our peppers are always 2 small

[Mom2Cool]

Hi, I would love some tips from people on how to get a bell pepper to grow to a normal size? This past summer & in summers past they don't grow much larger than say a plum. They're always perfectly formed & I'll think "well if I just give them more time they're'll get bigger but they don't & some will start to rot on the vine & then others will be real tiny and not grow etc. Some will reach the size of say a tennis ball & I'll think "ah ha finally getting some decent sizes." but then that's as big as they get. They should be the size of like a baseball right? why are the ones I plant always so small? I'm using "Bell pepper" plants & they're coming from the nursey just like the other plants. everything else seems to grown just fine but these. Any ideas from people who know? I saw someone with peppers in their nickname & I thought maybe there's a trick to it I don't know?

 

[Grow 4 Food]

How big are your plants getting? There are several tricks to peppers but any of them that are done wrong will screw up the whole growing process. If the plant is small and scrawney then you will have a good chance of having small peppers too granted there are always exceptions to that rule. However you want to be very careful about putting much fertilizer on a pepper because you will have a great big plant and no peppers. They seem to like a little more sour soil than say your tomatoes do.

Next time start a little bit before you should be getting peppers and just work on the plant. You will not see much pepper growth at first but you can change that when it is time. Once the nice healthy plant is ready to bare you need to change to acidity a little in the soil. Take about 5 wood kitchen matches and stick them in the ground head first about 2 inches away from the main stem of the plant. You can also mix about a teaspoon of epson salt in a gallon of water and mist the plant with it once a day for a week or so and this will help keep from burning off the blooms from the fert that you put on the plant to get it to grow in the first place.

Also try not to over water your peppers, they don't really like to "wet".

Good Luck!

Hobby

 

[Mom2Cool]

Oh see this is great. the garden has always sort of been hubby's hobby & baby but the bounty of it was something I always looked to & this one particular place was always a bit "off". He'll be so happy to have a answer and/or another thing to try. Some times it just pays to go straight to those who "know" & ask... Thanks so much.

 

[GrowsLotsaPeppers]

Our bell peppers, Yolo Wonder variety, have always done well, as have the other 6 or 8 varieties we put in.

But this year, where I planted the bell peppers, they didn't do well. Small, thin skinned, some of that same rot/wilt. I think it's the soil in that grow box, though, because what was there last year didn't thrive, either.

In the past, I've dug out the box and refilled it with mix from other spaces, as well as some bagged potting mix. That usually worked for a year or two. I think there is too much competition from the roots of a largish tree 8 feet away for water & nutrients.

Can't cut the tree down, though. It shades the west end of the California house...

Next year, the peppers move back to another box. Gotta have good bell peppers!

 

[ams3651]

question, are your peppers close to your tomatoes? I learned a lot about companion planting. Tomatoes and peppers dont do good together and you will get small peppers.

 

[katz]

When you buy plants, look at the name of them, as I try to buy " Big Bertha " bell peppers ,as the name will tell you how big they will get, once I bought " Jingle Bell " peppers and they were tiny and also last year just peppers labeled "Bell Pepper " and they were small also .

and then there is fertilizer to help them along .

 

[rebecca10782]

Ours are the same way! I have given up, they grow to the size of a half dollar and then rott

 

[allabout]

This may or may not help you, but through my own trial and error I found doing one small trick made the biggest difference- thinning.

This is my story. Last year I went to my local high school's vocational center's horticulture department annual spring sale. Geez what some great deals...and one of the dozens of plants I purchased were about sixteen bell pepper plants (I could kick myself for not being more organized and telling you the variety I purchased). Well, normally during the growing season I may get 4 or 5 crappy looking peppers, but with last years I have NEVER seen sooo many peppers!! There is no telling how many pounds of peppers...but they were to small to be proud of. My Uncle came to see my garden and saw how many blooms were on each plant and asked me why was I not thinning my peppers. Crazy me hadn't thought of that!! You see, there will be clusters of about oh 5 or 6 blooms... you will cry to do this, but pinch off all but one or two blooms. When I saw how I was able to pull off peppers that can match any around I was PROUD!! Thin, thin, and then thin some more. I had a great year with tons given away and half a ton in the freezer!!

rebecca10782- blossom end rot. I fight it also!! Check your soil, lime if needed in winter and just try to stay consistant on water..during dry times. Those two things help me the most.

Hope this helps... :tools

 

[setter4]

I had California Wonders last summer and they got HUGE. I loved them. I think maybe it was the wood chips I used for mulch.