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Peppers love light, warmth, and “eating.” The culture is quite capricious, requiring a lot of attention, however, this circumstance does not stop our Russian gardeners. Many people have been growing peppers on their plots for a long time and with great success.
It all starts with growing seedlings, since pepper is a crop with a long growing season. And in central Russia and in the northern regions of Siberia there is not enough time to obtain a harvest. With proper care: regular watering, loosening, weeding and fertilizing, obtaining a decent harvest becomes guaranteed possible.
Experienced gardeners have long come to the conclusion that it is impossible to get pepper fruits without fertilizing. Peppers love light loams and sandy loams. The peculiarity of these soils is that they are poor in mineral elements. Therefore, in order for plants to grow actively and bear fruit vigorously, they need additional feeding. Each plant removes up to 50 macro- and microelements from the soil during the growing season.
In order for peppers to develop adequately during the growing season and form fruits, rather than drag out a miserable existence, gardeners need to provide additional nutrition in the form of root and foliar fertilizers.
Foliar feeding
Foliar feeding of pepper is one of the ways to apply fertilizers by spraying the above-ground parts of plants. That is, plants receive and absorb microelements through leaves and stems. Foliar application of fertilizers can be considered as a one-time, temporary or special phenomenon. The event is held in the following cases:
- The soil temperature is too high or too low, at which the absorption of nutrition by the roots is difficult;
- High soil moisture and density;
- With increased acidity, the roots cannot absorb forms of phosphorus, calcium, and potassium that are inaccessible to them, and nitrogen nutrition is impaired in soils with a high level of acidity;
- During the flowering period or during transplantation, when peppers especially need additional nutrition.
Foliar feeding is often underestimated by gardeners. Or they are considered as a preventive measure during periods of stress: during transplantation, when the temperature drops, or when there is a threat of disease.
However, the use of foliar feeding of pepper has undeniable advantages:
- The stem thickens in a timely manner and the leaf mass increases;
- Peduncles and ovaries are formed abundantly;
- Fruits actively ripen with foliar spraying;
- Nutrients are quickly absorbed by the plant;
- Plants withstand transplantation and natural disasters without damage;
- When using foliar feeding, fertilizers are saved and their efficiency increases.
You can use the same concentration, but the effect will be much lower.But if you exceed the permissible concentration of the solution for foliar feeding, you can cause leaf burn. This circumstance refers to the disadvantages of using the foliar method.
On large farms, agronomists calculate the required standards. Simple gardeners should carefully read the instructions that manufacturers include with fertilizers for foliar spraying.
It is worth keeping in mind that the maximum benefit from foliar feeding of pepper will be provided that the conditions for their application are met:
- Early hours or evenings after 5 pm. At such a time, there is no direct sunlight, which gives the plants time to absorb foliar feeding;
- Pepper leaves have open stomata;
- The temperature for better absorption of fertilizers should be no more than + 22 degrees.
- Microelements are well absorbed in cloudy weather. In the rain, foliar fertilizing is washed off.
The leaves have a porous structure on the inside, so they absorb all microelements much better.
To carry out foliar feeding of pepper, you will need: water, fertilizer, sprayer. If you are fertilizing seedlings, a small spray bottle will suffice. If you have to treat large areas of pepper plantings using the foliar method, you will need a spacious sprayer.
After adjusting for weather conditions and time of day, prepare a fertilizer solution based on the instructions. Pour the solution into the sprayer and treat the plants, do not forget about the underside of the leaves. The liquid should cover the leaves moderately without running off.
Moreover, peppers react very quickly to foliar feeding. After one or two hours, the result will already be visible.
For foliar feeding, the following fertilizers are used:
- Potassium sulfate (solution 1%);
- Superphosphate (2% solution). Since the fertilizer is poorly soluble in water, the solution must be infused for a day or dissolved with boiling water, then the time will be reduced to 10-15 minutes;
- Urea (2% solution);
- Organic fertilizers: infusion from weed or nettle. Plants are placed in a container with water and left for at least a week. Then the liquid is filtered so as not to clog the sprayer, a solution is made (1:10) and the plants are sprayed.
Foliar feeding of pepper is very effective, but has not found widespread use among ordinary gardeners due to the fact that it must be carried out quite often, every 1-2 weeks, the process is labor-intensive and time-consuming, it requires the purchase of special expensive equipment in the form of a sprayer, as well as knowledge of fertilizer calculations.
External manifestations of a lack of batteries
Visual observation of the plants will help you choose a fertilizer for foliar feeding of pepper. The lack of any useful element in the diet is reflected in the appearance of sweet peppers:
- Nitrogen deficiency most often found on sandy loams and loams, which peppers love so much. External signs indicating a lack of nitrogen: peppers have a thin stem, few shoots and poor light green foliage. Very few inflorescences are formed. Symptoms of nitrogen deficiency appear at any stage of plant development, but they are especially noticeable at the initial stage of growth.The problem is solved by adding organic matter, urea, ammonium sulfate, ammonium or sodium nitrate and others;
- Phosphorus stimulates fruit formation. A lack of phosphorus leads to a decrease in yield, as few flowers and ovaries are formed. External manifestations of a deficiency of an element include the presence of bluish and purple shades in the color of leaves. Plants lag behind in development and look unhealthy. The leaves dry out and die, becoming dark in color. Phosphorus deficiency is eliminated by foliar application of superphosphate and potassium phosphate, or a solution of bird droppings;
- For iron deficiency Pepper leaves are affected by a disease called chlorosis, when the leaf blade turns yellow but the veins remain green. Chlorosis can result from increased soil acidity. Foliar feeding of pepper with iron-containing preparations (Ferrovit, Micro-Fe) very quickly eliminates the problem. Folk method: stick a few nails into the soil;
- For magnesium deficiency chlorosis also develops, the leaf blade becomes reddish. Or the leaves, starting from the edge, dry out and curl up. Treatment: feeding peppers with magnesium sulfate or ash. You can apply both foliar and root;
- Copper deficiency leads to stunted pepper growth, the upper bud dies, and white spots appear on the leaves. Adding copper sulfate or superphosphate with copper will bring the plants back to life;
- Boron protects plants from viruses and fungal infections. With a lack of boron, flowers and ovaries fall off, leaves become lightened and curl. Foliar feeding of pepper with a solution of boric acid has a preventive effect and enhances the plant’s defenses;
- Potassium deficiency can be seen if the leaves of the plant begin to dry out at the edges, the buds and ovaries fall off. Side shoots develop poorly or grow crooked. The addition of ash, potassium sulfate, potassium magnesia will compensate for the lack of potassium;
- Calcium promotes the absorption of other elements: nitrogen, phosphorus, magnesium. Externally, a lack of calcium manifests itself in the fact that pepper leaves become smaller, bent, curled, and brown spots appear on them. Chalk, dolomite flour, slaked lime are all fertilizers that increase the calcium content in the soil.
The most common problems when caring for peppers in the form of a lack of nutrients must be solved comprehensively and from the very beginning of plant growth.
Root feeding of pepper
Conventional root feeding of bell peppers is better mastered by our gardeners and is widely used in practice. Fertilizing peppers begins at the seedling stage. At first, the seedlings have enough microelements found in the soil. To get healthy, strong seedlings, you should feed them for the first time one and a half to two weeks after the shoots appear. Complex or compound fertilizers are suitable for seedlings:
- Potassium or sodium humate. Follow the instructions;
- Urea (per 1 liter of water - half a teaspoon);
- Potassium nitrate (one and a half tablespoons per 10 liters of water);
- "Kemira-Lux" according to instructions;
- Potassium sulfate, ammonium nitrate, superphosphate (3, 2 and 3 teaspoons per 10 liters of water, respectively);
- Potassium nitrate and superphosphate (25 and 5 grams per 1 liter of water, respectively);
- "Kristalon" - 2 g per 1 liter of water.
Repeat after 1.5 weeks. You can also use potassium monophosphate (1 teaspoon per liter of water).
For pepper seedlings It is best to carry out foliar feeding.Microfertilizers: “Orton Micro-Fe”, “Ideal”, “Aquadon-micro” are produced in a convenient liquid form and contain most of the necessary microelements. Foliar spraying increases plant resistance to various diseases, especially blackleg, to which pepper seedlings are susceptible when plantings are thickened before picking.
When the plants grow to 20 cm, they have 8 true leaves and buds appear, they are ready to be transplanted into the ground. It is not recommended to use fertilizer for peppers for the first two weeks. But as soon as the peppers bloom, the following feeding is required, since it is at the flowering stage that the future harvest is laid.
The most successful option is to feed at the flowering stage with slurry or infusion of bird droppings (1:10). Infuse organic matter for at least a week.
If it is impossible to add organic matter, fertilize with superphosphate (40 g), ammonium nitrate (40 g) and potassium sulfate (20 g). The fertilizer mixture should be dissolved in 10 liters of water. Use 2 liters of the resulting solution per plant.
Peppers also respond positively to feeding with herbal tea. Weeds are crushed (5 kg), placed in a barrel with 100 liters of water. Ferment for at least a week. Experienced gardeners add 200 g of ash and a bucket of manure to the infusion.
After 2 weeks, when it’s time for the ovaries to form, apply another feeding. Alternate fertilizing with organic matter and mineral fertilizers. Potassium is required for fruit set. Add 1 tsp to a bucket of water (10 l). potassium sulfate, superphosphate and urea 20 g each. Pour the solution over each pepper bush (1-2 l).
Folk remedies
Some fertilizing recipes are usually called folk; they have been tested by more than one generation of gardeners and give good results. It does not take much time to prepare such fertilizers.
Yeast feeding
Baking yeast is a well-known product that consists of microscopic fungi. They contain useful amino acids, microelements, and organic iron. Yeast fertilizers stimulate the formation of the root system. Plants become hardier, seedlings tolerate picking and replanting well. Less time is spent on adaptation. Yeast has proven itself well for foliar feeding of tomatoes and bell peppers. Preparing fertilizing is not difficult:
- You can make a concentrated solution, which should then be diluted. In this case, 200 g of live yeast are added to 1 liter of water, and then diluted in a bucket of water;
- When using dry yeast (10 g), add 2 tbsp. l. granulated sugar per 10 liters of water. It takes 1-2 hours to activate the yeast. Before use, dilute the solution in a ratio of 1:5;
- Add 0.5 kg of yeast to “herbal tea” (infusion of herbs for feeding), leave for 24 hours.
During the growing season, 2 feedings are enough. Yeast fertilizers a kind of growth stimulator for peppers and tomatoes.
Banana peel fertilizer
Fertilizers for tomatoes and peppers can be made from banana skins. A volume of water of 5 liters will require 6-7 pieces. Leave for 3 days. An infusion of banana skins enriches plants with potassium.
Boric acid solution
Foliar bell pepper fertilizer by spraying with a weak solution of boric acid (2 g per 10 liters of water). The method promotes the formation of fruits.
Ash use
Ash infusion is used for fertilizer. To do this, place half a tbsp in a liter jar of water. l. ash. The mixture should sit for a day. The resulting solution is suitable for foliar spraying of pepper after straining.
Egg shell infusion
Take the shells of 5 eggs and fill them with a liter of water. The mixture should stand for about 3 days. The appearance of turbidity and an unpleasant odor indicates that the solution is ready.
Onion peel fertilizer
Place a couple of handfuls of onion peels in a liter container of water. The infusion is prepared within 5 days. After straining, you can fertilize the peppers. The infusion is also suitable for spraying plants to prevent diseases and when pests appear.
Conclusion
Even a novice gardener can grow peppers. You just have to follow the correct agricultural practices, including regular fertilizing with mineral and organic fertilizers. Everyone decides for themselves whether to use foliar feeding of pepper or the well-known root feeding. Do not use fertilizers uncontrollably. Follow the dosage and schedule of their application. Only the correct rates of fertilizing will allow you to grow healthy, strong plants that will consistently bear fruit.
