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kawaiineko_gardener

problems with pepper and eggplant plants! please help!

I tried posting this in the vegetable gardening forum and people recommended I post it in this forum instead.

Please don't derail the thread by arguing over which soil is best and which is inferior. I'm not trying to be rude, it's merely a request.

I tried growing pepper and eggplant plants in 5 gallon containers last year. I ended up with huge plants and little/no fruit.

The soil mixes I used are listed below:

I do container gardening and I make my own soil mixtures.
Listed below are the two main 'soil recipes' I mix up.

2-3 cu ft pine bark fines
5 gallons peat
5 gallons perlite
2 cups dolomitic (garden) lime (or gypsum in some cases)
2 cups CRF (if preferred)

2 parts vermiculite
2 parts peat moss
2 parts perlite
2 parts manure
3 parts soil (top soil/potting soil)

No other vegetable plant except my pepper and eggplants had an issue with either soil mix listed above; all of the other veggies LOVED the soil mixes listed above.

People keep saying that the mixes I have listed use too much peat, that I should use the 511 mix.

I DO use the 511 mix, and I found it right here on garden web via this link...

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/contain/msg1221344425812.html

There are a few different recipes for the 511 mix depending on how big of a batch of soil mix you want to make.

The 'recipe; I use for the large batch of soil IS listed right on the page, as I said I received it from garden web via the link listed above.

All I did was measure out the ingredients in the quantities given for the large batch of soil.

I prefer to use a slow release fertilizer because I can just mix the fertilizer directly into the soil, and it basically feeds them all season long. I also don't have to worry about overfertilizing them by surface fertilizing them too much. (by 'surface fertilizing' i mean applying a liquid fertilizer on the surface of the soil).

I used Osmocote because it was recommended to me when i asked what type of fertilizer is best for container gardening.

However, it's very high in nitrogen. Can somebody recommend a time released fertilizer that is more balanced that is suitable for container gardening?

I've looked at lots of fertilizers, but none of them are designed to be mixed into the soil and aren't compatible with container gardening.

I use the soil mixes listed above, because with the exception of the pepper and eggplant plants, they work for me; I get healthy plants and very good harvests.

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