That "40% to dead in 10 seconds" part made me laugh because my own cable is held together with hope and electrical tape right now. Guess I'm playing chicken with my phone every time I plug it in.

Ever try a pencil eraser on the tape heads? Fixed mine.

My peppers did the same thing last year when I moved them from 10 inch pots into a 24 inch planter I found on the curb in Astoria. I always figured bell peppers just stayed small on a balcony, but the roots had room to spread and the fruit got twice as big, even the ones near the bottom. The fancy self watering pots never did that for me, it was really just more dirt under them. Sorry you lost three seasons to those tiny ones, that stinks.