fertilizer How much of this fertilizer to use?

D

dragon49

I just bought a 3 pound bag of Worm Power All Purpose Plant food - 1.5 0.7 1.5 - Derived from earthwork castings.
 
I normally mix fertilizer in a 1 Gallon plastic Watering container, but don't know how much of this to mix in.  I plan on using it to feed my Chocolate Bhut which resides in a 5 gallon paint bucket.  I'll post a pic at the end of this post.  The plant has gotten quite big without any fertilizer, but the flower's aren't opening up, so I think it is time fro some nutes.  I usually get into trouble by over-fertilizing indoor plants, so I thought I'd be taking it easy with this stuff.  
 
Here are the directions on the bag for "Light Feeding Vegetables," - Peppers are on the list.
 

 
My question is:
 
How much of this do I dissolve in a gallon of water?
 
Thanks
 
Here is the plant:
 
 
 
 
RedtailForester said:
HOLY CHIT!!!!!!!! What the heck have you been feeding that monster already!?!?!?!
Click to expand...
 
Wow, no joke! Will not be posting any pictures of mine in here  :shocked:  Thing is looking pretty healthy already! 
 
Are you using super soil? That s a well fed plant for not ever having nutes given. I wouldn't give any nutes as it looks pretty healthy and not showing me any deficiencies. You may consider giving your plant some Epsom salt which has magnesium and sulfer which help kick in your blooming.

I tablespoon per gallon of water. Soil drench and foliar spray.

Looking good!!!
 
Guys,
 
Thanks for all of the compliments.
 
 
It's just sitting in ordinary potting soil and getting a Gallon of tap water around once a week now (less often and a little less water when it was cooler and the plant was smaller)
 
Maybe I can go a little longer without fertilizer, but I would like to know how much of this to dissolve in the gallon container of water.
 
I'm worried that it won't produce any Peppers without fertilizer and a not sure if it is growing at the right pace.  It is starting to flower, but the flowers aren't opening up.  This is what it looked like on April 10th -  47 days ago:
 

 
I have to keep moving the lights higher because it is getting taller.
 
Should I just keep watering it without any nutrients and see what happens?  If the answer is yes, then I still would like to know how to properly mix the fertilizer that I purchased.
 
Thanks
 
moruga welder said:
nice looking plant ! but just curious what do you ( have ) consider ordinary potting soil ? would like to get me some of that soil !     :onfire:
Click to expand...
Ground Rules Potting Soil:
 
This product is regionally formulated from organic materials (derived from aged forest products), sphagnum peat moss and perlite. 
 
VERY NICE plant there!
 
Keep in mind that just because you aren't adding nutes on your own doesn't mean the plant's not getting any. Potting mixes usually come with fertilizers built in. Those fertilizers get depleted over time, so generally it's good to give them fresh soil every 6 months. How fresh is the soil? You might be having trouble with feeding your plants because of the built-in amount - even though a package says it's got 'x' fertilizer, sometimes they mix funny and there's more. The question is whether the fertilizer built into the potting mix has the appropriate nutrients for the stage the plant is in, as well as the type of plant. It doesn't hurt to supplement the fertilizer in potting soil, but know that usually you have to do so at a lesser amount than recommended by the fertilizer manufacturer. I'd suggest taking it slowly, experimenting a bit to see what results you get. The instructions on the bag might or might not be good given your potting soil. Maybe try 1/2 tsp per gallon of water to start with, then if the plant is tolerating that well go to 1 tsp/gallon. If all goes well, keep going up until the plant shows signs of stress then back off a tad.
 
meinchoh said:
.....what's in your tap water???
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could of used that water 30 years ago ! lmao sry !     :onfire:
geeme said:
VERY NICE plant there!
 
Keep in mind that just because you aren't adding nutes on your own doesn't mean the plant's not getting any. Potting mixes usually come with fertilizers built in. Those fertilizers get depleted over time, so generally it's good to give them fresh soil every 6 months. How fresh is the soil? You might be having trouble with feeding your plants because of the built-in amount - even though a package says it's got 'x' fertilizer, sometimes they mix funny and there's more. The question is whether the fertilizer built into the potting mix has the appropriate nutrients for the stage the plant is in, as well as the type of plant. It doesn't hurt to supplement the fertilizer in potting soil, but know that usually you have to do so at a lesser amount than recommended by the fertilizer manufacturer. I'd suggest taking it slowly, experimenting a bit to see what results you get. The instructions on the bag might or might not be good given your potting soil. Maybe try 1/2 tsp per gallon of water to start with, then if the plant is tolerating that well go to 1 tsp/gallon. If all goes well, keep going up until the plant shows signs of stress then back off a tad.
Click to expand...
kinda wondered that myself , thats why i was curious as to what the soil is . gotta be something in it  . maybe not , gotta check it out . get me some !         :onfire:
 
moruga welder said:
could of used that water 30 years ago ! lmao sry !     :onfire:

kinda wondered that myself , thats why i was curious as to what the soil is . gotta be something in it  . maybe not , gotta check it out . get me some !         :onfire:
Click to expand...
 
 
meinchoh said:
.....what's in your tap water???
Click to expand...
 
geeme said:
VERY NICE plant there!
 
Keep in mind that just because you aren't adding nutes on your own doesn't mean the plant's not getting any. Potting mixes usually come with fertilizers built in. Those fertilizers get depleted over time, so generally it's good to give them fresh soil every 6 months. How fresh is the soil? You might be having trouble with feeding your plants because of the built-in amount - even though a package says it's got 'x' fertilizer, sometimes they mix funny and there's more. The question is whether the fertilizer built into the potting mix has the appropriate nutrients for the stage the plant is in, as well as the type of plant. It doesn't hurt to supplement the fertilizer in potting soil, but know that usually you have to do so at a lesser amount than recommended by the fertilizer manufacturer. I'd suggest taking it slowly, experimenting a bit to see what results you get. The instructions on the bag might or might not be good given your potting soil. Maybe try 1/2 tsp per gallon of water to start with, then if the plant is tolerating that well go to 1 tsp/gallon. If all goes well, keep going up until the plant shows signs of stress then back off a tad.
Click to expand...
 
To re-post, the label on the bag of soil that I picked up at my local nursery reads:
 
Ground Rules Potting Soil:
 
This product is regionally formulated from organic materials (derived from aged forest products), sphagnum peat moss and perlite. 
 
 
I transplanted the plant into the bucket with new soil on April 10th, so the soil isn't even 2 months old.
 
NYC tap water is the best water in the world:
 

NYC's surface water comes from a network of 19 reservoirs and three "controlled" lakes in a nearly 2,000 square-mile watershed, about the same size as Delaware.
The NYC Water Supply System is made up of three individual water supplies: the Catskill/Delaware supply,  the Croton supply and a groundwater supply system in southeastern Queens.
The Department of Environmental Protection disinfects its water with chlorine and ultraviolet (UV) light.
DEP also treats the water with food grade phosphoric acid and sodium hydroxide.
 
DEP has been treating its water with flouride since 1966, for "consumer dental health protection." On Feb. 14, 2012, after receiving authorization from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, DEP reduced the target dosage.
 
The only problem with the water is the aging pipe delivery system, which is why the water is treated.
 
Geeme,
 
You know my history of ruining indoor plants by over-fertilizing, which is why I want to do this the right way.  I probably started this in a small clay pot in late February or early March and didn't fertilize it then either.  This is the longest I've ever held out without adding anything except water to the soil.  I am fine with the continued growth and height and am happy with the flower's, but none of them are opening up, which is why I thought it may be time to start giving it some supplements.  I'm going to give it at least 1 more plain watering before considering adding some of the Worm Power, or maybe just some Epsom Salt.
 
 
If this is truly based on worm castings, it isnt going to burn your plant by adding some at this point...
Do you top water or bottom water?
If you top water I would add a healthy bit of this as a top layer and go from there.
If you bottom water I would pull the root ball out and mix it into the soil that isnt bound to the root mass (and put the root ball back in on top)
 
JUST MY 2 CENTS!
 
pepper_rancher said:
If this is truly based on worm castings, it isnt going to burn your plant by adding some at this point...
Do you top water or bottom water?
If you top water I would add a healthy bit of this as a top layer and go from there.
If you bottom water I would pull the root ball out and mix it into the soil that isnt bound to the root mass (and put the root ball back in on top)
 
JUST MY 2 CENTS!
Click to expand...
I top water, but there are holes in the bottom of the bucket and the water drains out, so I imagine it gets all the way through.  I guess your plan to add a bunch of this to the top of the soil would cause it to to travel downward when I water it.
 
Is that a Yellow Fatalli in your avatar?
 
I looked it up and this stuff is OMRI approved worm castings so pepper_rancher is right. It's not going to hurt your plants at all and will just improve your soil quality over time. Just apply a decent later (couple cups maybe) as a top dressing.. Or you could brew tea with it also.
 
dragon49 said:
...

Is that a Yellow Fatalli in your avatar?
Click to expand...
 
Well... its kind of a long story but...
According to Cross Country Nursery it is a yellow ghost pepper.  After seeing yellow pods on my "red" ghost pepper, I complained to CCN, they consulted NMSU Chile Pepper Institute who they had purchased the seeds from, and the Chile Pepper Institute declared that these are in fact ghost peppers.
That or they very elaborately lied to cover up a mis-shipment, but they offered me a refund anyway, so im not sure why they would go through the trouble... :confused:
 
I would agree that there's no harm in feeding it, although you do run the risk of having it explode in growth to the point of consuming your home and blocking your exits.  ;)
 
I've found top dressing the soil to be easy and effective when using something similar to that.
 
pepper_rancher said:
 
Well... its kind of a long story but...
According to Cross Country Nursery it is a yellow ghost pepper.  After seeing yellow pods on my "red" ghost pepper, I complained to CCN, they consulted NMSU Chile Pepper Institute who they had purchased the seeds from, and the Chile Pepper Institute declared that these are in fact ghost peppers.
That or they very elaborately lied to cover up a mis-shipment, but they offered me a refund anyway, so im not sure why they would go through the trouble... :confused:
Click to expand...
I had ghosts that looked just like those last year and they were identical to my fatalli pods...those seeds were not saved :) Lucky for me only 1 of my 3 yellow ghosts turned out like that and was about as hot as the fatalli as well. 
 
pepper_rancher said:
If this is truly based on worm castings, it isnt going to burn your plant by adding some at this point...
Do you top water or bottom water?
If you top water I would add a healthy bit of this as a top layer and go from there.
If you bottom water I would pull the root ball out and mix it into the soil that isnt bound to the root mass (and put the root ball back in on top)
 
JUST MY 2 CENTS!
Click to expand...
 
 
smileyguy697 said:
I looked it up and this stuff is OMRI approved worm castings so pepper_rancher is right. It's not going to hurt your plants at all and will just improve your soil quality over time. Just apply a decent later (couple cups maybe) as a top dressing.. Or you could brew tea with it also.
Click to expand...
 
 
MrsHazel said:
I would agree that there's no harm in feeding it, although you do run the risk of having it explode in growth to the point of consuming your home and blocking your exits.  ;)
 
I've found top dressing the soil to be easy and effective when using something similar to that.
Click to expand...
 
To the posters recommending I add some of the "Worm Power" fertilizer to the top of the soil, is it exactly the same, better, or worse, if I just dissolve some of it in water and water the plant with it?  What is the difference?
 
I don't have the equipment to brew any tea - maybe when I get a real house some day :)
 
Thanks
 
It isn't a fertilizer per say (in the regard I believe you're thinking of it), but looks to be strong or fortified worm castings. The advice to top dress is spot on. For what looks like a 5 gallon bucket, a cup or two scratched into the surface is sufficient. Heavy top dressing with castings is a fungus gnats dream, at least indoors in my experience.

You can also make a nutrient slurry with it. 1 to 2 cups per gallon stirred every so often for 24hrs will make a mild EWC slurry, or go the next step as mentioned and brew an EWC tea. Plenty of information in the sticky. There are complicated ways to make tea and simple ones. The simplest being EWC/molasses, stirred with a stick (or stairway banister, as one friend does) every few hours to add oxygen.
 
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