Help with making peppers bear fruit

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lupinelover Grove City, OH(Zone 6a) Mar 29, 2003

Mine don't, at least not until way late in the summer. The plants just keep growing and blooming, but never set fruit; the blooms just fall off. Meanwhile I have these shrubs, 3-4' tall and across.

No, I don't over-fertilize. I don't fertilize my veggie garden with regular fertilizer at all, the soil is just so incredibly fertile from all the compost I keep digging into it to help break up the clay, which is also incredibly fertile.

I have tried at least 8 different cultivars, and the only one that reliably fruited came from a "rainbow mix" that I have no clue what it was, other than immature purple that matured orange.

Almost ready to give up growing the silly things...

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Terry Murfreesboro, TN(Zone 7a) Mar 29, 2003

It does sound like a classic case of over-fertilization. The only other thing I can think of is that they need heat - lots of hot days and warm nights - to bear heavy yields.

One source I read said to mulch with large stones to increase yields (they will soak up heat during the day and release it at night.) They even went so far as to keep records of production in plots with with plain soil, soil mulched with other things, and soil mulched with large flat rocks and stones, and it (reputedly) bore out their advice.

Perhaps plastic, if you can get yoru soil very flat and smooth, then anchor the plastic down so it stays in contact with the soil?

I can say from personal experience, I didn't have good luck the year I mulched them with straw,and I now suspect it was because it kept the soil a bit too cool. Back to plain soil for me this year :)

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flowox Newark, OH(Zone 5a) Apr 14, 2003

hmmm........I never have a problem here. I don't even fertilize. I grow mine in a pot outside due to limited yard space and I always get nice peppers.......very odd since we're in the same climate

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windsurffer (Zone 5a) May 22, 2003

Hey Lupy you need to add some Epsom salt in the soil and a few egg shells would also help. I also add it around the plant twice a month and water it in.

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crestedchik Cedar Key, FL(Zone 9a) May 25, 2003

The one time I added WAY too much manure to the pepper garden mine got almost 4 foot tall and NO fruit.

I would cut back on the compost in that part of the bed,sounds like too much nitrogen in your compost

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MossRose Albany, MO(Zone 5a) May 26, 2003

lupinelover, I think you'll have to wait for the heat before your plants produce fruit. I haven't put mine out yet because our weather has been cool and they don't like cool. The foliage will hopefully protect the fruit from sun scald when it does finally get hot. I usually cage my pepper plants because they get so large and the peppers are heavy and break the plant. Be patient,,,before you know it you'll have peppers coming out your ears.

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