Pepper Plants

[LV426]

So I've just moved to a place I can have a garden this year and I set one up in my backyard. So far everything has been fine but in the last 2 weeks or so I've noticed that my pepper plants are slowly turning black. It started in the fork areas and now is spreading up the branches of the peppers plants. Even some of the fruit have the black spreading over them although when I plucked one and opened it up it was all green inside and looked fine. I have Italian Sweet Peppers and Banana Peppers. Is this normal?

[Newt]

Hi LV,

Congratulations on your new home!* Unfortunately it sounds like your peppers have phytophthora blight.* It often starts at the soil line, but can start at other places on the stem when a plant gets it and is older.* Take a look at these sites and pics.* Not all the sites have all the info or the best pics and that's why I've included more then one.
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/3000/3116.html
http://plantpathology.tamu.edu/Texla...eppers/ppb.htm
http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.corne...toph.htm#Click

Newt