I'd like to know this answer also -- one of my superhots in 5-1-1 is putting out plenty of pods, but the pod SIZE is kinda dinky. All of my others seem to be putting out pods of normal size and all plants in the same medium get the same regimen of ferts, water and sunlight.

Kevin

Well, I don't know about this. I got the epsom salts out of the cupboard and used one half teaspoon in about 2/3 of a gallon and watered the bottom trays of the plants to see what happens.

I don't know about your situation Kevin, but at first I start to think it's night time temps might be cooling too much. It's in the low 60s at night right now, so that's more than comfortable enough.

Of what I have read, if you've ticked all the boxes of everything else, eg. excess rain, etc. Then you got a nutrient problem.

There's one box I didn't check though and that's the PH of the pot.

Nah... I'm in real good shape as far as EVERYTHING. Water here is a bit alkaline and we get no rain to speak of, but my ph is acceptable for the 5-1-1 mix. It's really just this ONE plant. We hardly ever get nighttime temps above 70 even in the dead of summer.

What's odd is that I have another superhot in the ground and I know my soil is a bit alkaline. I know peppers, like most veggies, like it a little on the acidic side. But that plant is putting out excellent sized pods.

About the epsom salts -- gotta be skimpy on them. Sounds like you were. :)

Hope we get an answer though.

Kevin

Yeah I hope we get an answer too. The plant is still sprouting little green blobs every day... I want to know when enough is enough.

could it be a question of the energy in the plant itself? if its gotten too big for itself, or sprouted too many peppers, does the size of the fruit suffer?

I guess I'm thinking about wine grapes, where growers trim off half of the branches after the whole tree is fruiting in order to maximize the energy going to the remaining grapes.

Not sure if a similar principle applies to chiles

Well, I brought the one particular plant and another one into the conservatory because of heavy rain AFTER I just gave them a good watering (forecast was wrong - correction worse than expected). So even though they are big plants and can handle a big soaking, I still thought it best to let them dry out before returning them to the garden area.

I will be watching their progress inside now to see if the drying environment will invigorate the newer pods to grow larger than the early ones.

Chilemilio: You bring up a very good point. The plant in question as far as I'm concerned has lots of small pods and lots of blooms while other plants have less pods, less blooms, and LARGER pods.

Kevin

Less pods = bigger pods?

But I see other people with tons of peppers with more or less the regular size for the variety. However, I think it might the ground growers that get this. i would like to hear more about this before deliberately culling the smaller pods.

Its not the size of the pod that matters! lol

god this thread is so incredibly ripe for puns. but I don't know what the rules are for this forum, so I'll skip it. ...this time.

I am really interested this subjects.

Most of my small container plants have small pods. I think, the size of the container is related to the size of the pods but cannot explain very well. Some of the big containers are also have small pods. Now I am started thinking about the timing of proper fertilization and watering the plants may be the key to have acceptable pods size. I said MAY BE.

I have read a lot about the problems of over water chili plants, it made me hesitate to water properly before. "Let the soil almost dry between the water" something like this I have read many times. I followed these words before. I saw my plants got dehydration and the leaves were drooping. Now I put most of my containers on the trays with water and water (not misting but giving bath at least once) every day but I am not over watering. I do not allow dehydration my plants, it gives my plants new growth and getting bigger pods too, I think.

Here are some pictures with small pods and big pods.

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This is Ghost Brown the pods does not look Ghost, before it was dehydrated:

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After I water everyday it got a lot of new growth and new look-like real pods:

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Just I share my experience.

Caelian

Interesting, I am having a similar issue with my Tiburon. Last year it put out huge pods, now they are very small, a bit bigger than a big cherry pepper. They are in a raised planter and the plants next to them (BIker Billy, Jalastar, Beaver Dam, and Holy Mole are putting out huge pods). I've really been stumped on this one.

I'm also having issues with my Scarlet Lantern, I guess it doesn't like to be wet cos when it was wet in June it was looking very sickly, then it dried out and it started looking pretty good, well, a couple of weeks ago the rains came again (very rare for July in OK) and it's looking worse than ever. I fear it's not got long for this world. ;-(

Pam

Hello!

I, too, believe that watering well ensures pods reach their maximum size. I don't like to see my plants droop, which correlates with lost growth potential (and it also makes it difficult for flowers to set). With adequate water and nutrients, and root-room to an extent, the pods will achieve full size.

Josh