Each year I have grown 10-12 plants with maybe only 1 or 2 successful peppers each. The plants have been rather small and not very strong. Last year I gave them a bit more room than I usually do, but still had poor production. They also set pretty late and therefore most of them were still green by October. Here were my paltry results:
Pepper Harvest Results for 2010
- Purple Beauty Bell: 3 peppers, but one rotted; 52 days from transplant
- Cal Wonder Orange Bell 3 peppers produced by 2 plants; 80 days from transplant
- Bell Boy 2 peppers produced by 2 plants; 80 days from transplant
- Cal Wonder: 1 or 2 green peppers; 154 days from transplant
- Fat & Sassy: 1 or 2 green peppers; 154 days from transplant
- Super Heavyweight: 1 or 2 green peppers; 154 days from transplant
So how can I improve my pepper production?
Seedling Care
- seeds started 3/7/10 and planted out 6/5/10, but they weren’t potted up as seedlings
- roots could have been stunted from being in the small container too long
- transplant shock could have stunted them…
Timing
- was the soil too cold when planted out on 6/5/10?
- probably not – the lows were in the 60’s that week
Water
- the peppers were on the same watering system as the eggplants and cherry tomatoes
- These other plants did well, and the pepper plants weren’t wilting, so I think the watering was okay
- Lack of humidity may have been a problem, though
Soil
- pH at the beginning of the season was 6.8
Nutrients
- phosphorous seemed to have been good, since there was lots of flowering, for the peppers as well as the others in that bed
- Calcium seemed okay also, since there was no blossom end rot.
- Leaves were green, but not overly productive, so I don’t think nitrogen was too high
Pollination
- I had lots of bees and other insects buzzing around…
- again, lack of humidity could have been a problem
Pests & Disease
- one plant had a fungus that made a pepper rot from the inside-out…but the others looked good.
- Leafhoppers were in abundance, but there was no outward sign of them being an issue.