soil Best cheap soil(or mixture) from retail stores for containers?

mattbhm said:
Would you happen to have any idea what the yellowing in pictures 2 and 3 above is? Because another one is starting to yellow too.
 
The 2 leaves pictured fell off over night.
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Let's talk about that after you start feeding them...  Right now, that fish juice will be your plant's best friend.  In my humble opinion, of course...
 
solid7 said:
 
Let's talk about that after you start feeding them...  Right now, that fish juice will be your plant's best friend.  In my humble opinion, of course...
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Trying to pick some up today. Will let you know.
 
solid7 said:
 
Let's talk about that after you start feeding them...  Right now, that fish juice will be your plant's best friend.  In my humble opinion, of course...
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Got Alaska fish. Should I follow instructions and mix 2 tbls per 1 gallon water and water the peppers?
 
Can this stuff "expire"? I was expecting some remnant of fish smell, it smells not great, but it's not strong(not weak, just not like yard strong) and smells sweet and almost rotten. Really not that bad. But not like fish.
 
mattbhm said:
 
Got Alaska fish. Should I follow instructions and mix 2 tbls per 1 gallon water and water the peppers?
 
Can this stuff "expire"? I was expecting some remnant of fish smell, it smells not great, but it's not strong(not weak, just not like yard strong) and smells sweet and almost rotten. Really not that bad. But not like fish.
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It smells like a baby threw up sweet potato into a diaper full of baby shit.  But it just reduces to a slight "dirty aquarium" smell, when applied.
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Yes, follow the instructions, don't be afraid to use liberally.  I like to water it until about 10-20% has run through the container. (that's assuming that your containers are actually wetted, and not just letting fluid pass freely)
 
solid7 said:
 
It smells like a baby threw up sweet potato into a diaper full of baby shit.  But it just reduces to a slight "dirty aquarium" smell, when applied.
.
Yes, follow the instructions, don't be afraid to use liberally.  I like to water it until about 10-20% has run through the container. (that's assuming that your containers are actually wetted, and not just letting fluid pass freely)
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Sounds right.
 
So even though I just got them all wet before planting, I should water with fish until there's 10-20% runoff? I assume that's going to be a lot of water.. I'm going to need bigger than a 1 gal jug and I'm wishing I got more than 2qt fish. Haha.. Will still last a while though.
 
solid7 said:
 
It smells like a baby threw up sweet potato into a diaper full of baby shit.  But it just reduces to a slight "dirty aquarium" smell, when applied.
.
Yes, follow the instructions, don't be afraid to use liberally.  I like to water it until about 10-20% has run through the container. (that's assuming that your containers are actually wetted, and not just letting fluid pass freely)
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Is this just from too much sun after not having much? It's my Walmart plant. I've been very slowly getting him used to sun and he's been in sun for probably 3 hours today.
 
Also, if I cut some of this hay/grass, would that work as mulch? It's in our old goat yard, right under the feeder.
 

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It's not hay, but use what you have.  Heck yeah, it works.  The greener you lay it down, the better it works.
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That plant may show wilt until the new leaves come in. (and even then)  Don't worry too much, just resist the urge to water! (unless it needs it, of course)
 
solid7 said:
It's not hay, but use what you have.  Heck yeah, it works.  The greener you lay it down, the better it works.
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That plant may show wilt until the new leaves come in. (and even then)  Don't worry too much, just resist the urge to water! (unless it needs it, of course)
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Yeah, doesn't look like hay, I guess it's just grass of some kind that got really happy with goat "manure". It is where they spent most of their days. Lol.
 
Yeah, I want to water but the dirt is still obviously wet. The sun just moved off of them(still getting them all used to it, not 10-12 sun days yet) and we'll see what he looks like in a while. The rest are looking good.
 
solid7 said:
It's not hay, but use what you have.  Heck yeah, it works.  The greener you lay it down, the better it works.
.
That plant may show wilt until the new leaves come in. (and even then)  Don't worry too much, just resist the urge to water! (unless it needs it, of course)
Click to expand...
 

Hello! I'm back. :)
 
The wilty one is now very green and perky. As are all of them. The dirt has sunk down below the root line so I'm adding more tomorrow, mulching with the grass, and fish juicing them.
 
The ones with peppers are having more peppers.. They're like less than 10 inches tall but one has 5 peppers! I don't know if that's not so great.
 
And what about pesticides? I have seven dust and some miracle grow organic pesticide. Nothing strong at all. What do you recommend? I haven't used anything. They have holes in some of their leaves and they look like bugs. Also, a lot of the new leaves on 2 of them are curling up at the tip?
 
I'm the wrong guy to ask about pesticides...  I wouldn't use any of the things you've listed.  That's just me.  I'd stick to Neem, maybe Azamax, in a pinch.  But first, I'd manually check the plants.  Probably not the way most around here would handle it.
 
solid7 said:
Post pics of your plants and new leaves.
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I will post pictures as soon as it stops raining. As for pesticides, on closer inspection, it's leaf hoppers and spiders. I was told the spiders are just going to eat the leaf hoppers and and if I see any more leaf hoppers, just flick them off. So no pesticides for now. Will get pics ASAP though.
 
Sounds like you're off to a good start.  You'll want to fish fert them, as soon as feasible. If they're already waterlogged from the rain, you might want to consider a strong dilution, but with less water.  And then leave them alone until the need it again.
 
solid7 said:
Sounds like you're off to a good start.  You'll want to fish fert them, as soon as feasible. If they're already waterlogged from the rain, you might want to consider a strong dilution, but with less water.  And then leave them alone until the need it again.
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Thanks! Pictures:
 

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All in all, those plants look nice.  Try to just keep your watering and feeding right, don't get too lovey or twitchy, and those plants will bring you much happiness.  If something doesn't look right, and you have doubts, bring your questions to the forum, before you make any snap decisions.  But really good start.
 
That mix looks nice, by the way.  I'd still put a layer of hay down on top. :)
 
I've become cautious about using Seven Dust when the plant is already producing fruit/pods.

I'm not familiar with the MG Organic Pesticide, but the Seven Dust is supposed to have a waiting period before you can harvest the pods after application (according to their own directions). It makes me very reluctant to use Seven Dust whenever the plants are fruiting.

It's inconvenient if the pods get ripe during the waiting period. And it creeps me out to put something on my food that's bad for me if I consume it before some arbitrary waiting period elapses.
 
there is some great info in this thread for noobies like me. right now i`m using MG potting soil mixed with Black Cow compost and while getting good results with this mix i could do better with the recommendations in this thread. in another thread someone said don`t "love" your plants too much meaning don`t overfertilize/overwater your plants. just let nature do it`s thing. pepper plants are durable. a month ago here in Connecticut we had 4 tornadoes touch down. the town just north of me took a direct hit and we got hit with a "macroburst". we had a wooden swingset in our yard that was destroyed and the next yard over had a trampoline end up a few houses away. my pepper plants were bent over 90 degrees but they all bounced back with no permanent damage. my plants are all potted and doing good but i will adjust my mix for next year`s grow with the info in this thread. thank you solid7 for your input!    
 
Watch for Eco Scraps potting mix to go on sale. Its normally kinda pricey at around $9 a bag but ive seen it drop to around $5 a bag during sales. Its a compost, coco and perlite potting mix but it could use some additional perlite or even pine fines.
 
https://www.ecoscraps.com/products/natural-organic-moisture-retaining-potting-mix
https://www.lowes.com/pd/EcoScraps-32-Quart-Container-Mix/999990018
 
Check and see if you have any local composting places. Mine has some ok mixes by the bag or cubic yard. I picked up a couple bags to test out this year for $6/2cft. Sofar i really like other than it drains super fast. The plants seem to love it though. Around here its pretty much impossible to beat $3/cft for a potting mix and this one has no peat or perlite in it.
 
Menards usually has Pro-Mix all purpose for $14 per 2cft compressed bale. I got a couple on sale for $12 each. Some Lowes and HomeDepot carry it too i think. Its not bad but does not drain nearly as well as the HP does.
 
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