Top Dressing Of Pepper Seedlings

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Pepper is the kind of vegetable crop that can cause various problems and troubles when growing. But in any case, with proper care from seedlings and before harvesting, as a result, the summer resident will delight himself with a large number of high-quality and tasty fruits, which, in addition to everything, are useful for the human body. One of the most important places in the cultivation of such a vegetable is the feeding of pepper seedlings

Should I feed seedlings at all?

There is a large number of conflicting opinions about whether it is worth feeding peppers when they are in the seedling stage. Most summer residents believe that it is necessary to grow peppers in soil that is not rich in minerals and nutrients, since in another situation there is a risk of overgrowing and stretching. If the seedlings are overfed with fertilizers with a high nitrogen content, then they will very sharply begin to direct their forces to the development of the stem, leaves, inflorescences and branches. Because of this, a problem arises in the form of large sizes long before the transplant. In addition, if all these factors are also accompanied by a lack of lighting, then the stems can become unnaturally long, which means that the quality of the plants will no longer be what is necessary for growing.

But there is another type of people who prefer to feed the seedlings every ten to fifteen days, while the cultivation of the vegetable crop lasts. They continue to feed the plants until they are planted in the soil in the garden. In their opinion, if such actions are not taken, then the pepper will be weakened, and the periods of flowering and fruiting will come later than they should.

Whom to believe? It is this question that arises before novice vegetable growers. But in fact, everything is not so difficult, because both categories of summer residents are right. It all depends on the selected type and composition of the soil where the pepper will be planted. In a situation where the soil contains a large amount of nutrients even without fertilizing, it is not necessary to fertilize the crop at all. Only sometimes, for better growth, gardeners carry out feeding in a small amount. However, when grown in artificial soil, pepper will require constant and regular feeding with special solutions.

Feeding process

Sometimes gardeners grow peppers in soil specially purchased in the store. In this case, only two or three feeding procedures will be enough for seedlings. The very first feeding you need to please the pepper when the second leaf appears. Then, after a couple of weeks, you will need to carry out a second feeding. If there is a need for a third procedure, then it is carried out a couple of days before transplanting into the garden land.

In the event that feeding will be carried out only twice, it is necessary to carry out the first of them after two weeks have passed since the formation of seedlings. As a rule, during this period, the sprouts already have four leaves. The second feeding falls on a period of four days before planting in a greenhouse or garden. Such fertilizers will help make the seedlings stronger and healthier, as well as increase their resistance to diseases and quickly settle in a new place.

How can you fertilize pepper seedlings?

During the first feeding, you should give preference to fertilizers based on nitrogen or potassium. Many products can be prepared by yourself. For example, for a solution of potassium nitrate, you need to dilute sixty grams of the substance in twenty liters of water. It is fashionable to use a chemical called Kemira-Lux. It is also diluted in an amount of forty grams in twenty liters of warm water. A more complex, but also nutritious fertilizer will be a cocktail of minerals. Here you need to take one bucket of water and add three tablespoons of superphosphate, three teaspoons of potassium sulfate and two teaspoons of ammonium nitrate to it. All of these products will be ideal for the first feeding procedure.

As for the second implementation of the process, the ingredients are needed here are completely different. The main thing here should be phosphorus or something else. A good option would be "Kristalon", when twenty grams of a substance is dissolved in one bucket of water. If you want to add a mineral fertilizer with good nutritional value, then you can try adding sixty grams of superphosphate and twenty-five grams of potassium to one bucket of water.