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fertilizer What Fertilizers do y'all use?
- Thread starter backyardpepper
- Start date
solid7 said:
I like it, can someone get on this ASAP
in all fairness the epsom does seem to improve the plant but mine only get it in neem/dish soap spray for aphid and white fly spray
I've been trying to use General Hydroponics 3-part system, but I don't know if that's really working well since my peppers have struggled the last couple of seasons... glad I stumbled onto this thread so I can research a bit more. Looks like I might have to get me some EWC and fish ferts and see if that works better.
Alaska Fish emulsion by the gallon is about the cheapest effective thing going. Its under $20 a gallon around here and its never failed me. I only got the Dyna Gro for my seedlings while there are inside and to test on a couple pots outside. Sofar my seedlings like it. Got a 50lb bag of alfalfa meal this year also. It was a whopping $16 for 50lbs at a farm and feed store. Chick-N-Poo is a mind blowing $10/25lbs. 
Been using Fox Farm this year
Am I the only one who feels intimidated by the seemingly-complex nature of some of these fertilizing regimens?
Fish, kelp/seaweed, blood, bone, mycorrhizae, epsom, lime, EWC and worm tea, ash/biochar, potassium, acid, azomite, crab shell, Dyna-gro, compost and compost tea, General Hydroponics, epsom salt, manure, alfalfa, and the list goes on.
I'm by NO MEANS knocking anyone's routine, as they're obviously working and were developed with experience. But as a beginner, it just feels overwhelming. So many choices! How do I know what to add? Do I just add a little of everything? (Obviously, no, but still.) Which additive will keep my plants healthy? Is there a way to tell what plants lack and how to correct it?
I've seen the basic grow guide. Is there a spot with more details on the chemistry of soil/substrate and fertilization?
Fish, kelp/seaweed, blood, bone, mycorrhizae, epsom, lime, EWC and worm tea, ash/biochar, potassium, acid, azomite, crab shell, Dyna-gro, compost and compost tea, General Hydroponics, epsom salt, manure, alfalfa, and the list goes on.
I'm by NO MEANS knocking anyone's routine, as they're obviously working and were developed with experience. But as a beginner, it just feels overwhelming. So many choices! How do I know what to add? Do I just add a little of everything? (Obviously, no, but still.) Which additive will keep my plants healthy? Is there a way to tell what plants lack and how to correct it?
I've seen the basic grow guide. Is there a spot with more details on the chemistry of soil/substrate and fertilization?
Yes, there's a lot of commercially driven BS, that becomes normalized by people with no real growing knowledge, and an overly inflated idealism, that demands the most bestest grow. Usually, it's fueled by a passionate reliance on concepts that intuitively sound right - but then, doesn't every good lie or half truth?
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Absolutely anyone can grow peppers with just a minimum of resources. It's far more important to have a proper growing environment. No feeding regimen is a proper substitute for poor starting parameters.
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If you're confused, build or buy a good planting mix, and stick with a basic complete nutrient. Keep the watering in check. Keep an eye out for pests. That alone, is the bare minimum requirements for a successful grow.
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Absolutely anyone can grow peppers with just a minimum of resources. It's far more important to have a proper growing environment. No feeding regimen is a proper substitute for poor starting parameters.
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If you're confused, build or buy a good planting mix, and stick with a basic complete nutrient. Keep the watering in check. Keep an eye out for pests. That alone, is the bare minimum requirements for a successful grow.
MrSpiffy said:
to be honest it’s relatively simple, my advice to new growers to get the following: a good basic soil that’s nice and black, mycorrhizae (fungus helps deliver nutes from soil even if not acidic enough) organic fertilizer (espoma or jobes) epsom salt, iron fertilizer (espoma has one) and blueberry acidifier (espoma again). I always suggest collecting rain water because peppers love it. You don’t need all this but it does help to have
just my 0.02 cents
MrSpiffy said:
Get a simple grow under your belt first. Be a master of the basics, before trying to jump into ninja level garden hacks. I"m quite certain that when you've done this for awhile, what you'll find, is that more stuff does not equal better gardens. There is one simple truth to gardening: either your plant needs it, and doesn't have it, has it, and doesn't need it, or is completely satisfied, and wants for nothing. If you're growing in the ground, get a soil test. If you're growing in containers, stick with a well built media, that is purpose built for the region that you grow in. Fertilizers are the biggest snake oil that we, as gardeners are sold. (along with all the old wives tales that predate well-founded knowledge)
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Peppers are so easy. Do NOT complicate it. I said it before, but I can't say it enough - keep it simple, and be a master of doing the simple things really well.
solid7 said:
I have done grows without these and my first year was significantly harder. Each one of those things were added one by one over multiple grows and I’ve seen stronger results with it. People want simple but peppers aren’t simple, bugs love em, they are ph sensitive and too much sun burns em. If I had to give everything up but 1 I’d keep the mycorrhizae
Ghost Pepper Revolution said:
To be fair... You are growing in a hostile climate. You're south of me, so I know very well what you experience. But adding anything to a plant, and seeing a result, means that it was missing that thing, to begin with. That's all I'd convey to the other person... Keep it simple, and deal with problems one at a time.
solid7 said:
makes sense, that’s exactly what I went thru.
The problem is that anecdotes don't tell us anything about WHY something works or the reason we should add a supplement. The poster above asked what those things add, but you still didn't provide any information beyond "it worked better for me when I did that". And telling a beginner to add these things without any explanation is asking for blind faith that it will work.Ghost Pepper Revolution said:
I'm not looking to complicate things as I get this season going. I just want a simple guide to get started that explains an up-to-date process of basic good/bad things. But I also want to expand my knowledge in the meantime by learning what all these ferts and supplements do and why that's important to growing peppers.
MrSpiffy said:
There in lies the problem.
You're not looking to complicate things and want to keep it simple. You're not going to get an Explain it like I'm 5 answer while keeping it simple-necessarily. Sure you can have a list of what to add and put in but the way that it works might get a bit complicated until you understand it. And above you stated that the anecdotes don't tell you WHY it works.
Personally when these guys who have a lot of knowledge start talking like Solid7 and NEChileman I kind of gloss over internally. Not because it's boring but rather because it's out of my league.
This forum has a lot of really good info. I remember my first year here I dug through a looooot o old threads.
Check this thread out http://thehotpepper.com/topic/10245-all-about-soil-a-great-resource-i-thought-i-would-share/
MrSpiffy said:
The reason I didn’t go into full detail is because most of what I posted was self explanatory. Here’s the reasons behind what I included in my list, now mind you every area of the country has different soil make up. Most of you northern folks have fantastic soil and putting in the ground with some mycorrhizae on the roots might be enough
Organic fertilizer: peppers eventually deplete soil nutes (granules slowly break down) miracle gro is synthetic and I don’t want that in my body.
mycorrizhae: Fungus breaks down nutes to a much smaller level allowing plants roots to absorb at a much faster rate (it can make an alkaline soil feel like acidic to peppers, I.e. ph lockout)
Epsom salt: magnesium helps the plants chlorophyll production
Iron-tone supplement: plants need iron and a deficiency will manifest in leaf color usually
Blueberry acidifier: takes an alkaline soil and slowly turns it acidic through sulfur and bacteria change (if the mycorrhizae die off then your plants won’t go ph lockout)
This will help new growers immensely when figuring out why the plant is acting up
