My tiny balcony got 6 peppers from one plant last month

I read that pepper plants self-pollinate better with a little breeze so I put a small fan on mine for 2 hours a day. Got way more fruit than last year. Anyone else try wind tricks for their balcony veggies?

2 comments

2 Comments

knight.oscar5d ago

Hate to be the one to push back, but my experience with fans was a total bust. I tried a little desk fan on my cherry tomatoes and peppers for a couple hours a day, and all it did was dry out the soil way faster and stress the plants out. They ended up dropping flowers instead of setting fruit. Your mileage may vary for sure, but I think a gentle breeze from an open window or just nature is more than enough. Maybe I had the fan too close or too strong, but I’d rather not risk it again.

angelab625d ago

Oh, you are preaching to the choir, @knight.oscar. I did the exact same thing with my tomatoes last year. Set up a little oscillating fan on low for just a couple of hours and within a week the leaves were curling and the blossoms just fell right off. The constant air movement dried out the pots so fast I had to water twice a day, and the plants clearly hated it. I ended up moving them to a spot with indirect light and a natural draft from the window and they perked right up. Sometimes the best thing we can do is just leave them alone.