I’m down to 3 4 healthy pepper specimens in the herb garden: two Jupiter bells, 1 Thai chili, and 1 habanero.
One pepper, a Jupiter bell, that recently became infected is looking much worse off than all the others. The hunny suggested we try the hydrogen peroxide method. I’m a bit hesitant we use H202, but the more I observe the damage, the more it seems likely that a fungus is indeed attacking the roots. After reading about positive results in a Gardenweb forum thread, I’m ready to take the challenge. The worst I can do is lose 4 plants, which seems unavoidable at this moment. The same forum thread references a very useful chart for mixing hydrogen peroxide with water.
I might also consider washing down the ornamental peppers with the same solution.
Update: it looks like the Bayer Advanced 3-in-1 Insect, Disease & Mite Control ready-to-use spray is at fault here. Maybe I should have read the fine print. In any case, this means the peppers are most likely inedible, even though they may be coaxed back to life. Which means they’re headed for the compost pile. Whenever I get one.
I hope the Ortho Elemental Insecticidal Soap spray I currently use is less dangerous on vegetables (unless it was a combination of the Bayer and Ortho sprays that killed the peppers). I’ve been using it on the hostas, though maybe companion plantings of slug-repellent herbs would be the more practical solution.