Bell Peppers question -- pics attached -- please look

Hey RUI'ers... I am fairly new to growing anything not related to cannabis, So I have started this year with a few store bought plants that I have re potted into 3 gallon pots. I have the following:

1x red bell
1x green bell
1x orange bell

I think I may have Tobacco Mosaic Virus (yes I am a cigarette smoker) and I think my plants may have been affected. ( I didn't know about this virus until as of late)

Could anyone here help clarify this? And also if it is the virus what should I do? pull them immediately from there containers? also if this is true, is the soil I have already used in the containers no longer good to use?

Ive heard you should bury them completely somewhere kinda far away and that the plants once affected will no longer be good. Please help me identify what is wrong and what I should do if it really is Tobacco Mosaic Virus.

THANKS.



the first pic is of the red, second is the green, and last pic is the orange. all showing similar characteristics.

I know Bell peppers are not as popular in means of growing but I am just experimenting with different nutes/pots/potting mixes as a sense of comfort for this season. Any help would be extremely appreciative.

F2H

117 views and no replies, thanks guys. I thought someone would have some input but I dont seem to get much around here.

good news is that is not mosaic! how often are you watering/feeding? bells are very tough to grow(very finicky) jalapenos/habanero are much easier! if you are really interested in getting into peppers go check out thehotpepper.com its like RIU for peppers! i am a member, i am the opposite of you, i am growing 13 peppers all top 5-10 hottest in the world.

to me it looks like you might have some fert burn. so flush your soil really well then wait till the new leaves come in and then feed 1/4 strength

Thanks for the reply, I have checked out that site and had no luck with finding any bell pepper grows. Im still going to keep reading though.

Bad news is I already pulled all 3 of them and buried the plants in a hole I dug in the woods.

I did not know that bell peppers were so hard to grow, am I wasting my time by planting some in containers?

Thanks.

F2H

I live in New Mexico and grow tons of peppers in 3, 5, 7 gallon containers outdoors and greenhouse (I water daily when they get big and its hot). I have grown the superhot varieties and poblanos and bells and everything in between. To me they all seem the same, very similar to cannabis, I feed them similarly to how I would cannabis. I reuse my indoor mix and cut it 50/50 with coco for more water retention, then just been reusing that. Very hot and dry here, peppers love heat and do poorly in any type of cool especially early when from seed. If you grow cannabis you know how to grow any fruiting/flowering plant given the limitations of your environment. Give em a shot they'll be WAY flavorful compared to the store.

my Bhut Jolokia (and others in the seed trays, 1 gal shots) seed to harvest pics here:

https://www.rollitup.org/gardening/522636-my-pepper-growing-adventure.html#post7375657

What is the best defense against aphids? I found out my problem. any help appreciated again, thanks.

Favre2Harvin said:

What is the best defense against aphids? I found out my problem. any help appreciated again, thanks.

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hand picking. NO bs i just take my fingers & sandwich the leaf and gently pull towards the end of the leaf. You will never get them all but it will keep you from getting an infestation. Also i don't think aphids really like peppers. plant a sacrificial plant so they will all jump to it

I have been growing bell peppers for 3 years noiw and have not had a aphid problem !!!

RyanTheRhino said:

hand picking. NO bs i just take my fingers & sandwich the leaf and gently pull towards the end of the leaf. You will never get them all but it will keep you from getting an infestation. Also i don't think aphids really like peppers. plant a sacrificial plant so they will all jump to it

Click to expand...

They must like mine, they leave my tomato plants alone but my peppers they like. I have been using a soapy water mix to spray down the leaves just as a temporary defense until I can get something else.

Rhino how fast to aphids reproduce? I have a 30x microscope that I take to the leaves to check and I was only able to find one aphid. no eggs.

also what do you mean by sacrificial plant? example? Thanks.

F2H

Mindmelted said:

I have been growing bell peppers for 3 years noiw and have not had a aphid problem !!!

Click to expand...

Where do you live? I am in zone 4.

Neem oil is an organic bug solution. It is pretty common and easy to find, just shop around....Mix according to the directions and then add some dish soap and apply to your plants. Applying at night is generally better......

Favre2Harvin said:

They must like mine, they leave my tomato plants alone but my peppers they like. I have been using a soapy water mix to spray down the leaves just as a temporary defense until I can get something else.

Rhino how fast to aphids reproduce? I have a 30x microscope that I take to the leaves to check and I was only able to find one aphid. no eggs.

also what do you mean by sacrificial plant? example? Thanks.

F2H

Click to expand...

Very very very fast they reproduce by budding. 1,2,4,8,16,32,64,128,256,512,1024,2048,4106,8212


Well they don't really bud but the give live birth to clones of the self and lay eggs at the same time

1 aphid can produce 600 billion family members in one season
Lol get my point

i am going to build a net box that i can put 1-4 plants in and release lady bugs in the box and leave them inside the box for a few days and that will ensure the aphids are toast! a friend does this. currently i use a light malathion mix early but once peppers are formed i use the squishing method for now

spongey600 said:

i am going to build a net box that i can put 1-4 plants in and release lady bugs in the box and leave them inside the box for a few days and that will ensure the aphids are toast! a friend does this. currently i use a light malathion mix early but once peppers are formed i use the squishing method for now

Click to expand...

should work as long as you don't see a bunch of ants. the ants defend aphids in return for some honeydew crapped out by aphids.

But im telling you the best way is to scrape off all the aphids by hand its a bitch & time consuming but it is the best method i have tried. Start from the new growth and work down. They like the new growth the best.

Favre2Harvin said:

Where do you live? I am in zone 4.

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I am in hot ass florida,where bugs rule !!!!!

TexRx said:

Neem oil is an organic bug solution. It is pretty common and easy to find, just shop around....Mix according to the directions and then add some dish soap and apply to your plants. Applying at night is generally better......

Click to expand...

the dish soap acts as a surfacant, or spreader of whatever you're spraying. definetly night time is better..never spray in direct sun. and remember the hotter and more humid it is you must adjust your rate accordingly. so in 70F you might use 2% oil. in 90F it lowers down to 1%. don't spray in temps hotter than that. just wait for it to cool down. also idk anything about neem. im guessing it's a kinda superfine horticultural grade refined petroleum. but aphids are real ez to kill w/o the neem. a steady stream of water from a garden hose works. i've used alcohol pads with succss. add beneficial insects like ladybugs and praying mantis. the eggs can be bought online. even try dish soap. anything that clogs up their pores cuz that's how they breath..through their skin.

spongey600 said:

i am going to build a net box that i can put 1-4 plants in and release lady bugs in the box and leave them inside the box for a few days and that will ensure the aphids are toast! a friend does this. currently i use a light malathion mix early but once peppers are formed i use the squishing method for now

Click to expand...

also the honeydew that comes out the back side of aphids is attracive to ants. because it's sugary sweet. i've seen where ants will tend to a herd of aphids. while the aphids feast on your plants. sucking the sweet honeyew right out of the business end of the aphid. kinda gross but i like ants, they're cool.

RyanTheRhino said:

should work as long as you don't see a bunch of ants. the ants defend aphids in return for some honeydew crapped out by aphids.

But im telling you the best way is to scrape off all the aphids by hand its a bitch & time consuming but it is the best method i have tried. Start from the new growth and work down. They like the new growth the best.

Click to expand...

i have about 20 pepper plants and i spend at least an hour looking them over everyday just to make sure the aphids dont get out of control! most of the time you can see the honeydew on the tops of the leaves and i check the underside of the leaves above them and squish. but i go to harsher chems when shits out of control one good spray and sll dead the next day

Kalyx said:

I live in New Mexico and grow tons of peppers in 3, 5, 7 gallon containers outdoors and greenhouse (I water daily when they get big and its hot). I have grown the superhot varieties and poblanos and bells and everything in between. To me they all seem the same, very similar to cannabis, I feed them similarly to how I would cannabis. I reuse my indoor mix and cut it 50/50 with coco for more water retention, then just been reusing that. Very hot and dry here, peppers love heat and do poorly in any type of cool especially early when from seed. If you grow cannabis you know how to grow any fruiting/flowering plant given the limitations of your environment. Give em a shot they'll be WAY flavorful compared to the store.

my Bhut Jolokia (and others in the seed trays, 1 gal shots) seed to harvest pics here:

https://www.rollitup.org/gardening/522636-my-pepper-growing-adventure.html#post7375657

Click to expand...

I'm with kalyx here, i've grown a ton of different kinds of peppers in containers and soil--got some sweet-hot gypsy hybrids and golden cayennes going right now!--they do very well being treated like cannabis and, if you've made up your mind to go container think about checking out the global bucket/ earthbox style soil/hydro hybrid. Saves water and growth is amazing... best of all, if you notice something like aphids attacking but leaving your other crops alone, you can just separate them and treat with neem oil...safer makes some organic products that seem to work pretty well right up to harvest too
be easy

dannyboy602 said:

the dish soap acts as a surfacant, or spreader of whatever you're spraying. definetly night time is better..never spray in direct sun. and remember the hotter and more humid it is you must adjust your rate accordingly. so in 70F you might use 2% oil. in 90F it lowers down to 1%. don't spray in temps hotter than that. just wait for it to cool down. also idk anything about neem. im guessing it's a kinda superfine horticultural grade refined petroleum. but aphids are real ez to kill w/o the neem. a steady stream of water from a garden hose works. i've used alcohol pads with succss. add beneficial insects like ladybugs and praying mantis. the eggs can be bought online. even try dish soap. anything that clogs up their pores cuz that's how they breath..through their skin.

Click to expand...

Neem oil is a plant extract....It's from the seeds of a neem tree....totally organic and recommended often for bug control. It's common to use it to get rid of Spider Mites on cannabis

Spraying plants with water everyday can get rid of bugs. Try to avoid over-watering by spraying horizontally. The water will keep knocking them off the plant and the bugs will just leave

Thrips are gnawing away at the young growths. Any surviving growths shoots and leaves usually grow looking like that. Check for any dead lateral shoots or blackened dead buds to confirm this.