To salt or not to salt?

I

ideacipher

I have a couple of runts that to be honest also don't look all that great. The Garden Salsa Hybrid and Red Savina. I actually moved them away from the others just in case. Leafs are pale and curly wondering if maybe they just didn't take the sun very well at hardening.   They are in the same soil, I don't water being in VA at the moment mother nature does that as of late, feeding fish emulsion\seaweed once a week then switching to every 3-4weeks, and same sun exposure.

I know every plant is different and can have different needs. What works for one could crash and burn for an offspring of the same plant.

My thoughts are maybe they are having trouble with the water. I get that - we have had a ton as of late. My next thought is that since these are the runts water goes strait through the pots. My big plants - the Reapers, 7pot and Serrano take forever to drain but they are probably close to root bound by now. When I add liquid fert to those I keep an eye out for drainage and it takes 1-2 hours or more before you spot any drainage on the concrete.
 
I'm thinking of testing out that old time epsom on the two little plants.
 
Is this a good idea or should I just let it play out and see what happens? The savina actually started looking better today but with burnt edges on all the leaves.
 
Chili said:
Post a picture of the plants that you're concerned about before you add any fert that might not be needed.
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You don't need epsom salts with the fish fert.  It has sufficient calcium and magnesium.  You can do a weekly feeding, at that stage.  Of more concern would probably be the thick black pots.  Those things are solar panels.  If there's any way you can insulate them, I think that would be helpful.  Your summers a probably pretty warm, right about now...
 
Just my .02, but if you have a lot of rain, you may also want to consider adding a dry organic fert, and watering fish with it, every week...  That works well, and you'll not need to supplement anything.
 
Thanks for input
 
Chili said:
Your plants look good. The bottom picture looks like it could need some calcium. That being said a little salt won't hurt them. https://www.worldofchillies.com/growing_chillies/growing-tips/chilli-plant-nutrient-guide/files/stacks-image-459d210.jpg
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Sounds good. I'll probably hold off on the salt. Thanks for the deficiency guide link.
 
solid7 said:
You don't need epsom salts with the fish fert.  It has sufficient calcium and magnesium.  You can do a weekly feeding, at that stage.  Of more concern would probably be the thick black pots.  Those things are solar panels.  If there's any way you can insulate them, I think that would be helpful.  Your summers a probably pretty warm, right about now...
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Yeah the pots do ramp up pretty quick and poor choice on my part. I really need to address that probably sooner than later for sure. We are upper 80's low 90s right now. But man the Reapers and 7pot are freaking loving it - the hotter it gets the faster they seem to grow.
 
solid7 said:
Just my .02, but if you have a lot of rain, you may also want to consider adding a dry organic fert, and watering fish with it, every week...  That works well, and you'll not need to supplement anything.
Click to expand...
 
I'll do this the next week its calling for a bunch of rain.
 
ideacipher said:
Yeah the pots do ramp up pretty quick and poor choice on my part. I really need to address that probably sooner than later for sure. We are upper 80's low 90s right now. But man the Reapers and 7pot are freaking loving it - the hotter it gets the faster they seem to grow.
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Chinense generally do better with the heat, but only up to a point.  The more roots you get, the more you're gonna want to drop the temp in the pots.
 
Last year was my "epiphany" year with this issue. I have always been able to grow well, but when I started cooling down my root zone, it got even better.  White pots worked better than black, mulched pots better than non, and insulated and mulched containers were the best of the bunch.
 
Not just bigger plants, but better color and yields.
 
solid7 said:
 
Chinense generally do better with the heat, but only up to a point.  The more roots you get, the more you're gonna want to drop the temp in the pots.
 
Last year was my "epiphany" year with this issue. I have always been able to grow well, but when I started cooling down my root zone, it got even better.  White pots worked better than black, mulched pots better than non, and insulated and mulched containers were the best of the bunch.
 
Not just bigger plants, but better color and yields.
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i don`t want to hijack the thread from it`s original topic but how would i go about insulating my containers? some are on the small side at 1 gallon and go up to 5 gallon. this is my second year at growing peppers and last year when it got up in the 90`s the plants would wilt unless i watered 3 times a day. i`d like to cool things down and water once a day. 
 
You could stack the garden pot (with the pepper plant) into another empty garden pot and fill the void with straw or leaves . Also make sure to apply plenty of mulch around your plants.
 
Yep.   Some people, if they have the room, even make holes in straw bales for their containers. 
 
There are many ways.  The point being, just find a clever and durable way to keep direct sunlight from heating up the containers.
 
If you don't care much for aesthetics you could try wrapping those sun shades for car windshields around the pots (prolly cut them in half). Might even find them at the dollar stores. Although I find the idea of double potting or using straw bales more appealing. 
 
Is there a reason you filled the pots so low? I'm inclined to think more volume would help keep the root mass cooler.
 
Spicy Mushroom said:
If you don't care much for aesthetics you could try wrapping those sun shades for car windshields around the pots (prolly cut them in half). Might even find them at the dollar stores. Although I find the idea of double potting or using straw bales more appealing. 
 
Is there a reason you filled the pots so low? I'm inclined to think more volume would help keep the root mass cooler.
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thanks everyone for the suggestions. my pots aren`t filled low. the small(1 gallon size) containers dry out much faster than the 5 gallon containers. i need to replace the small ones with 5 gallon buckets but i will add mulch in the meantime, 
 
You can also bury your pots in the ground to keep it cooler. Just dig a hole and add a little gravel in the bottom so you get good drainage and put the pot in.
 
Edmick said:
You can also bury your pots in the ground to keep it cooler. Just dig a hole and add a little gravel in the bottom so you get good drainage and put the pot in.
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I always forget about that, but it's an excellent suggestion.  The ground will provide better insulation than even a Yeti cooler.
 
What's the PH of your rain water? When I was in Spain it was worse than the tap. Over 8.
If rain has moved your pots to that level, nutrient take up would be inhibited.
 
Scorchio said:
What's the PH of your rain water? When I was in Spain it was worse than the tap. Over 8.
If rain has moved your pots to that level, nutrient take up would be inhibited.
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That is an excellent point I hadn't even thought of that. Learning again. Is it OK at 7-6 range?
 
ideacipher said:
 
That is an excellent point I hadn't even thought of that. Learning again. Is it OK at 7-6 range?
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I think you are about right at 6.5.
I don't want to teach my Grandmother how to suck eggs as we say in England but the best check is to run some ph 6.5 through the pots and measure the run off from the bottom of the pots.
When your run off equals 6.5 you have flushed them well.
A dose of Epsom salts and nutrients after that should cheer them up!
Any help?
 
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