Florida Growers Having Problems With All This Rain?

Goldie321 · August 16, 2014

I'm in West Central Florida (north of Tampa). We have been getting so much rain this summer - the last couple of weeks in particular - my pepper plants are getting spots all over the leaves - they were doing so well before. Some leaves have actually turned to mush. Lost several peppers that rotted out while still not ripe. My Jimmy Nardello peppers seem to be standing up to the assault of all this water, but wonder how much more they can take. The plants just don't get a chance to 'dry out'. There's almost always water on the leaves. No rain overnight but damp and muggy so that's no help. Safeguard has Neem Oil and a fungicide (which I spray regularly - so I'm guessing the damage would be far worse if I didn't). Do the plants have to actually be dry when spraying? I can't seem to catch a break when I can spray and not have wet plants. Had two short showers already this morning.

kurt · August 16, 2014

All of my inground hot peppers (Trinidads,Bhuts,Nagas,Morugas) are loving it.All of the containers(plastic, pre transplants)I am struggling with.Been having to move out of direct sun and into under cover partial shade.The peppers I keep in terra cotta seem to "dry out" easier than the plastics.All of my pepper selections are from (landrace)humid climates.The southwestern (dryer climate peppers) do not fare for me well here in S.Florida.The good thing is I am just starting tomatoe seedlings this next two weeks for my mater season.Best bet would be to prune(keeping air circulation)move around if possible,shade cloth if possible(sun wants to cook the water,if in containers). Keep in mind the Neem oil,etc will intefere with the oxygen/carbon dioxide exchange during day/night cycles so the pores should be as clear as possible.Good Luck.

Goldie321 · August 16, 2014

I've been using the Neem Oil product since the beginning of the growing season and it's been working fine. However, the last couple of weeks, we are getting so much rain that my plants are always dripping. It's like a tropical rain forest out there. Not much sun the last week and a half so that is not a problem. It pops out for brief periods and then back into clouds. This has been far from a normal summer (sun out all day and t-storms start sometime in the late afternoon would be normal).

b54red · August 16, 2014

If you are developing one of the spot or speck diseases on your peppers then you are in for a real hard time. I went through that for a season and they are very difficult to control. The spots will start developing on your peppers causing them to rot much faster. I ended up having to spray with a dilute bleach spray every week for a month to get it under control by fall that year. I found alternating sprays of Daconil and a copper spray worked pretty good at prevention but did nothing much to stop the disease once it was on a plant; but with the addition of the bleach spray it did stop the disease from moving on up the new growth eventually. Good luck, you are going to need it.

I'm having just the opposite problem with no rain this summer since early July to amount to anything and an aphid infestation from hell. I can't seem to get enough water to my plants and wilting is an almost daily occurance except on the days I water.

Bill

Goldie321 · August 18, 2014

Thanks for the input b54red. Thank goodness, now that we have had a couple of days of sunshine and everything is drying out, my pepper plants are starting to look better. I'll probably lose a bunch of leaves, but it doesn't appear to have gotten to all of them and it isn't spreading. Found a 'colony' of ladybugs hatched on a couple of eggplant leaves. Well, if there are any aphids in the area - haven't seen any - their days are numbered lol!

namwah · August 19, 2014

I'm a little south of you and I do not try to grow anything between June and September. Just too hot and humid. if you can manage to get few peppers you are doing good.

Goldie321 · August 20, 2014

I'm getting lots of peppers. And my plants seems to be bouncing back after all that rain. We've had a few days without any rain so they are doing well - and I've had to start watering again! Sounds funny after almost drowning a few days ago.

August 16, 2014	#1
Goldie321 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Florida USA Posts: 116	Florida Growers Having Problems With All This Rain? I'm in West Central Florida (north of Tampa). We have been getting so much rain this summer - the last couple of weeks in particular - my pepper plants are getting spots all over the leaves - they were doing so well before. Some leaves have actually turned to mush. Lost several peppers that rotted out while still not ripe. My Jimmy Nardello peppers seem to be standing up to the assault of all this water, but wonder how much more they can take. The plants just don't get a chance to 'dry out'. There's almost always water on the leaves. No rain overnight but damp and muggy so that's no help. Safeguard has Neem Oil and a fungicide (which I spray regularly - so I'm guessing the damage would be far worse if I didn't). Do the plants have to actually be dry when spraying? I can't seem to catch a break when I can spray and not have wet plants. Had two short showers already this morning.

August 16, 2014	#2
kurt Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Homestead,Everglades City Fl. Posts: 2,500	All of my inground hot peppers (Trinidads,Bhuts,Nagas,Morugas) are loving it.All of the containers(plastic, pre transplants)I am struggling with.Been having to move out of direct sun and into under cover partial shade.The peppers I keep in terra cotta seem to "dry out" easier than the plastics.All of my pepper selections are from (landrace)humid climates.The southwestern (dryer climate peppers) do not fare for me well here in S.Florida.The good thing is I am just starting tomatoe seedlings this next two weeks for my mater season.Best bet would be to prune(keeping air circulation)move around if possible,shade cloth if possible(sun wants to cook the water,if in containers). Keep in mind the Neem oil,etc will intefere with the oxygen/carbon dioxide exchange during day/night cycles so the pores should be as clear as possible.Good Luck. __________________ KURT Last edited by kurt; August 16, 2014 at 03:15 PM.

August 16, 2014	#4
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	If you are developing one of the spot or speck diseases on your peppers then you are in for a real hard time. I went through that for a season and they are very difficult to control. The spots will start developing on your peppers causing them to rot much faster. I ended up having to spray with a dilute bleach spray every week for a month to get it under control by fall that year. I found alternating sprays of Daconil and a copper spray worked pretty good at prevention but did nothing much to stop the disease once it was on a plant; but with the addition of the bleach spray it did stop the disease from moving on up the new growth eventually. Good luck, you are going to need it. I'm having just the opposite problem with no rain this summer since early July to amount to anything and an aphid infestation from hell. I can't seem to get enough water to my plants and wilting is an almost daily occurance except on the days I water. Bill

August 18, 2014	#5
Goldie321 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Florida USA Posts: 116	Thanks for the input b54red. Thank goodness, now that we have had a couple of days of sunshine and everything is drying out, my pepper plants are starting to look better. I'll probably lose a bunch of leaves, but it doesn't appear to have gotten to all of them and it isn't spreading. Found a 'colony' of ladybugs hatched on a couple of eggplant leaves. Well, if there are any aphids in the area - haven't seen any - their days are numbered lol!

August 19, 2014	#6
namwah Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: palmetto, florida Posts: 47	I'm a little south of you and I do not try to grow anything between June and September. Just too hot and humid. if you can manage to get few peppers you are doing good.

August 20, 2014	#7
Goldie321 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Florida USA Posts: 116	I'm getting lots of peppers. And my plants seems to be bouncing back after all that rain. We've had a few days without any rain so they are doing well - and I've had to start watering again! Sounds funny after almost drowning a few days ago.