Any chance of aphids? Look underside of the leaves. They can cause the leaf symptoms you describe but so can fertilizer burn. Any chance you can post a picture?

Osmocote isn't normally associated with plants in the vegetable garden - just containers - so I've no idea what the normal dose would be but it is a slow timed release fertilizer far as i know so I wouldn't expect it to burn the plants unless you used way too much. What does the label call for in amounts?

Dave

This does sound suspicious of either a nutrient deficiency or a fertilizer overload. It would be helpful to know how much osmocote you used. I don't know how much temp. affects its release but it might be possible in a warm place like Texas that it could release more quickly.

You might try flooding the soil for an hour or two and then letting it drain. Repeat that again when the soil begins to dry out (2-3 days?). That should help flush out excess nutrients. If you suspect there's too much osmocote though you may have to transplant the peppers into fresh soil as the osmocote could continue to release for several months.

It may be wise to invest in some new starts or seeds though...

Flooding the soil is also what I would recommend if you don't see any obvious pests. Aphids tried to get my bells last year, but were quite unsuccessful thanks to a nice product from Garden Safe. =)

Could it be sunburn peppers are so funny about sun and they such heavy feeders sounds like might be hard to over feed them but I have had some get sunburned or salt burn.

I can't get a picture right now, but the more I look at it, the more it looks like frost damage. We had a spell last week where it was about 45 for 3 days, would that cause it?

I have looked all over, don't see any signs of aphids (I had to deal with those last year - I know those when I see them). I used maybe a teaspoon of osmocote mixed into the soil around each plant. I have the peppers planted in a large bed that is almost like a really big container, hence the fertilizer. I don't think it could be a bacteria, because the variety of pepper is labeled as resistant to leaf spot diseases.

Thanks for all of your help - really appreciate it!