Hot chili peppers were deformed this year

Question

I have been growing the small hot chili peppers for years. I continually reseed in the same pot. I bring them in in the fall and they produce nice foliage throughout the winter. I return them outside in the late spring and usually harvest over a 100 peppers off each pot. I have been doing this for about 10 years. This year was different! My long, skinny hot peppers are now round small peppers! Shocked! It’s like they have gone mutant on me. They tasted okay, but was wondering if I need to clear out the pots and start over. This baffles me, never seen this before. Any advice? I have uploaded an image. The one on the left is normal. One on the right….who knows. They were harvested from the same pot.

Answer 1

There can be a few reasons for distorted peppers and it can be quite common in pepper plants.

Environmental changes, inconsistent water, lack of nutrients and a plant that is getting quite old may all be reasons.

Make sure you are using good quality fresh potting soil each season.

Save seeds from the healthiest peppers.