Bell Pepper Plants

[drawinout]

Do you guys cage or support your bell pepper plants in any way? We had a couple days of rain here, and this morning my bell pepper plant looked a little sad. It was drooping a bit, but I think she'll be ok. Hopefully with a couple days full sunshine it will perk back up. Any advice on the bell peppers?

Thanks

[Tacpayne]

I have never supported mine, I have however used epsom salt on them though. Put about 2 tbs of epsom salt around the base and mix it in, it really boosts them up, And no epsom salt is not table salt and it will not kill the plant.

[wdbrand]

and as tac said. Old greenhouse operator mixed epsom salts with water and poured that on his plants. Support is needed since peppers will get heavy. Not practical with a bunch of plants, but doable with one or two.

[RuddeDogg]

I have never supported mine, I have however used epsom salt on them though. Put about 2 tbs of epsom salt around the base and mix it in, it really boosts them up, And no epsom salt is not table salt and it will not kill the plant.

Yep, I have supported mine with wooden dowles and his has worked great in tha past.

[drawinout]

I have never supported mine, I have however used epsom salt on them though. Put about 2 tbs of epsom salt around the base and mix it in, it really boosts them up, And no epsom salt is not table salt and it will not kill the plant.

Thanks guys! I added epsom salt directly to the soil a few days ago. All the plants seem to be doing extremely well, but the rain the past two days made them a little mad at me!!:D Dogg and WD, thanks!!! I'll either try using an extra cage or stake the plant. I did all this for the niece and nephew because I thought they'd be interested in watching them grow. I have 1 bell pepper, 2 tomato plants, 3 zukes, some sunflowers, two pumpkins, and some pole beans. Everything aside from the tomatoes and bell pepper I started from seed around a week ago. They seem to be growing well, and fast as lightning right now!!! Looking fairly good! Thanks for everybody's help so far!!!!

[Peixaria]

Once your peppers get established make sure to give them less of a ration of water than the tomatoes you were asking about last time. Peppers like it hot. You may consider adding an inch or 2 of mulch so the soil stays moist since you will be watering them less. Never heard of the Epsom salt trick, might have to try that one. Hold up, just read one of the old ladies Bath boxes. Other than being a trace mineral what does Magnesium Sulfate do for pepper plants?

[drawinout]

Once your peppers get established make sure to give them less of a ration of water than the tomatoes you were asking about last time. Peppers like it hot. You may consider adding an inch or 2 of mulch so the soil stays moist since you will be watering them less. Never heard of the Epsom salt trick, might have to try that one. Hold up, just read one of the old ladies Bath boxes. Other than being a trace mineral what does Magnesium Sulfate do for pepper plants?

Probably just had too much water the past couple days. I already have some mulch to add, just need to do it...

[drawinout]

Once your peppers get established make sure to give them less of a ration of water than the tomatoes you were asking about last time. Peppers like it hot. You may consider adding an inch or 2 of mulch so the soil stays moist since you will be watering them less. Never heard of the Epsom salt trick, might have to try that one. Hold up, just read one of the old ladies Bath boxes. Other than being a trace mineral what does Magnesium Sulfate do for pepper plants?

The epsom salt is a preventative measure for early blight on tomato plants.. Learned that from BubbaHoTep.;) I'm hoping it might help prevent blossom end rot on my other plants, but I'm still learning.

[SGT.Bunghole]

Yep, I have supported mine with wooden dowles and his has worked great in tha past.

Same here. That method works great. Use a twist tie or something to attach the stem to the dowel.

[BubbaHoTep]

Same here. That method works great. Use a twist tie or something to attach the stem to the dowel.

RD and SGT, That's what I do for the most part, too, but I've also cut up those old bicycle flags and used them. In any case, they don't have to be staked with nearly as heavy stakes as the stakes you use for tomatoes. If someone breaks a golf club at the head, I take the old shaft on it (graphite) and use them, too. I'm probably the only person in America who's had the grip end up sticking out of the ground in the vegetable garden. :)

I use epsom salt with everything I set out in plants (tomatoes, bell/banana peppers). A lot of the old timers around here and folks who grow tomatoes to sell swear that's an effective way to guard against blight.

Based on my experience, I think Peixaria is right on the mark about the water. Peppers don't seem to need as much as tomatoes. I get frustrated with peppers because the plants seem to sit there and grow SO slowly compared to the other plants and then in late summer they really take off. Maybe it's the soil around here. I don't know. My dad tells me that I fertilize my peppers too much. He uses just a pinch of 10-10-10 on his and his always do well.

I have a couple of those upside-down tomato pots like they advertise on TV, but I was so late getting stuff out this year I didn't bother with them. I'm wondering how peppers would do in those.

Good luck with the garden stuff, Ryan.

[drawinout]

Thanks AJ. The two tomato plants and the pepper plant are the only ones I transplanted. Everything else I started from seed last week!! From the looks of things this morning, they seem to be fairing halfway decent so far..:cool: The pepper plant is drooping like I mentioned, and I may have to dump one of the zukes, but everything else appears to be fine.....

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[redneckranger]

Do you guys cage or support your bell pepper plants in any way? We had a couple days of rain here, and this morning my bell pepper plant looked a little sad. It was drooping a bit, but I think she'll be ok. Hopefully with a couple days full sunshine it will perk back up. Any advice on the bell peppers?

Thanks

I have worked as a Garderner/Nurseryman for 5 years now and all you need is some bamboo stakes for them if they are fruiting already more than likely after a couple of days they won't perk up

[redneckranger]

Thanks AJ. The two tomato plants and the pepper plant are the only ones I transplanted. Everything else I started from seed last week!! From the looks of things this morning, they seem to be fairing halfway decent so far..:cool: The pepper plant is drooping like I mentioned, and I may have to dump one of the zukes, but everything else appears to be fine.....

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take the margolds out of the container of the tomatoes and put in some basil

basil keeps the tomato horn warm away

[drawinout]

take the margolds out of the container of the tomatoes and put in some basil

basil keeps the tomato horn warm away

Thanks redneckranger! Next year I'll be putting alot of this advice to use. Haven't noticed any bug problems on the tomatoes, but they've jumped on my zukes.:cool: All these plants have really taken off since I posted those pics. My tomato plants have a ton of blossoms. Even though there are some holes from bugs, my zukes are looking healthy over all, and are getting big. I've started spraying them about once a week or so with Sevin. I'm learning, and there will be a bunch of changes with my grow next year. I'll try to post some more pics later today.

[HStew]

Too much water= droop. Too little water=droop. If a plant calls for full sun, by all means give them full sun, or they can become leggy. A friend of mines father planted tomatoes on the shady side of his garage and they grew up and over it seeking sunlight.

[redneckranger]

Thanks redneckranger! Next year I'll be putting alot of this advice to use. Haven't noticed any bug problems on the tomatoes, but they've jumped on my zukes.:cool: All these plants have really taken off since I posted those pics. My tomato plants have a ton of blossoms. Even though there are some holes from bugs, my zukes are looking healthy over all, and are getting big. I've started spraying them about once a week or so with Sevin. I'm learning, and there will be a bunch of changes with my grow next year. I'll try to post some more pics later today.

pick off some of the blooms you'll get bigger fruit

[redneckranger]

Too much water= droop. Too little water=droop. If a plant calls for full sun, by all means give them full sun, or they can become leggy. A friend of mines father planted tomatoes on the shady side of his garage and they grew up and over it seeking sunlight.

typical

[drawinout]

Well, this is my first time growing vegetables. Some of my plants aren't in the best of health. Thanks to everybody who gave me advice, and I'll be putting all that advice into action next year. Decided to just let them grow this year. Some of my containers are too small for what I planted in them.

My bell pepper plant finally has little peppers on it. Transplanted this one into a 3 gallon planter around 34 days ago.
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I planted two tomato plants into one big planter, and they seem to be fairly healthy overall. Lots of tomatoes on them, and have seemed to be the easiest to take care of. Transplanted around 34 days ago. Next year I'll pluck blossoms so the tomatoes will grow bigger.
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My Zucchini don't look too good. I'd imagine that's because of root restriction. I planted them from seed in 3 gallon planters around 34 days ago. Little zucchini with the female flowers showed up quite some time before my male flowers ever showed up. I've harvested two nice zucchini so far. I guess they were pollinated with pollen from my neighbors garden. I have plenty of little zukes, but I don't think all of the flowers are being seen by pollinators. I'm trying to hand pollinate. Plants look stressed, and next year I'll make other arrangements.
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Pole Beans! Due to all the rain and storms lately, they don't seem to be fairing too well. Sowed a bunch of seeds in a big planter 34 days ago, and then cut them back to around 6 plants. Threw together a half a$$ tressel, which I didn't make tall enough. We'll se what happens with these.:rolleyes:
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Pumpkins! Planted these from seed around 34 days ago. Again, these plants don't look very healthy. I'm having some mildew problems on one of them. Guess I'll try to spray with milk? Won't try to grow these in planters next year.
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Sunflowers! I decided to plant these for my niece and nephew. Planted from seed around 34 days ago. Biggest plant is around 2 1/2 to 3 feet tall. We'll see what happens with these...:rolleyes::D
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Anyway, my first try growing vegetables has been fun so far. All I've really done this year is give them time release plant food, and water regularly. Next year I'll most likely go with all organic fertilizer, and change numerous other things. We'll see. Thanks for all the help. I'll be putting that advice to use next year.

[hamlet]

You may well have root restriction issues on most of your veggies.

When I pull up my spent squash plants (applies to zuc's, yellow, pumpkins, etc) I have roots that have traveled out sometimes 6 or 8 feet.

[drawinout]

You may well have root restriction issues on most of your veggies.

When I pull up my spent squash plants (applies to zuc's, yellow, pumpkins, etc) I have roots that have traveled out sometimes 6 or 8 feet.

Absolutely Hamlet. Next year I'll probably just plant in the ground.

[lil red jeep]

Worst mistake I ever made with bell peppers was planting habanero peppers right beside them. The bees and butterflys did their jobs o.k., but somehow these plants got cross pollenated and when the Mrs. made stuffed peppers for dinner they were so hot I couldn't eat them! I love hot food but those habeneros did a number on my bell peppers!

[Peixaria]

Draw in out, Looks like a good first attempt. Hope you get some good things to eat. Like Hamlet mentioned the wisest strategy is to dig up a plot in your yard with the most sun. You can easily grow more than your family can eat in an area that is 10'x20'. You may even choose to do a raised bed. All you need are some 4x4s and 2x12s.
If you do get in the ground next year, do not underestimate the importance of your soil preparation. I don't know what the quality of soil is in Chesapeake, but you will most likely need to enrich it if you want successful results.
Here is a quick description of what I put in my last raised box garden. 12x 20 ft
Nail together the rectangle, and peg down the corners with 4-5 foot shots of the 4x4and middle of the long dimension to stop any bulging under the weight of the soil.
3 or 4 cubic yards of good grade topsoil
2 pickup beds full of horse manure
2 of the large cubic bails of peatmoss. Shrinkwrapped variety
Mind you I'm on the Outerbanks and do this in the sand with little or no nutrition in the soil.
I got my soil delivered by one of the local boys and had it dumped on a blue tarp to keep it neat. Manure I loaded myself at the local stables for free, If you know somebody.
Peat moss from Walmart, largest size available. Peat Moss although high PH initially will lessen as it breaks down and is critical for moisture retention in the gardens first year. Get everything in the garden box, evenly distributed. This may require a ramp[or a 2x12 to get to the middle, if you have a box]once everything is inside a tiller is a good way to blend everthing together. I'm from the oldschool[ look up English Double Dig]. Once you've broken down the clumps and have suitable consistency, Get out your time release lime, and Super triple phosphate. Follow package directions for coverage, and turn in to the soil or till again. A cheap test kit will also help you determine what may be missing [ or after a year or two, what has leached out] I normally set this up 4 weeks before anything is to be planted and then staple down black plastic over the top to kill any seedling growth retained in the manure. It will help keep the weeds out in the long run. The black keeps the heat in a serves to "pasteurize" the manure. When you are ready to plant, remove and give it a quick stir and go for it. Make sure you water your plants in.
Tools required: Hammer and some big commons. Post hole diggers. Sturdy wheelbarrow and Shovel, Tiller if desired, Strong Back

[ROOSTER311]

Do you guys cage or support your bell pepper plants in any way? We had a couple days of rain here, and this morning my bell pepper plant looked a little sad. It was drooping a bit, but I think she'll be ok. Hopefully with a couple days full sunshine it will perk back up. Any advice on the bell peppers? Thanks I am originaly from Alabama and everybody uses epsom salt on all of our plants and its a tremendous miracle worker so YES I would definetly use recomend that for any garden plant.also fish is a miracle worker as far as fertilizers go.just put your throwbacks in the ground where your planting and let your plants enjoy the source of fiber from the fish it needs brother.

[BubbaHoTep]

. . . .also fish is a miracle worker as far as fertilizers go.just put your throwbacks in the ground where your planting and let your plants enjoy the source of fiber from the fish it needs brother.

Yep, that's true. It's not been a very good year for me for trout in the rivers and lakes here, but I've managed to get a few, and rather than toss the heads/entrails in the trash, I bury them in the garden. I've never brought throwbacks home to put in the ground, though.