Bell peppers, central Florida, 70 days--no fruit!

[pegmud]

Hello, All.  My first attempt at EB's...I am in Central Florida...Planted one box with two Better Boy tomatoes on Aug. 14...plants are over 6 feet high...have 4 green tomatoes about the size of tennis balls...OK, I guess that's not so bad...a bit disappointed...expected more fruit.  HOWEVER, I planted in the other EB, 2 sweet banana peppers, 2 yellow bells and 2 red bells.  The banana peppers are producing like crazy!  Have already picked DOZENS!.  BUT, the bells...ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.  White flowers, lots of lush green leaves, plants are about 30" high...used Sevin a few times now to kill ants and aphids....Have watered them faithfully..never missed a day...using white side of the shower cap...they are getting 6-8 hours of sun per day...our temps are crazy here, though...anywhere from 65 at night to 90 in the day....Have added no additional fertilizer or anything beyond the original EB kit.....ANY SUGGESTIONS??  I really want some bell peppers and some more tomatoes....Am I just rushing things?  Thanks, Peggy

[tag]

Sweet banana peppers will produce long before bell peppers. 70 days is not too long to wait for bells. Give them more time. About the time you get tired of picking sweet banana's your bells should start producing.

[dennyboy]

                                          ..they are getting 6-8 hours of sun per day...

If they are only getting six hours of direct sunlight, that might not be enough. If the bells are shaded by the bananas, it would make the sunlight problem worse.

It seems that six foot high tomato plants should have more than just 4 tomatoes between them. I might be wrong because I know nothing about Fla growing or Better Boy tomatoes. My best guess is that your plants are not getting enough sun, but the prolific banana peppers go against this idea.

It might still be to early to expect bell peppers anyway, if they are one of the gigantic varieties.

If your tomatoes and banana peppers are smaller than you think they should be, that could be another sign of not enough sun.

denny

[pegmud]

Thanks so much to both of you!  I've started to suspect that not enough sun was the problem...just this week I have moved the EB's off the side of my carport, out into the open air...Hopefully, they are now getting about 8 hours of sun per day...Now, I just have to be patient, and see if that works...Appreciate your replies!

[tag]

Six to 8 hours of sun is plenty IMO to produce peppers. If they only get 6 hours of sun it could slow your production but it wouldn't stop production.

[pegmud]

Well, some good news today One new baby red bell pepper...about the size of an acorn...but, it's start!!! Still almost 90 here today in Melbourne, and the low tonight is supposed to be 76...maybe the additional sunlight was the right answer. 

To you guys who have more gardening experience than I do, another question: What about adding Epsom salts to the EB to aid the peppers in producing???  An acquaintance of mine (a snowbird who gardens in New England in the summer) suggested that as a booster...Any thoughts?

Thanks, Peggy

[mjb8743]

To you guys who have more gardening experience than I do, another question: What about adding Epsom salts to the EB to aid the peppers in producing???  An acquaintance of mine (a snowbird who gardens in New England in the summer) suggested that as a booster...Any thoughts?Huh?

Epsom salts really is magnesium. Dolomitic lime is a balance of calcium and magnesium. The addition of epsom salts runs the risk of upsetting the balance of nutrients in the box. Some in-ground gardeners swear by it, but I wouldn't recommend it in the Earthbox, especially if you're an inexperienced gardener. Think of all the elements as aligned dominoes... changing one thing can have a drastic effect on everything else.

Please give yourself time to learn how those elements work together before going off on your own on the say-so of someone who may know nothing about Earthbox gardening.

Mickie

[Fldeb]

Is there a good book that would explain about the elements and how they contribute to plants growth?

[pegmud]

  Well, happy news today, too....3 new little tomatoes have appeared!!! and...another tiny bell pepper!!!  yes!! I think the combination of time, patience and a little more time in the sun is doing the trick!!

Thanks for all the suggestions....I am not going to go the Epsom salts route...do not want to mess up the EBs' chemical balance...I'll just keep watering them, rolling them out into the sun, and talking sweetly to them.  Thanks, All!

[Flapam]

Glad to hear that things are popping up for you.  I am up the road in Rockledge and have had pretty good luck with bells, although they have been on the small side this season ( much discussion on this in another thread).  We certainly have had enough sun lately to help your peppers and toms. along!  My phrase of the month is RECORD HEAT!  Uggh, blow us some cool air you folks from the north.