soil Nutrition in soil

[Zingo99]

Hello,
 
Been growing peppers/tomatoes for a while but one thing thats been bothering me all the time is how much to feed the plants? Right now Im using General Hydroponics Duo in soil based plants, Im mixing "terra" 50% according to instructions. But how often do I feed em with this mix? Every time I water or once per week and regular water in between? Now in the summer they drink a lot more so I guess I can't water em only with the nute-water...
Im having a hard time eyeing the plants and drawing conclusions what they lack or have too much of meanwhile theres other pests/diseases going on. 
Or shouldn't I bother, the plants take the nutes they need and skip the rest?

 

[MadDog]

Most of what I've absorbed is certainly no more than once a week. Usually less. A lot of factors to consider though, like root drench or foliar. Strength. Also temperature, plants stop feeding over about 85F. I've found Neptunes Fish & Seaweed sprayed seems to discourage pests considerably. Diatomaceous earth (food grade only!) dusted on leaves and "moats" around base also knocks out pests. Also stage of growth, pods need calcium, growth stages need different requirements than flowering. That's the cliff notes, hopefully someone else will give you much better input than I can offer.

 

[Zingo99]

Ok, thanks, guess Ill have to experiment some more, going to try and feed the plants once a week and see what happens.

 

[MadDog]

Ok, thanks, guess Ill have to experiment some more, going to try and feed the plants once a week and see what happens.

 
Most rule of thumbs I've seen thrown around is once every couple of weeks (10-14 days). My first season I rotated between Neptune's and Epsom Salts sprayed foliar every week. My second season, this became maybe once a month for some type of foliar feed. This season, just starting really late in season to spray. Haven't really seen much difference in performance as I've gotten lazier. So I wouldn't sweat it too much. I do amend dolomite and organic granular ferts into the soil at the beginning though, the soil is hand mixed third each peat / vermiculite / compost.