,

[00:32:16] and then take a look at what the

[00:32:18] weather has been like recently to see

[00:32:19] if you can track down the cause

[00:32:21] before you give up.

[00:32:22] Once they get going, peppers really

[00:32:25] can be very prolific,

[00:32:27] but we have to give them the best

[00:32:28] conditions we can when we don't live

[00:32:30] in their native region. Until next time

[00:32:33] my gardening friends, keep on

[00:32:34] cultivating that dream garden and

[00:32:36] we'll talk again soon.

[00:32:37] Thanks for listening to another episode

[00:32:39] of the Just Grow Something podcast.

[00:32:41] For more information about today's topic

[00:32:43] and to find all the ways you can get

[00:32:44] in touch with me or support the show,

[00:32:46] go to JustGrowSomethingPodcast.com.

[00:32:49] Until next time my gardening friends,

[00:32:51] keep learning and keep growing.