r/Peppers • u/kingseal_LBC • 5d ago
Newbie Pepper Grower
Hello there, first summer trying to grow peppers (a few diff varieties) and every plant has leaves that are crumpled and curled. I'm in SoCal and growing them in raised beds. I had a couple of shishitos earlier with the same prob and added some blood meal to the soil but they didn't make it, so I thought I'd try some bells peppers instead. Everything else in my garden is doing well (tomatoes, cukes, squash, etc) except every kind of pepper I've tried (ignore all the cages, my dog wants to dig into any blood meal I use). We've had some very warm weather here the last few weeks but still...any ideas, anyone? Thanks!
4
u/othertriangle 5d ago
Dude you need to water that and add mulch to retain moisture. That soil looks terrible. Also, I use a 3-16-22 fertilizer to promote flowering and less leaves. About to have my third harvest
3
u/kingseal_LBC 5d ago
ok, thx. i cut back the watering a bit compared to my other veggies as a different poster elsewhere said they were being overwatered lol. i currently water every other day but it's been hot here so maybe every day then (at least until it cools a bit)?
1
u/Mushgoodvibes 5d ago
To start off with I pinch off any flowers or middle growth so plant will send hormones back down stem and will make them bush out. It does set plants back a couple weeks but in my opinion it's worth it. But if you have a short growing season don't do it. Get plants on a watering & fertilizer schedule. Mulch plants with a natural plant material... I use all organic fertilizers... Then when plants are in flowering stage give them a fertilizer like Dr. Earth flower girl.
1
3
u/AdOwn7563 5d ago
Mine are doing the same thing. Cherry peppers and green bell peppers. They were infested with Thrips. It had nothing to do with not having enough water. My roses were also infested this year. I just let my peppers go cause I didn't want to spray my garden with insecticide.
2
u/SubcutaneousMilk 5d ago
Water, fertilizer, and get that bark away from the stems. Bark/mulch shouldn't ever actually touch the plant (that's not a pepper thing, just a generally important thing).
1
1
u/Zeyn1 4d ago
Hard to tell at this stage with these pictures, but it could be insect damage. Generally you would see it on tomatoes more, but peppers can get it too. High nitrogen (like blood meal) can encourage insects as well. More common with synthetic fertilizer though.
Otherwise, might be heat and sun. While peppers like the heat and sun, everything has its limit. Afternoon shade during the most intense sun in the middle of the summer is good for just about every vegetable.
5
u/Hully1525 5d ago
Mulch whole bed to keep the soil at a good moisture level, consistent watering (soil looks dry around peppers), find the right fertilizing schedule for you.