Need to resolve this. Peppers are suffering.

[Scotchie]

Hey Everyone, Im brand new to the site. I grow peppers and i have been battling a problem for months now so I decided to come online for help. So here I am giving this a shot. I planted some potted peppers late last year. All germinated well and got to about 12" or so in a healthy manor. But then I started to see baby leaves coming out shriveled with elongated stems and claw looking and stayed so as they got bigger. I also noticed that the flowers would turn brown and fall off occasionally. Anyways, so it got to the point where it was so bad I just said eff it all and stopped caring for them. Well that lasted for about a month. Then I then took pity on the ones that were still alive and planted them out into my garden to see if they could do any better in the soil. (I know this is getting long, please bear with me). Well they were basically stems and stalks at that point, all leaves had fallen off, and dry... very dry... but one by one they started to bounce back.

(OK, have to start wrapping this up)...Recently I see the leaves starting to shrivel and claw over again and I don't want to lose all my plants. I've posted some pics. Can someone PLEASE try help me out? What should I do?



Thanks SO much!
Scotchie.

[airconednightmare]

Originally Posted by Scotchie

Hey Everyone, Im brand new to the site. I grow peppers and i have been battling a problem for months now so I decided to come online for help. So here I am giving this a shot. I planted some potted peppers late last year. All germinated well and got to about 12" or so in a healthy manor. But then I started to see baby leaves coming out shriveled with elongated stems and claw looking and stayed so as they got bigger. I also noticed that the flowers would turn brown and fall off occasionally. Anyways, so it got to the point where it was so bad I just said eff it all and stopped caring for them. Well that lasted for about a month. Then I then took pity on the ones that were still alive and planted them out into my garden to see if they could do any better in the soil. (I know this is getting long, please bear with me). Well they were basically stems and stalks at that point, all leaves had fallen off, and dry... very dry... but one by one they started to bounce back.

(OK, have to start wrapping this up)...Recently I see the leaves starting to shrivel and claw over again and I don't want to lose all my plants. I've posted some pics. Can someone PLEASE try help me out? What should I do?



Thanks SO much!
Scotchie.

what soil do you use?

i'm a noob when it comes to peppers but the yellowing and the leaves looks like N deficiencey / ph problems

[Lesley Jay]

Have you checked the plants for aphids as they can cause twisted, curled and distorted leaves. They're only tiny so you need to look for tiny white specks.

[realfood]

Or red spider mites. Check for the webs.

[DavidT]

Anybody been using weedkiller in the area?

[Scotchie]

Originally Posted by DavidT

Anybody been using weedkiller in the area?

No Pests as far as I could see...
Very interesting question David. My neighbor has a fairly large lawn right across a chain-link from the peppers, I am pretty sure they use weedkillers on their lawn. (very well kept) What effect will the weed killer have on the plants? Looks like its spreading btw...

Cheers
Scotchie

[lazydog]

Scotchie have a read of this thread
Problems on manured land?

[DavidT]

To me, the damage your plants have, look very much like what you would expect if they`d been in contact with a hormonal weedkiller.

[realfood]

I assume that you did not add manure to your pepper bed.
However, there is a similar notorious weedkiller licensed for use on grass lawns, called Clopyralid. If it was sprayed onto your neighbour's lawn, and some spray was carried by the wind onto your plants, it may cause the damage shown on your peppers. Get your neighbour to check the list of ingredients in his lawn treatments to see if they include Clopyralid. Clopyralid lasts for up to 6 months and is a hormonal weedkiller designed to kill broadleaved weeds but leave the grass unaffected.
There is a warning on grass treatments that include clopyralid, that the grass cuttings must not be used as mulch or added to compost heaps, as they can cause severe damage to a whole range of flowers and vegetables. It has also turned up in council compost and last year in B&Q organic liquid tomato food which was reported by Gardening Which.