Maybe chili thrips?

Here's some info from UF's ag site:

https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in401

And aphids can do that as well.

And you don't indicate where you are in FL, but where I am, it's too hot and humid for peppers now, and sadly, I haven't been able to successfully grow any peppers for a number of years now, due to chili thrips. Once the new growth starts looking like that, it's over for the plants ☹️

That’s what I’m thinking, but I don’t really see bugs on The leaves, I do see bugs on the soil on some of them. Some are growing new leaves fine but some are not. I guess I’ll keep them separate just to be safe and spray them with neem oil and soap.

i am in Miami so SE Florida, it’s very hot here now and its raining at least 3-4 out of 7 days of the week.. I think that is probably not helping. I got 3 tomato plants going too, so we’ll see how that goes.. I think Its Just a bad time of the year.

I should’ve started much earlier and I would’ve been harvesting peppers by now. I think I could easily grow peppers Outdoor as easy as January here in Miami.

I am growing a summer set, parks whopper improved, and better boy tomatoes. The summer set actually had a fruit already set when i brought it home. I planted them on monday and pinched off all the flowers though.

I have added some pictures of the bugs, i suspect they may be coming from the potting mix maybe? I see them on the tomato and i just filled that garden box and planted the tomatoes on monday, i also see the same bugs on the peppers and some other plants, but they are on the pots and the soil, not on the plant itself. (except for the ones on the tomato)

They look like ovaled bugs with 2 antennas and some seem to jump like fleas.

I don't want to discourage you, but .... it is summer, and it will be hot,and humid for 3 - 4 more months. I have had one or two pepper plants produce until mid summer one year, but that's the exception. I had some young peppers still in the garden until a few weeks ago, when I decided that the watering and fertilizing would not likely bring my peppers to a productive state. I have pulled up everything except: eggplants, which have had flowers for weeks now, but no fruit setting, a couple of basil plants that just germinated and a couple of oregano plants. My fig is exploding with fruit and limes are ready to pick. January may not be warm enough to germinate pepper seeds, which I think do best at about 90 degrees. I start my pepper seeds in August, and then will try tomatoes shortly after.

Sweet potatoes do well through the summer. for me here in Palm Beach County.

Best luck.

Thank you for the reply, sonni1.

I think you are right, its summer and its just too hot and humid down here for these plants to stand a chance against the elements and pests.

To be honest, i just moved into my first home in april and was SUPER excited to plant and grow things so i may have gotten a bit ahead of myself..

Like i said originally, i am new to gardening and i am starting to realize i started at the wrong time of the year.

Given my zone (SE florida) at what time of the year should i start my peppers and tomato plants in order to have a successful outdoor yield?

Right now i have about 8 pepper plants, 3 tomatoes and 2 fig trees. The figs are doing amazing, theyve grown a ton in the past couple of months and one of them has 16 figs and it is looking good to ripen, if weather plays.

But i was really hoping to get some peppers and tomatoes, should i just kind of give up, save my sprays and fertilizer and restart the peppers and tomatoes again come august/September?

Most of my peppers are from home depot, the smallest size (3$) but i also have some bell pepper and pepperoncini plants i started from seeds.

And if i do "give up" for now, is it okay to leave the soil in the raised bed until later in the year? do i cover it, or just let it get rained and sun on it?

Definitely check out the link that carol_w_fl listed in her comment. There is a planting schedule and much more info specific for Florida gardeners. It took me years to adjust mentally to the planting schedule here: every March, I would till up my patch in anticipation of spring planting. Did not go well those first years for me, but with just a bit of patience and experience, I'm sure you'll be harvesting more than you'll know what to do with.

Will do! ive lived in south florida for 15 years now so i shouldve known better than to plant anything in april. Its just gonna get roasted, flooded or both at the same time with the weather here. I think it was 95F yesterday, no rain. But today it has been raining since 8AM.

Anyhow, thanks for all the help. Ive got much to learn!

On a side note, how well do figs do for you here? I bought a 10" plant online and its thriving into a small tree, it had 3 leaves when i got it, now it has over 10 and its tripled its height. Then i also got an olympian fig from a local nursery and that one is already a small tree with woody trunks and it has 16 figs on it. im hoping those will ripen in time to enjoy, but the other tree probably wont bear fruit until next year.

Do figs grow all year long here? I read that people up north have them go into dormancy but i cant imagine it getting cold enough for that down here.

I live in Palm Beach county... I think it possibly could be the chilli thrips too... take a piece of white paper and hold it under the plants leaves. tap. if you see itty bitty black dots that move it is chilli thrips. As for growing peppers, I am growing some right now. yes it is supposed to be the wrong time of the year, but I got them to protect my roses. the chili thrips love roses, but they love peppers better.... then I got some Amblyseius swirski which will host on the pepper plants pollen at eat the chili thrips. Good luck