there used to be a very active pepper forum ... where you might find experts you wont find in these forums ...

welcome to the forums ... lets start with more info ...

where are they ... big city name... in ground or potted.. out of the ordinary ambient weather if any ... and pix of the whole plants ...

what fert .. how often.. and how applied ... was it applied to the leaves???

and a full history of what you sprayed.. when you sprayed... and why you sprayed ...

have you ever sprayed the plants at mid day in full sun???

this is nothing worth being worried sick about .... plz relax ... ken

Rochester, NY (6A)

In grow bags with non-soil potting mix (peppers in 10 gal, tomatoes in 25 gal)

I use down to earth ferilizer all purpose granular and kelp meal with an extra fourth part of fish bone meal, I've fertilized once since I put them out at the beginning of May (potting soil had fertilizer in it already). I used 1.5 tbsp per gallon for the all purpose with the extra fourth part of fish bone meal and 1.5 tsp per gallon for the kelp meal.

I spray with neem and insecticidal soap weekly since putting them out. There's a bunch of bug pests around: aphids, 4 lined plant bugs, spider mites etc but they aren't infesting my plants.

My peaches have bacterial spot and I ordered some cease to spray but it won't be here for another week or so. I didn't want to use copper fungicide on the peaches right now.

My snap beans had rust but I sprayed with immunox and they're recovering.

I only sprayed my peppers with neem and Castile soap late in the day. Sometimes the sun is still out but setting.

It's rainy and getting dark so I can't take any whole plant photos right now.

I'm just worried because I really love my plants and my garden. I've put a lot of time and money into it.

Kari, you need to be careful about using any kind of spray on them too frequently, or in the direct sun, or in high temperatures. You could be causing some of those symptoms!

As a general rule, we encourage gardeners to have an exact identification of a pest before spraying. Insecticidal soap is a contact pesticide and worthless used prophylacticly.

Thanks a lot. I have seen four lined plant bugs and the circular damage from them on my peppers specifically, as well as spider mites. The Castile soap is mainly as a surfactant for the neem. My neighbor had issues with squash borers and I've seen aphids crawling on some of the grow bags so there are pests around. Do you have any suggestions for me to balance pest management with not causing other issues? Thanks a lot. I am pretty new to this, this is only my second growing season.

Could the curling pepper leaves be from a lack of calcium?

James, I don't think that's likely because the potting mix I used had bone meal in it and I fertilized with fish bone meal as well. The peppers are growing ok too, no blossom end rot so far.

rhizo: I was thinking the same thing: perhaps an overuse of the pesticides, especially the ones with soap. Soap can actually put a coating on the leaves that doesn't allow them to breathe. And, perhaps your dilution is off.

"There's a bunch of bug pests around: aphids, 4 lined plant bugs, spider mites etc but they aren't infesting my plants. Do you have any suggestions for me to balance pest management with not causing other issues?"

The answer to the second part of your question is found in the first part. If the pests are not on your plants then you don't spray, much less spray so frequently. ;-)

Preventative spraying just in case some pest might show up is never recommended. Not only does it potentially kill beneficial bugs but it damages the plants as you are now discovering. And homemade concoctions can be just as damaging as commercial ones. The whole point of any pesticide is to spray the pests, not the plants, and even then only if other methods of control are not available.

Dave