Something has been eating the leaves, but the plant is doing really well! This came from a seed from a pepper from the store - it was labeled as either an “ancient” or a “twisty” pepper.
This is the biggest pepper on the biggest plant and is around 6 inches long! (all I had with me for scale was my hand, but later remembered that none of you know how big my hand is 😋) It’s in one of the half-barrel sized planters with another of the same kind, and 2 tabasco pepper plants.
If you don’t want critters eating your veggies, you have to set up a fence around your garden.
Or just grow enough strawberries as tribute, apparently…
It does help to live in the middle of a fertile forest, with lots to eat. But I still have no chance of getting strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, or currants for myself without a fence. Even with raspberries and blackberries growing everywhere wild, they’ll still eat all mine.
Take it as a compliment.
You grew berries the wildlife preferred. You beat nature. Look at those wild berries and shame them, for they will never be as delicious and their seeds will not be spread.
Looks like #4 on this site: https://greatist.com/eat/cayenne-habanero-poblano-serrano-know-your-chile-peppers#basque-fryer the damage to the leaves looks like snails. If you put a ring of crinkly tinfoil at the base of the plant it might deter them.
