Hey all,
Since this is only my second year of growing peppers, I was wondering why some of my pepper plants are turning yellow. I water every other day, and am using pro-mix and when I potted some of them up, I used miracle grow organic potting mix, with chicken litter. I have also noticed some gnats (fungus gnats?), flying around. I hope these gnats are not fungus gnats, however there are very few. I was thinking about getting some yellow sticky cards to help stop the gnats. Anyway, some plants are also curling and have deformed seed leaves. Could this be because of the slow release fertilizer in the organic potting mix I am using? Is it too much for them. Oh, and I have not given them any fertilizer despite what is in the potting mix already. Should I pot them up, they are in 8 oz cups? I didn't start as early last year, so I got bigger plants this year. Any help would be great. Thanks guys!
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BrianSkilton
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Hmmm....I'm no pepper expert, so this is just a stab in the dark but, could it be poor drainage? Perhaps those plants are getting too much water and getting flooded. This is just a random thought, though.
By the way, how long is that shoplight of yours? It looks like it's longer than the standard 4 ft.
By the way, how long is that shoplight of yours? It looks like it's longer than the standard 4 ft.
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oldschoolvdub
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rainbowgardener
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The yellowing leaves can occur with too much or too little water, but the fungus gnats are a clue. If your soil were too dry, you would not be having fungus gnats. So over-watering, poor drainage, soil with too much peat that holds a lot of water, not enough air circulation.
Type fungus gnat control into the Search the Forum feature to find tons thats already been written here about them. Here's one thread to start you off, that has a bunch of links in it:
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=114899&highlight=fungus+gnat+control#114899
But less moisture and more air circulation is key for the gnats and the yellowing.
Type fungus gnat control into the Search the Forum feature to find tons thats already been written here about them. Here's one thread to start you off, that has a bunch of links in it:
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=114899&highlight=fungus+gnat+control#114899
But less moisture and more air circulation is key for the gnats and the yellowing.
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applestar
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It's possible your cups have insufficient drainage holes in them, or the holes you made were too small and got clogged. One way to test is to pick up the cup and smell the bottom (yeah that sounds kind of funny 
). If it smells funky, then anaerobic situation is going on -- I.e. waterlogged cups/soil.
You might be able to fix it simply by punching more holes in the cups. You can also just cut slits in the sides.
). If it smells funky, then anaerobic situation is going on -- I.e. waterlogged cups/soil.You might be able to fix it simply by punching more holes in the cups. You can also just cut slits in the sides.
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BrianSkilton
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Hey thanks for the help all!
Nope, it is a standard 4 foot shop light with two Fluorescent lights (T12), one cool blue and one warmer one.By the way, how long is that shoplight of yours? It looks like it's longer than the standard 4 ft.
The drainage holes are very large. I practically cut out the whole bottom of the cup lol. There were a couple that kinda had a weird smell applestar, so I threw out those plants. Anyway, they are far from flooded, they are almost to the point they are completely dry since I haven't been watering that much recently. They could have been a little too wet a couple of days ago. Like I said there isn't a ton of gnats, but I have seen a few fly around every once in a while. I use a squirt bottle to water the plants with the stream setting, but have recently started pouring water into the cups, not a lot...maybe a table spoon. The soil doesn't seem, that wet to me. I haven't seen any gnat larvae in the cups...I hope that is not what it is. I remember last year, all I used was actual dirt, and not potting mix or soil-less mix. I don't think Miracle Grow Organic potting mix is sterilized, so the eggs could be coming from that. After I ran out of pro-mix I started using miracle grow organic potting mix, that is when I had the gnats.It's possible your cups have insufficient drainage holes in them, or the holes you made were too small and got clogged. One way to test is to pick up the cup and smell the bottom (yeah that sounds kind of funny Embarassed Just Goofing). If it smells funky, then anaerobic situation is going on -- I.e. waterlogged cups/soil.
Actually I had a fan for air circulation last year, and forgot to set that up. I think I will set up the fan in my grow room today and see if that helps. Since peppers don't like a ton of watering I will cut back a little bit as well. Do you guys think the pepper plants that are yellow, will come back? Also, should I pot them all up with potting soil mixed with peat, or should I leave them in the peat-type soil.But less moisture and more air circulation is key for the gnats and the yellowing.
