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Putting Nutrition and Taste into our Peppers

MadDog

MadDog

We toil and grow our own, but just because our pods look amazing, does that mean they are actually healthy? I mean nutrition wise. We've all eaten store bought huge glorious looking tomatoes that are tasteless, so looks can be deceiving. The department of agriculture has done studies over several decades that confirm our soil/produce is diminishing in nutrient levels. What if we could make our peppers both taste better AND be more nutritious?
 
I container grow and reuse the soil each year, I add some Espoma Organic garden lime (pelletized dolomite limestone) and some dry organic fertilizer and kick it off. Throughout the season I rotate using Neptune's Harvest Fish & Seaweed Blend, Epsom Salts, and Dr Earth Home Grown Tomato Vegetable and Herb Fertilizer (good source of calcium). All have performed exceedingly well.
 
I got to thinking the other day about how I'd really like to somehow "recharge" this soil each year with some kind of amendment that has "everything" nutrition wise that the body needs. I came across this the other day and have just started using it. I couldn't find any mention of it on here so I thought I would post some info for anyone interested...
 
This is SEA-90 Sea Mineral Solids, which is just dehydrated sea salt from the Sea of Cortez, it's analyzed for purity and safety. It contains nearly all of the minerals and trace elements and can be used as a soil amendment, root drench, foliar spray, compost additive and tea. There is instructions for all uses and the reviews I've read on this stuff are wildly positive. It can be mixed with fish/humate liquid fertilizer to adjust the PH as well (see bottom right).
 
If you buy direct (I did) they have a special where you can order their gourmet sea salt along with the fertilizer for cheaper than what you can get just the fertilizer on Amazon. Their salt tastes amazing too, better than any other kind I've ever tried.
 
 
 
Sorry about sounding like a paid advertisement but I assure you it isn't. I tend to get a little too excited when I finally find something I'm looking for AND it is an exceptional product too. I paid for the product, not the other way around, and also "pitched" Espoma's, Dr Earth, and Neptune's, all of which I will continue using as well. I like Jobe's too, but I'd like to get away from the chicken sh*t used in Espoma's and Jobe's products which is partially what has led me on this quest.

As far as "salting" your plants, this is a common (and valid) concern, but this isn't pure sodium and of course it has to be used properly. It has nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, sulphur, and just about every other mineral and trace element. A lot of us already use Epsom salts with profound effects, this is even better, think "Epsom Salt 2.0".

Don't trust it (or me)? Then don't buy it. I'm just throwing it out there for the open minded. Do your own research and critical thinking (I do). There are enough old farmers out there using it and praising it for me to latch on to it. But I'm sure their collective experience, knowledge, and wisdom pales in comparison to your opinion (just sayin).
 
     Calling it "epsom salt 2.0" is kind of a stretch. Sea salt and MgSO4 are completely different things. Sure it's not pure sodium, sea salt is mostly NaCl. Which is not good for plants. What are you proposing is the benefit of adding NaCl to your garden. Everything I have read (lots) overwhelmingly supports the idea that it will only get in the way of plants' ability to absorb water and nutrients from the soil. 
     I do plenty of critical thinking, btw. In fact, that's what I'm doing here. Salt buildup in soil is a real concern backed up by scientific evidence. I have never heard or read anything stating that applying NaCl to a garden or cropland is a good idea. Even if they removed the NaCl from the other minerals in the dried salt, this still smacks of some kind of a gimmick.
 
 
 
edit: Also, the fertilizers I use contain N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S.... as well. Only mine don't contain NaCl. Is the NaCl supposed to make veggies taste better or something? I'm just not understanding the benefit of this product.  :think:
 
I've already over a week ago root drenched my airpot/standard containers and given my self watering containers plenty of it and they are loving it. As soon as temps here get below this heat wave I'll be frequently showering the crap out of them with this stuff.
 
This company didn't come up with this on their own, they are commercializing research done by Dr Maynard Murray, MD. They have several competitors, one that actually goes as far as removing the NaCl because of your same concerns.
 
Murray was growing hydro in the 1930's and spent decades doing research and controlled studies on sea mineral solids on both plants and animals. He applied as much as 3000 pounds per acre of this "salt" with no detrimental effects. Both the plants and the animals were healthier than the control groups and the food tasted better.
 
Here's an excerpt from his 1976 book Sea Energy Agriculture...
 
"But in the presence of the other elements found in seawater, sodium and chlorine are not toxic to plants. Actually, salt may be necessary for the absorption of the heavier elements. It is known that a saline solution will pick up a greater quantity and variety of elements than ordinary water solution."
 
This man was growing hydro I'd wager before any of us were even born!
 
edit: Hybrid Mode 01, sorry I didn't see your edit before responding, it isn't the salt that is providing the benefit, it is the combination of all of the minerals and trace elements that are providing the benefit, and for reasons above my pay grade, the salt doesn't seem to exhibit it's normally detrimental effects. His experiments indicated increased yields, increased pest resistance, better taste, and increased levels of all of these beneficial nutrients. Others have verified significantly increased brix levels after using SEA-90.
 
I'd like to start this post by saying I'm a skeptic of all the wide eyed claims on the internet and I approached this the same way.
 
MadDog said:
Sorry about sounding like a paid advertisement but I assure you it isn't. I tend to get a little too excited when I finally find something I'm looking for AND it is an exceptional product too. I paid for the product, not the other way around, and also "pitched" Espoma's, Dr Earth, and Neptune's, all of which I will continue using as well. I like Jobe's too, but I'd like to get away from the chicken sh*t used in Espoma's and Jobe's products which is partially what has led me on this quest.

As far as "salting" your plants, this is a common (and valid) concern, but this isn't pure sodium and of course it has to be used properly. It has nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, sulphur, and just about every other mineral and trace element. A lot of us already use Epsom salts with profound effects, this is even better, think "Epsom Salt 2.0".

Don't trust it (or me)? Then don't buy it. I'm just throwing it out there for the open minded. Do your own research and critical thinking (I do). There are enough old farmers out there using it and praising it for me to latch on to it. But I'm sure their collective experience, knowledge, and wisdom pales in comparison to your opinion (just sayin).
Click to expand...
 
Spent quite a bit of time looking for N-P-K ratio especially their SEA-90 Fertilizer - Dr. Maynard Murray's Sea Solids Full Spectrum Ocean Minerals and Trace Elements     http://seaagri.com/fertilizer.htm....Nada. After more looking the only thing I could find was at this link.> http://seaagri.com/docs/popcorn_test_results.pdf.
 
Is it on the bag?
 
Neel said:
 How does being a doctor of medicine contribute to ones ability to grow produce?
Click to expand...
 
You're not asking the right question, not just grow produce, but grow MORE NUTRITIONAL AND FLAVORFUL produce. He was a successful physician and had a strong belief that modern farming had led to the reduction in nutritional quality of our produce, animals, and ourselves. This in turn he believed was the reason behind the high incidence of degenerative disease in modern developed countries. He was a highly educated man in medical science and research, and used this knowledge to conduct exhaustive controlled trials and experiments which did indeed bear out his theory. He was passionate about science and nutrition which in turn led to a passion for agriculture. This is how being a doctor of medicine contributed. It is also important to note that this man wasn't in need of or looking for a way to make a quick buck, he had lots of money and funded lots of experiments.
 
The_NorthEast_ChileMan said:
I'd like to start this post by saying I'm a skeptic of all the wide eyed claims on the internet and I approached this the same way.
 
 
Spent quite a bit of time looking for N-P-K ratio especially their SEA-90 Fertilizer - Dr. Maynard Murray's Sea Solids Full Spectrum Ocean Minerals and Trace Elements     http://seaagri.com/fertilizer.htm....Nada. After more looking the only thing I could find was at this link.> http://seaagri.com/docs/popcorn_test_results.pdf.
 
Is it on the bag?
Click to expand...
 
Yes it does...     N 0.05%     P 0.01%     K 1%     and on their site is the detailed composition at 3.5% salinity, you can use this calculator to convert ppm to percent.
 
Don't get hung up on these low numbers, they work in conjunction with all of the other minerals and trace elements to form a BALANCED nutrition for the plant.
 
Here's an excellent 1 page cliff notes... https://sites.google.com/site/growyourowngreens//reviews
 
Here's his book... https://www.amazon.com/Sea-Energy-Agriculture-Maynard-Murray/dp/091131170X
 
Here are excerpts from his book... https://ratical.org/ratville/SEA.html
 
MadDog said:
 
grow MORE NUTRITIONAL AND FLAVORFUL produce. 
Click to expand...
The nutritional values have been tested? Would like to see some sources. Preferably not from the seaagri site or amazon reviews
 
Understood, there are links on their research page to university and other published studies. For the more paranoid (like me) you could try to find them direct. I haven't found anyone trying to debunk anything Murray published. Most of his research was conducted by farmer friends that agreed to trials and you have to remember that this was going on a long time ago before the intertubes. The studies I've looked at have shown increases in mineral content. Plants use these minerals to produce vitamins. So it is logical that if you increase the mineral density, you will increase the vitamin density. Also, plants add carbon to these minerals which is essential for a human to be able to safely assimilate the minerals in a useable form. Also of note is on their site is a study of taste in tomatoes where in one study the group found them tastier and another group did not, so they're at least honest enough to include this information on their site if that says anything... http://www.seaagri.com/docs/rutgers_published_study.pdf
 
Most of what I've found have been reviews from people using refractometers to measure brix, which I realize is not the peer reviewed literature you're wanting.
 
Scoville DeVille said:
Sea Salt is NaCI (sodium chloride)
 
Epsom salt is MgSO4 (a chemical compound)
 
My 2¢
Click to expand...
 
Yes, it's perhaps a poor analogy as Hybrid Mode 01 has justly already pointed out. I was merely trying to make the point that it is Epsom "Salt" and many people use it happily and swear by it (as do I). Many others say NEVER put Epsom salts on your plants, or you will kill them. Yes yes, and the sky is falling.
 
I've already stated above... "Don't trust it (or me)? Then don't buy it."
 
And actually Sea Salt is ALL of the elements and trace minerals, not NaCl. It is Na 28% and Cl 49.8%.
 
 
Edit - Don't really mean to sound so combative on this and appreciate the words of caution. I'll happily be the guinea pig here as I enjoy learning more than anything. I'm just looking for a way to put "good" stuff into my pods and later my belly. I'm all in and I've already applied to all of my plants (so let's hope you're wrong). In hindsight probably should have done a test run but I like living on the edge. For those willing to swallow the red pill with me, you could get a small bag for $5 and test. 
 
I'm fairly new around these parts, but this post does kind of scream of 'advertisement'.   The only thing being fed here is the trolls.   :party:
 
MadDog said:
 
You're not asking the right question, not just grow produce, but grow MORE NUTRITIONAL AND FLAVORFUL produce. He was a successful physician and had a strong belief that modern farming had led to the reduction in nutritional quality of our produce, animals, and ourselves. This in turn he believed was the reason behind the high incidence of degenerative disease in modern developed countries. He was a highly educated man in medical science and research, and used this knowledge to conduct exhaustive controlled trials and experiments which did indeed bear out his theory. He was passionate about science and nutrition which in turn led to a passion for agriculture. This is how being a doctor of medicine contributed. It is also important to note that this man wasn't in need of or looking for a way to make a quick buck, he had lots of money and funded lots of experiments.
 
 
Yes it does...     N 0.05%     P 0.01%     K 1%     and on their site is the detailed composition at 3.5% salinity, you can use this calculator to convert ppm to percent.
 
Don't get hung up on these low numbers, they work in conjunction with all of the other minerals and trace elements to form a BALANCED nutrition for the plant.
 
Here's an excellent 1 page cliff notes... https://sites.google.com/site/growyourowngreens//reviews
 
Here's his book... https://www.amazon.com/Sea-Energy-Agriculture-Maynard-Murray/dp/091131170X
 
Here are excerpts from his book... https://ratical.org/ratville/SEA.html
Click to expand...
 
Those are the composition of sea water at 3.5%. How difficult is it to test the actual stuff he's selling, and let us know that? Sounds as if someone was in too much of a hurry to do proper analysis on their product, and went by someone else's homework.
 
I guarantee that if this stuff was all that back in the 30s, it would've been all that for the past 80 years.
 
hotjohn said:
I'm fairly new around these parts, but this post does kind of scream of 'advertisement'.   The only thing being fed here is the trolls.   :party:
Click to expand...
 
hotjohn, for the third time... "Then don't buy it". Does that sound advertisey enough for ya? If you had actually read the thread you'd already know I've addressed that. I've nothing to sell, I'm interested in how to increase nutrient density and flavor. Found this addendum to be interesting and wanted to share. Ever notice it's always the trolls that pop in and start slinging the "T" word?
 
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