Both became totally infested with aphids and have yet to produce any sign of fruit. I think I might chuck both and focus on my jalapeño, tomato, and herbs.
I don’t have a hose and limited sun on my balcony, so by quarantining those two plants I doubt they get the sun they need anyways and the aphid infestation has kinda sucked the fun out of them for me.
Came home the last night after being away for the long weekend and my Tabasco plant is infested with what I think are aphids: white debris with tiny, antennae’d bugs visible. I pulled it apart from my other peppers with the habanero which was touching it and had a couple.
Tonight I gave it a good watering (no hose) and a medium-size white/yellow spider leaped out. Immediately wove a big web on a leaf. I was planning to spray the plant, and justified in my head any collateral, but now seeing a non nuisance bug make a home I’m torn.
This whole thing is just really discouraging- I’ve never planted anything outside before and dread ever dealing with this with indoor plants. Any advice or encouragement would be really helpful.
If the spider is not doing me any favors I will clip the leaf they’ve made a home of and toss it into the yard.
The plant is ~7-8 inches tall in a 2 gallon container, mid-Atlantic. Haven’t fertilized but I do have 2-2-2. Should I pinch off the buds? Already around 10+ starting to form