william, I just looked at your pepper pics up close. That reminds me of my flowers. I don't get it either. I have plants I started the same and as you said cared for the same. To end up...
Bonnie

William I have you beat on gardening longevity, 43 years. I have never seen anything like that on peppers.

I sometimes wonder if the virus is carried in the seed.

Here is one of my weird gardening things. I cannot raise radishes in this garden. I can raise other root crops such as potatoes, beets, sweet potatoes, but just get tops with the radishes.

Gardening is never boring!

I can't grow radishes either and I usually fail with peppers. The pot idea is good; peppers that are healthy are attractive plants. If I put a flower in with them, I would water them and keep the bugs off.

i think i started 7 peppers in containers. they all started out with mottled leaves. threw 2 of them away. now i have 4 that are healthy and bearing fruit and the other is wimpy and lethargic. i thought of a virus too but 4 of the plants appear to be totally rcovered. every yr for me it is something.

william

What do you use for potting mix for vegetables?

William, my pepper plant looked stunted till last week and has 6 or seven blooms now. It did'nt have bugs it simply sat there looking forlorn.LOL. So am hoping for fall peppers.
vickie

the soil was a potting soil from freds that had a lot of pine bark fines. i have ruled out the soil problem because the other plants are doing well. i normally use a potting soil. peppers can be finicky.

william

I wasn't thinking the soil was the problem. I think I would like to grow peppers in pots and wondered what you use. I plant lots of flowers in pots using expert mix from wal-mart. It seems to have wood products in it, it grows flowers OK. I am off miracle grow potting mix after I rotted a bunch of bulbs in it - too much peat.

helen- i used expert last yr and my peppers and eggplants did very good.

william