I have green pepper and tomato plants in pots on my patio. The patio has screen on the sides and a vinal roof covering to keep out rain. The leaves on the pepper plant keep drying out and falling off. The fruit has stopped growing and no new blossoms are being produced. The stems on the tomato plants are turning yellow and the new blossoms come but also dry out. The only new growth is at the very top and it eventually dries out. I water at least two times a week on both plants and use Miracle Grow each time. The temperature has been reaching 90 degrees outside and with the vinal top on the roof, it probably gets even warmer. Is it too hot in the area for the plants to survive? I also recently planted an up-side down tomato plant and the leaves that are exposed to the sun are drying out.
Plants in containers outside need to be watered daily, twice daily if the temps are above 85 degrees F. Increase watering and they should improve. Plants outside use water much, much faster than the ones grown indoors.
Do different pepper species cross pollinate?
This article should help: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/vgen/cross-pollination.htm
I have several pepper plants. They are just starting to grow. They are also of different varieties. One is a New Mexico Chili pepper, the other is a Chocolate pepper, and then there are the regular Bell peppers. Oh yes, and one Banana pepper plant. They are all being eaten. It is early in the season, May, and there are no hornworms. I put out a slug trap, which has worked other years, but only caught 3 or 4 and it does not seem to be stopping the appearing holes. It is the leaves that are being eaten. The plant is healthy and starting flowers, but the leaves are getting worse and worse. I cannot figure out what it is or what to do. Please help.
If it is holes in the leaves, I would still say that it is slugs or snails. They may just not be gravitating to the traps this year (if you are using commercial traps, the formula may have changed). Try a different trap and lay some sand down around the bases of the plants to keep slugs off them.
I live in Richmond, VA. Something is munching on my sweet bell pepper plant leaves. I mixed a heavy solution of biodegradable dish detergent and water into a super-froth and wiped it on the plants. Do I need to rinse it off or can I let it stay? I know I need to reapply after rain, but does it have to come off at all? This is my first garden and my little plants are in large pots, not in the ground. So far, so good but I need to know about the soap. I prefer not to use pesticides if at all possible.
You can just leave it be until another application is needed, though if it's really heavy, you may want to dilute it some. Alternatively, you could use neem oil. This article will help with that: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/pesticides/neem-oil-uses.htm
Most of my pepper plant leaves have many small holes. They are clean with no brown spots on the edges of the holes. The plant appears healthy. I use organic soil, and they are in pots. Would appreciate any information that will help me understand my problem and how to avoid it. My plants are Karma pepper plants and are disease resistant.
This sounds like flea beetles. This article will help:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/insects/what-are-flea-beetles.htm
What should I use to kill the pepper worm caterpillars?
I like using neem oil on vegetables to kill pests. It is safe for humans but kills chewing and sucking pests effectively. This article will help:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/pesticides/neem-oil-uses.htm
How do I provide more calcium to my potted peppers and tomatoes?
Epsom salt can be added to the soil or you can use eggshells. Both of these methods though take time for the calcium to become available to the plant. In most cases though, there is enough calcium in the soil, but the plant is not getting enough water to be able to use it. Try increasing the amount of water the plants are getting to help them take up more calcium.