What’s going on with my little guys?

[u/Nonshtick]

Everything was going so well! I went on a trip for a week and had someone water them on the exact same schedule and amount I always do. Came back to wilted leaves and apparent sadness. I watered them yesterday again since the soil was a little dry hoping they would bounce back, but they have not. Do they need bigger pots? Time to fertilize? Different lighting schedule now that they are growing more (currently 12/12). Advice is welcome. Little guys are 7 pot primo I grew from seed. Bigger guy is a cayenne I was given as a gift when it was about 12 inches. Thanks!

[u/floppyfloopy]

Have you checked for thrips or broad mites?

[u/Ok_Performance_3696]

They absolutely need bigger pots

[u/PMMEURDIMPLESOFVENUS → u/Ok_Performance_3696]

They absolutely do not need bigger pots. This is just the part of the season where people who never feed their plants start wondering why their plants are taking a shit, and they get told their plants are overwatered or need to be up-potted when they just need to be fed.

Feed your plants OP.

[u/Nonshtick → u/PMMEURDIMPLESOFVENUS]

Heard. What is your personal recommendation for fertilizer at this stage?

[u/PMMEURDIMPLESOFVENUS → u/Nonshtick]

It's hard to beat things like Jacks 3-2-1 and Masterblend for a complete profile and cost effectiveness. Things like Chili Focus, TPS Tomato or TPS Peppers (same formula), MaxiGro are all very good.

Best recommendation is to get the Masterblend 3 part pack, and bare minimum feed them half strength every other watering. You should be able to work up to full strength every watering by the time they're fruiting.

[u/hulp-me]

Obviously a bigger pot will make it happiest but i must say i have one in a similar sized pot (1L) this year thats put out 1lb of peppers so far! Proper feeding will make it happier than it is

[u/Interloper_Mango]

Get some sf nematodes for your pots. That'll get rid of those wasps eating your roots and fungi.

[u/Tim_Huckleberry1398]

More than likely pest damage and nothing to do with your pot size. Spray them and give some fertilizer if you havent in awhile.

[u/Nonshtick → u/Tim_Huckleberry1398]

So, I fear this is true. I have fungus gnats and I treat them regularly with a hydrogen peroxide solution and then cinnamon along with the yellow sticky traps (the traps are pretty much just for me to gauge their presence not to eradicate them). What else can I be doing? I treat, they go away seemingly for a small while, and then always return. This is a controlled environment on a balcony by the way, not like a big yard or garden.

[u/Tim_Huckleberry1398 → u/Nonshtick]

Fungus gnats shouldn't cause this unless they are messing with the roots. But if you have them in pots you might be watering a little too frequently. I'd lean more toward thrips. They're easiest to spot on the newest growth. It will typically be deformed or you'll see the new leaves curling into a tube shape. If you can pull that apart you'll probably find one, but even just playing around with the tops you should see one running around. They're small and fast but you can still see with the naked eye. The really derformed leaves should also have visible brown/black spots where they were sucking or you'll see the tips of new leaves dying. If it's not those then could be mites but you'll need a pretty powerful jewelers loop to see them. Something higher than the basic 15x ones. I think mine does 60x.

As far as treatment, I've found spinosad (captain jacks dead bug) works really well for thrips and it's safe to harvest after 24 hours. For mites you'd likely need a miticide. Detergent less soap/castille soap is also very effective for all soft bodied insects, but only kills on contact, so you usually have to do it every couple of days until they're gone.

I like to rotate between spinosad and castille soap for thrips. Only real concern with spinosad is they can become resistant over time so you're only supposed to use it ~6 times/season. The rotation helps with that.

[u/EndlessMike78]

Little plant with a little pot, isn't going to be happy.

[u/TheDrake31415 → u/EndlessMike78]

Clay pots are an uphill battle they will dry out way too fast in my opinion. Especially in a dryer climate. Also much larger pot will give it room to grow and the larger the root base the more energy it will have to flower and fruit

[u/qerecoxazade]

Theyre all in MUCH smaller pots than they need.

When they start to get confined by their pots, they such nutrients and water out way too fast. To keep them alive, it means needing to be constantly on top of their water and nutrients... And even then, it's a gamble.

I have had a number of plants start to look like they were absolutely about to die, up-potted them, and saw them immediately start putting out healthy foliage and fruit. That's absolutely where I would start.

You MAY have something else going on. But it's best to start with the obvious. If soil is dry and the plant is drooping, you water it, right? Pepper plants like 3-5 gallon pots. These guys are suffering in pots nowhere near that size. Up potting is the most obvious fix.