Why aren't my bell peppers ever thick?

[peebee]

Hi, please give me advice. For 3 years in a row, I have tried to grow bell peppers, either from seed or seedlings. They grew okay, not very prolific, but okay. But for some reason, even though I grow California Wonder which is supposedly not a thin-skinned variety, all the fruits have been very thin-skinned, like a chili pepper. How do I grow the very thick-walled types you find in the markets? Am I just growing the wrong variety or is there some trick to growing bells I don't know about?

I will be posting also in the "wanted" area about Bishop's Hat chili seeds, so if anyone reading this would like to trade, please PM me also.

Thanks!

Suzie

[RayR]

Cal Wonder's are thick walled. Are they in ground or in containers? What are you fertilizing with? Sounds like a nutrient issue to me or the PH is way off which would cause a problem with nutrient uptake.

[peebee]

I have them both in large containers and in ground to hedge my bets. The soil in my beds are well amended every season with home-grown compost and chicken manure. I plant my other vegetables in the beds as well, like tomatoes, eggplants, cukes and beans. The peppers get occasional fish emulsion and Foliage Pro. The peppers have their own section right now as the tomatoes are done and yanked out. The ones in the pots got fresh MG potting mix and they are the same size as the ones in the ground and look good.

What would be the nutrient deficiency for bells? Any helpful hints are appreciated. The plants look lush and fine, leaves very green, etc. At one point many flowers fell off, but it was right after a heat wave. I let the leaves talk to me about watering--usually every other day right now. I just don't get the juicy thick-walled peppers like in the stores.

[b54red]

I always get my largest and thickest walled bells during the spring and fall when the temps are not as high. In the fall they need plenty of extra fertilizer or the walls will be thin unless you have some kind of terrific soil. I try to give mine a dose of Miracle Grow every two weeks or more during the end of summer for maximum production in the fall. Make sure they are given enough water because they need more than tomatoes; at least mine do. Try ordering some seed from TGS of a bell called Socrates and see if they do better for you. They are now my main crop bell because they are so much more reliable than any other I have grown.

[fortyonenorth]

Have you had your soil tested recently? As Ray suggested, you probably have a nutrient deficiency and I bet it's Calcium. Potassium and Calcium would be the primary nutes responsible for building thick walls. Most manures contain Potassium (in addition to Phosphorus and Nitrogen) but unless your chicken manure is coming from layer hens you're probably not getting any Ca with it.

I would suggest sending a soil sample to a lab in your area. My lab runs a "base saturation" test and I prefer this one because it provides the information I need - not simply the quantity of nutrients which are present, but their relation to each other and to the soil's ability to hold nutrients. I would recommend a private lab. Agricultural extension services and/or universities also run tests but, in my limited experience, their results are not as reliable.

[RayR]

I'm thinking the same as fortyonenorth, you may be lacking in Calcium.
Fish Emulsion is fine, I give an occasional foliar feed with fish/seaweed myself as well as a drench. Compost is always good.
Chicken manure is something to be careful with. I hope it is composted well because fresh Chicken manure is "hot" and can burn roots.
Foliage Pro has a lot of nutrients in it but is very high in Nitrogen, which is not ideal for fruiting plants like peppers. Soluble fertilizers are also subject to leaching, especially in containered plants or ground soils that have high drainage.
I prefer an organic granular fertilzer like Espoma Tomato-Tone, works really well on peppers.
It has the minors like Calcium as well as beneficial bacteria.