Banana and Bell Pepper Seedlings Leaves/Stems Turning Black

Hi folks,

I tried to "Google" an answer to this problem, which appears to be common, but nothing I have tried so far has improved my pepper plants. The original soil blocks were planted in 2" blocks with soil-less mix. When I up-sized to the 4" block, I used the same soil-less mix and added 50/50 soil/compost that I purchased in bulk from a local vendor.

Some of my pepper plants are turning black or purple, (I can't tell which color it is). Everything I read talked about a deficiency in Mg or Phosphorus. I tried adding diluted Epsom salts and bone meal a couple of weeks ago, but I don't see any improvement. I also cut back on the watering because some things I read indicated I could be overwatering. As you can see from the pictures, the soil is dry on top, so I really do not think I am overwatering.

I am thinking maybe it is wind burn. I have been putting the seedlings outside these past few weekends to harden them off, and a few of those days it was pretty windy.

As you can see from the pictures, some of the seedlings are doing fine, but others are not. All were planted and up-sized on the same day with the same soil mixture. They appear to be curling as well. It seems like the new growth leaves are green, but it also seems like their growth rate has slowed quite a bit.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks all for the help
Christine

here are the photos of the peppers

Not sure what the browning is, but it is not over watering.
Was it cool outside when you moved them out there? Peppers thrive in really warm weather.

If if it windy when you want to move the plants outside put a bit of mesh over them to reduce the wind. Window screen, or similar. Just prop it up so the wind won't whip it back and forth and hit the plants.

It was in the 60s or so and full sun on the days they were outside. I thought I had them in a sheltered area, but the wind still made the seedlings sway quite a bit. I had them outside again today and put a frost cover over them to protect from wind. But, even with that, I had to bring them back inside, but not before several of my nasturtium seedlings bent over.

Still too cold.Inside light not strong enough yet to set outside and needs air movement. Mist dirt, not plant, or bottom water.

Let me explain. 60° air temp is great for people, but plants feet go in the ground. When a gardener speaks of temps, they are talking about soil temp.
Light from bulbs is a much weaker source of the light the sun gives. All those plant lite bulbs generate more heat than a full spectrum sun. ( I hear LEDs are very promising as a cooler source of lumens). Even if you have purchased flourescent lights, these will fade in a year- tho not to our eyes- but these lights are dark to a plant.
Plants are resilient- thats why corn and grasses can stand up again after a hard rain. The light tho, is imperative.
Tomato soil temp must be 50° or they will pout. Peppers need closer to 70° soil temps to be happy.

I checked the soil temp in my pepper soil blocks and it is ranging between 72-74 degrees. I also do bottom water. I do use grow lights, 12-14 hours per day from about 6a-8p.

Attagirl! What var peppers? But it looks like a burn almost. Curling, have you checked soil for anything like bugs yet?

Well, other tthan bacterial, or over fertilized, lets go with not enough water. If you are bottom watering, increase what you are giving them, and make sure it soaks to the top of the peat. May have to increase watering times if you are using peat as well. Peat is hard on seedlings.

This message was edited Apr 6, 2015 10:19 PM

I have pepper plants with that coloring but they produce purple fruit.

They are banana and bell peppers. Both types are exhibiting the same coloration.

I should also mention that I live in the country and we use well water that goes through a water treatment system, including softening. I had already started watering my tomato and pepper seedlings with my house water before I found out that the chemicals in the water softening process could have a negative effect on the seeds and plants. I have been using bottled distilled water for weeks now though. Not sure if maybe that did something from the get-go to my plants. I planted my pepper and tomato seeds at the same time and watered with my household water. Some of my tomato plants are doing awesome, but some are small and do not appear to be growing much.

Distilled water is not good, there is notthing in it. Yes, water softeners are usually salt, or chloramines. You need rain water, melted snow?

Ouch! Salt, salt, salt!

Can you get some well water BEFORE it goes into the water salter? Is there a tap or drain spigot you could hook a hose to and then fill a watering can or water jug?

Common drinking water might be cheaper than distilled and just as good for plants.

I used to bring clean 4-gallon tubs with me when I visited a friend with a well. I could fill them and bring them home so I didn't have to drink my own "city chlorine" water.

Now that I look again at your photos, there is a white CRUST of salt visible, which would usually be the kiss of death. Maybe the non-dying plants are highly salt-tolerant?

IF your soil mix drains well, and I mean ONLY if it drains WELL, you might try to flush those blocks with warm UN-salty water to get the salt out. . But I don't know how you can run water THROUGH a soil block. Maybe after the next time you pot them up?

Our water goes straight from the well to the house into the treatment system. So, the water coming through the faucets and outdoor spigots are treated water. We already discussed having a plumber do a re-route for next year so that the water goes to the spigots first, then through the treatment system.

I do collect rain water in tubs and rain barrels and use that whenever it is available. I use distilled water in between rain water.

I wondered what the white on top is! It never occurred to me that it could be salt! So far, none of my seedlings have died. I am also growing tomatoes, sage, basil, zucchini, cantaloupe, watermelon, cucumber, Valencia onion, broccoli, and nasturtium, which are doing fine. I am watering them in the same method.

I am also growing strawberry, blueberry, garlic, and potatoes, which are outside already. I am watering all of them with the garden hose from the spigot, (which is treated well water).

I am trying to hold on a bit longer until the soil in my backyards warms a bit more before I transplant outside. It is ranging 56-58 degrees as of last weekend. The air temp has been well above freezing for a couple of weeks overnight and into the 60-70s during the day. I plan to test the soil temp this weekend to see if it is at the 60 degree mark. If so, I plan to transplant everything outside. April 13th is our estimate last frost date for my region.

I have bell pepper plants that have leaves that are that color but they produce purple fruit. All my purple Jals have that coloration.

Distilled water isn't good either. But if nothing has died you are a head of me. Lol

It's hard to believe it could be ALL salt! I would think ANY plant would die before NaCl began crystallizing!

Maybe it is other fertilizer minerals plus NaCl-table-salt.

My first assumption on a quick look was "fungus", but I wasn't at all sure so I didn't say anything.

I'm paranoid about salt accumulation in pots or cells (or blocks, I guess). I always want some water to flow down and THROUGH any pot, and OUT the bottom, so it can carry away unused chemical fertilizer (minerals = salts). Even manure sometimes has a lot of salt that can accumulate.

Many people bottom-water successfully, so my paranoia may be unrealistic. Some even bottom-water house plants that might live in the same pot for years! I don;t understand how unused fertilizer DOESN'T accumulate and kill them. But it doesn't! (I guess.)

Well, so far, none of them have died and all have been transplanted in the garden. The new growth is slow but the leaves are green. The stem and old leaves are still dark though. We'll see what the summer brings!

Good luck! I think the white on the blocks may be Epsom salts. I have had that happen but it never seemed to cause a problem. How tall were your plants when you put them in the garden? My pepper plants never grow fast until it gets hot.

There is no significant difference between rain water, distilled water and reverse osmosis water as far as mineral content. Any of these may help to flush out the salts from the soil.

A sodium exchange water softener takes out the positive ions like calcium and magnesium (which are required plant nutrients) and adds sodium (which plants do not like). Do not use water from a sodium exchange water softener for plants.

If you have a reverse osmosis filter, then run the softened water through this. The RO membrane does not do well with calcium, but handles the sodium just fine. The water that comes out has so close to zero everything that it can be used to flush out the excess salts and minerals in the soil.

For watering the garden or the seedlings after you get rid of the sodium or whatever it is (excess magnesium from the Epsom salt, perhaps) use the water before it enters the sodium exchange water softener. Silly way to install the system, so ALL the outlets, sinks, hose bibs get treated water! Or find some other source of water.

Do not JUST use Epsom salt as a fertilizer. It only contains magnesium and sulfur. Plants need over a dozen elements in the right balance. Magnesium and sulfur are rather low on the list in terms of how much the plants need, and your regular well water (once you get access to it) will probably have enough magnesium to get the seedlings started.

I know bottom watering is the way to go with soil blocks, but this is also the classic way to cause 'salt' problems in the soil. The rising water dissolves the salts that may be clinging to the soil particles, as well as bringing more salts with it. Carries the salts to the top of the soil where the water evaporates, leaving the salts behind.
Better to grow the seedlings FAST so you can get them out of the soil blocks and into a situation where you can water them from the top. While they are in the soil blocks (and being bottom watered) be VERY sensitive to anything in the water. Do your homework and make sure you understand what the various treatments are doing to the water, and what additives you are thinking about can do.

To get the soil warmer you can cover it with clear plastic. This acts the same as a car sitting in the sun. The air temp. outside the car can be mild (and too cool for the pepper plants) while the soil is warming up to be just right for them.