Here’s hoping that the weather cools off a little for both of us! Meanwhile, as to your question — part of it may be because it’s likely that the store bought peppers were a hybrid. If that’s the case, the plants (and peppers) produced will likely be somewhat different. And the following generation (the ones you are growing now) may be closer or further from the original pepper.

I suggest you do two things — give the plants some fertilizer, preferably with a high potassium value. Then, steel yourself and pluck off a bunch of those peppers! The more peppers, the more stress on the plant. And if you don’t fertilize much, it doesn’t leave the plant with much in the way of resources to make the peppers grow.

Best wishes!

I don’t live in Florida, but with the heat this year Virginia can’t be that much cooler. Anyway, I started about five bell pepper plants from seeds taken from peppers I grew last year. The plants last year were grown from seeds taken from a store purchased pepper, and I got a handful of fruit in 2009.

The plants are doing great. They are growing like crazy and are almost out of control. And they have had hundreds of flowers and correspondingly hundreds of little peppers. But the little peppers don’t seem to be growing. They get to be about half the size of a dime and then just sit there. Some have been on the plant for about a month with little change.

Any ideas? I don’t fertilize much; could that be the problem? I should fertilize with something that has potassium and/or phosphorus? Or do I have other issues?

John

Let’s see, you can try diatomaceaous earth, sprinkled over and around the plants; that may help with the catepillars somewhat. But if you have moths, well, that’s the possibility of more catepillars. But I’m afraid plucking them off may be best.

You could always try a red pepper spray; get some fresh chile peppers from the store (the hotter the better) and blend them, adding a little bit or water to help the blending processwater. Pour out of the blender and into a cup, add some more water and let sit for a day. Strain off the water into a sprayer, and go forth to spray! The capsaicin in the peppers water may deter the pests.

I don’t know how closely you have the plants spaced, but spacing them out so that the leaves don’t touch may help control the spread of the varmits. If you don’t have them in containers, though, that may not be possible.

Check out http://www.gardensalive.com for more ideas — they specialize in non-chemical solutions. Also. pick your peppers before they are attacked and let them ripen on the counter (assiming you have the space).

Peppers are great because you can pick them at any time! Whether you like them green or fully ripe, they are great either way — so pick when you want!

If you want them ripe, pick them either when they are half-way turned color, and let them ripen in the house (kind of like what you would do with tomatoes), or you can leave them on the vine until they turn their final color.

But I wouldn’t leave them on the vine too long after they are fully ripe. Pick them, and put them in the refridgerator is you have too many to eat at once.

Enjoy your peppers!

I started some peppers from the big box stores the end of march.
i have them in big pots with 8 to 10 hours of full sun a day here in Orlando FL.
both have lots of peppers but did not know then to pick them
or how long thay will stay good on the plants [first timer]
IAN

First, what kind of Miracle-Gro are you using? If it’s not the Miracle-Gro labeled specifically for tomatoes, that could be your problem; the regular Miracle-Gro doesn’t have enough potassium for peppers to bear fruit well (peppers are related to tomatoes).

Unless you are in a Southern climate, 4 or 5 hours of sun a day is marginal; peppers like sunshine, and lots of it. Six tp eight hours of sun is best. If you’re in zone 9 or 10, though, five hours a day is likely fine; the sun is strong down here.

Your pepper plants sound like they are otherwise healthy, if they are almost 3 feet tall. Yes, they should all produce fruit, but because the store-bought peppers were likely hybrids, the results can vary from plant to plant. Some may produce plenty, some not as much. That’s the interesting thing about planting seeds from grocery-store peppers; you never know exactly what you might get.

So if you’re not using Miracle-Gro for Tomatoes, start using it, or get some kelp fertilizer; that should help your flowers turn into fruits.

Hope you start seeing peppers soon!

I planted several green pepper plants from left-over seeds from peppers I purchased at the store. The plants are almost three feet hight now and one plant has a four inch pepper growning well. There are LOTS of flowers on the other plants, but no other peppers. I use miracle grow plant food once a month (for three months now). The flowers come out and then after four or five days, they drop off. They get four to five hours of direct sunlight a day, watered daily (as well as sprayed from above). I was wondering if the seeds are the issue. Do ALL the seeds produce fruit-bearing plants?

Peppers (especially bell) take a fair amount of time to ripen to their final color; sometimes it seems like forever! That’s why I’ve taken to growing quite a few plants, so I can pick some green for eating while I’m waiting for others to ripen.

Best wishes for ripening!