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Produce => Under Glass => Topic started by: naff on September 26, 2008, 00:11:49

Title: Sweet pepper help
Post by: naff on September 26, 2008, 00:11:49
Can anyone suggest a good productive way of growing peppers? Mine are in an unheated greenhouse and are strong plants but the fruits(where there are any!!) are tiny.They are in pots of good compost and have been fed and watered o/k.This is my second failure year!! Tomatoes in the same greenhouse are late ripening but have plenty of fruits. The varieties are, Reuben,Corno Rosso,Giallo all from S O Italy.
Hungarian hot  wax and Anagalis chilli plants also have some small fruits but not many.Does anyone have any ideas where I,ve gone wrong? Here in North Wales it,s been a damp dull year but not that cold.
Title: Re: Sweet pepper help
Post by: tim on September 26, 2008, 06:21:56
When were they sown/planted out?
Title: Re: Sweet pepper help
Post by: carolinej on September 26, 2008, 07:07:34
Same problem here in S Wales, naff. They are also very thin fleshed.

My peppers are all small. Even Big Banana are small. I was wondering if it was the lack of daylight here, as it was so cloudy and wet for so long. ???

cj :)
Title: Re: Sweet pepper help
Post by: kt. on September 26, 2008, 09:17:38
My F1 Gypsy Peppers were small to none existant until late August.  Now there are loads of them growing faster than they can be eaten.  I would say the weather has not been right this year for several food crops in the greenhouse. 

Is there enough air in the greenhouse.... the plants are not too cramped?  Do you give them a regular feed (tomato feed is suffice).  Every 7-10 days once the fruits start to appear.  Have you had flowers on the plant?  Could be a pollination problem due to reduced numbers of bees etc.
Title: Re: Sweet pepper help
Post by: tim on September 26, 2008, 09:51:58
Didn't get mine in until late May. Good fruit but very few. First red end August, but the yellow ones are not going to turn. 44F in the 'house last night!
Title: Re: Sweet pepper help
Post by: naff on September 26, 2008, 12:36:58
Hi all,
          All of the  plants have been well fed and watered. I have plenty of air circulating and loads of insect pollinators. They all have/had many flowers most of which have set fruit. Seed was sown in February and the  plants moved to the greenhouse in early June. Some of the Hot wax fruits are bigger than the general size of the rest but are only about 30mm long.
Title: Re: Sweet pepper help
Post by: Tee Gee on September 26, 2008, 13:56:11
In my opinion is in this statement you made;

Quoteall from S O Italy.

I think this might be the problem! may I suggest you buy more indigenous seed i.e. ones known to grow in the UK.

Generally speaking those that are advertised in British seed catalogues should be OK

Having said that I never buy them, I always save my seeds and never have problems although this year due to the lack of 'sunshine' they are not ripening as well as normal this year.

I have one called Luteus which has gone off the market now but because of my saving regime I always have some. I have another that I saw in a supermarket in Calahonda in southern Spain which I bought, ate the pepper and saved the seeds and it grows quite well in the UK.

As a contradiction to the above; I did buy a collection of three Chill peppers and three sweet peppers at a show last year (at a knock down price) and have tried them. The results so far are;

The Chillis were good but two of the sweet peppers were rubbish,the remaining one looks to have potential so I will reserve judgment on that variety.

Thank goodness I still grew my 'banker' or my supply would have been a bit limited this year.

This is 'Luteus;

(http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Peppers/13-Ripening%20fruit.jpg)
Title: Re: Sweet pepper help
Post by: tonybloke on September 26, 2008, 17:44:22
seeds of italy, a few of my peppers from 6 plants[attachment=1]
always good seed from this company! ;)
Title: Re: Sweet pepper help
Post by: GrannieAnnie on September 26, 2008, 20:20:23
My peppers (grown in USA) are always terrible and none this year formed until August though the plants look big, healthy, good shiny leaves and loaded with flowers.
The small deformed peppers are all thin-walled, puny guys.
We've had excellent weather and good tomatoes
so not sure what the peppers' excuse is for non-production.