Pepper Plant help needed - MERGED

she_grinch

My sweet pepper is about 5 inches tall and has 1 tiny pepper on it!

juneg46

I get whitefly onmine when they are inside, aubergines are worse. So this year I have tried a combination, some are outside braving the weather, some are in growbags in a sheltered spot, some started inside then moved to an outside windowsill, and a couple of chilis spend some time out, some in, depending on whether they have flies or not, and how sunny it is. Ones outside in the ground are struggling, even the ones under plastic. But the ones on the growbag are flourishing, and the ones on the windowsill have baby peppers. Chillis always take longer than peppers, but are much more prolific.

tomsolomon

Could anyone tell me what possible interest red ants would have in a yellow pepper plant????
They are all over the plant especially around the flowers.....

WilChil1964

Money_saving_Diva wrote: »

Ok, the first method is to remove the top half inch or so of soil as the grubs live there. Replace with new soil and then sprinkle with cinnamon (yes I know this sounds odd, but it doesn't damage the plant and the grubs seem to die) I just used cheap powdered cinnamon. Then finally buy some sand and put about half an inch of sand over the entire pot - this stops the female flies burying into the soil as apparently they hate sand!!

Moneysavingdiva, thanks for those tips, will do all that this weekend, once I get to the DIY store for some sand! Fingers crossed .... they are very annoying, especially as the pepper plants are in front of patio doors in the dining room where we sit to eat and are always drifting around there.

Fingers crossed that you have solved the problem for your peppers too.

WilChil1964

c00kiemonster wrote: »

Those little black flies I have always known as Fungus knats, they love the damp compost and the best thing to do as msd said is cover the surface of the compost with a dry barrier.
I use clay pebbles and this sees them off for me;)

cm

Thanks, I'm going to get some sand or something this weekend and see if that solves the problem.

So glad I asked now!
:j

tomsolomon

Ok now I'm a little concerned......
There must be a dozen or more ants swarming each of the unopened flowers this morning......
I've done a web search and am unable to find anything yet......

the_other_mce

I'm still dithering over my peppers - is it because the weather is wet that they aren't growing? I think I will leave one in the ground and put the other two in a pot. I can't believe I have only got 3 plants left out of the ones I have planted. I put about 12 plantlets out....
It reminds me of last years failure with the Brussel Sprouts - I only managed to grow enough for one meal.. and they were more like peas actually.
However I seem to have mastered potatoes (have some good plants going - and also loads growing out of my compost bin:o ), carrots, onions and lettuce so I don't feel too bad. :j
I will post on here in a few days to let you all know if I have managed to keep my pepper plants alive and get them into pots. Does anyone have any suggestion as to what size pot I should use???? Can you bring them into a house straight away? and if all else fails is it too late to plant some more to KEEP indoors????

Money_saving_Diva_2

I didn't plant my peppers or chillis into the ground, I put them in pots - I used around a 9inch but if yours are regular chilli or pepper plants they might need something over 10 as they grow like weeds. I think it's the rain and lack of sun that is stunting yours so I would put them into pots and bring them indoors onto a windowsill for a few days. That way the sunshine coming thru the window can give them that greenhouse effect that they love. I have six pots on my window sill now, 3 chilli plants and 3 pepper plants and all are thriving! Dig them up and give them a pot each if you can and let them bask in the warmth of the house until the real summer arrives!!! Peppers usually flower and fruit before the chillis, but they soon catch up.

Good luck honey!

Money_saving_Diva_2

Hi Wilchil, just to say that yes, well over a week after the soil/cinnamon/sand treatment, all plants are clear from fungus gnats!! so I bought half of them back indoors to live on the windowsill!

Yayyyy for me!! I hope yours have been cured too, I am living proof that this 3 fold attack should work against the lil blighters.

miss_corerupted

just found some spare sweet pepper seeds is it to late to plant them now??
planning on keeping them in greenhouse.