Having grown pepper seedlings according to all the rules and transplanted them into a greenhouse or a warm bed, we consider ourselves entitled to expect rapid growth. However, it happens that after planting in the ground, peppers do not grow. The plants freeze, fall into a stupor, and together with them we, gardeners, fall into a stupor. We begin to wonder what we did wrong, what to feed, what other measures should be taken urgently.
We’ll talk about this in today’s article - why peppers stop growing and what to do about it. We will consider the reasons in descending order of probability. First - the most common, then - the least likely.
What to do if the seedlings have lost color
Peppers are difficult to grow, as all gardeners know. The seedlings either turn yellow, then wither, or die. The first pathology is yellowed leaves. Let's look at why seedlings turn yellow first.
The first reason may be poor quality soil. If you sow it in garden soil, then expect yellowing or death of the sprouts. Why? Garden soil contains many bacteria and pests that cause plant diseases.
Never use only garden soil or only purchased soil. It must be mixed with peat, humus and sand so that it becomes loose and allows air to pass well to the roots.
Before planting seeds, the soil must be spilled with a solution of potassium permanganate to remove all pests. Lack of moisture or overwatering can also lead to plant death. Set your watering order.
Main causes of poor growth
There are different reasons why peppers do not grow well. The development of vegetable crops is influenced by several significant factors. One of the most common is incorrect watering regime. Pepper is sensitive to lack of moisture. You need to moisten the soil every 2 days, otherwise the seedlings will die. Excess moisture is also harmful, leading to the development of pathogenic microorganisms and pests. Cold weather has a very negative effect on the condition of young bushes.
How to help seedlings gain strength
If the seedlings do not begin to grow from the very beginning, they are frail and pale, then use the drug “Kornevin” . It will help the roots develop better.
Advice from experienced gardeners: water the seedlings with calcium nitrate , dissolving 1 tbsp. in a bucket of water. Water each plant for 5 or 10 days until it perks up.
Hydrogen peroxide will help the roots absorb nutrients well. Water the seedlings every three days with hydrogen peroxide at the rate of: 1 tbsp. l. drug per 1 liter of water.
As soon as the first grass appears, pick it and fill it with water.
How to calculate the proportion: a bucket of grass - a bucket of grass. Let it sit until an unpleasant odor appears. When the herb is infused, dilute it as follows: 1 glass of infusion, mix with 5 liters of water, water at the root.
What else to feed pepper seedlings:
- Onion peel tincture: pour 20 g of onion peel into 5 liters of water, let it brew for 4 days;
- Banana peel: add 3 liters of water to the skin of 2 bananas and let it brew for 3 days;
- Dissolve 2 drops of iodine and spray the plants. This solution will kill many pests;
- Succinic acid , as a growth stimulant, is becoming increasingly popular. To water the seedlings, you need to prepare the following solution: 1 tablet per 2 liters of water. First, the tablet is dissolved in a small amount of warm water, then brought to the desired volume by adding cold water. Water once a week.
- Watering with yeast is useful. Take “live” yeast (100 g per 3 liters of water), add 125 g of sugar to the jar. When the infusion is fermenting, 1 tbsp. Dilute the infusion in 1 liter of water and water the seedlings.
Important! Yeast and iodine will help seedlings acquire an abundance of ovaries.
Pepper seedlings do not grow well in open ground
In the garden, peppers can experience the same unfavorable environmental factors as at home.
- Wrong growing location chosen.
For pepper, prepare a bed in a sunny place, but protected from strong winds. The plant does not tolerate clayey and moist soils with high acidity. A bed is prepared for it, adding 5 kg of sand and 6-7 kg of humus per 1 square meter. m.
- The seedlings were planted early.
The seedlings should be taken outside after the air warms up to +20 degrees and the soil to +15. The planted seedlings are protected from return frosts with spunbond or by hilling them with straw and sawdust.
- Watering with cold water.
Pepper should not be watered directly with water from a well or well. It must be heated in the sun to air temperature. It is better to organize drip watering of the beds.
- Diseases and pests.
Watering a garden bed outdoors with disinfectants is troublesome and expensive. Crop rotation can reduce the risk of pepper being affected by diseases and pests. The crop can be planted after peas and beans, cabbage, cucumbers and pumpkins. Should not be placed after plants of the Solanaceae family, onions and garlic.
Sowing green manure: rye, phacelia, mustard will help improve the soil on the site. Young greens are plowed into the soil, where they rot, repelling pests and preventing the development of fungi.
Important! After transplanting the seedlings into the ground, it stops growing for several days. During this time, the plant recovers from stress and restores the functioning of the root system.
Feeding peppers after transplanting to a permanent place
When the seedlings reach a height of 25 centimeters and produce 6-8 true leaves, it is time to transplant the bushes into a greenhouse. To prevent transplantation from becoming too stressful for them, first feed the seedlings. In the future, fertilizing should be carried out 3-4 times per season: during bud formation, flowering, and fruiting.
What fertilizer should I use? 10 days after transplanting to a permanent place, you need to feed it with urea - 10 g per bucket of water. Apply the second feeding when the ovaries appear, and the third when the fruits appear.
During these same periods of the growing season, fertilizing with superphosphate and sodium sulfate is required. See the instructions for how much you need to add.
Fear of cold
Cold is one of the most common factors in plant failure. Pepper needs warmth. Optimal numbers during the day are +25 degrees, at night +10-12C. If this factor is not taken into account, then the root system will be the first to suffer, which will lead to the death of the pepper.
Shoots begin to appear towards the end of February and beginning of March. Gardeners recommend placing seedlings in a lighted place. Covering with film or canvas will help cope with the cold. Not enough heat and the pepper will stop developing. You should protect yourself by creating arches in the greenhouse in case of frost.
Basic plastic bottles are suitable for saving plants on the ground. Take care of heat sources in the form of stones. They should be left in the sun in advance so that they warm up and then release positive temperatures to the soil in the dark. This method is extremely beneficial for pepper roots.
Ash is a universal fertilizer
The ash contains the list of microelements that are necessary for a good harvest. It contains phosphorus, potassium, nitrogen.
In order to feed plants, you need pure wood or plant ash without any admixtures of polyethylene, colored paper, rubber and other harmful ingredients.
Before transplanting into the ground, seedlings of this crop should be fertilized twice.
- When sprouts emerge from seeds. Fertilizer composition: three parts superphosphate, ½ part ammonium nitrate and 1 part potassium. Before applying fertilizer, seedlings are watered 3-4 hours before applying fertilizer.
- After 2 weeks, feed with ash. Pour warm water into a 10 liter bucket, add 3 kg of ash, mix well. Let it brew for 2 days, strain. Add 40 g of diluted soap to the solution for better adhesion.
- Pollinate the sprouts every 10 days.
- When planting in a permanent place, 1 tbsp must be added to the hole. l. ash.
- During the season, ash can be periodically scattered around the plant, but not at the root.
- To protect against pests, peppers can be treated once every two weeks with an ash solution infused for 24 hours.
Failure to comply with temperature conditions
A common reason for the fading of seedling growth is the lack of optimal temperature. Air heated to 23-25°C is considered favorable for the development and growth of green mass for heat-loving peppers. In early spring, it is not always possible to provide such conditions. It’s still cool on the balcony, but hot on the windowsill above the radiators. To correct the situation, in the second case, it is worth placing foam supports under the boxes. They will provide additional thermal insulation and protect the soil from drying out.
How does a lack of fertilizer manifest itself when fruits appear?
- Pale leaves with yellow veins radiating from the main vein will tell you about a lack of nitrogen. The fruits grow curved and weak.
- If grayish-yellow spots appear on the leaves, the tops of the fruits rot and the plants lack calcium.
- You can tell about potassium deficiency by yellowing of the lower tier of foliage. At the same time, a greenish color remains around the veins. The shoots do not grow and become woody. You can see spots on the fruits, and then the bush dries out. If you add calcium and magnesium at this time, the problem will only get worse.
- If the veins have lightened and the leaves have become pale and are dying at the edges, add iron.
- Phosphorus deficiency is indicated by a bluish-gray tint on the leaves that turns purple. The stem becomes thin. The harvest does not ripen for a long time.
- Deformation and falling leaves indicate a lack of boron.
Violation of the light regime
Peppers sown early often suffer from lack of light. To carry out photosynthesis, plants need ultraviolet radiation, which windows do not transmit in the required quantity. Especially if the daylight hours are less than 14 hours.
There are two options to solve this problem. It will be professional to use additional lighting in the early stages. You can also try to compensate for the deficiency by placing the seedlings in sunnier windows. Just make sure that the fragile young greens do not get burned.
Disease Control
To prevent diseases from destroying the crop, it is necessary to notice them in time and begin the fight. Fungal diseases are very dangerous. Fungal spores spread quickly and are difficult to destroy. If the bush is sick, it must be quickly removed and burned. In general, many pepper diseases cannot be cured. Diseased bushes should be removed and burned
Blackleg
The causative agents of the disease are fungi. Their activity is affected by:
- temperature changes;
- frequent plantings;
- excessive moisture;
- watering with cold rather than warm water;
- light deficiency;
- heavy and acidic soil.
Only the youngest plants can catch the infection. What to process? Fitosporin or Baktofit and the removal of all affected specimens will help to fight. You can also treat with copper sulfate, Bordeaux mixture, or potassium permanganate solution.
Gray rot
The plant is covered with gray mold. At the initial stages, the affected parts must be removed, and healthy parts must be treated with Fitosporin. Among the traditional methods, ash and activated carbon are useful.
Cladosporiosis
Most often appears in the greenhouse. The fruits simply begin to rot. Plants must be treated with an antifungal drug.
Nuances when growing vegetables in greenhouse conditions
Peppers sometimes wither in a greenhouse due to ignorance of the peculiarities associated with growing vegetables in protected soil. The best predecessors for pampered crops are carrots, cucumbers and onions. It should not be planted after tomatoes and potatoes. This is due to the presence of common diseases and pests in these plants. Before transplanting seedlings, the soil must be disinfected using a solution of copper sulfate. This will protect the plantings from possible infection.
Many people are interested in what to do when pepper seedlings grow poorly. It must be remembered that on sunny days it can be too hot in the greenhouse. For seedlings to grow strong and healthy, they need an influx of fresh, but not cold air. It would be a bad idea to keep representatives of different varieties close together in a greenhouse. Seedlings must be protected from cross-pollination.
Important!
Nitrogen is deposited in fruits, so it is not used during fruiting.
Prevention methods
Prevention is considered a very important measure, the implementation of which significantly reduces the likelihood of indoor plants being infected by pests or diseases, and also helps to correctly regulate the implementation of agrotechnical techniques for growing and caring for peppers.
- The process of autumn preparation of the greenhouse for the subsequent planting season is very important. It is necessary not only to disinfect the soil on all ridges, but also to very carefully treat all greenhouse structures with special preparations for a similar purpose.
- An important stage is the spring preparation of the soil, which consists of introducing a strictly defined amount of substances necessary for the nutrition of the plants being grown. It is impossible to ignore the implementation of disinfection measures that can eliminate the larvae of pests and microorganisms. Spilling the soil in a greenhouse with a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate is considered very convenient and effective.
The most difficult case, as a result of which the leaves on a pepper curl and wither, is when the plant is damaged by pests. To combat them, you can use “heavy artillery” in the form of powerful and toxic chemicals.
If the damage to plants indoors has not reached a peak point and is not widespread, then it is quite acceptable to use weaker and more gentle measures that cope well with a small number of pests. A very good result is achieved by spraying with infusions based on various plants and natural phytoncides.
