My bell peppers this year were rottong on the plant before they were large to pick. What causes this? I havent had this problem in previous years.
Bell Pepper ?
Paul, peppers will get Blossom End Rot (BER) just like tomatoes do.
Is that what it looked like?
Shoe
Hmmm, I usually plant my peppers next to my tomatoes, is this a bad idea since they both get blossom end rot? Does it spread through the air?
MaryE, in tomatoes at least, BER is caused by an inability of the plant to move calcium to all parts of the developing fruit fast enough. It's not a disease as such, and won't be spread from plant to plant. It's strictly a result of environmental conditions, and when conditions improve, the symptoms will disappear. I don't know about peppers, though.
I've heard that planting peppers with a book of matches under them provides something but I thought that was sulfur. And also egg shells which contain calcium are supposed to be good for tomatoes. And then there is epsom salts, good for roses I know, but what else? and why?
The way I see it is poor watering practice causes or is to blame for most if not all BER I have ever experienced. Proper hydration causes it to go away. Caught early enough normal unaffected fruits will follow.I water every 10 days with drip irragation and since doing so do not see BER. I do not see it in my peppers either. When I grew in 5 gallon pots in my gh I noticed the end plants by the open door all got it while those four plants or so in from the door never did. All the air from the 24 inch fan came rushing in over those end plants. They allways dried out and were showing signs of dehydration even though I watered twice a day.
Mary matches and egg sheels are a fable from the old west. So are the forsale cures for BER. I have long thought of burying egg shells in a gallon jar of dirt so I can see them and keep it moist and see just how long it takes to break down.
Thats my theory it works for me. Ernie
This is sunset at 35,000 feet
Thanks Ernie. I think I will plant my tomatoes and peppers in the lower end of the garden where the soil is better and holds the water better. I flood irrigate about every 4-5 days, and I guess it isn't enough to keep them happy. Squash do better in the lower end too, this year's yield was pittiful, planted in the upper end, last year I planted them in the lower end and had a great squash crop. Big difference in climate from your place to mine. In 10 days mine would all be dead.
Mary given the hot weather I percieve you have I would encourage you to consider or at least think about white or silver plastic mulch covering T Tape.
Benifits are less watering hassel in the long run.
watering with t Tape waters slow and deep.
Mulching with plastic film conserves moisture and keeps the soild evenly moist, halts weeding,keeps fruit off the ground.
Down side to using the plastic film is sometimes field mice will burrow under it and come out at the base of your plants and sometimes chew on the squash so its important to bury the edges of the plastic to fend them off.
All in all this stuff is cheap to set up and for the most part is reuseable with a little care. The most expensive part is the regulator about 15 bucks and mine is 6 years old. I just cant say enough about this stuff it is way better than any other form of irragation for my money. Lol you need a pocket knife and a little 5 buck punch to install this stuff no clamps and no real threaded fittings to mess with,
This year I hand watered in my new gh and drip watered in my old one and had a bit of ber in the new one none in the old one.LMK I will look up a web site for you to look at the stuff. Ernie