Miracle-Gro Tomato Food For Peppers

O

obchili

Hi there.  My plants are in need of a watering today and I have Miracle-Gro Water Soluble Tomato Food on hand.  It is rated at 18-18-21.
 
I also have Miracle-Gro All Purpose Liquid Houseplant Plant Food on hand.  It is rated at 8-7-6.
 
My plants that will be watered today are all between 6-10 inches tall with 5+ sets of true leaves.  Only my smallest chili plants have many buds and flowers on them, but have yet to produce anything.  Which would be best to use to water with, and if so, what would the best used strength be 25%, 50%, 75%, or 100%.  Thank you in advance for your help and opinions.
 
 
I've been using MG tomato food for the past three years. I'd say use either. But it wouldn't hurt to go half dose if you use the tomato food. I have experienced some slight over-feeding issues in the past. Was probably my fault for using it too often, but itcan't hurt to back off a little.
 
Thank you for the replies.  I will use the Tomato food at 50% then for a feeding.  This will be their first feeding of fertilizer.  I had only given them a sip from the top once before, and now I will bottom feed completely.
 
Chiles and tomatoes are fairly closely related, so have similar needs - that's why tomato ferts work fine for peppers. The thing to keep in mind is that once your plants kick into production, they need a lot of calcium to prevent BER (blossom end rot.) Most tomato ferts I've seen have plenty of calcium, as tomatoes can get BER, too.
 
Strength - I'll differ and suggest 1/4 strength to start with. If the leaves start to kind of pucker up, that's the earliest sign of fertilizer burn - back off from however much you gave them if this occurs.
 
Ok, thank you.  Just finished watering the plants.  I used a 50/50 mix.  This again was a first fertilizing for my plants.  Only the plants with many true leaf sets were given this solution and the ones with only a couple sets were given a 25% mix, but not a full feeding.  I do not plan on fertilizing every time, likely once a month.
 
the nice thing about MG 18-18-21 is it can also be used as a foliar spray, which i do. it is a great fertilizer. i also use GH maxi bloom 5-15-14 in small amounts.
 
I've used the MG tomato for quite some time now, for plants your size I'd go with 1/4 strength. I use the diluted version on my seedlings with all positive effects. When I'm ready to let my plants start fruiting I move to a higher P fert. Of note though, the MG does not contain calcium. It is possible that you may obtain it from your tap water, or soil for that matter (not sure if you have potted or in ground). For calcium - I prepare some cheap cal carbonate in vinegar to react and form cal acetate which is readily usable for the plants (had the idea from another forum, and it as well is working wonderfully).

I started the full strength MG when the plants were around 1ft tall (mine are in 5gal outdoor), and they are doing very well at this point.
 
I used it two years ago, best season ive had, too.... I did between quarter strength and half strength depending on how often my pots were drying out.... quarter strength if I had to water more than once a week, half strength if not.... but it was actually cut down even more as I gave a little of the solution with my regular watering....
 
I to use MG for Tomatoes. I used a program last season with great success alternating MG one week (1T per gallon),  Epsom Salts one week throughout thier adult life.
 
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