What's your location and what temps/conditions are they experiencing that you shaded them? how long have they been planted? The soil in the photos looks dry... the plants look as if they're limp from heat and dry conditions.

I'm wondering about your raised bed, that doesn't look raised. That is, your bed looks nowhere close to being filled. How deep is the friable soil underneath? If the peppers are in a few inches of good soil, underlaid by an impermeable layer, all your watering may just be pooling down there, and drowning the roots. Peppers don't like waterlogged soil. You say you've done a lot of watering, so I can't imagine that dry soil is the problem.

I live in Austin, Texas where we’re already experiencing low 90s. Should I add more soil? That was my initial thought but I’m not sure.

You're close to me, and my peppers are doing just fine. Peppers LOVE 90F temperatures. You need to dig down in that bed, and see what conditions the roots are looking at down there. If the roots are facing a layer of impenetrable soil, you've got problems that adding more soil might not easily fix. If you add soil on top of tomatoes, they'll do great, and just form more roots higher up. Peppers won't do that. Viral wilt is always a possibility too, but if that's the case, you'll be looking at yellowing leaves. Might also look closely on the leaves for insect pests.

See, the main reason people put in raised beds is because the underlying soil is hard to work. If you put in walls for a raised bed, but didn't fill the bed with good quality soil, you haven't fixed the problem.

Poke a stick down into the soil to see if you encounter a hard layer a couple inches down.

Otherwise, I think it's just a matter of time until they put out enough roots and perk back up. But if the available soil volume is very shallow, you'll be fighting an uphill battle the entire season.

Josh

Thanks, I think this is the issue. Should I transplant them? Or is it a lost cause?

Nearly a lost cause. One strategy would be to dig a trench in the hard layer in a circle around the peppers, avoiding the roots. Say, six inches away from each plant. With a little care, you can do that with a trowel. Backfill with good soil. Once the pepper roots reach that trench, they'll be happier. They're a little big for transplanting, but if you have somewhere good to put them, that might be a possibility.

Next year, fill your raised bed! That's what those walls are there for.

It occurs to me that another strategy might be to add a few inches of good soil, but DO NOT PILE IT UP AGAINST THE PEPPER STEMS, The peppers can live in a hole. The roots outside the drip line can grow upward into that soil. Kinda freaky, but it might work. At the least, you'll be halfway to filling up the bed next year.

Thanks! I gave it a try.