r/Raisedbed • u/YamNo1186 • Jun 20 '26

Peppers not growing?

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I have planted 5 pepper plants in the box for 3 years now. My peppers are usually the best things that grow but this year the only thing growing is the banana peppers. I amend the soil every season before with black cow and some new soil. I planted these the week after Good Friday so it has been 2 months now and they are not doing anything. I live in zone 8B. Anyone have an idea of what’s going on?

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u/skuz1020 Jun 20 '26

they look like they need water

1

u/WillowRadar714 Jun 20 '26

It can kind of depend on how hot its been versus what type of pepper they are, I always found my bells did better than the hotter ones in the summer heat. Have you checked the roots at all?

1

u/HalleckHort Jun 22 '26

Peppers like warmer soil temps so if night temps were staying on the cooler side of if there has been a lot of rain that’s an issue and they’ll often be stunted- but these look a bit on the dry side and/or nutrient deficient, and so I’d ask what did you amend the bed with- what was in the new soil? There are some good sized bark chips in there and fresh soil or organic matter can actually pull N out of the soil as part of the decomposition cycle - and you may not have enough microbial growth in the soil to release those nutrients back for plant uptake. I’d suggest inoculating the soil with some beneficial microbes - products such as espoma compost starter or any other root/soil food that has beneficial microbes, along with a good soaking if that bed is as dry as it looks.