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Peppers

Growing peppers in my greenhouse for the first time.  Bought grafted stock developing well with flowers and fruit, however fruit gets to a 10p piece size then goes soft and drops off.  Im feeding and watering well so what am I doing wrong?

Posts

  • WelshonionWelshonion Posts: 3,114

    They aren't fertilized, that's why they are dropping off.

  • jean6jean6 Posts: 157

    does same go for marrows/cougettes... have lovely plant in g/hse but flowers fall off...

  • WelshonionWelshonion Posts: 3,114

    Yes.

  • Maybe you are overfeeding/watering?

  • sotongeoffsotongeoff Posts: 9,802
    Teresa McFarlane wrote (see)

    Growing peppers in my greenhouse for the first time.  Bought grafted stock developing well with flowers and fruit, however fruit gets to a 10p piece size then goes soft and drops off.  Im feeding and watering well so what am I doing wrong?

    You are treating them too well-that is the problem -do not feed and cut back on the watering- let them dry out between waterings and never water after 4pm in the afternoon.

  • Zoomer44Zoomer44 Posts: 3,267

    Welshonion - I don't understand your answer do you mean they need a liquid feed. 

    Teresa-I've had pepper/chilli flowers drop off, looking dead, but thought that was due to them not being pollinated. Not had peppers/chillies drop off when they have reached the size of 10p though, always thought at that point I'm onto a winner, providing there's enough time left before cold weather sets in for them to grow and ripen.

    Not had a lot of luck with my peppers this year though, they are slow to produce flowers  yet chillies are fairing better and there's fruit beginning to growimage   

  • WelshonionWelshonion Posts: 3,114

    'does same go for marrows/cougettes... have lovely plant in g/hse but flowers fall off...'

    Yes, the same goes for marrows and courgettes.  The flowers fall off the males when the pollen has been spent.  The flowers fall off the females in due time.  If the fruit rots and falls off it has not been fertilized.  Do not feed until you have fertilized fruits, or you will get loads of leaves.  Plants fruit better when they 'sense' there is a chance of their dying!  If you over-feed they 'think' they will live for ever!

  • jean6jean6 Posts: 157

    huge courgett plant been flowering for ages... flowers drop & NO fruits... should have put them outside silly me...Sooo going to dig it up out of gr/hse to make way for other stuff.. have got courgette plants outside anyway.. thanks for all advice...have a lovely day as the sun is actually out...image

     

  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,384

    I agree with the advice to only water when they are dry.  As Welshonion says, if you give them too much love they will be less likely to set and keep fruit (Peppers are perennial in their native habitat.)  Here's a picture of mine, which have been hand-pollinated and only watered when dry.  Every single flower has set.  I started feeding once a fortnight once the first fruits had set.  They are a bit behind this year due to the lack of sun, but I'll still get a good crop I reckon:

    image

     

    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
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