Bell Pepper Leaves Dark and Leathery

[DocBrock]

This year is my first try at container gardening and so far so good, but it's definitely a learning experience. I bought a large yellow bell pepper plant at Home Depot a few months back to get me started and repotted it in a 20" container. Lately I've noticed that the leaves are turning a very dark shade of green and becoming thick and leathery. Also, the leaves seem to be brittle and the edges have started to tear. Some leaves are torn in half. I've never seen a single insect on the plant, but have sprayed it preventatively a few times with Dr. Earth insect spray which is essential oil based. It's been unseasonably warm here in sw fl with days in the mid 80s and typically a stiff breeze, so the wind and sun may have been a little rough on the leaves. I fertilized it once at planting with an organic 4-6-3 fertilizer and planted it in nature's care (lime green bag from Home Depot) potting mix. I drilled around 20 1/2" holes in the bottom of the container and usually water once a week until water drains out of the bottom of the container. Despite the changes I've noticed, this plant has been producing like crazy. There are 3 large stems that currently have around 30 tiny peppers starting, plus more blooms that have opened. Also I've already harvested 2 that were growing on the plant when I bought it. My concern is that there may be a nutrient deficiency or I've overwatered at some point and the color and texture change of the leaves is a sign of problems ahead. I just bought a moisture meter and it was wetter than I expected it to be a few days after I watered so at least I'll be able to monitor how moist the soil is. I'll attach pictures that will hopefully help show what I'm talking about.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer!

 

[Chuck]

It looks like two things to me. One is possible wind damage that tore the leaves. The other is a watering issue. The plant looks droopy, a little wilted. I think the plant is root bound. Possibly from encircling roots or just normal growth. When roots grow into a ball it is difficult to water properly. Some of the roots get water others don't. I would fill up a wheelbarrow or your sink or bathtub with water and place the plant into it until water stands on the surface. This is the only foolproof way to make sure a plant is watered correctly. All in all your plant looks great.

 

[DocBrock]

Awesome thanks for the quick reply! That sounds like a plausible explanation because I was sticking the moisture meter in various spots within the center of the pot and the readings jumped around significantly at constant soil depth between spots that were only a few inches apart . I was just worried that I would drown the plant if I overwatered.

 

[Chuck]

Awesome thanks for the quick reply! That sounds like a plausible explanation because I was sticking the moisture meter in various spots within the center of the pot and the readings jumped around significantly at constant soil depth between spots that were only a few inches apart . I was just worried that I would drown the plant if I overwatered.

You cannot harm a plant by over watering it if the excess water drains away but you can and will kill a plant by watering too often. It sounds as if you need to repot into a larger container.

 

[DocBrock]

I may end up doing that. I misspoke in my first post. It's a 16" 13gal container. I figured that would be large enough for 3 bell peppers but maybe not.

 

[Chuck]

I may end up doing that. I misspoke in my first post. It's a 16" 13gal container. I figured that would be large enough for 3 bell peppers but maybe not.

What has probably happened is that all three of the plants have entertwined their roots into a ball and it is difficult to water something like that except from the bottom up.

 

[DocBrock]

I see. I'll try what you suggested and report back the result.

 

[TomatoTango]

The only thing I would add is to check your ph while watering. Speaking from personal experience, I’ve never had any luck with bell peppers from stores like Lowe’s or the Home Depot. They would look semi normal for while and produce like 2-3 peppers and then they would just sort of hang out the rest of the summer and grow at a snails pace. Maybe their plants and methods are inferior or they use low quality ingredients? Maybe it’s just me.

 

[DocBrock]

Yea that's not how my parents got plants either when I was a kid in Ohio, but down here in S Florida it seems like everywhere I've gone to look carries Bonnie plants. This is my first time gardening down here and it's crazy to think I might have started too late by planting in February. So far so good though, this plant has dozens of little peppers all over it. We'll see if I can bring them all to maturity. Thought about pulling some off just because I can't see how such a small plant can handle producing this much fruit, but I'm going to let nature take its course and learn for next year.

 

[TomatoTango]

I totally get it. By all means, big box vegetables are better than no vegetables. Florida gets so much sun, I would just go buy some tomato seeds and throw them everywhere like mardigras beads if I thought I was getting behind.

 

[DocBrock]

I totally get it. By all means, big box vegetables are better than no vegetables. Florida gets so much sun, I would just go buy some tomato seeds and throw them everywhere like mardigras beads if I thought I was getting behind.

The problem is the heavy afternoon rains everyday combined with the intense summer sunshine. Everyone I've talked to said tomatoes are done by May or they won't make it through summer. Not to mention the number of bugs and fungal diseases fueled by the humidity. This will be an interesting spring. I had to throw away a lot of what I knew from gardening in the Midwest.

 

[TomatoTango]

That doesn’t sound fun at all. I know they have heat tolerant varieties but I’ve never grown anything in the southeast. My tomatoes can hang out in 90-100 degree heat and do fine but we get zero rain.

 

[DocBrock]

That doesn’t sound fun at all. I know they have heat tolerant varieties but I’ve never grown anything in the southeast. My tomatoes can hang out in 90-100 degree heat and do fine but we get zero rain.

I don't think it's the heat, it's the rain. That's why I went with containers so I can move them out of the rain. I have an awning on my garage that gets full sun all day, so hopefully I can keep them there and avoid daily downpours. From what I've read, if the leaves get wet and the sun comes back out it basically cooks the leaves like a magnifying glass. Not sure if that's myth or fact, but seems like it could happen.

 

[headfullofbees]

I would do nothing.
It's going fine. It's looking good.

 

[Becky]

Welcome to the forum @DocBrock