Need pepper help

[jdz121290]

Hello everyone! I will start by saying I have several variety's of peppers growing all spicy ones I bought a bag of mixed seeds and planted them so I know there's habaneros, jalapenos, and chilis. I will also preface my questions by saying this is the first time I've ever grown anything in my life I'm not a master Gardner by any means so this is all new to me. I started my plants indoors for several weeks till they were about 1-2 inches tall that was what the seeding tray told me to do. I transplanted them outdoors into bigger spaces and they took off. They started growing like crazy. I did not prune them or anything else I just let them grow and watered when the top few inches of soil was dry. For 2 months they grew and were perfect. Here recently the last 2 weeks I would say some of them started blooming flowers some a few and others many and some none at all. I have a few questions for anyone with advice as to what's going on with them currently.

1. Why did some grow tons of flowers some only a couple and some none at all? They all received the same care same sun same water schedule same everything but still half of them turned out to be duds as of yet. Will that fix itself or can I intervene and help?
2. I am having some blossom drop. The flowers bloom get big and beautiful than just fall off and fruit never sets. I read up on this and tried all the things they suggested. They have plenty of sun and the temperatures are within the acceptable range I've seen posted ( mid 80s during the day and mid 70s at night) I have made sure not to over or under water them and I've tried to maintain the nitrogen levels as best I could but again I'm not pro so I could have messed that up. There is usually a breeze to help pollinate and when there isn't ill give them all some gentle shakes to help spread the pollen. I read that humidity also plays a part and that's what scares me. I live in GA and the humidity every day is 95-100 percent and nothing I can do will fix that.
3. What can I do to try and get my plants to set fruit? Am I over reacting and the flowers falling off is ok? How long after the blossom should I expect to see the fruit am I not waiting long enough and just being impatient?

 

[jdz121290]

I’ve attached several photos so you can see what I’m working with it’s tough living in a apartment

 

[Chuck]

I’ve attached several photos so you can see what I’m working with it’s tough living in a apartment

You are not doing anything wrong except not giving them enough sunlight. Peppers are hot weather plants and they also produce more blooms than the plant can grow and sustain peppers. Bloom drop is normal. I can't tell from the pictures whether your NPK levels or OK or not. Peppers are supposed to be a dark green with no hint of yellow. Also, the hotter the pepper the later it blooms. Really hot peppers need a lot of sunshine and heat to perform well. You will see peppers forming while the bloom is still open. Just be patient. Hot peppers are self pollinating so they will do fine if they have enough sunlight. I believe that the plant on the far right is a habenero. Of all the peppers this one looks as it should. All of the rest are VERY leggy. This legginess comes from a lack of sunlight. High humidity has more impact on tomatoes than peppers but high humidity does affect them to a small degree because high humidity causes the pollen to become a little sticky.

 

[jdz121290]

You are not doing anything wrong except not giving them enough sunlight. Peppers are hot weather plants and they also produce more blooms than the plant can grow and sustain peppers. Bloom drop is normal. I can't tell from the pictures whether your NPK levels or OK or not. Peppers are supposed to be a dark green with no hint of yellow. Also, the hotter the pepper the later it blooms. Really hot peppers need a lot of sunshine and heat to perform well. You will see peppers forming while the bloom is still open. Just be patient. Hot peppers are self pollinating so they will do fine if they have enough sunlight. I believe that the plant on the far right is a habenero. Of all the peppers this one looks as it should. All of the rest are VERY leggy. This legginess comes from a lack of sunlight. High humidity has more impact on tomatoes than peppers but high humidity does affect them to a small degree because high humidity causes the pollen to become a little sticky.

Well for starters, thank you for your reply. I had no idea which plants were which since I've never grown them before but I will say the two at the end are very different than the rest and from what I've seen on google pictures your guess seems correct. I guess I thought they were getting enough sunlight ( the sun shines directly on my balcony during mid day for several hours) but I guess it's just not enough. If I get the rest of them some more sun do you think it would help them or is it to late at this current growth stage? Forgive me I do not know what some of your terminology means what is NPK levels and what do you mean by leggy? I did think they were very skinny if that's what you mean.

 

[Chuck]

Well for starters, thank you for your reply. I had no idea which plants were which since I've never grown them before but I will say the two at the end are very different than the rest and from what I've seen on google pictures your guess seems correct. I guess I thought they were getting enough sunlight ( the sun shines directly on my balcony during mid day for several hours) but I guess it's just not enough. If I get the rest of them some more sun do you think it would help them or is it to late at this current growth stage? Forgive me I do not know what some of your terminology means what is NPK levels and what do you mean by leggy? I did think they were very skinny if that's what you mean.

NPK levels are the nitrogen, phosphorus and potash in your plants. Too much or too little of these cause differences in what the plant looks like, whether light green or yellow, green leaf veins, yellow leaf veins, and a lot more. Legginess is tall skinny plants with few leaves. What is happening with leggy plants is that they are literally reaching for the sun in order to get more light. Hot peppers need at least 8 hours a day of full direct sunlight, preferably more. If you get them more sunlight they will fill out at the top and probably send shoots off of the trunk too, so yes, if they get a lot more sun they will be fine.

 

[jdz121290]

Thank you for your help! I will get them in the sun ASAP and hopefully soon I’ll be able to post back with some beautiful looking peppers!

 

[Chuck]

Thank you for your help! I will get them in the sun ASAP and hopefully soon I’ll be able to post back with some beautiful looking peppers!

If you got a good mix of seeds they will all start producing at different times, the hottest the latest so don't worry if some of them don't have fruit and others do.