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Help! Health of Red Pepper Plant in Greenhouse

Sue HighamSue Higham Posts: 85
in Fruit & veg
I'm new to greenhouse gardening and just noticed black areas on my red pepper plant where the flower stem meets the main stem ... It looks like some kind of rot, to me. Can't find any info or images on line - is this likely to run riot through all my peppers, chillis and tomatoes? Or should I just remove the affected flower stems - or the affected plant? All help gratefully received!

Posts

  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,384

    Hi Sue,  Some varieties of sweet pepper do have black coloured marking develop as they mature so this is very likely perfectly normal, especially if the areas are smooth.  It would be nice to see a photo if you can manage to post one to help confirm that it's natural pigmentation and not something to worry about. 

    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • Sue HighamSue Higham Posts: 85
    Bob - would love to have posted a photo but there's a glitch on the forum site which means that when I'm signed in there are no formatting buttons shown - they're all there when I'm not signed in though! Have reported it.



    Thanks for your help but it's not looking good. The shiny black areas on the plant yesterday are, today, growing fur coats and I noticed the same on the yellow pepper and chilli. It looks like Botyritis so I've binned them all before it spreads to all my toms. As I said, it's my first greenhouse season and I'm learning as I go how to control the ventilation - humidity has been very high after the sun has gone down, but as it's been going down to 7-8oC at night I closed the louvres to keep it a bit warmer. Mistake!
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,384

    The fur coats bit doesn't sound good - botrytis as you say - such a shame when you have put all of that effort in to get them to this stage.  It's worth investing in some automatic vent and louvre openers if you can afford it.  I have solar powered fans (the type used in PCs) now, which has been a great success.  If you or anyone you know has some basic electrical skills and can do a bit of DIY they are very easy to fit. You can get the fans from old PCs at council dumps if you ask nicely!  The solar panel cost about £30 (12V, 20W.)  One big plus is that the stronger the sun is, the faster the fans spin hence more ventilation.image

    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • Sue HighamSue Higham Posts: 85
    Thanks Bob ... already going down the solar panel/fan route for a heat sink - cavity there, just need to fill it! The greenhouse does have automatic roof vents (a godsend!) but I think I've been too cautious with the side louvres given the wide range of temperatures we've had over the last couple of weeks. Will leave them open from now on - I'm learning all the time!
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