Peppers and Eggplants Not Growing!

My peppers and eggplant are STILL not ready to go out, and I planted those indoors on March 9th! The tomatoes I planted two weeks later are all in the garden by now. The leaves on my plants are green, but they just seem to be developing very slowly. I've even tried spritzing them with a kelp foliar spray occasionally to see if that will stimulate some growth. I wonder what I'm doing wrong!

GG - My pepper seedlings are the same way. I planted mine around march 14/15. Just now getting their first true leaves. Otherwise they look perfectly healthy.

Tomatoes and peppers were all slow sprouting and slow growing for me this year...like no other year. Makes me wonder about the seed. I grow both heirloom and hybrid. Mine all looked healthy too...just wouldn't grow for the longest time. Finally started foliar spraying which helped. With seed companies buying up other seed companies am I no longer getting the quality of seed I used to? That is what I wonder.

The Marconi red peppers I got from Pinetree didn't come up at all - maybe two or three out of the twelve or more I planted. The cubanelles from another source were fine, just slow. What kind of foliar spray did you use?

My tomato seedlings came up quickly but have been slower to grow than usually. Broccoli, cabbbage, and melon seedlings growing normally.

My tomato seeds, planted two weeks after I put my eggplant and peppers in, are big and already in the ground. The peppers and eggplant just don't seem to be going anywhere. Everything else in the ground is coming along, although I think Pinetree sent me radish seeds instead of their cabbage mix!

Leslie

GG: We are both Zone 7A but I am at 3000 ft 15 miles NW of Mt. Shasta(the mountain). I planted my peppers & eggplants, and tomatoes Mar. 26 in an insulated pumphouse with heating mat(75 deg.) and growlites. The peppers & eggplants have yet to get 2nd set of true leaves. In 25 years keeping records this is the slowest development. The tomatoes are 6-8", ready to transplant. I think the main difference is peppers & eggplant require warmer conditions to develope.
I'll keep watching this thread to see if anyone can explain.

My peppers were slower than normal this year too. I'm in a very warm zone, the tomatoes that were planted at the same time have had ripe tomatoes for weeks and I'm just now getting peppers from the pepper plants.

Mine are the same as yours, notlerac! I only have one set of true leaves too. I should probably have kept my peppers and eggplants in the house where it's warmer, instead of putting them out in the unheated greenhouse. I don't even have a heat mat under them; maybe I should set one up again and see if that makes a difference.

Last year I had the same problem, the eggplants never grew and my harvest was very poor.
This year, I started the Eggplants and Peppers on the heat mat and after 2-3 weeks they germinated. So I left them there on the heat mat until about 2 weeks ago. The heat mat goes on when the lights do. I now have plants 8-10 inches tall. I think for me this is the key. My house is just not warm enough to get them to the size I need to plant out.

My cole plants, on the other hand are pretty small. But they were raised in the basement with no heat. I plan on feeding them weekly with fish emulsion, and I am hoping they will take off and catch up. We have had warm weather this week.

I get a lot of my seeds from Pine Tree as well as others and have had good germination rates. I think the key is to be watchful and not let the soil get too dry. The broccoli I got from Pine Tree was 100% germination.
But, I have trouble with tomatoes. If I don't watch it the seed starting mix gets too dry and some of them never come up.

This message was edited May 4, 2009 7:40 PM

I used Parks Bio-Domes to start my seed this year and the coir seems to hold the water really well, so nothing got too dry; in fact, sometimes things were a little too wet and the leaves would start to yellow. Maybe I need to pull my peppers and eggplants back in the house and use the heat mats again and see if that will help. Good suggestion, Cyndie.

Having a real hard time getting seeds to germinate this year, even with the heat mat.

I wonder what is causing this slow growth- unseasonably cool temps? I had mine on heat mats to germinate, then under lights until the outdoor temps were high enough to put them outside. They are just sitting there even though we have had some mid 70's days here. I am almost ready to go buy plants!

This happened to me last year....not one of all the pepper varieties I started produced fruit except the yellow banana....they just floundered along looking like they did when I put them in the ground....never did get the growth spurt...hope this year is better too for all of us....Deb

Jo, your peppers look like mine. I think I'll drag out the heat mats again today and see if that helps. I had to replant several times because nothing came up in some of the cells, so I still have some empty ones. At least all of yours are full. Deb, I wonder why some years are like this? We had some hot weather and now it's back to chilly and rainy, so they're cold in the greenhouse.
Leslie

Mine were slow to grow until the temps heated up well. It seemed they would never get their second set of leaves. In the 80s 90s now and they are both growing but the peppers far better than the eggplant. Mine were not sprouted 'on heat' but out in a plant shelter. I wonder if daylight hours are also different this year as well as temps. My seeds came from Willhite and sprouted well but grew slow.

This is mine right now and they are on a heating pad on "medium" heat or I bet there wouldn't be a sprout there!!!! Next year I'm afraid I'll be purchasing plants.....I do love those little fella's and I guess to be truthful, I love fussing about them....empty nesting, I guess!! lol.....Deb

Deb -- Next year continue to do as you are but fill your seed tray to the top so the seeds recieve maxium natural light and then after sprouting use a gro-lite at 3" above the seedlings and always maintain at that height
and keep the heat on. You should use the suggested heat mat for safety sack as water and electric are dangerous but the heat mat maintains the proper temperature for germination and growth. Be careful!!!! A heating pad is not designed to be in continuous use and could burn up...

Now I know it's "not me" - My peppers have not come up, and the tomato seeds were slow to sprout - many did not sprout at all. I've replanted seeds, but fear the cold weather will be here before I get any fruit.

Tplant, wow, Thank you for the info....your suggestion about the heating pad is a valuable one....Deb

You are welcome and it is safe!