Stunted Plants?

[AlittleSalt]

I'm going to post this here in the General Discussion and on the Containers Growing thread I started last year. I'm posting it here because it will get more attention, but it also belongs on the other thread.

I have 3 pepper plants growing in two 5 gallon buckets - 1 in one bucket of mix 'not soil' and 2 growing in another 5 gallon bucket. The 3 Alma pepper plants grew slower from seedlings in cells to potting them up into solo cups than all of the other pepper plants of different varieties. Then I planted them out in the 5 gallon buckets on April 15th hoping they would start growing better - They haven't grown at all. They do look healthy.

The mix is 2/3 pro mix and 1/3 MG with a small amount of 10-10-10 mixed throughout. They have also been watered/fed using 4-18-38, Calcium Nitrate, and Magnesium Sulfate two times. I would have used the liquid more but it has rained a whole lot. (They are being grown outside - not in a greenhouse.)

I did some measuring this morning, and the 3 Alma plants are still 7 inches tall - the same size they were in the solo cups. The other 10 pepper plants of 4 other varieties are at least 18 inches tall and much wider. The tomato plants are growing like weeds. All are grown in the same garden with the same amount of sunlight, same mix, etc.

I have read so many sites about Alma pepper plants, and they are not small/dwarf plants. So I read sites about stunted plants, and have come to the conclusion that... They are just stunted and I don't know why? Could it be that the seeds were old or maybe crossed? First picture.

If I didn't have any other plants to replace them with, I would just let them grow and see what happens. However, there are two Porter tomato plants that are looking really good that are wanting to be planted out. Second picture are all 3 in a container to show size only. I don't like giving up on plants, but maybe it's time to move on?

What do you think?

[Worth1]

Benn getting a lot of rain lately, hit them with more fertilizer and let the soil dry out.
............................................(((If you can)))............................................ ....

What have you got to lose?

[b54red]

You peppers are probably getting too much water and peppers don't like too much water. Maybe your mix is holding too much water and not draining well enough. For large pots like that I like to use at least 1/3 pine bark fines for better drainage and it keeps the soil looser. Since the plants are so small I would go ahead and re-pot them so you can remix your planting medium and that will also dry it out some. If you do that you could add a small amount of chicken manure which should boost their growth or use a bit of blood meal. Both of these will give you more nitrogen which gets leached out in heavy rain. Since potassium leaches badly also I would add a handful or two of wood ashes to your mix when working in the pine bark fines.

Bill

[AlittleSalt]

That is good advice Worth and Bill.

What has me puzzled is why only those Alma paprika in the two containers are not growing. The buckets are the same with the same size holes drilled in them. The perlite that I used is the extra chunky type that I had to go to a nursery to buy. I took a picture from top down. There is a lot of chunky perlite in the mix. Next, I put my hand in the mix, and it's not wet. What I didn't feel was/were any roots. I think I will repot them in a smaller containers that I can bring inside during the thunderstorms.

I will be happy to say that I was wrong if they start growing. I think they have been stunted all along though.

[Rajun Gardener]

1st, not all plants grow the same. You can't measure the plants health by size so let that go.

I have 20 different varieties of peppers going and Alma is a weak growing plant, maybe we got the same seeds from a swap but they're not a fast growing plant. I also have other pepper plants that are smaller/shorter than Alma while some already have 3" peppers and are taller.


Another big tip!!!! If you're growing in fake soil and using hydro solution you still have to water even if it rains and the soil is wet. You also need to feed them more than once a day especially if it's windy. They dry out faster than you think and then you have droopy plants needing water.

I grow in the GH in perlite and HAVE to water 3 times a day or they struggle and it's still early in the year.

[AlittleSalt]

Thanks Rajun, that's the kind of info that I couldn't find online. Okay, it's a slow grower - that makes sense.

A couple of my plants have 3 inch peppers on them too. What's funny looking is the 8 inch Jimmy Nardello pepper

[AlittleSalt]

This thread is bringing back some thoughts. I have read so many times that the viability of pepper seeds is only 2 years. Yet, Worth sent me a lot of pepper seeds he bought back in 2007, and they germinated and grew/produced just fine for me in 2017. 10 year old pepper seeds. It made me think that the 2 year viability of pepper seeds was just seed sites wanting you to buy more seeds. I think there is more to it than that.

This is the 5th year I have planted Alma Paprika seeds. 2015, 16, 17, and 2018 - next to no germination happened. The one year they did germinate, the plants were weak and died within a week. All the seeds came from swaps and the MMMM. This year, I got my Alma seeds from a kind lady here at Tomatoville. 3 of the 6 seeds germinated, and you see the results in my pictures above. Alma Paprika may be a variety that needs to have seeds saved every year and be planted the next year or the second year at the latest.

[GrowingCoastal]

I am finding that Aleppo is a slow starter too. Funny how some of them take off right away and some just don't.