Re: [CH] Slow-growing pepper plants
wildpepper.com (jim@wildpepper.com)
Tue, 12 Jun 2001 07:55:34 -0500
Trying to diagnose a problem from such a distance is tough, but it's
never stopped me from trying to sound like I know what I'm talking about
before so....
The comibnation of cold weather and early planting has resulted in poor
root growth I think, symptomatic of a phosphorous defficiency. Poor
root growth, combined with early budding, also causes your plant to
figure it is done growing. I tell people chiles are like teenagers-
once they figure out they can reproduce, all their energy goes into that
and they stop growing up. They figure there is nothing else in life to
do. Early cold plantings are often associated with a Phosphorous
deficiency in plants.
Your solution, I believe, is two fold. The first is to pinch off those
early buds & fruits & the second is to give the plants a shot of
phosphorous (2nd number, ex: 5-18-5) to encourage root growth. A plant
will only grow to the size of it's roots. Don't do step two without
also doing step one! You can do step one without step two though.
Giving a shot of phosphorous without pinching off the fruit will cause
problems. You can also just do nothing if you have a reasonably long
growing season. Altough it can take quite a bit of time, the plants can
recover on their own, eventually.
Now for the list of caveats :-)
You didn't mention if there is any accompanying yellowing of the
leaves. This can be a sign of a heavy clay soil in whcih the plant is
not being able to uptake enough of anything through the root structure.
It can also be a late sign of several other types of root problems
including rot, blights, and fungii.
You didn't mention if the leaves were abnormally shaped or sized. This
can be the sign of a viral infection which can mimic the problems you
have described: short plants, small fruits.
You also didn't mention if the weather has dramatically improved,
especially as it pertains to the night time temps. Night temps are
almost more important than day temps for good plant growth. If your
night temps are still dipping to the 55 F range, your plants will
continue to sulk until the temps rise. How long has the weather been
'improved'?
Patience grasshopper.
Hoep this helps!
-Jim C
Mild to Wild