soil Beginner questions about soil amendments

Greetings all!

I'm a first time grower from Kentucky (Zone 6) and I have some LIVE pepper plants arriving in early April.  Bhut Jolokias from ghostpepperfarms.com, as well as Carolina Reapers and Chocolate Bhutlahs from crazyhotseeds.com.  I'm expecting these plants to be around 4-7" tall when they arrive and they'll be grown in 5 gallon buckets with ample drainage holes drilled in the bottom.  I've been researching growing mediums for potted peppers for several weeks now (thanks to the boundless knowledge of THP as well as other sources) and I think I finally have the medium figured out.

I've read "All About Soil" http://thehotpepper.com/topic/10245-all-about-soil-a-great-resource-i-thought-i-would-share/as well as "Growing Hot Peppers Guide" http://thehotpepper.com/topic/46361-growing-hot-peppers-guide-faq/ front to back, plus a ton more research elsewhere and googling, but I still have several questions I would like experienced opinions on.


Medium (no Miracle-Gro products ):
Black Gold Potting soil, which is
    1 part potting soil
    1 part peat
1 part vermiculite
1 part compost (bagged/pre-made)

Ratios will be adjusted as needed to keep good aeration.  I want to keep it fairly simple and I feel more comfortable using soil of some kind as opposed to a soil-less mix.  Only because I have no experience with soil-less.

#1  pH level:  Based on that ratio of medium components, will my pH level be good?  What can I raise/lower it with if necessary?

#2  Any need for bonemeal?  Should I mix it with the medium from the beginning?  Can I add it in later without repotting?

#3  Any need for bloodmeal?  Should I mix it with the medium from the beginning?  Can I add it in later without repotting?

#4  Any need for potash?  Should I mix it with the medium from the beginning?  Can I add it in later without repotting?

#5  Any need for Epsom Salt/ Magnesium Sulfate?  Should I mix it with the medium from the beginning?  Can I add it in later without repotting?

#6  Should I top the buckets with mulch?  Should I do it with my 4-7" plants or wait until they've grown a bit?  How much distance from the lowest leaves?

#7  Should I have a layer of gravel/lava rock in the bottom of the buckets?  If my medium is aerated enough will it matter? (Buckets will be raised off the ground a few inches so any drainage should flow right out)

#8  I plan to fertilize with fish emulsion.  Between that and the compost in the medium will that be enough for fertilization?

#9  Any other suggestions, put 'em here.  If you think I'm an idiot and I'm in over my head, put that here too, I'd believe you

Sorry there's so many questions, just answer what you can, please.  I'd really appreciate it!  Thanks in advance!
I can feel this turning into an addiction already...

Your mix looks fine.You could add some sheep or chicken pellets plus a few handfulls of dolomite lime and be good.
Forget the layer of gravel on the bottom and you can top with mulch but I never do.if your plants need Magnesium just folior spray with epsom salts dont add to the soil.

Mulch em, esp if they will be outside. Mulch helps with water retention, prevents weeds, and does many more beneficial things

When I mixed a very similar batch I read that the proper dose of lime is 1tbsn for every gallon of soil.  There is about 10.5-11 gallons in a cubic foot as measured with a 5 gallon bucket.  Also, I mixed a shit ton of soil, so trust me on this one.  It makes life so much easier to throw down a thick 9'x9' tarp and do your mixing on top.  You can lift up the sides and corners to help throw the mix around.  I still have about 5 cf left of my mix, and I just wrap it up with the tarp to keep the rain and leaves out until I need it.

Black Gold is one of my two favorite common bagged soils. Its great right out of the bag and needs nothing for young plants. I wouldn't go adding a bunch of stuff and makeing it hot for young plants. About a cup of bone meal per 1.5 cu ft bag mixed in well is all I would add. I wouldn't worry about the ph of your soil since you are in pots (unless you've added a bunch of stuff), consider rather the ph of the water when watering. Being new to the addiction my advice would be follow the K.I.S.S. formula (keep it simple stupid) not meant as a insult, its just something we say around here. Quite often plants are killed by to much love and attention.

hogleg said:

Being new to the addiction my advice would be follow the K.I.S.S. formula (keep it simple stupid) not meant as a insult, its just something we say around here. Quite often plants are killed by to much love and attention.

Click to expand...

 
Especially too much water. Found that out the hard way my first time

potash when they are flowering , i hit them hard with potash / potassium then .   

questions 2, 3, 4, 5 and 8.
 
If you want to add ferts into the mix (which I would), then I think you should add an all-in-one slow release fert.
e.g. dont go adding in some potash, urea, magnesium etc by themselves.. it will be too hard to get the amount of each right, and you will still be missing other vital trace elements.
I guess a bit of blood & bone meal would be ok though..
 
I would suggest using the other things (potash & magnesium) as required and not into the base mix. 
 
Fish ferts are quite good but I would look at something stronger for when the plants are a bit bigger, although you would probably be just fine top dressing with some potash, and blood & bone when required in addition to your fish ferts.

Many thanks for the answers guys.  Looks like I'll be off to a good start.

So I settled on the Black Gold potting mix (half soil, half peat with some perlite and earthworm castings), vermiculite, and compost mixture I said in my first post and im really happy with it.

Ive only received the Reaper and Chocolate Bhutlah plants so far but theyve come out of shock nicely and started leafing up agressively in the last week under a pair of CFL grow lights indoors. Day and nighttime temps are still not high enough to put them outdoors yet except maybe 2 days this month. Still waiting on the Bhut Jolokias I ordered around the same time.

I couldn't help myself while waiting so I went ahead and ordered even more plants from Piedmont Chocolate Moruga Scorpion, 7 pot Brain Strain, type 37 Aleppo, and a Mucho Nacho jalapeno. Almost enough to fill up my little back patio.

We'll see how it goes!

This mix is definitely working out well.  I'm up to 13 5-gal buckets of this mix and everything I've put in it is thriving.  Even with all the plants outside now in 80+ degree day weather I don't have to water for about a week.  Drains fast but still captures moisture water like a champ. 
 
Here's one thing I did learn about potting up a mix that I didn't consider the first time around.  I measured the correct amounts of peat, soil, compost, and vermiculite by filling all of it directly into the 5-gallon bucket in layers to get the correct total volume, then dumped it all into a 10-gallon plastic trough to mix it all up by hand.  So of course when I poured the mix back into the 5-gal buckets it was still exactly the right volume to fill the bucket completely, BUT the first time I watered the plant I put in it, the whole mix sank/compacted a couple inches as it drained, no longer as high up in the bucket as I want it to be.  Not the end of the world having the dirt line 2-3 inches below the top of the bucket, but very early morning and very late evening sun casts a long sideways shadow on the bottom few inches of the plant where I want new lower foliage on some plants to develop quickly.
 
Lesson learned - fill with mix to correct height, saturate with water, wait a day for it to sink, fill back up to correct level, THEN plant.  Will still sink a little, but an inconsequential amount as far as I care.

Great observation. I usually fill half the pot/bucket and water that a bit, then add the rest of the mix and water again. This helps ensure a thoroughly wet mix without having to absolutely drench the soil. I will typically use my hand to mix the soil for even wetness before planting. Sometimes this soil has a tendency to be hydrophobic before it gets used to being watered.