Feeding peppers after planting

Bulgarian pepper belongs to those garden crops that love to “eat”, which means that it will have to be fertilized often and abundantly. Unlike its “relatives” – tomatoes, peppers are not afraid of overfeeding, on the contrary, there is such a rule: the more leaves on the bell pepper bushes, the more fruits will ripen on them.

You can learn about how to feed pepper after planting in the ground, what fertilizers to choose for this and how to draw up a feeding scheme, you can learn from this article.

What do bell peppers need?

For normal development, pepper, like other vegetable crops, needs quite a bit:

• water;
• land;
• the sun;
• mineral complex.

If everything is clear with watering – pepper loves frequent and plentiful irrigation, then we will have to talk about other factors in more detail.

The soil for pepper should be loose and fertile, the roots of the plant should be well saturated with oxygen and useful trace elements – then the harvest will delight the owner of the garden.

A plot for cultivation is chosen in the fall, since it must first be fertilized and dug up. Good precursors for bell peppers are onions, carrots, legumes, pumpkin plants and herbs. But in place of tomatoes, potatoes and eggplant, pepper should not be planted – these are plants from the same family, they have the same diseases and the same pests.

Now we can talk about the composition of the soil. First of all, peppers need the following minerals:

• Nitrogen necessary for plants to build green mass, which is very important for a crop such as bell pepper. A sufficient amount of nitrogen in the soil will ensure the formation of many ovaries, as well as the formation of large and beautiful fruits. But an excess of nitrogenous fertilizers can harm the garden crop – lead to a decrease in plant immunity, infection with viruses, and slow down the ripening of fruits.
• Phosphorus necessary for pepper at the stage of fruit formation and ripening. Another function of phosphate fertilizer is to improve the development of the root system, which, in turn, contributes to the speedy adaptation of plants after transplantation and better absorption of water and micronutrients.
• potassium is responsible for the beauty of the fruit – peppers become brighter, have dense and crispy flesh, do not fade for a long time and remain elastic and juicy. Potassium fertilizers can increase the content of vitamins in fruits, make them tastier.
• Calcium necessary for the culture in order to resist various fungal infections, such as blossom end rot, for example. That is why calcium-containing fertilizers are often used for greenhouse crops or in humid climates.
• Magnesium sweet pepper is also needed, without this microelement the leaves of plants will turn yellow and fall off, which, of course, will affect the crop yield.

A gardener can find all the fertilizers necessary for pepper both in mineral complex additives and in organic compounds.

The thing is that pepper is not able to absorb complex fertilizers – for good absorption of top dressing by the roots of the culture, organic components must decompose into separate components.

When and how to feed pepper

Bulgarian pepper needs several dressings, which will have to be carried out at all stages of cultural development.

For fertilizer, it is better to use ready-made formulations designed specifically for nightshade crops or prepare mixtures yourself by dissolving mineral additives in water for irrigation or spraying.

Soil preparation for planting peppers

The main work of the gardener should be directed to the preliminary feeding of the soil in the area where pepper is supposed to be planted next season. Fertilization begins in the fall.

This can be done in many ways, experienced gardeners offer the following methods:

• Dig holes in the area, the depth of which is at least 35 cm. Fill the bottom of these trenches with fresh manure mixed with sawdust and straw. All this is well covered with earth and rammed, leave it like that until the next season. As soon as the snow melts, they begin to dig up the earth on the site. Two days before the proposed planting of pepper seedlings, the soil must be watered with a warm (about 30 degrees) solution of saltpeter and urea. The next day, the soil is abundantly watered with a hot dark pink solution of potassium permanganate and covered with a dense plastic wrap. All this will help not only nourish the earth, but also disinfect it before planting pepper.
• You can still scatter humus, superphosphate and potassium sulfate over the area in the fall, evenly distribute fertilizers with a rake, thereby embedding them in the surface layer of the soil. In the spring, before digging up the site, the fertilizer complex is supplemented with urea and wood ash, which are also evenly distributed in the upper soil layer.

Seed dressing

While pepper seedlings are in the house, they need to be fed at least twice. It is advisable to do the first top dressing two weeks after planting the seeds, when only cotyledon leaves are formed on the seedlings.

Do it in one of the following ways:

1. Use a solution of superphosphate and urea – the most valuable components for pepper seedlings. In 10 liters of water, you will need to dissolve 7 grams of urea and 30 grams of superphosphate, seedlings are not watered with this mixture too abundantly, trying not to damage the delicate stems and roots.
2. In a bucket of water, you can dilute 1,5 tablespoons of potassium nitrate, also pour pepper with this composition.
3. Saltpeter can be replaced with a special fertilizer complex for Kemira Lux peppers. It is also diluted: 1,5 tablespoons in a bucket of water.
4. You can prepare the following composition for peppers: a tablespoon of superphosphate and 1,5 tablespoons of foskamide, dissolved in 10 liters of water.
5. In a bucket of water, you can also dissolve 2 teaspoons of ammonium nitrate, 3 tablespoons of potassium sulfate and 3 tablespoons of superphosphate.

The result of the first feeding should be increased seedling growth, the rapid emergence of new leaves, good survival after picking, bright green foliage. If the pepper feels good and develops normally, you can skip the second feeding of the seedlings, but it is this stage of fertilization that is responsible for the good acclimatization of the seedlings in a new place and the development of immunity.

You can re-fertilize seedlings with the following compositions:

1. In a ten-liter bucket of warm water, dissolve 20 grams of complex top dressing of the “Crystal” type.
2. Use the composition of “Kemira Lux” in the same proportion as mentioned above.
3. In 10 liters of water, dilute 70 grams of superphosphate and 300 grams of potassium salt.

After this top dressing, at least two weeks should pass – only after this period of time the seedlings can be transplanted to a permanent place (in a greenhouse or in unprotected ground).

Feeding during transplant

Do not forget that two years in a row pepper is not grown in the same place – this leads to soil depletion, the culture absorbs all the necessary trace elements. In addition, such plantings are more susceptible to infection by characteristic diseases and attacks by pests whose larvae are in the ground.

If the soil has been prepared correctly since autumn, it is quite enough to apply the following fertilizers to the wells immediately before planting the seedlings:

1. Composition of a mixture of mineral and organic fertilizers. To prepare the mixture, 300 grams of humus or peat are combined with 10 grams of potassium salt and 10 grams of superphosphate.
2. For each square meter of the site, you can add 40 grams of superphosphate and 15 grams of potassium chloride.
3. Instead of potassium chloride, superphosphate can be supplemented with wood ash, it will take about one glass.
4. Mix cow dung in warm water and pour pepper holes with this solution – about a liter in each hole.

Now the plants will have enough nutrients, the pepper will develop normally and form many ovaries. If the soil on the site is severely depleted, recharge may be required at other stages of crop development.

You also need to plant seedlings correctly:

• it’s good if the pepper was grown in separate cups – this way the roots will suffer less during transplantation;
• two days before transplanting, seedlings are abundantly watered;
• all top dressing should stop two weeks before planting pepper in the ground;
• you can deepen the seedlings directly along the cotyledon leaves;
• the holes should be about 12-15 cm deep;
• each hole will require about two liters of water;
• you need to plant seedlings in the mud until the water is completely absorbed;
• Pepper loves heat very much, therefore it is pointless to plant seedlings in the ground heated by less than 15 degrees – the culture will not develop, its growth will slow down.

Fertilizing peppers in the process of growth

In different phases of development, peppers may need completely different minerals. The frequency of fertilizers directly depends on the composition of the soil on the site, on the climate in the region and on the variety of bell pepper. During the growing season, the culture may need from three to five dressings.

So, at different stages, you need to fertilize pepper with the following compositions:

• Immediately before the flowering of the bushes, as well as at the stage of fruit ripening, pepper most urgently needs fertilizers with nitrogen. If this component is not enough in the soil, the culture will “signal” with the drying and dying of the lower leaves, as well as the pallor of the tops of the bushes.
• Phosphorus is needed for sweet pepper at the very beginning of development, when seedlings are transplanted to a permanent place. Damaged roots are not yet able to independently absorb phosphorus from the soil, this component must be added additionally.
• When the fruits are tied and formed, the bushes need potassium most of all, its deficiency is replenished with potash fertilizers.
• In August, when the fruits are already finishing their development and gradually ripening, the pepper needs water the most. Water the crop as needed when the soil dries up, but this should be done at least once every 7-10 days.

All fertilizers must be applied together with water for irrigation – this will prevent burns of the roots and stems, and contribute to better absorption of trace elements. Water for irrigation should be moderately warm, it is best to use settled or rain water.

Excessive use of fertilizers can adversely affect the yield of pepper and the general condition of the plants. But an excess of nitrogenous fertilizers can harm human health – excess nitrogen not absorbed by the culture turns into nitrates and poisons the body.

Attention! Feeding bell peppers should be started no earlier than two weeks after planting seedlings in the ground. With the same interval, it is recommended to carry out all subsequent feeding of vegetable crops.

organic fertilizer for peppers

Since simple organic matter (in the form of manure, chicken manure) is not very useful for culture, and mineral fertilizers are more likely to affect the health of a summer resident, and they are also not cheap, people have created a lot of recipes for more affordable and useful fertilizers for sweet peppers.

Among such folk remedies are:

• brewing sleeping black tea. For the preparation of fertilizer, brewing only large-leaf black tea is suitable, 200 grams of such brew is poured with three liters of cold water and left to infuse for a week. Top dressing of this kind contains a lot of useful substances: magnesium, potassium, iron, calcium and sodium.
• Potassium is essential for active growth. You can get this component from ordinary bananas, or rather, from the peel of these tropical fruits. The peel of two bananas is poured with three liters of cold water and left for 2-3 days. Strained through a sieve, the composition is poured over peppers.
• В chicken egg shell also contains a lot of useful trace elements, there is calcium, and phosphates, and magnesium. The shell must be ground into a fine powder, then it is filled with a three-liter jar by about half, the rest of the volume is supplemented with water. This composition is stored in a dark place until a characteristic sulfuric odor appears, after which the fertilizer is ready for use. Such a composition must be used during the period of fruit setting and development.
• If the bushes show signs of a fungal infection, they can be treated iodine. To do this, a couple of drops of iodine and whey are added to the water (liter) – the bushes are sprayed with this mixture.
• You can feed the pepper yeast. Ordinary baker’s fresh yeast is poured with warm water and a little granulated sugar is added. The mixture should ferment for a couple of days, after which the fertilizer is ready, they can safely water the peppers.
• Chicken droppings can be used to fertilize pepper only in dissolved form, dry litter can severely burn the stems and roots of plants. Dilute litter with water in a ratio of 1:20, the bushes are simply watered with this mixture.
• young nettle will also be an excellent source of trace elements. To prepare top dressing, cut greens should be poured with water and placed in a warm place. After a couple of days, the grass will begin to settle to the bottom of the container, which means that the fertilizer has already fermented and can be used. For greater efficiency, purchased microelements can be added to the nettle solution, the composition can be used every 10 days.

Planting seedlings in a greenhouse and in open ground is accompanied by the same soil preparation, including fertilization and soil disinfection. But subsequent dressings may differ somewhat, since on simple beds the earth still contains more useful trace elements, and garden peppers are less likely to become infected with fungal infections than greenhouse ones.

Fertilizers for bell pepper should be selected in accordance with the growing season of the crop, as well as depending on the condition of the plants. It often happens that the initial feeding at the stage of planting seedlings is enough – the whole season the pepper feels great in the soil saturated with microelements. In any case, the gardener must monitor the condition of the plants until the fall, until the pepper gives up its last fruits.

Only in this way the harvest of sweet pepper will be plentiful, and the vegetable itself will be tasty and healthy!