Thursday, October 22, 2009
Pepper problems
John Arbogast
Landscape consultant John Arbogast answers your questions every Thursday. Send questions about your lawn, garden, plants, or insects to:
Dear John
5102 Greenfield St. SW
Roanoke, Va. 24018
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Q: What happened to my peppers this year? The few peppers that I got had a bunch of white stuff inside them. I didn’t notice any leaf spots on the plants and there was nothing abnormal on the fruits. Why didn’t I get a good crop of peppers? I have been a gardener in Virginia for many years. I have had peppers in the same spot for years and they have always done well. For the past many years, I have bought some pepper transplants and planted them out as soon as I can. Something bad happened to the peppers this year. What should I do so that I’ll get a good crop of decent peppers next year? My tomatoes and cucumbers in my small garden had some problems, too, but I have always had problems with those two vegetables.
A: We can blame Mother Nature. I don’t know of a disease or pest that would attack peppers and cause those symptoms.
Any kind of stress on the plants will stimulate production of light-colored substances inside the fruits around the pepper seeds. This year's stress: many parts of Virginia had a slightly cooler-than-normal and wetter-than-normal growing season. Peppers are thought of as a Mediterranean crop that loves heat and humidity. This is why I’m putting part of the blame on Mother Nature. The cure for that light-colored substance will have to be a return of Virginia’s normal summer weather.
A possible cause for the poor pepper production could have been what’s referred to as “checking.”
This is a stunting of growth that naturally occurs to peppers if they are held on a cool windowsill or cool greenhouse for too long before they are planted out in the garden.
“Checking” also occurs if the pepper transplants are set out in the garden too early in the spring or if the spring nights chill them.
Talk to the garden center's greenhouse staff where you buy peppers and make sure the plants haven’t been held for too long a time before you’re ready for them. Don't plant them until the days and nights have warmed up, and again hope for a return to normal weather conditions.
What is referred to as “tired soil” could also explain your poor crop. Next year, plan for the peppers to go in a different location. Even in a small garden, crop rotation is worthwhile.
Soil pH that has become slightly too acidic or too alkaline for good vegetable growth might have been another stressor. If you haven’t taken a soil test from your garden in the last two years, do it now. Apply agricultural lime now if needed to decrease soil acidity or agricultural sulfur if recommended to reduce soil alkalinity.
Both of these soil chemistry substancess are slow to work and should be mixed into the soil now. Fertilizer should not be applied to the soil until planting time, though.
Most vegetables need at least eight hours of direct sunshine. If pruning nearby trees and shrubs is needed to maintain that sunny spot, work this fall and winter so that your garden spot, especially the spot for peppers, will get the sun it needs.
