fertilizer What Fertilizers do y'all use?

solid7 said:
 
I like CNS17 grow a little better, but I'd never give a downvote to Dyna-Gro Foliage Pro.
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Do you pH the CNS17 grow before giving it to plants in potting mix? I'm still not sure if I need to be pH'ing nutrients that are being fed to plants in potting mix.
 
SuburbanFowl said:
Do you pH the CNS17 grow before giving it to plants in potting mix? I'm still not sure if I need to be pH'ing nutrients that are being fed to plants in potting mix.
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Personally, I do not. But I may also have a bit more of a connection with my media, than most. As long as your water is in the range, the CNS or DynaGro should be, also. (with a small caveat)

I'd definitely check the pH of any off the calcium based ferts, if they start to fall out of suspension and solidify at the bottom.
 
solid7 said:
Personally, I do not. But I may also have a bit more of a connection with my media, than most. As long as your water is in the range, the CNS or DynaGro should be, also. (with a small caveat)

I'd definitely check the pH of any off the calcium based ferts, if they start to fall out of suspension and solidify at the bottom.
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Thanks. I'll feed them without checking the pH and see how that goes.
 
I'm interested in the Dyna Gro. I grow in a raised bed. If I was just going to buy one product. Would you go GROW or All Pro?
 
 
SoHot said:
I'm interested in the Dyna Gro. I grow in a raised bed. If I was just going to buy one product. Would you go GROW or All Pro?
 
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I used the Grow 7-9-5 formula as I was buying the gallon size from a local hydro shop and that was the least expensive. I wouldn't hesitate to use the All-Pro 7-7-7 as many here, myself included, believe a balanced nute regimen best for overall plant health/growth.
 
FootNote: I also believe the sodium chloride separation I experienced was due to older inventory at the hydro shop. If you decide to use Dyna-Gro and are buying locally, shaking the container vigorously will allow you to "hear" the solids rattling around inside the container. Good Luck!
 
Foliage Pro is under $19/qt on Amazon. Grow is just slightly more. Not enough to worry about imo.
 
Foliage
Total Nitrogen (N)___9.0%*
Ammoniacal (NH4)___2.9%*
Nitrate (NO3)___6.1%*
Phosphorus (P2O5)___3.0%*
Potassium (K2O)___6.0%*
Calcium (Ca)___ 2.0%*  Magnesium (Mg)___0.5%*
Sulfur (S)___0.05%
Boron (B)___0.01%
Chlorine (Cl)___0.006%
Cobalt (Co)___0.0005%*
Copper (Cu)___0.05%*  Iron (Fe)___0.1%*
Manganese (Mn)___0.05%*
Molybdenum (Mo)___0.0009%*
Nickel (Ni)___0.0001%
Sodium (Na)___0.05%
Zinc (Zn)___0.05%*
 
Grow
Total Nitrogen (N)___7.0%*
Ammoniacal (NH4)___2.6%*
Nitrate (NO3)___4.4%*
Phosphorus (P2O5)___9.0%*
Potassium (K2O)___5.0%*
Calcium (Ca)___ 2.0%*  Magnesium (Mg)___0.5%*
Sulfur (S)___0.05%
Boron (B)___0.02%
Chlorine (Cl)___0.1%
Cobalt (Co)___0.0015%*
Copper (Cu)___0.05%*  Iron (Fe)___0.1%*
Manganese (Mn)___0.05%*
Molybdenum (Mo)___0.0009%*
Nickel (Ni)___0.0001%
Sodium (Na)___0.1%
Zinc (Zn)___0.05%*
 
All Pro
Total Nitrogen (N)___7.0%*
Ammoniacal (NH4)___2.1%*
Nitrate (NO3)___4.9%*
Phosphorus (P2O5)___7.0%*
Potassium (K2O)___7.0%*
Calcium (Ca)___ 2.0%*  Magnesium (Mg)___0.5%*
Sulfur (S)___0.05%
Boron (B)___0.007%
Chlorine (Cl)___0.006%
Cobalt (Co)___0.0005%*
Copper (Cu)___0.007%*  Iron (Fe)___0.07%*
Manganese (Mn)___0.05%*
Molybdenum (Mo)___0.0009%*
Nickel (Ni)___0.0001%
Sodium (Na)___0.05%
Zinc (Zn)___0.009%*
 
Not sure how deeply you want to dive into the subject, but a great book available at many libraries is "The IntelligentGardener, or how to grow nutrient-dense food" by Steve Solomon and Erica Reinheimer. The book makes the point that it's usually better for the plants and more economical to add only what the soil needs to grow healthy plants. It's all too easy to love our plants to death.

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stickman said:
Not sure how deeply you want to dive into the subject, but a great book available at many libraries is "The IntelligentGardener, or how to grow nutrient-dense food" by Steve Solomon and Erica Reinheimer. The book makes the point that it's usually better for the plants and more economical to add only what the soil needs to grow healthy plants. It's all too easy to love our plants to death.
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The only problem with that, is it's impossible to know "what the soil needs".  Nutrients don't determine anything, unless they're actually deficient. And soil is not container media, nor do they grow the same, or have the same requirements.
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Nutrients are such a contentious issue. Nobody agrees on "ideal" ratios, and for every bit of "conclusive" research, there is some other money making angle, with contradictory evidence, and equal success (which ought to tell us that peppers -or most plants, for that matter - are just not that picky).  For a hobby gardener, it's best to keep it simple.  There's no need for crazy scientific feeding regimens. Keep the nutes low, and consistent.  Containers make this much easier than soil.
 
solid7 said:
 
The only problem with that, is it's impossible to know "what the soil needs".  Nutrients don't determine anything, unless they're actually deficient. And soil is not container media, nor do they grow the same, or have the same requirements.
.
Nutrients are such a contentious issue. Nobody agrees on "ideal" ratios, and for every bit of "conclusive" research, there is some other money making angle, with contradictory evidence, and equal success (which ought to tell us that peppers -or most plants, for that matter - are just not that picky).  For a hobby gardener, it's best to keep it simple.  There's no need for crazy scientific feeding regimens. Keep the nutes low, and consistent.  Containers make this much easier than soil.
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As a test bed I agree that planting in pots or hydroponic media is much easier than soil, but that's mostly a matter of scale. You're dealing with a much smaller plot of "ground". Plant nutrition in soil comes from the soil solution formed by the interactions of soil dwelling organisms with each other and the organic and mineral components of the soil. There's soil testing out there that will show the measurable deficiencies of a given soil that'll allow you to cherry-pick which amendments to add to cover the lack... A much more economical approach when dealing in the larger scale.
Agreed that Chile's aren't heavy feeders, and overfeeding them is at least uneconomical and at most counter-productive. For example, too much nitrogen will cause the plants to put more energy into vegetative growth and less into flowering and fruiting. Cheers!

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stickman said:
 too much nitrogen will cause the plants to put more energy into vegetative growth and less into flowering and fruiting.
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That's not really what happens, at all.  Too much nitrogen actually creates imbalances that deplete the plant of other nutrients, while giving the appearance of lush growth.  In fact, it can create very weak plant structures, which are later more prone to disease and pestilence. It's not purely nitrogen excess to worry about, but it's antagonistic effect on everything else. (and nitrogen is a big player). But we can't get targeted results, by playing with nutrient ratios. If we do, it means that a deficiency existed previously. (and possibly still does)
.
I'm not trying to take exception, just pointing out that this is a good reason to keep it simple, and focus more on optimal growing conditions, than nutrients.  We will achieve much greater success with better growing environments, and less than optimal nutrients, than we ever possibly could with overly thought out nutrient regiments, in poor growing conditions.
 
solid7 said:
 
That's not really what happens, at all.  Too much nitrogen actually creates imbalances that deplete the plant of other nutrients, while giving the appearance of lush growth.  In fact, it can create very weak plant structures, which are later more prone to disease and pestilence. It's not purely nitrogen excess to worry about, but it's antagonistic effect on everything else. (and nitrogen is a big player).

Good info, that...

But we can't get targeted results, by playing with nutrient ratios. If we do, it means that a deficiency existed previously. (and possibly still does)

That's more like what I'm trying to say... Use soil testing to find the holes in your soil's nutritional profile and concentrate on meeting those since the rest is already present and doesn't need to be monkeyed with. In fact, as you pointed out, too much of one nute can cause lockout in others.
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I'm not trying to take exception, just pointing out that this is a good reason to keep it simple, and focus more on optimal growing conditions, than nutrients.  We will achieve much greater success with better growing environments, and less than optimal nutrients, than we ever possibly could with overly thought out nutrient regiments, in poor growing conditions.
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Agreed on growing conditions too... You can give a plant all it wants to eat, but if it's too cold for the plant to survive it'll die anyway.

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My bottle of Foliage Pro 9-3-6 arrived the other day. It appears you can use a tsp and get similar nutrient amounts as a tbs of CNS17 Grow. At under $19/qt its worth a try i guess. I can get the CNS locally for about $12/qt or $30/Gal.
 
CNS17 Grow-
N 3.0%,
P 1.0%,
K 2.0%,
Ca 3.0%,
Mg 0.5%,
Mn 0.005%
 
I typically dont fertilize until I transplant the peppers into their final pot, and I use half strength Miracle Gro QuickStart (4-12-4) to prevent shock. Once theyre established in their pots outside I use Neptune harvest organic 2-3-1 mixed with a little Epsom salt for the remainder of the season. This is the most effective combo Ive found and it produced the biggest, greenest, and most fruitful plants Ive ever gotten. This goes for anything from tomatoes to reapers
 
I'm only using organic ferts too for everything I grow and for the exact same reasons as yours backyardpepper. They mainly consist of compost (homemade and shrimp, strore bought), dead leaves, manure (horse, sheep, cow and chicken), bone meal, fish emulsion and liquid seaweed. Overall I usually have good harvest but like anything, there's still plenty of space for improvement!
 
I used to breed rabbits, their poop was the shit...literally. Kitchen scraps and yard cuttings go in one end and fresh usable fertilizer came out the other. 
Worked much better than cow or chicken manure and I controlled what they ate so there were no chemical additives to their feed.
It went into the mix (50% cinder and 50% compost amended with rabbit poop and agricultural lime) when transplanting into 5 gallon containers or into the ground.
 
I am also guilty of using miracle grow :doh: in the past which made for a quick fix after a long spell of neglect but don't do that for extended use.
 
101 ways to do it right and just as many ways to ruin your season. 
The hardest part with giving advice is that what works for me in my part of the world may not work for you in yours.
Take note of what you do each year and how your plants react to it. 
Local gardeners in your area can be a priceless source of info, what they grow is less important than how they grow it.
 
Every week or so, a tablespoon of epsom salt mixed with water makes for a good foliage spray if you do it before the sun comes up (wet leaves + hot sun =   :banghead:  :eek:  :censored:  :mad: )
 
The_NorthEast_ChileMan said:
 
I used the Grow 7-9-5 formula as I was buying the gallon size from a local hydro shop and that was the least expensive. I wouldn't hesitate to use the All-Pro 7-7-7 as many here, myself included, believe a balanced nute regimen best for overall plant health/growth.
 
FootNote: I also believe the sodium chloride separation I experienced was due to older inventory at the hydro shop. If you decide to use Dyna-Gro and are buying locally, shaking the container vigorously will allow you to "hear" the solids rattling around inside the container. Good Luck!
Click to expand...
 
Thanks! I went Grow as I could get it in a quart. Haven't used it use it yet, so I have a question. I transplanted my seedlings to 4" pots a couple/few weeks ago. My 4" medium is 1/2 Ocean Forrest / 1/2 Miracle Gro Garden Soil. With some vermiculite mixed in. Plants are looking good but I will need to water them in a couple days. All have true leaves and sets of the next stage set or setting. Super hots are behind my mild hots. Which is understandable. All that said. Question is. With that medium, should I add any Grow to my feedings? Or wait until they're in the ground? I'll hang up and listen. 
 
I prefer using GH Flora liquid ferts that I get by the gallon.  I found liquid ferts need to be applied more often, but don't sit in the soil for extended periods of time and can be flushed easily if ever needed.  I uses a simple base chart for FloraGrow, FloraMicro, and FloraBloom series. 
 
floragro-generalhydroponicschart.jpg

 
I still amend as needed with other nutrients, and I also foilar feed with worm tea as well, but the above is a great base fert chart. 
 
Alaska fish fertilizer and alternate with foliar  feeding epsom salt Water spray. Worked well last year I’ll see how it goes this year. I just gave them the fish today
 
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