Looking at the surface of the soil tells you nothing. Dig into the soil a bit with your hand and see how moist it is that way.
Use a hand held sprayer to water.
You can mulch the soil with fine bark to conserve moisture.
In regards to the pepper plants, they probably had some transplant shock. They're pretty wimpy plants, so they're probably goners.
Standard Miracle Grow is not suitable for vegetables. The best pre-made stuff I have found is Shultz's liquid tomato food, which contains magnesium, which our soil is lacking in.
Vegetables in general are heavy feeders. A better fertilizing schedule is to fertilize every time you water with just a bit of fertilizer. Get a big watering can, fill it up with water and add a bit.
Hose water is somewhat problematic. It's cold, hard, alkaline and chlorinated. See if you can fill up a garbage can with water and let it warm up and let the chlorine vapourize before applying it.
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