Hello all. My coolapeno seems like a loss but instead of throwing it away it might be possible for me to save it by planting it in the ground. Now our soil is a hard clay. Should I just take the container mix i made for my coolapeno pepper plant and mix it with the clay dirt that I'll be digging up and I'll be done? Or should i add some perlite to the mix and mix it all up? I have some extra potting mix and mushroom compost and vermiculite as well. This mix that's in my container is pretty new. Thanks!
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in-ground So gonna try to grow or fix my coolapeno pepper plant by planting in the ground.
- Thread starter Codeman
- Start date
What did the plant do when it was in the container?
I'm from NC too but from the Kannapolis area
I'm from NC too but from the Kannapolis area
Oh i see. I don't grow hot peppers in the clay type of soil we have but my roommate grows bulbs in it and let me tell you, they just take off. I think the clay soil has a lot of nutes in it. He never really fertilizes them either. Only thing i would do is add a mix of both Perlite and Vermiculite because peppers love a lot of drainage. Add some Bone Meal in the mix too, i find my peppers love the stuff and it breaks down over a period of 4 months so you don't have to keep adding nutes to the soil. Peppers love Organics and thats all i use and i have great results. Good luck
hotpepperguy said:Oh i see. I don't grow hot peppers in the clay type of soil we have but my roommate grows bulbs in it and let me tell you, they just take off. I think the clay soil has a lot of nutes in it. He never really fertilizes them either. Only thing i would do is add a mix of both Perlite and Vermiculite because peppers love a lot of drainage. Add some Bone Meal in the mix too, i find my peppers love the stuff and it breaks down over a period of 4 months so you don't have to keep adding nutes to the soil. Peppers love Organics and thats all i use and i have great results. Good luck
Wait so bone meal isn't available right away?
Codeman said:
What i do for Bone Meal to become more available is when i apply it to the top of the soil i moisten it up and bit with a little water then using my hands to crush up the pellets. Water a little again and do the same. You will see the water get a little cloudy which means it is introducing it into the soil quicker. Anything organic takes time to break down, that's why its tough to grow organically but its worth the effort in the long run.
Codeman said:
Yeah they will get introduced a little more rapidly.
As for the clay soil i was wondering the same thing but i would guess that they are higher in macro-nutes. Maybe like magnesium, sulfur, copper, etc. You wouldn't think it would be a good soil for plants but look at the trees we have here in NC. They are very very tall. I used to live in Mass and the trees weren't nearly as tall as they are down here. I should try to grow some peppers next year in the clay soil. I'm curious to see how they would come out
hotpepperguy said:
Yeah they will get introduced a little more rapidly.
As for the clay soil i was wondering the same thing but i would guess that they are higher in macro-nutes. Maybe like magnesium, sulfur, copper, etc. You wouldn't think it would be a good soil for plants but look at the trees we have here in NC. They are very very tall. I used to live in Mass and the trees weren't nearly as tall as they are down here. I should try to grow some peppers next year in the clay soil. I'm curious to see how they would come out
Maybe high in nitrogen too? They grow fast because i think the heavy clay provides good drainage and aeration? I saw a graph and it shows low levels of magnesium for the east coast and the south but i could be wrong on this. is there fast acting bonemeal that i can buy?
Codeman said:
They do sell a faster acting form of phosphorus in the Jeob's Instant organic fertilizer. They sell that stuff everywhere here in NC.
Codeman said:
No Bone Meal is Phosphorus and Calcium with little traces of nitrogen. A bag of Jeob's bone meal has a NPK rating of 2-14-0 with calcium at 15%. Even though it is slow releasing it is a good thing because it reduces the risk of over fertilizing if you use it sparingly. I use about a tablespoon and a half per 5 gallon pot and i mix it with Jeob's Vegetable fertilizer at 1 tablespoon per pot. I do a spray of Epsom salts every three weeks. I fertilize with bone meal every 2 months and with Jeobs Vegetable fert every 3 weeks.
This was the early stages of my pepper garden.
These are some of my Habs about a month later, they got even more pods on them now.
I grow my peppers the same way year after year and i've been growing for about 8 years now and i always get great results. I get plants with tons of pods on them.
These are some of my Habs about a month later, they got even more pods on them now.
I grow my peppers the same way year after year and i've been growing for about 8 years now and i always get great results. I get plants with tons of pods on them.
I live in South Carolina, land of heavy clay as well, and although I've never planted directly into the soil (I use a garden box), I'd recommend digging a hole and adding some soil from your pots to give the plant a better chance of success. If it thrives, my guess is, it will dig into the clay as it grows. Like I said no direct experience, but I think a plant that's had a rough go so far, will have a tough time being thrown directly into the clay soil. Good luck, keep us posted.
Mike
Mike
hotpepperguy said:This was the early stages of my pepper garden.
These are some of my Habs about a month later, they got even more pods on them now.
I grow my peppers the same way year after year and i've been growing for about 8 years now and i always get great results. I get plants with tons of pods on them.
Wow, those all look great! What you're doing is definitely working!
Mike
b3rnd said:
If you add some Perlite and Vermiculite it could make it less compacted.