Peppers...how do thier needs differ from Tomatoes? - Page 2

July 9, 2019

Here's my updated view on the differences of pepper needs vs. tomato needs:

* Peppers are ideally started earlier than tomatoes if you have a short season.
* Peppers in the ground have a stronger need for mulch than tomatoes.
* Peppers don't need to be caged as often as tomatoes.
* Aphids and whiteflies seem to be more of a threat to peppers than tomatoes (if you leave them on), in my experience (but they're easily taken care of, too, if you don't want to leave them on).
* I've never had cutworms sever a pepper (I'm sure it can happen, though), but I've had tomatoes fall victim to them.

* It's easier to get fruit indoors on peppers.
* Peppers seem to like heat more than tomatoes.
* Cool nights seem to bother peppers more than they do tomatoes.
* More pepper plants can often be grown in a space than tomatoes (but there are small tomato breeds, too).
* Peppers grow more slowly than tomatoes. You don't generally have to worry about peppers smothering anything (but tomatoes are often willing to smother other stuff).

b54red · July 15, 2019

It looks to me like you may have some early damage from those very tiny foliage worms which can be easily killed by just removing the leaf if there aren't too many leaves affected by them. They first appear as a thin spot in the leaf but if enough of them get on a bell pepper they can and will defoliate the plant. If you see any translucent spots on the leaves look under the leaf very carefully and see if there are very tiny worms munching away. They can be bad in times of frequent rains and if they get bad enough they are easily controlled with Sevin.

There are a couple of diseases that can devastate bell peppers especially down here in the deep south. TSWV and Bacterial Leaf Spot can ruin your pepper season. Sometimes nematodes can also affect them. I am told that a copper spray can help protect against BLS but once it gets going on a bell pepper it usually causes the plant to start loosing leaves and will eventually kill it.

Leaf Footed bugs and Stinkbugs can ruin your peppers leaving soft round spots that will rot and show more as the peppers get ripe so if you see either one try to kill them as quickly as possible and look for the nymphs when they hatch out. The babies like to cluster together and will frequently be all over a single bell pepper pod especially if it is getting red.

Bill

b54red · July 15, 2019

Even though I have been growing bell peppers for over 40 years I have run into something I have never seen before and don't know whether it is a disease or some type of mineral problem. I set out some late peppers in May and early June and have had a couple of them turn a chartreuse yellow green . I know they aren't deficient in nitrogen and it doesn't look like iron deficiency either. One plant just started turning yellow and now a couple of my older plants are showing the same thing happening on some of the new growth.

I used an iron supplement spray on all the peppers that had any yellowing of new growth and the few that were basically whole plants turning color. The ones that looked like iron deficiency and there were only a couple, quickly greened right up. The ones that showed that all over the leaf chartreuse color were unaffected by the foliage spray of iron. The three plants that showed that look the worst and the two others that were starting to get it were given a good dose of vinegar and water yesterday to see if that would help. I haven't checked them yet because it usually takes a day or two for freed-up extra phosphorous and iron to be taken up by the plant.

I fertilized the plants yesterday with Urban Farms Vegetable formula and gave an extra dose to the affected plants. I have over 50 bells in my garden and most are doing great so it is no great lose but I would love to know what is causing this weird discoloration in just a few plants. Oh yeah I haven't had a lot of pests this year so if it is something carried by an insect I don't know what insects they would be. Hopefully someone has seen this malady before and might know what causes it.

Bill

Bill

Tomzhawaii · July 16, 2019

I had thrips kill all my peppers and never saw them tiny buggers until it was too late
Tom

uzlaguzla · July 16, 2019

I noticed a first for me, yesterday. I have hornworms working on my hot peppers. Just Lemon thus far. They have not made it to my tomatoes yet!

b54red · August 2, 2019

One way that they are alike is they both fall victim to Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus. I have lost at a minimum 8 bells to it so far this year and it looks like it has hit a few more this week along with a few more tomatoes.

Bill

DonDuck · August 2, 2019

About the only thing I do for my peppers is a regular dose of Epsom salts. I just add a couple of tbs per gallon of water in watering cans and water it in two or three times per summer depending on leaf color. The Epsom salts turn yellow leaves to bright green leaves quickly. I never use it on tomatoes.

I can't remember an insect problem at all on my pepper plants, but I have normal insect pressure on my tomatoes. I produce beautiful bell peppers until mid June when the heat arrives. They always die soon after the summer heat arrives I can't grow small fruited jalapenos in my garden. They always die in mid summer. Large fruited jalapenos grow and produce from early summer until first frost. My peppers get sun scald much easier than my tomatoes. I often think about potting some of the large plants and letting them over winter in the house, but I never have. Maybe someday I will.

DonDuck · August 2, 2019

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tomzhawaii

I had thrips kill all my peppers and never saw them tiny buggers until it was too late
Tom

I also had some thripes this year. The only way I knew was a sudden appearance of bacterial leaf spot on almost all of my garden plants including beets. Thripes are the vector for BLS. My peppers were the least affected plants with only a few spots on a few leaves. Beets and tomatoes were the most affected with some beet plants expiring. The tomatoes dropped a lot of leaves leaving many green tomatoes exposed to the hot sun. The tomato plants recovered well. My beets were stunted in growth.

I wasn't sure if the disease was fungal, bacterial, or viral, so I sprayed my garden pretty heavily with liquid copper in case of a fungus outbreak. It seemed like the copper taste wasn't attractive to the thripes so they abandoned my garden quickly. I was concerned that the excessive copper on my plants would be harmful,, but the plants seemed to benefit from it in leaf color.

August 2, 2019	#22
DonDuck Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: Corinth, texas Posts: 1,784	About the only thing I do for my peppers is a regular dose of Epsom salts. I just add a couple of tbs per gallon of water in watering cans and water it in two or three times per summer depending on leaf color. The Epsom salts turn yellow leaves to bright green leaves quickly. I never use it on tomatoes. I can't remember an insect problem at all on my pepper plants, but I have normal insect pressure on my tomatoes. I produce beautiful bell peppers until mid June when the heat arrives. They always die soon after the summer heat arrives I can't grow small fruited jalapenos in my garden. They always die in mid summer. Large fruited jalapenos grow and produce from early summer until first frost. My peppers get sun scald much easier than my tomatoes. I often think about potting some of the large plants and letting them over winter in the house, but I never have. Maybe someday I will. Last edited by DonDuck; August 2, 2019 at 10:19 PM.

July 9, 2019	#16
shule1 Guest Posts: n/a	Here's my updated view on the differences of pepper needs vs. tomato needs: * Peppers are ideally started earlier than tomatoes if you have a short season. * Peppers in the ground have a stronger need for mulch than tomatoes. * Peppers don't need to be caged as often as tomatoes. * Aphids and whiteflies seem to be more of a threat to peppers than tomatoes (if you leave them on), in my experience (but they're easily taken care of, too, if you don't want to leave them on). * I've never had cutworms sever a pepper (I'm sure it can happen, though), but I've had tomatoes fall victim to them. * It's easier to get fruit indoors on peppers. * Peppers seem to like heat more than tomatoes. * Cool nights seem to bother peppers more than they do tomatoes. * More pepper plants can often be grown in a space than tomatoes (but there are small tomato breeds, too). * Peppers grow more slowly than tomatoes. You don't generally have to worry about peppers smothering anything (but tomatoes are often willing to smother other stuff).

July 15, 2019	#17
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	It looks to me like you may have some early damage from those very tiny foliage worms which can be easily killed by just removing the leaf if there aren't too many leaves affected by them. They first appear as a thin spot in the leaf but if enough of them get on a bell pepper they can and will defoliate the plant. If you see any translucent spots on the leaves look under the leaf very carefully and see if there are very tiny worms munching away. They can be bad in times of frequent rains and if they get bad enough they are easily controlled with Sevin. There are a couple of diseases that can devastate bell peppers especially down here in the deep south. TSWV and Bacterial Leaf Spot can ruin your pepper season. Sometimes nematodes can also affect them. I am told that a copper spray can help protect against BLS but once it gets going on a bell pepper it usually causes the plant to start loosing leaves and will eventually kill it. Leaf Footed bugs and Stinkbugs can ruin your peppers leaving soft round spots that will rot and show more as the peppers get ripe so if you see either one try to kill them as quickly as possible and look for the nymphs when they hatch out. The babies like to cluster together and will frequently be all over a single bell pepper pod especially if it is getting red. Bill

July 16, 2019	#19
Tomzhawaii Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: Honolulu ,Hawaii Posts: 262	I had thrips kill all my peppers and never saw them tiny buggers until it was too late Tom

July 16, 2019	#20
uzlaguzla Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: ohio Posts: 50	I noticed a first for me, yesterday. I have hornworms working on my hot peppers. Just Lemon thus far. They have not made it to my tomatoes yet!