Black areas on bell peppers

[DHB]

Hello all,

I'm getting black spots that grow and turn brown on my immature bell peppers. It's only happening on one plant (the only one in a container, so maybe it's the soil although I tried to only put good stuff in there; compost, potting soil, etc.) The plant is otherwise the picture of health: lush foliage, bushy, and numerous little peppers growing and new flowers. I'm afraid it's some type of fungal infection, but haven't found much from searching the net.

There are also black areas in all of the "crotches" between the main stem and the branches on this plant, but as I'm new to gardening, I'm not sure if that's related, or normal, or something else altogether. Pic above. Any help would be much appreciated!

 

[Chuck]

too much water too often. Let them completely dry out and wilt. It won't do anything for the ones already affected nor the black lesions on the stem but in a couple of weeks things should be back to normal. Just don't water so often.

 

[Beth_B]

Hi DHB. We are in similar climates (and we are having a dry summer and currently a heat wave.) As a data point, all my in-ground veggies get watered every 7-10 days even in this current weather. (Those in containers and straw bales more often.) The main garden is heavily mulched with straw and our soil is quite dense and rich which helps conserve H20. I checked it yesterday evening when it was still in the 90s; soil feels dry but nothing was wilting so I didn't water anything but the cucumbers - cukes like a bit more water than most veggies.

http://www.almanac.com/content/when-water-vegetables

This seems about right. We water each plant for about one full minute give or take; that amounts to 1-2 gallons per watering.

 

[DHB]

Thanks for the replies. It may have been a watering issue, but I was allowing the plant to get to the point where it was wilting by the end of the day before watering the next morning. It wasn't nearly rootbound in the container it was in, but I went ahead and potted it up anyway, since the one it was in was just on the border of what's considered best for a full-grown bell pepper plant. I'll keep an eye on it and maybe let it go even further between waterings.

 

[Chuck]

Thanks for the replies. It may have been a watering issue, but I was allowing the plant to get to the point where it was wilting by the end of the day before watering the next morning. It wasn't nearly rootbound in the container it was in, but I went ahead and potted it up anyway, since the one it was in was just on the border of what's considered best for a full-grown bell pepper plant. I'll keep an eye on it and maybe let it go even further between waterings.

Then that is the problem. They are supposed to wilt in the heat of a summer afternoon. It is when they are wilted in the AM that they probably need water. Unless you have sandy soil watering deeply every 7 days is plenty if the plant is in the ground. But even in containers every day is too much. Depending on the size of the container every 3 days. The smaller the container the more often you should water

 

[gary350]

I could be BER = Blossom End Rot. I put pellet lime and wood ash in my, peppers, tomatoes, squash, melons for BER. Starting putting some on your plants water it into the soil good it takes about 2 weeks to solve the problem.

 

[Chuck]

BER is exactly what it says it is. Blossom End Rot. Those peppers blossom ends are not rotted. The sides are softened because of too much water too often.

 

[Beth_B]

Seriously, too much water too often.

If the plants are wilting in early morning, give them a good long drink. Other wise don't worry about it...water stress is good for most plants as it increases fruit production.

Think about where most peppers grow naturally: desert or Mediterranean climates. Where rain rarely happens. The number one most common mistake gardeners make is too-frequent watering; both indoors and outdoors
You really need to resist the urge to water plants frequently. It kills them.