I read a tip from an old gardening book from the 50s. Plant a chrysanthemum as if it is one of your tomatoes or peppers in the garden. They are the first plant to wilt from low soil moisture and they wilt very noticeably before tomatoes or peppers show any stress. If you see it start to wilt, water the garden. They perk up right away until next watering is needed and they droop again.

One thing that worked for me. I bought pots that are clear. I can see how wet the dirt is and also see the roots. Makes it easy to know when to upsize the pot.

8:38 Over-watering is especially problematic if it occurs right after repotting to a larger pot or outdoors in the ground. What will happen is that the small rotsystem suddenly could have way to much water that will take a long time to return to normal moist condition. More often than not the plant will get a stress reaction due to disturbed root ends when replanting. The stress reaction here is actually a sign of a under hydrated plant. Sun, wind and higher temperatures are all factors to make this situation more noticeable. If you at this point misinterpret the signals and starts drenching the plant with more water the result will probably end with you killing the root-system due to root rot. And then the plant dies of course. It's important to understand the physiologic reasons behind drooping leaves. Internal under hydration makes the leaves droop. It's a lack of water inside the cells in the leaves and the stems. Both damaged roots in soggy soil and healthy roots in dry soil will have the same impact on the plant internal workings and manifest itself exactly the same way by limp branches and drooping leaves. I just learned this the hard way and had to do some online reading to solve this. Thought this could benefit someone struggling with the same

I had planted a few jalapeño plants a couple years ago... And come summertime (in southeast Texas) I stopped caring so much about garden tending. They produced peppers all the way into winter. With just whatever rain happened to fall on them during the summer months. Same with okra that I've planted.

I use water from my fish tank when I do a water change. Lots of excess nitrogen in the water to be used up by the plant. It's water that would be sent down the drain anyways, so I'm happy to use it to grow my veggies in the spring->fall.

Sometimes I watch your videos when I already know about the subject.... just because I like seeing your plants. hahaha. Thanks for all the videos sharing your knowledge and plants.

one technique i use is to use a saturated sponge on the surface of the ground/potted plants on really hot days to help provide a 'slow release' drip feed to the roots. additionally due to evaporation on the surface of the sponge, it helps keep the soil cooler around the base of the plant. the best way to do the sponge is to take a large household sponge (20cm*20cm or bigger) and put a hole in the middle with a sharp knife or hot iron, the hole must be large enough not to touch the actual plant (because it might cause stem rot). this is a 'substitute' for mulch and is a suitable solution for potted plants that will be left unattended for a few days. the nice thing about using this technique is that it is impossible to overwater, since the water is distributed by osmosis (water flows in the direction of wet (sponge) to dry (soil)) and excess is evaporated out of the sponge. also the sponge can be reused, reducing reliance on a good supply of mulch. the sponge can also be used to administer micronutrients if one uses water with plantfood already dissolved in it. from a water conservation point of view in dry areas with water restrictions (western cape, australia, california) this technique can help by reducing wasted water. be careful when lifting a 'spent' dry sponge - it is likely have spiders, scorpions, millipedes, insects or even snakes hiding in the warm moist spot under the sponge.

Love this channel! Very tough for me in South Florida with extreme heat and brutal showers just about every day in the spring and summer. I’m new at this…only been at it for about 6 months…but even during this short time, I think I’ve “correctly” learned a few things: 1) We each have to work with what we got, and the environment we live in. The soil stinks in my part of South Florida (mostly sand, very shallow until you hit rock/coral), so all of my plants are in containers. 2) I have zero indoor space to accommodate anything, so ALL of my seedlings have to be outside, under cover when needed. But I’m sometimes not home, there’s a downpour, and those seed pots are flooded and totally toast. I’m gonna work on a better situation for this, but they HAVE to be outside. I’m getting like a 10% seedling survival rate now, probably much lower, but it is what it is. I KNOW being out in full Florida sun isn’t good for them so young, but maybe it’s super hardening those that DO survive this torture test environment, and that’s a good thing. 3) Before our rainy season began…and we’ve actually had a VERY dry winter…no problem for me to water every day. I’m retired and nothing else to do with my life! 4) Since our rainy season began about 6 weeks ago, I determined that much bigger pots are more appropriate for adolescents than “size appropriate” pots…and I’m planting 2 adolescents per pot. First, with much more soil, and a heavy downpour, there’s much more space for the rainwater to drain and not flood the roots. (I also put a few empty water bottles at the bottom of the pot.) No matter how well a smaller pot drains, the physics of a larger pot simply makes more sense. And as a bonus, larger pots…as you’ve said in the past…grow larger peppers. Next, and this is total conjecture on my part, I think that planting 2 to a pot is going to protect each from too much sun. One shields the other half of the day, and then vice versa. 5) I avoid mulch because I can’t get the good kind, and I just don’t need it during rainy season and non-rainy season, when I can regularly and easily water anyway. ---- Again…I love what you do, and plan to visit your website often! You always give great, sensible advice, with a great understanding that everyone’s situation is different!

Great video and you explain well, I have 10 sweet bell peppers and some giants said 5"X8 inches and thick walls so yeah I'm excited to eat well this summer planning 40 plants so should be able to allow many to mature in to their colors. I'm planning again to mulch as I think so helpful. Thanks

Great tips. One thing I disagree with though is that mulch doesn't do anything in pots. Mulch absolutely does something in pots. A good 2 inch layer of mulch will keep your pots from immediately drying out on those really hot days. It makes a big difference for me.

With my pepper plants I always have basil. Not that I want to but some years ago I was not careful with the seeds. Besides, they are good plant friends and benefit from each other. The Aji White Fantasy and "dem Habaneros" have ginger as additional friend.

Now I finally have the answer to why my bell pepper in the ground got bottom rot. The same variety, which is for containers produced into November, using a cover at night. I KNEW THE "FINGERS" IN THE SOIL TEST. I did that for the container bell pepper. Thanks for the help. I'm watching all your videos.

Thank You for the video. Your content has really helped me step up my pepper game. My Friends and Neighbors thank you as well.

I have 4 bell pepper plants in a RDWC system outdoors in a greenhouse. They use about 2-2.5 gallons of water per day. Plants are between 2-3 feet tall and produce massive peppers.

Here in Vegas my pepper plants do pretty good! Until 120° hits then the struggle is real.

My favorite irrigation system is Tropf Blumat. It has clay probes that you stick into the soil. When the soil dries out the probes will let more water through so you don't need to worry about scheduling the watering

Great video! I learned a lot about how to care for my new heirloom chile seedling and what not to do. I just looked at your video library and it looks like I need to get busy and watch. I’ve got a lot of catching up to do. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

One of my issues out here in Victoria BC Canada is that our summers, though not hot (think 80 degrees is a scorcher) are very dry. We get almost no rainfall between late May and October. This makes watering a critical concern.

Great video and tips, thank you very much

Thank you so much I potted pepper plants and the leaves wrinkle. The ones that weren't in pots weren't so. I could have probably deduced that myself but now I know for sure that it's probably being overwatered.

Amazing video. I have yellow leaves that are falling on 2/6 pots and and 2 other pots are curled. One which I didn't water thrives like crazy. Thanks so much!

Very informative thk u first time growing peppers ,so very helpful 👍🏻👍🏻

I've gotten myself into the habit of just deep watering twice a week (every three days), seems to be working well for me. Over here in Aus it's spring and growing season is underway but we're in this El Nina atm and getting so much shitty weather its depressing.... totally bizarre for spring time over here, but the temp is gradually warming up so should still be a decent growing season.

Thanks for your video this will help me a lot. I’m living in Germany and I’m startet a week ago with growing 6 types of chilli’s. So I’m really excited 😊👍🏻. Thanks again and keep up 😊💪🏻👍🏻

I decided to grow a habanero plant inside this year, and I put it in a sub-irrigated planter. I used a "Patio Picker", which holds about 10 gallons of soil, and has a 2-ish gallon reservoir in the bottom. I wish I could post a picture here, because it is exploding out of the 28" x 28" grow tent it is in, and it is just now starting to grow peppers. The SiP planter takes the guesswork out of watering, as long as there is water in the reservoir, it wicks up to the rest of the soil.

Good information - thanks for the video!! 🌶✌️

Smart descriptions. Tnx

Thanks for the tips.

Thanks for sharing ! 🌹

Thanks for the informative video!

Thanks for the tips! 👍

Awesome! Excellent info. Thank you!

Thank you for the tips 👍

Thanks so much for the video

Years ago I believe I read peppers love leafs watered with espon salt and my peppers were some of my best ever

I'm growing a variety of hot peppers for the first time. I'm doing it in a Greenstalk, and so far, so good. We just had 100 plus degree temps, and it seemed to make them really happy.

Yes It depends like our soil it was like sandy loam it is easy to dry so I did once a day.

Great info. Thx a lot!

hows it going man! your channel is awesome and very informative. I've been trying to grow bell peppers for the last 5 years and have been unsuccessful. I've been close with our seeds sprouting and plants growing to about 2 feet tall and even some white flowers sprouting, and some pepers forming on these flowers but most of the time they just fall off. What I can do to improve this year? Is it too late to start growing peppers in Fontana,California? (Southern California) I planted some bell pepper seeds into the ground of a raised bed and they didnt sprout man. Do you think I can still try to grow bell peppers this time of the year in Southern California

Thank you kind sir for this!

Nice and informative video 👍 I feel that the "hardest" part with bottom watering in trays is not overwatering some plants when other plants are thirsty. I manged to overwater some of my plants this year because of this. I have also noticed that plants with dark foliage get thirsty faster, which I guess isn't that strange hehe. I live in an apartment, so I don't have any "garden soil". But which would you say is better for the plants? Garden soil with compost and less watering or bought soil with perlite and vermiculite and watering more often?

Great video

would there be a better way to stress the peppers to make them hotter? and when you stress them for that reason, do you decrease the size of the fruit? if that's the case, where is the balance between stressing your plant and getting full sized but mild fruit?

Thank you so much. I've been trying to figure this out all week and finally you've given us the answer. Really appreciate the love and thoughts put into making these video's that help everyone. Keep it up

Thanks, the part about not drowning my plant when watering kept my butterfly bush alive and that’s pretty good considering I basically killed both of them last year lol

Always enjoy watching your videos, really good information. I have a quick question regarding after overwatering young seedlings, i have leaves that are discoloured and a little limp although not drooping. New growth coming through is now vibrant green. Should i prune the older unhealthy looking leaves off? Thanks

Anyone know if when I go into pots from red cups, could I still water from under with a tray under the pots? I'm on gravel and thought sitting the pots in a round tray I could still water from the bottom. Is it better to water from the top in pots? Maybe I'm missing something?

I have a question, hoping for some wisdom! so my Sirano and 2 other varieties, are drooping leaves, but I watch the watering, they are not overwatering, they in a Pot outside. I have been watching that I do not over water, and they not dehydrated, as I water sparingly but I check daily on the soil feels. Is it perhaps sun? as they get about 4 hours of sun in the morning, afternoon they are shaded by the house in the yard. Would you recommend higher sun? my Habenero peppers are doing fabulously in the same spot. so I am unsure.

For watering small plants, peppers, cannabis whatever I’m growing at that time. I take a small Poland Springs bottle and poke holes in the cap with a tac or something like that and then I fill my water bottle with proper pH water and I basically just shower the top soil so that it absorbs into the soil evenly. I’ve noticed peppers like more of a dryer soil, so I just don’t give them too much water. The water bottle with holes in the cap seems to work pretty good for watering young plants though. It’s like a little shower.

The shade product is very attractive to protect the plants indeed. I wonder where they could be bought ? THanks for sharing!

Both of these are examples of indoor plants....pans to plant, indoors. Great info, ima give it a go this year, thx!

I was hoping to hear some advice on watering in fabric grow bags

Can you make a video about leaf size? I have noticed some plants have way smaller leaves compared to my hydroponic ones. I am not sure if it is the dense ground retaining to much water and not allowing oxygen, having to few nutrients or just the damn fungus gnats. Either way, I will just start everything in hydroponics next year. Ps. Cut the top off 1L milk cartons and stick 8x8x8.5cm square pots inside, the lip will hold them in place perfectly. Fill the top with clay pebbles and this way you get a very cheap and space-efficient hydroponics setup!

Hello! Here in Brazil, during the summer, we sometimes have to water up twice a day.

I bought a bell pepper plant about 3 months ago. It had about two flowers blooming that fell off within the first two weeks of having it. The leaves are curling and bending over. It is in a pot. Weather here for the past three months has gone up from 78° when I first purchased it to now reaching 100° on the hottest days. I have it in an area that it receives direct sunlight between 10am-6pm. I stopped watering it for three days because I got tired of feeling like I water it, let it dry so that I put my finger one inch into it before rewatching, yet nothing happens. Suddenly after not watering it for three days, there are new leaves forming and three flowers budding. I have a jalapeño plant that didn’t experience this problem at all, it bloomed all the way through and I watered it a lot every day (with some days being skipped), it grew very tall and it gave me lots of jalapeños in return! But as far as the bell pepper plant… Help???😅

Do the soda bottle adjustable drippers work for watering?

One thought I’ve read about, water a little less frequently and it will force the roots to go down further.

I live near central Florida and I water mine almost daily, sometimes more than once in a day. They're all in pots and under a sun shade from 2pm-6pm

My jalapeño are not hot, I’ve picked about 6 it’s early in south Louisiana but I wondered if they get hotter as the season progresses?

I have pepper plants from last season that grew well and produced lots of peppers, however I didn't prune them over the winter and now its April will I have peppers this season?

Do you prune the side shoots the way it’s done for tomatoes?

I have peppers in clay pots. I didnt hear you mention watering style, as in some people say water until the water comes out the drainage hole on potted plants, then dump the excess water, is that how you reccomend doing it for indoor, clay potted hot peppers?

What are the issues with moisture meter’s, I’ve found them fairly accurate, thanks for all the info 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Care to share what lights you use indoors? I'm in the PNW so I need to start mine inside mid february until May

Finally a new video! I just discovered you guys last week and you gave me the pepper bug and now I've watched everything and have to wait for my fix! Keep up the good work. You guys are awesome.

lots of great advice here. right at the end though I'd take issue with the idea that leaves don't uptake water. its well-known they do in small amounts. hence why people foliar feed.

The answer is your soil media should be 5 - 10% water by soil volume. Never more. If you do more you overwater and lock out nutrients. Consistency is key

Thanks!

New subscriber here.... And like most here yes i am a pepper addict .... its soooo addicting ... started with a few jalapeño and now i have around 16 different type . Even worst last night i ordered a indoor seed hydroponic kit off amazon . Oh what does a new pepper geek do to end the madness 🤓 lol

My biggest problem this year is how to stop the excessive watering from the sky! Lol We have had so much water that my peppers' leaves were turning yellow, but now they seem to be adjusting and growing well. Fingers crossed!

What about when you’re starting seeds? I have my seeds outside with a little dome over them. It’s currently 90°+ here

Hello. I just purchased soil and the esposa garden tone fertilizer and a 13.9 inch "Self Watering Planter". I have been looking for advice with these kinds of pots and have not found any. How much water should I add if I'm plating 1 medium 95 day jalapeno plant? The self watering planter has an opening on the bottom half of the pot but I have no idea how much water and how often?

what is that potted yellow pepper plant in this video?

Does using terracotta spikes work well for peppers? Thanks for all the great tips

for me after transplanting because of winter i water with a coffee/water mix and add eggshell powder to the top, im working on banana fertilizer but after transplanting i water a lot and let it sit for a week 1/2 or so. hopefully that works

I just up potted some seedlings yesterday, and they are really not looking happy. I’m really hoping they are just a but shocked. They may have been too small to separate. 😕 Watering is the next worry. 😞

I’ve never had a problem with root rot (on my peppers at least) and I do let them dry out soak and repeat because I thought I had read somewhere that stresses the plant out and will make the peppers spicier. Is there any truth to that?

Omg, I love growing peppers, but after seeing your plants, I'm feeling a bit embarrassed. They look much nicer than mine. Nice job.

i cant collect rain water, im in a care home, tap water ok ? what about germination, bottled or distilled water or again tap water ok ?

Im definitely over watering my two plants

A wedding band?! Did you guys tie the knot?

Im growing the carolina reaper for the first time! Pretty excited

Missed it by that much. 👍 AKA: Agent Maxwell Smart

I live in zone 5b. So we don’t get long months of hot weather. Do you think putting thin rocks on the ground instead of mulch would work in heating up the soil enough so that the soil stays warmer at nighttime?

What pepper plant is that with the little yellow peppers? I have 2 growing but the marking I put on has worn off & I have lots of different plants growing. Mine looks exactly like that one, the peppers are not hot & have a citrusy bell pepper taste. Anyone know what plant that is on the table??

how big of pots should use for cayenne pepper plants? and bell pepper plants?

Water quality counts too, I'm stuck using bore water out of the tap which has lots of dissolved minerals and alkaline

Question about watering while on an extended trip? If I have several plants in my backyard in grow bags, is it ok to have a standard sprinkler that covers the entire area if gone for an extended trip? Talking 2-3+ weeks. While home we will add nutrients every other watering. Even with the grow bags outside and getting normal rain, they dry out quickly. Secondly question, how often and for how long should I let the sprinkler run. I have remote smart system that I can control with schedule or remotely.

Thank you for the detailed info. I'm in Indiana and get some very hot and humid days. Is it normal for my plants to droop during the hottest part of the day even if they are well watered? What I noticed last summer was the plants (in containers) would look great in the mornings but in the afternoon they would be drooping. This was happening even with plants that I had just watered. Thanks again for the info you share.

The rules change down here in southern Arizona.

What is the gauge for moist?

For some reason, I keep having bad luck with growing cajun bell peppers. One I got from the store started to produce a pepper soon after I planted it and then the leaves all started to lose color and the plant doesn't look like it's growing or healthy. Anyone have any possible diagnosis of what I'm doing wrong with seemingly this particular variety?

Dang this should’ve been your first video 😂

My potted pepper plants are dry from like the top 4 inches but are wet at the bottom of the pot..any suggestions on what to do??? Plants are in 5 gallon pots

Do you top your striped sugar rush or aji chrapita peppers? Have a few solid juveniles but wondering what to do as they are staring to take off.

I recently started some ghost pepper plants, and I think I made a big mistake. I could use some help.

Do you pick you peppers is they are out side,cut the top of the pepper of

I made the mistake and let my peppers start fruiting too early by waiting to transplant outside. They are outside now in large containers. Can I just take off the flowers to help it grow bigger?? Or am I just screwed.

Yeah its not a simple question to answer. If you have great soil with good moisture retention, then even though it's dusty dry at the surface but damp an knch or so down, you wil, probanly be fi e for another day or two unless plant is young with shallow roots. An exception can be if there will ne wild temperature swing within the next 24hrs that can zapp the moisture from those leaves faster than the plant can recover it. But a little bit of stress is not always a bad thing. There are periods where stress is ok and even good such as during root development. You want to water more deeply less often so the plant develops mkre roots to seek water. However during growth spurs having a consistent moisture level is also important so the plant can focus on foliage production to feed the roots. During the flowering stage it may be useful to dial the watering back a little to not encourage rot on the flowers, but also imcreaee the watering a little during fruiting, and dial back a little when the fruits are mature but ripening. Trying to time these events is like driving a rear wheel drive sports car over winding track with blind corners. You can see ahead of you but only far enough to see an obstacle and you dont want to weave into the other lane to bank a corner incase a car is commj g in the opposite lane. While being mindful of the weather during each stage of growth and maturation, you may not have to make any adjustments at all, or take a more active role in providing attention to promote tje growth and maturity appropriate for that stage. In their naturwl habitst the chinense varieties love 70f+ at night and 80-85f with high humidity during the day between the establishment and flowering stsges. The growth is almost visible by the hour in these conditions. But after the fruit has matured and is ripening, slightly drier and hotter conditions are prefered even if some of the new flower buds begin to drop. Thjs indicates to the plant thst the dry season is coming so it hastens ripening and even makes them hotter. If the leaves begin wilting or curling or drooping, a deep watering is needed to prevent dropping the fruit as well. A little stress is good but too much isn't. Because you cant predict the weather over the course of the season, your entire crop can still fail if it too wet and cool, or cool and dry. Peppers really dont lime either. Thankfully for me in newengland its looking to be a more balanced season so far with weekly rain over an inch and three per week days above 80f in july just as the fruit is maturing. So far it looks like to a perfect growing season so long as we can get a few days in the 90s by august.

Will you please send me a copy of your book? I’m currently living off of peppers for my food supply and they aren’t growing as well as they could be