[Arid_gardener] Question about pepper plants that fail to thrive

[Marcia Lincoln]

I started several dozen pepper plants from seed this winter, there are about
8 different varieties. They were thriving in an outdoor hot box frame and I
set them out in the garden toward the end of March (after freeze danger--I
am in Tucson). I put them in an area under 50% shade cloth. I spread straw
to keep the soil from drying out too fast. I also put 1/2 a paper cup around
each to protect the stems from cutworms. Part of this area had last year
grown sweet potatoes, the other area had tomatoes in it. I mixed in some
compost before planting. Now after almost 2 months, the plants are failing
to thrive. They never have grown much at all, one flat out died, and all the
rest have been struggling--leaves falling off, small leaves and fruit (most
have no fruit) & yellowing leaves. I tried on several occasions to fertilize
with Miracle Gro to see if there was a deficiency, and that had no effect.
Even though the soil is wet, the plants look wilty and perk up a bit with
water. Yesterday I finally decided to move most of them to different areas
of the garden. Upon digging, (these plants are only 6"-8" tall and spindly),
I found they all had practically no root ball, and what roots are there are
not fresh white-looking roots, they are all tan-brown. There are a few wire
worms in the soil, and the inevitable sow bugs. The roots don't look
knotted, like from root-knot nematodes (which I know are a problem in parts
of my garden). Can someone give me an unbiased opinion of what could be the
problem? I'm wondering if the roots rotted from too much water early on.
Tomatoes I planted in a different area at the same time are doing great.
Thank you,
Marcia