Fortunately, if you notice your peppers are turning black, or dark purple, it’s more often than not a natural process you don’t need to worry about.Peppers that look otherwise healthy but whose skin is turning partially purple or black are safe to eat and this not affect the flavor.A well-known example is the Chinese 5-Color pepper, which starts as a dark purple before turning cream, yellow, orange, and finally red.Sun exposure is not a problem unless your peppers are getting bleached dry spots, that’s damage from too much intense sunlight, called sunscald.In fact, as I’m writing this in early fall, I have a bunch of healthy jalapeno peppers that have turned purple in the past month.Tiny, soft, black dots can be a sign of bacterial spot infection or the peppers rotting from insect bites.Blossom end rot is technically caused by a lack of calcium, which is important in developing fruit.Most cases of blossom end rot are caused by inconsistent watering and your pepper plant constantly wilting from drought. .
Why Are My Peppers Black? (Hint: It's Probably Natural) Pepper Geek
Jalapenos in particular are known to change from green to a dark, almost black color, before turning bright red.This color change is desirable, as a red jalapeno will have more sweetness than an unripe green pepper.Most large pepper varieties will hang down below the plant’s leaves as they grow, and the foliage provides shade.If left alone, exposed peppers can become seriously burned, softening the skin and inviting mold to grow.This is due to the high levels of anthocyanin in the pepper’s skin, causing the pods to turn a deep rich color.The pods will be dark black as they grow and develop, eventually turning a deep red when they are fully ripe.The anthocyanin compounds are activated by light, so the black foliage and fruits will be darkest in full sun.If you are growing bell peppers or other large varieties, you may be dealing with blossom end rot.Affected plants will usually have large, brown to black spots on the blossom end (bottom) of fruits.If rainfall is heavy and sporadic in your area, this may be the cause, so make sure your soil drains well.Thankfully, you can still eat the unaffected parts of a pepper with blossom end rot.Just cut around the dark spot and inspect the inside of the pepper for any mold or other issues before eating.These spots can be caused by the larvae of insects that lay their eggs inside of pepper fruits.If you suspect disease is the culprit, look for uniform spread of the black spots across the whole plant.Thankfully, there are several good reasons that your peppers are changing colors, most likely that they are beginning to ripen. .
vegetables
A lot of peppers naturally turn black as they make the transition from green to orange/red/yellow during the ripening process. .
My Jalapenos Are Turning Black on the Plant
Regular removal of weeds and keeping the garden area clean may also help prevent this condition. .
Black Bell Peppers: Reason To Fear, Or Not?
While buying items through these links won’t increase your cost at all, we may receive a small commission that helps keep this site up and running.We’ve done the legwork to answer the question in our post on black strawberries, so stop by to find out for yourself!Despite the discolored fruit, the plants themselves looked great, so I decided to have a few days of watchful waiting.The blackening is usually in the form of streaks or dark patches, and I’ve noticed that it often happens on the section of the fruit that’s most exposed to the sun.They usually stay green until they reach full size, at which point you’ll notice the color changes beginning to occur.Here’s a photo of one of my peppers in the early stages of developing a totally normal dark patch.The bell pepper plant is a classic warm-weather crop, and it loves temperatures that are steadily higher than 65 degrees Fahrenheit.So if you’re at the end of your growing season and a frost gives your peppers a few dark streaks, just harvest them anyway and enjoy.The best way to determine this is to ensure that your plants and fruits appear healthy, with no diseased foliage or damaged spots on the peppers themselves.Purple Beauty turns green when cooked, so if you want to enjoy the color, eat them raw.It’s not hard to find Purple Beauty seeds or seedlings at nurseries or even big box stores.Purple Beauty turns green when cooked, so if you want to enjoy the color, eat them raw.It’s not hard to find Purple Beauty seeds or seedlings at nurseries or even big box stores.Resistant to viruses and bacteria, this black green pepper tolerates heat and humidity and is ideal for warmer climates.Resistant to viruses and bacteria, this black green pepper tolerates heat and humidity and is ideal for warmer climates.Glossy black on the outside and green on the inside, Bella Noir has a mild, sweet taste.One thing that can make too much sun exposure even worse is the combination of hot and dry weather.According to Michigan State University Extension, this combination can cause bell pepper fruits to grow large very quickly.This potentially puts the fruit beyond the protective shade of the leaf canopy, leaving it exposed to the sun’s full strength.While the black streaks for sun exposure aren’t troublesome on their own, it’s what comes afterward that’s the true concern.If you leave your pepper on the plant to finish ripening, the black area will turn a bleached white color, known as a sunscald spot.Enriching the soil with nutrients in the spring helps promote healthy, full leaf growth that can shade your peppers later on in the season.But the late summer is when sunscald is the greatest danger, and your plants need enough moisture to maintain healthy, shading foliage.So make it a point to give your peppers about 1 inch of water per week to keep them going strong.This large shade cloth is a great option that you can form into a tunnel or tack up over your plants.Garden pests like aphids, hornworms and whiteflies can all damage the foliage on your bell peppers, leaving the fruits exposed.Treat aphids with insecticidal soap (like this one from Safer Brand), remove hornworms by hand and introduce beneficial garden insects (ladybugs in particular) to help control whiteflies.If you notice your bell peppers turning black and the bottom tips are becoming soft, you’re probably dealing with blossom end rot.Blossom end rot can show up at any time during the growing season but it’s most common early on.This service tests for 14 key soil nutrients (including calcium) and you’ll get your results within 48 hours of SoilKit receiving your sample.If your soil tests low for calcium, you can add a supplement to bring your levels back to normal.Cold temperatures may cause an interference early in the growing season, but inconsistent watering is usually the primary culprit.When phosphorous is in short supply, you’ll usually know it by leaves and stems with dark purple, nearly black discoloration.And prune away heavily damaged foliage or stems to allow your plant to direct resources to healthy fruits.Anthracnose is a soil-borne fungus that usually gets a foothold on your bell peppers from soil that’s warm, has poor airflow and stays constantly damp.No matter what fungicide you choose, be careful to follow the package directions exactly as to when to apply and when it’s safe to harvest your peppers after application.While fungicide can be effective for treating current infections, according to North Carolina State Extension, the best way to manage anthracnose is through prevention.This fungus affects leaves and stems first, weakening your plants and leading to yellowing and wilting.Practice good crop rotation, and don’t plant your peppers where you’ve grown tomatoes, eggplant, or gourds within the last 3 years.So you go out to your garden to check on your bell pepper plants, and you notice some of the stems have turned a blackish hue.If the discoloration appears at stem junctures, it’s just a normal part of the maturation process and nothing to worry about.If you spot a black ring encircling your stem, it can be an indicator of Phytophthora blight, like we mentioned earlier.The ring often shows up at the same time as other obviously problematic symptoms, including leaves turning yellow and the plant wilting.If you see symptoms consistent with either Phytophthora blight or fusarium on your peppers, pull and destroy the affected plants and follow the steps for prevention listed above.When it comes to black bell peppers, the good news is that more than likely, it’s nothing to worry about and you can look forward to enjoying a tasty and healthy harvest. .
Why Do Pepper Plant Stems Turn Black?
Tip Pepper plants can have a black stem due to a variety of diseases, including phytophthora, sclerotinia, southern blight and fusarium.Wet, swollen, dark brown or black tissue appears on the stem and may encircle it.If it does, the plant wilts suddenly, without turning yellow, because no water or nutrients are able to move up past the girdling.Symptoms are less common on the leaves, but include the appearance of dark green water-soaked lesions that turn light brown when they dry out.Some cultivars of pepper like Emerald Isle, Paladin and Rainger are resistant to this disease.Avoid overwatering, or watering plants from overhead, in order to keep the leaves as dry as possible.The lesions can completely encircle the stem, causing the plant to wilt and die.White fungal threads grow up the stem surface and leaf petioles may also be infected.Sclerotinia stem rot and Southern blight are difficult to control with chemicals or fumigation.Bag the removed parts in plastic and discard them, along with one or two plants on each side of the infected one. .
