Topic: pepper losing it fruit

[warjoe]

I have a sweet pepper plant that sets fruit and then drops the stem.

any ideas warren

[manicscousers]

we've had a few, warren, I don't know if its a pollination problem..we've had some mildewed ones as well..however, after that's finished, we still have a few left   :)

[Mrs Ava]

I would assume either poor pollination or stress, so the plant sheds the immature fruits to save it's energy.  Lack of water or overheating maybe?

[luckydog]

I have a sweet pepper plant that sets fruit and then drops the stem.

My sweet pepper plant has loads of fruit, but as the fruit grows larger, they are going mouldy at the stem & then the fruit drops off.   They are growing in the greenhouse in a 10" pot.   Am I over-watering & that's why they are going mouldy?  Not sure how much water they need.

Any advice would be appreciated as I haven't grown them before.

Thanks, Luckydog

[Suzanne]

Hi I have had this as well. The small fruits that had set dropped off - but this was during the "cold & wet" spell in July and August so put it down to temps as all my peppers grow outside. Last year had loads of peppers and chilli's with no problems.

[Hot_Potato]

my sweet pepper plants are still flowering and only just beginning to 'set' a few fruits......they appear to be green but maybe this will change as they grow and ripen.....I do wonder if they will ever grow big or ripe enough to eat....I was given the 2 plants and they're in pots on my patio but it gets very little sun (probably no more than a couple of hours a day)

I do water them everyday, feeding quite often but soil is always wet and wonder if I'm 'overdoing things' :-\

[Barnowl]

Advice from beansandherbs - my underlining:

Regularly mist the leaves with water very early in the day. This helps the fruit to set. Do not water the leaves when they are in strong sunlight. Keep the greenhouse well ventilated.

Once the fruit starts to form, change to a high potash feed, such as a seaweed-based tomato fertiliser and feed every 10 days. At this stage give enough water to stop the roots from drying out, but be careful not to overwater.

Peppers need a long growing season and can be ripening well into the autumn. If a frost is likely the plants must be protected with horticultural fleece (purchased by the metre).

Harvest Pick immature pods to encourage cropping. Chilli peppers can be harvested green for mild flavour, or yellow for a bit hotter, or left until the heat has developed. At the end of the season, if frosts are forecast, the whole plants can be uprooted and hung upside down in a frost-free shed or greenhouse. The peppers will continue ripening.

http://www.beansandherbs.co.uk/tipspeppers.htm

Interesting that bit about uprooting the whole plant and hanging it upside down if the fruit still isn't ripe at the end of the season - I suspect many of us will be giving that a go!

RHS 2006 report on varieties but doesn't give much growing advice:

http://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/documents/PeppersBulletinHI.pdf

[grawrc]

Yippee ! my peppers are changing colour. They look black right now but I understand that that's the first stage to turning red. Can't wait to see them. I'm already stupidly ecstatic about my beautiful bright red chillies. :-[ :-[ :P

[twinkletoes]

Congratulation grawrc! ;D  I have just one pepper at that stage too - first thing I go to when I get to the lottie in the evening to check up on - I'm so excited too. ;D ;D ;D  Also my chillis are doing fantastically - I can't wait for them to start going red. Had my first ever Tundra cabbage last night too - beautiful.

[Debs]

Phew! 

This is all good news. I was beginning to worry as my capsicum peppers

are still flowering. I've brought them in to kitchen windowsill (S/W facing)

and will wait patiently... ::)