I have been working on this for a few years in Tennessee, and only recently am I finally seeing any good results - I just can't figure out what is going on.
*Western TN is notorious for soil that lacks in EVERYTHING essential
My plants this year got off to a bad start, because after they went outdoors there was a bad cooling off of the local climate that was totally unexpected!
But the first peppers were very small, and the plants seemed to take a long time to catch on.
NOW however, in the far late end of the season here I am seeing pepper that are at last getting up to major size, and the plants as well. Some of the plants have branches shooting up as high as three or four feet - I'm guessing the size and health of the plant itself has a lot to do with it, and any early forming peppers should have been removed....
The soil I used is mainly bagged "Garden Soil" from Lowes (with fertilizer in it), mixed about half and half with hardwood bark mulch to provide air pockets, nutrients, and biomass in the planters. Possibly the mulch was late in breaking down, I just have no idea. But I finally have peppers that are 5 -6 inches long or more...
This is very puzzling to me.
* any old friends of mine that remember me here - hello to you too!