Peppers

I just read that spraying Epsom Salt on pepper plants and re applying in 10 days makes a huge difference in the amount and size of the peppers. Spray at flowering time. True? False? MJ

Reply to
mjciccarel
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If you have a Magnesium deficiency. If not, there's no real benefit.

Epsom Salts are Magnesium Sufate. Both elemental Magnesium and Sulfur are traces which plants generally desire in some small amount, and if your soil is lacking, applying this would help the plants..

Reply to
Sean Straw

I am not sure if there is a deficiency, I did not have the soil tested this year. Will it hurt anything? Epsom is cheep

Reply to
mjciccarel

Yet, if ya don't need it, don't use it. That is even cheaper.

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Reply to
Gunner

:

luck with other kinds but I have yet to grow a great Bell

Reply to
mjciccarel

Perhaps you should get your soil tested. Agricultural Extension offices usually offer these services.

Reply to
Sean Straw

I have done that every year except this year.

Reply to
mjciccarel

luck with other kinds but I have yet to grow a great Bell

Order a pkt of "Karma" from Park's, it's the very best bell I've ever grown.

Reply to
Steve Peek

What have past years' reports indicated about your garden soil needs?

I'm not looking to start a gardening war, but unless I was running a big farm, I don't think I'd bother with yearly soil analysis - perhaps every 5 years if you generally followed the original suggested amendments and weren't doing anything odd in the garden.

Reply to
Sean Straw

Truth? I don't remember exactly but I never really understood the results and I was in the Master Gardener Program for a while. It was all explained to me and there was never anything very "off" so I guess I kinda stopped paying attention. The county I am in could never get an instructor for the class so it all fell apart. So I rotate my "crops" and use 10 10 10.

Reply to
mjciccarel

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote: ...

how are you growing them?

we have very little trouble growing them here. once in a while a tomato worm or a bit of rot.

full sun, heavy soil, no mulch, no fertilizer other than buried organic materials, planted after the soil is warm.

10-10-10 might encourage leaf production but not much else. try laying off that for green peppers.

songbird

Reply to
songbird

OMG Bird!!!.... really?

Reply to
Gunner

Uh, the first 10 in 10-10-10 (nitrogen) will encourage leaf production. I know you know that, but it may not be apparent to others.

Reply to
Billy

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before planting, add some organic fertilizer, like dehydrated chicken manure, or any other type of animal manure. You can also work two to four pounds of a balanced fertilizer, such as 10-10-10, into each

100 square feet of soil. The numbers 10-10-10 refer to the percentages, by weight, of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) in the bag of fertilizer. For an extra boost at planting time, put a handful of compost or a teaspoon of 5-10-10, mixed with some soil, into the bottom of the hole and then cover the fertilizer with one to two inches of soil. This protects your plants from getting burned if the roots come into contact with the fertilizer.

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enjoy an well-amended soil that contains plenty of organic matter, supplemented with a balanced fertilizer or better yet, one with slightly higher nitrogen and phosphorous levels. Place in an area that will receive the most sun and plant 18 inches apart with rows 3 feet apart.

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manure (three to four tons per acre) is custom applied a week or more prior to listing.

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1 acre = 43,560 sq. ft. 100 sq.ft. = 0.0022956841 acre. 8,000#/acre = 18.37#chicken manure/ 100 sq.ft. Side dress with 11.5#/100 sq.ft.

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should you fertilize your peppers? Take your choice -- either before planting or throughout the growing season. Little or no difference in yield was seen in a study that compared the effects of slow-release fertilizer applied before planting to soluble nitrogen fertilizer applied several times throughout the season.

------- If your plants don't look robust, or are only a light or pale green, they may be hungry: apply about a tablespoonful of nitrate fertilizer around each plant, /after several blossoms have set./ But don't fertilize blindly--if your plants look healthy enough, let them be, lest they ignore fruiting for vegetative growth. Bell peppers typically produce 7 to 10 peppers a plant, hot peppers more. When to harvest is an interesting question. On the one hand, leaving peppers on the vine till they're completely ripe somewhat reduces the total productivity of the plant; on the other hand, immature peppers are notably less sweet. To us, the choice is clear: let them ripen on the vine. We're not commercial growers: if we want more peppers than our plants produce with the fruits left to fully ripen, we'll grow more plants next season. Peppers are usually picked when they've stopped increasing in size, are firm to the touch, /and have reached their expected color/. Don't pull peppers, because the plant's branches are rather brittle and you can break them that way: harvest by cutting the peppers off.

--------- feed after flowering

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? Alfalfa meal: Derived from alfalfa plants and pressed into a pellet form, alfalfa meal is beneficial for adding nitrogen and potassium (about 2 percent each), as well as trace minerals and growth stimulants. ? Blood meal: This is the powdered blood from slaughtered animals. It contains about 14 percent nitrogen and many micronutrients. Leafy, nitrogen-loving plants, such as lettuce, grow well with this fertilizer. It also reportedly repels deer, but may attract dogs and cats. ? Bone meal: A popular source of phosphorous (11 percent) and calcium (22 percent), bone meal is derived from animal or fish bones and commonly used in a powdered form on root crops and bulbs. It also contains 2 percent nitrogen and many micronutrients. It may attract rodents. ? --------------- ?

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?

? Michigan Gardening Guid -------

N: 18.37 lb. chicken manure/ 100 sq.ft. (2.88 oz/sq.ft.)

P: 3 lb. / 100/sq.ft. (.48 oz/sq.ft.)

K: How much wood ash should you use in your garden? The late Bernard G. Wesenberg, a former Washington State University Extension horticulturist, recommended using one gallon of ashes per square yard on loam to clay-loam soil, and half as much on sandier soils.

You could also lay down some clear plastic sheeting to heat the soil, if temps are a problem, and/or stack bricks or cinder blocks behind them to the north (in N. hemisphere) to radiate heat at night.

Nothing like a fresh picked grilled red pepper (besides fresh tomatoes wrapped in basil, and just picked sweet corn)

Reply to
Billy

Epsom salt is most commonly used on pepper, tomato and rose plants. This is because epsom salt is made from magnesium. Many pepper plants are planted in soil that is deficient in magnesium. The magnesium from the epsom salt is quickly absorbed by the plant to give it the nourishment it needs to grow. The epsom salt can be applied in spray form for the best results. Do not simply rely on epsom salt if your soil has a severe deficiency in magnesium. It will work, however, for low to moderate deficiencies. Spray the epsom salt solution on the pepper plants again when they first begin to flower.

Reply to
allen73

You may want to wait to see if your plants show any signs of magnesium deficiency. The classic deficiency symptom is interveinal chlorosis of the lower/older leaves. However, the first symptom is generally a more pale green color that may be more pronounced in the lower/older leaves. In some plants, the leaf margins will curve upward or turn a red-brown to purple in color. Full season symptoms include preharvest leaf drop, weakened stalks, and long branched roots. Conifers will exhibit yellowing of the older needles, and in the new growth the lower needles will go yellow before the tip needles.

If you want to have fun with cations, look at

Reply to
Billy

What makes this a fallacy is the word : MANY: as in ..."Many pepper plants are planted in soil that is deficient in magnesium."

It is safe to say there are MANY soils that are not, so again; Test your soil if you are unsure and/or only add Mg if it is actually needed.

Reply to
Gunner

billy's political BS snipped

Some folks are misrepresenting science here. N is essential to keep the plant growing and in good health. While excess N may encourage foliage at the expense of fruit in certain conditions, it is still required by the plant, even in the flowering/fruiting phase.

Reply to
Gunner

still waiting for an answer...

...

yes, thanks, mistyped there.

and i do not dispute that a pepper plant needs some nitrogen, but it can be the case that too much nitrogen encourages too much leaf production. but it could also be the case that the OP is doing something else that isn't helping the suitation.

songbird

Reply to
songbird

I am not doing anything special to grow them. As I said I have used 10

10 10 in the past but I guess I won't be doing that anymore. Makes sense now that some of the peppers from last year were really small. These were not bell peppers. In fact if anyone is interested, the peppers came from Sams. Sams sells a bag of yellow, red and orange peppers that are great. I planted the seeds from them and have been growing them for about 3 years now.
Reply to
mjciccarel

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