My guess is that it's the extreme heat and if you keep them from drying up, they'll start setting fruit again when temps start getting more moderate. I've never heard of a determinant pepper plant, though, I suppose there might be such a thing.

George
roasting in Tahlequah, OK

Like George said, I have never heard of the labels determinate and indeterminate being applied to peppers. Tomatoes, yes, but not peppers. Peppers, if given the right growing conditions will live indefinitely but they do go through phases of production.

Heat definitely has an effect on them as does plant age, pest, diseases, and lack of nutrients. With sufficient nutrients they will continue production once the weather cooperates.

Dave

My jalapenos are producing and flowering. I have had to increase watering even though they are heavily mulched.

Are yours in pots or the ground? They could just be inbetween bloom cycles though. Keep babying them and they'll start up again soon as the weather lets up.

My plants are in ground and not mulched at all. I have very few weed problems this year and didn't have to mulch much. However, now that it is so hot, maybe I should consider it to keep the roots cooler. I have been deep watering them every third day. Do you suggest watering more often than that?

now that it is so hot, maybe I should consider it to keep the roots cooler

In your zone, most definitely. ;) The primary benefit of mulch isn't keeping down the weeds. That is just a side benefit. It's main purpose in the vegetable garden is keeping roots cooler, stabilizing soil moisture levels, reducing moisture evaporation, and reducing watering demands - thus healthier, more productive plants.

Using good organic mulches such as straw, hay, shredded leaves, grass clippings, etc. also helps feed the plants by providing nutrients as the mulch decomposes and long-term improvement of the soil texture.

Dave

OK, so mulching is important. All of my garden experience is in Colorado where mulching for purposes other than weed control is often discouraged. So thank you for the advice. As for mulch, I have been warned against grass clippings since they most often contain weed seeds. I am unsure where to find shredded leaves so that leaves hay. Is there a guideline as to how thick you should mulch with hay?

Colorado where mulching for purposes other than weed control is often discouraged

Interesting. I wonder what the reasoning behind that belief is?

As to grass clippings, many use them with no problems. It may depend on the type of grass for example, I don't think anyone would recommend mulching with bermuda grass. But the average lawn grass should pose no problems.

Sure there may be a few seeds if you used early spring mowings while the grass is going to seed but regular mowings, no. Straw and hay may also have some seed in them but as the many past discussions here on using them will show, they are minimal and easily removed if they sprout. That is especially true if you apply the mulch as usually recommended rate of 6-8" thick.

Hay is more prone to seeds than straw which is why straw is preferred. But is simply isn't available in many places so hay is the next best thing. Fall leaves can be impossible to find this time of year which is why many of us save bags of them from the previous fall to use on the garden in the spring.

Check out the many discussions on mulches and mulching benefits over on the Compost & Mulch forum here. And I also linked some of the most recent discussions on vegetable garden mulching from this forum for you below.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Veggie garden mulching discussions

Thanks Dave for your help.
In regards to your question, the reason mulching in Colorado is discouraged is due to the lack of heat in the day. We often lay down a gardeners black plastic when planting our seeds to encourage warming of the soil. The plastic is then left on the entire growing season. Because the days do not get hot enough to actually warm up the soil underneath the mulch, it isn't used unless you have a real big weed problem.

Of course, I am sure there are many out there in Colorado who disagree with this theory. As for me and most of my gardening friends, we all shared this same belief that was backed up with great results. I successfully grew Okra, black eyed peas and cantaloupe with this method. Growing these items in Colorado Springs was definitely unheard of and discouraged by all. However, it worked for me and I ended up taking some of my produce to the local agricultural commission just to show them. Hope this helps answer your question.

Anyway, thank you for all your help! - Kara

Straw in some areas is hard to find. If you can find it it's $4, $5 or more a bale. Covering a large garden with hay or straw 6 to 8" deep can be outrageously expensive. :(

Because the days do not get hot enough to actually warm up the soil underneath the mulch, it isn't used unless you have a real big weed problem.

Yeah, that I can sure understand. Given the Colorado heat waves discussed on the news this year one forgets that heat isn't normally a problem out there. ;)

If you could name the one most readily available and cheap local thing you could get for mulch, what would it be? ie: in Kansas it's straw, in Iowa, corn silage, for me, it is hay and fall oak leaves. I know that just as coastal gardeners often use gathered seaweed for mulch and some of the south Texas gardeners use bramble bush trimmings and chipped scrub, and some use pine needles. What cheap choices would you have? Is there a local county compost program? It can be used too. You might want to check out the Texas Gardening forum here for some ideas if you have already been there.

Good luck.

Dave