Proper and timely feeding seedlings of pepper at home is a necessary condition for obtaining healthy, strong seedlings.
Plants that have received all the necessary trace elements at an early stage of development form a powerful root system and are able to adapt in the future to the adverse effects of the external environment.
The topic of today's article is pepper seedlings: what to feed, how to feed pepper seedlings, chemical and folk means of top dressing.
How to feed seedlings for pepper growth?
The decision on the first feeding seedlings of peppers to each gardener must be taken, focusing on the composition of the soil in which he sowed the seeds. If you used a special soil for seedlings of peppers and tomatoes, early feeding is not needed. The composition of this soil includes special additives that provide seedlings with food at the earliest stages.
When to feed pepper seedlings? If sowing was done in ordinary garden soil, the first feeding is carried out after the appearance of the first two true leaves. It should be borne in mind that it is at this time that a pepper pick is carried out. If the procedure took place, then the dressing is postponed for 14 days.
The second feeding is needed in 14-15 days. The composition of the mineral mixture is the same, but the dosage is doubled. Pepper sprouts have already matured a bit and they need more nutrients.
The third procedure is carried out a week before the proposed landing of pepper in the ground to a permanent place. During this period, the amount of potash fertilizer in the mixture increases to 8 g per liter.
Natural top dressing
If you are against plant nutrition with chemical mixtures, you can use other methods, for example, feeding pepper plants with folk remedies:
- Nettle infusion - 100 ml, wood ash - 20-30 g per liter.
- Black tea. Slept tea leaves in the amount of 1 cup are poured with three liters of water and infused for 5 days.
- Banana peel. It contains a large amount of potassium, which has a beneficial effect on pepper growth. 2-3 copies infused in three liters of water for three days. Strained infusion irrigated seedlings 2-3 times during the growing period.
- Infusion shell eggs. Stimulates the growth and development of seedlings. In a three-liter jar, the crushed shells are placed at a third of the height, filled with water and infused for three days. The solution is ready for use when a characteristic odor of hydrogen sulfide appears.
- Onion tincture. Prepared from onion peel, infused 4-5 days (20 g per 5 liters).
Why pepper iodine and yeast?
If in the process of growing any fungus got on the plants, watering with iodine or yeast solution will prevent its reproduction.
For feeding pepper seedlings 1-2 drops of iodine dissolved in a liter of water. You can also add to the solution 100 ml of whey.
Yeast top dressing is carried out with fermented solution. 100 g of live yeast and 125 g of sugar are added to a three-liter jar of water. At the end of the fermentation process, 15-20 ml are diluted in a liter of water and the seedlings are watered with a solution.
According to experienced vegetable growers, such dressings subsequently allow an increase in the number of flowers on the plants, and consequently, an increase in yield.
IMPORTANT! Do not use fresh manure for dressing pepper seedlings, this plant does not tolerate it.
Ready mixes
Applying ready mixes, it is necessary to remember that its better underfeed than overfeed. The excess of microelements will damage plants rather than contribute to their development.
By choosing fertilizers for pepper seedlings, preference should be given to liquid forms. When using powders, they must first be diluted in water at the right concentration. Young plants better absorb the chelate form, information about it can be found on the package.
Currently, the sale is wide enough choice of special mixtures for feeding seedlings of different crops or fertilizers for pepper. Experienced gardeners recommend than to fertilize seedlings of pepper:
- Kemira Lux. Specialized fertilizer for seedlings and flower crops. The ratio for the dilution of 1 g per liter for the first feeding, 2-3 g - for the second.
- Crystal. Stimulator of growth and formation of roots. Used in the form of a solution of 2 g per 1 liter for the second feeding. Blue - for seedlings with the use of artificial lighting, white - when growing without illumination, red - against pulling plants in cloudy weather.
- MixtureGUMI Kuznetsova"Contains nitrogen, phosphorus, sodium and potassium. It is a powerful stimulator of growth of seedlings, increases their resistance to stress. Used in quantities of 1 g per liter.
- Ideal. It promotes the development of the root system, increases the stress tolerance of plants and their resistance to various diseases. Diluted for the first top-dressing 0.5 ml per 1 liter, for the second - 1 ml per 1 liter.
- Orton Micro Fe. It is used for spraying in the phase of 3-4 leaves. Contains all microelements necessary for vegetation. Increases plant immunity, activates photosynthesis. Diluted in the ratio of 1 g per 1 liter.
- Aquadon Micro. Polymer-chelate complex.
Top dressing rules
In order for plants to get maximum nutrients without suffering, fertilization rules must be followed:
- The procedure is carried out in the morningso that in the evening, when the temperature drops, the soil has already dried up a bit. Wet soil in cool hours can trigger the development of fungal diseases.
- Feeding is carried out strictly under the root, without hitting the leaves. If droplets of fertilizer accidentally hit the leaves and stalks of pepper, wash them off with warm water.
- Water for breeding the mixture should be warm.
- Any fertilizer is applied to moist soil.
- Between dressings, the soil in the seedling boxes should be loosened regularly.
Signs of plant nutritional deficiencies
Discover, what substances do plants lack can be on the following manifestations:
- Lightening of the lower leaves - lack of nitrogen.
- Light upper leaves - lack of iron.
- Wilting leaves - lack of copper.
- Purple leaf streaks - lack of phosphorus.
If you notice any of these signs, make an extraordinary feeding with a high content of the desired mineral.
Applying top dressing of the desired composition at different periods of pepper development, you will be able to grow healthy seedlings, which will quickly take root when planted in open ground.
So, we found out what and when to feed the seedlings of peppers, top dressing with ready-made mixtures, why use iodine and yeast, gave recipes of folk top dressings.
Useful materials
Read other articles on pepper seedlings:
- Proper cultivation of seeds and whether to soak them before planting?
- How to grow black pepper peas, chili, bitter or sweet at home?
- What are growth promoters and how to use them?
- The main reasons why the leaves are twisted at the shoots, the seedlings fall or are pulled out, and also why the shoots die?
- Terms of planting in the regions of Russia and especially the cultivation in the Urals, in Siberia and the Moscow region.
- Learn the rules of planting Bulgarian and hot peppers, as well as dive sweet?
