So it has been over a month since we planted our jalapeno plants and they are still the same size...
We even fertilized about two weeks ago and haven't seen much change.
Anyone have tips they can offer to get some productivity from the plants?
We are documenting our garden in videos. Hopefully that will help you have some specific advice if you watch. The video has a bunch of our current questions, such as about our jalapenos, (it isn't just about radishes)

https://youtu.be/Fc2rre_ETrk

Thank you!!

Jalapenos are generally show starters. You have to watch the fertilizer. They're not fond of nigh nitrogen. I think peppers in general are slow to start. I have some chili pequins that haven't grown much at all since transplanting. They need a lot of root, which is why they're usually transplanted right up to the lowest leaves. They demand full sun, which looks like is not an issue in your garden. There's some peculiar "wisdom" about hot peppers loving abuse, but it's not true. They will fail if it gets too hot, but planting when it's too cold can stunt them. They need plenty of water without soil being wet. If they look otherwise healthy, and you don't see relatives like tomatoes suffering from diseases, which they share, I'd give them time.

IntheHotofTexas said:Jalapenos are generally show starters. You have to watch the fertilizer. They're not fond of nigh nitrogen. I think peppers in general are slow to start. I have some chili pequins that haven't grown much at all since transplanting. They need a lot of root, which is why they're usually transplanted right up to the lowest leaves. They demand full sun, which looks like is not an issue in your garden. There's some peculiar "wisdom" about hot peppers loving abuse, but it's not true. They will fail if it gets too hot, but planting when it's too cold can stunt them. They need plenty of water without soil being wet. If they look otherwise healthy, and you don't see relatives like tomatoes suffering from diseases, which they share, I'd give them time.

Thank you!
Based on your tips, I'd say maybe we should have planted them deeper. We didn't plant them to the first leaf. Something we'll have to remember for next time.
Other than that, they seem pretty healthy (some minor leaf predation), they just aren't growing bigger. So maybe all we need is more time.
Thanks again!

It's Probably temperature, is it still cool at night where you are?
Peppers, cukes and tomatoes just kinda do nothing until it stays above 70 round the clock.

Heres a serano in an 8" hanging pot with 4 flowering annuals. I started it in a ceed sell kept it indoors until nights were warm and ive already harvested 5-6 peppers.
They do need lots of sun, but they dont need much of anything else, including space. You can see the plant is small and new growth is stunted and its wilted from not watering, but i have peppers. This is obviously a decorative pot, but I had a pepper plant that was going to end up on the compost heap, so it was a sink or swim moment.

While high nitrogen can encorage green leafy growth rather than flowers and fruit, if theyre not growing at all I put my money on cool temps, or rather cool soil... this is in a dark colored hanging pot so its roots are toasty warm.

Im in zone 6b.

Heres the whole pot




And please do not do this to your plants.. Now i feel guilty and am going to have to do something about this grossly overcrowded pot.. it was just to provide an example that if they have sun and heat they will grow and flower even if poorly treated otherwise

If you have growing plants that arent flowering, just putting up leaves, but no flowers of fruit, that could be too much nitrogen. If you have plants that are leggy and too tall and spindly, thats probably not enough sun.
But if they are just doing absolutely nothing in zone 5 in full sun, that's soil temperature, IME

Cold feet can stunt a plant and take a good amount of time to recover.
Buy new plants or Be patient.

Turbosaurus said:It's Probably temperature, is it still cool at night where you are?
Peppers, cukes and tomatoes just kinda do nothing until it stays above 70 round the clock.

Yes it is still in the high 50's at night here.
That is really good info about the temps, thanks!

Thanks for sharing the scenario/your experience with peppers @Turbosaurus !
Considering that we planted when it was much cooler than it is now, it makes me wonder if they are stunted. Maybe we will buy a couple new plants from the garden center and plant them just for comparison while we continue to be patient with our existing plants
Thanks again!

You're very welcome.
It's tough where we are due to short growing season.. do you have a compost pile? Think about having one, because they are fabulous generators of in-ground heat... like toasty warm plant socks

You can get a boost on you're warm weather crops next year by incorporating compost and turning the soil multiple times ( the hot soil in the sun gets low down and radiates heat each time you do it)before planting

Turbosaurus said:You're very welcome.
It's tough where we are due to short growing season.. do you have a compost pile? Think about having one, because they are fabulous generators of in-ground heat... like toasty warm plant socks

You can get a boost on you're warm weather crops next year by incorporating compost and turning the soil multiple times ( the hot soil in the sun gets low down and radiates heat each time you do it)before planting

Yes we did start a compost along with starting our garden. The compost pile is starting to look productive (along with the garden! exciting!!). We definitely plan to use our compost in the garden.
The peppers seem to be starting to grow now. So hopefully they've overcome the stunting with the onset of the summer heat
:cross_finger:

This is my third year growing jalapenos in a raised bed. The first 2 years the plant yielded a good amt of fruit. This year however it's producing a good many flowers that turn into leaves without fruiting?? I've tried hand pollenation (?) thinking that may be the issue. I'm REALLY new to gardening. Can anyone offer suggestions to what the problem may be. It would be gratefully appreciated

How's your weather been Fate? Location and zone are important factors.

Some of mine did the same thing until it was consistently high temps. Before that it was just leaves and every flower dropped without setting fruit.

sw_gardener said:How's your weather been Fate? Location and zone are important factors.

Some of mine did the same thing until it was consistently high temps. Before that it was just leaves and every flower dropped without setting fruit.

Maybe too much water and/or nitrogen?
I am in Michigan. When it kept raining for days, many of my pepper flowers dropped. Even a few young peppers dropped. Also a few of my young squash rotted.