Pepper Plant Problems

And so I continue to stumble along the ol' learning curve...

Problem 1- Scorching
As the name suggests sudden hot/bright sunlight will scorch the leaves of your plants, and this damage is the result of just one day in the sun! I made the mistake of moving some of my indoor plants outside a few weeks ago (after 8 months being stuck inside I thought they could do with some sunshine) but I put them in full sun rather than partial shade and they got burnt. This pepper plant has had most of it's old leaves damaged by bright sun but the new leaves are a lot more resilient. It will recover but obviously it needs to spend energy recovering so it will have less energy for flowering/fruiting this year. So even if it is finally summer outside you still need to make sure you "harden off" your plants before they go outside as hot weather can damage them just as much as colder weather. (Hardening off is the term for gently introducing your plants, usually seedlings, from the warmth and shelter of inside your house to the outside environment.)

Problem 2- Disease?
I have this strange white speckled stuff appearing on my plants. It first started back in the winter and has spread like wildfire through my pepper plants, tomato plants and even some of my ornamental plants. I have ruled out both blight and mildew and I think it must be some kind of disease/micro-bacteria. I'm not sure what first caused it but it could be caused (or certainly not helped) by cold temperatures and a lack of air flow around the plants, which after 8 months of it being too cold to have the windows open for any long period of time I can understand. Since taking this picture I have removed all the affected leaves, which in some cases means no leaves left whatsoever on my poor plants, but I figure it's kill or cure, I've got to get rid of this disease! I have given my window sills a good clean and am keeping the windows open as much as I can. If anyone has any idea what this might be and how to get rid of it/prevent it in future please let me know!



This photo belongs to me. Please do not steal.