thanks... but i dont understand # 6. so are you saying to only water the roots and no green part of the buried plant ?????

I think he means this:

5. Bury the plant half way up the stem , [burry /cover with soil half way up the hole]

6. Water when the hole is half full of soil, [fill the hole with soil up to ground level] and again when full of soil. DO NOT let the plant lay on wet soil, or splash water upon the leaves while planting

but i dont understand # 6. so are you saying to only water the roots and no green part of the buried plant ?????
No that is not what I mean. #6 is only applies to planting to settle and soak the soil.

To Texas Weed
I have read on the veggie forum that you can bury pepper plants just as deep as you can tomato plants and roots will form along the stems as they do for tomatoes. I haven't tried it yet. Has any one else? Would be interested in comments or reports of results.
Victor

I have read on the veggie forum that you can bury pepper plants just as deep as you can tomato plants and roots will form along the stems as they do for tomatoes.

I do not think that is correct, at least not totally correct. I know if they are leggy when transplanted you go about an inch or two deeper, but certainly not bury them like can tomato plants.

As from roots growing from the buried stem on pepper plants, I don't think so, at least in my 50 years have never noticed that. Maybe someone else can chime in.

Wish this had been posted a month ago. I'm sure they will be alright as is but I will have to fertilize them every three weeks. I think I may just give this a try next year.

Thank you Texas-weed

Texas-weed you did not say anything about fungicides. Any thoughts?

With due respect, I do not subscribe to the idea of putting fert/nutr at the bottom of hole. I have known of this method that some gardeners use. Of course, all the soil (under and around the plant) should have adequate balanced nutrients and be floppy, etc. What happens to the water soluable nutriens at the bottom of the hole when you water? Most are disolved and sink further down before your plants roots can get that far down.
So, in my mind, the best and efficient way to provide nutrients is from the top and around the plant,worked into the soil, be it organic or chemical.

Pepper plants won't grow roots from buried stems like tomatoes will but it's OK to plant a few inches deeper to anchor a leggy transplant. I do it all the time.

"In each hole add 1 Tablespoon of blood meal (nitrogen), 1/2 cup of bone meal (phosphorous) , 1/2 cup of green sand, 1 Tablespoon Epson Salt, 1 whole banana with peel (potassium), and 2 crushed calcium tablets to prevent blossom-end rot. That is it for fertilizing for the season. Do not add any more. "

why do you add epsom salt as well as calcium tablets? they both are serving the same purpose

"In each hole add 1 Tablespoon of blood meal (nitrogen), 1/2 cup of bone meal (phosphorous) , 1/2 cup of green sand, 1 Tablespoon Epson Salt, 1 whole banana with peel (potassium), and 2 crushed calcium tablets to prevent blossom-end rot. That is it for fertilizing for the season. Do not add any more."

There is a danger in addding epsom salts without a soil test. A Washington State University Puyallup Research and Extension Center document about Epsom salt myths that in part states There are two reports from over 60 years ago on tomato production. When tomatoes are grown on magnesium deficient soil, a foliar application of Epsom salts can relieve magnesium deficiency in tomato plants; no effect on yield was reported. An automatic application of Epsom salts to plants or soils that are not magnesium deficient is a poor management strategy that can injure the plants and contaminate the soil.

Also calcium in the bottom of the hole does not prevernt BER. Our favorite tomato expert Carolyn137 wrote an excellent response to a question about Blossom End Rot (BER) and I am quoting it here:

With BER there is NO problem with absorption of Ca++ though the roots. The problem is maldistribution within the plant that can be induced by a number of stresses which include uneven delivery of water, too much N, growing in too rich soil, too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry you name it.

As the plants mature they can better handle the streses that can induce BER so usually it goes away.

The two exceptions are first, if the soil has NO Ca++ as confirmed with a soil test, and that's a rare condition, and second, if the soil is too acidic in which Case Ca++ is bound in the soil.

Again, adding lime, egg shells and on and on can not and will not prevent BER b'c absorption of Ca++ thru the roots is OK.

Paste tomatoes are especially susceptible to BER and I think someone in a post above mentioned that.

If you go to the top of this first page and click on the FAQ link and scroll down you'll also find an article about BER in case some of you have never looked at the FAQ's And there's some darn good articles there as well, but I wouldn't pay any attention to the variety list b'c it's way out of date.

The old information about BER being caused solely by lack of soil Ca++ has been shown to be wrong with research that's been done in the last 20 years or so, but it's going to take another generation before the real story gets into books, websites, magazines, etc. Most of the better websites already have the correct information.

BER affects not only tomatoes, but peppers, squash, cabbage, cauliflower, etc., and it's a huge multimillion dollar problem for the industry, which is WHY all that reasearch was done. For instance, when tissues were taken from a plant that has BER fruits and was assayed for Ca++, the normal level of Ca++ was found, it just wasn't getting to the blossom end of fruits. And there's also a condition called internal BER where the fruits look fine, no evidence of BER externally, but when you cut open the fruit the inside is black

Hope that helps

Betsy

why do you add epsom salt as well as calcium tablets? they both are serving the same purpose

No they don't. Epsom salts is for magnesium not calcium.

Of course, all the soil (under and around the plant) should have adequate balanced nutrients and be floppy, etc.

LOL! Never heard of floppy soil.

Most are disolved and sink further down before your plants roots can get that far down.

Maybe if you chronically over water.

With due respect, I do not subscribe to the idea of putting fert/nutr at the bottom of hole. I have known of this method that some gardeners use. Of course, all the soil (under and around the plant) should have adequate balanced nutrients and be floppy, etc. What happens to the water soluable nutriens at the bottom of the hole when you water? Most are disolved and sink further down before your plants roots can get that far down.

Well I understand your concern and I should have worded it better. When you remove the soil from the planting hole, the fertilizer is mixed with the soil you removed,and then back filled so it is not setting in the bottom of the hole.

My bad.

why do you add epsom salt as well as calcium tablets? they both are serving the same purpose

No that is not correct. Epsom Salts is sulfur and magnesium, while calcium is well calcium to help prevent blossom end rot.

Texas-weed you did not say anything about fungicides. Any thoughts?

I sure do. Prevention is the best medicine and indirectly covered in the tips and tricks.

For example:

* Plant spacing of a minimum of 3 feet, with 4 being preferable. Allows air to circulate

* Picking a good area in your yard that has plenty of air circulation.

* Do not let soil splash up on the leaves of the plant.

* Use lots of alfalfa or prairie hay as mulch

* Use drip irrigation. If you use overhead water in the morning so the plant has time to dry before night fall.

* Crop rotation

* Use a copper fungicide spray product once a week if all else fails.

LOL just LOL

"* Plant spacing of a minimum of 3 feet, with 4 being preferable. Allows air to circulate "
-----------------------------------------
Plant spacing can help air movement but staking and pruning lower branching/leaves is more important.
Most plant diseases are soil/dampness born and due to air stagnation underneath the plants. That is where I do pruning tomato plants.
The tags/labels with tomato plants/seeds recommend 24" to 36" spacing. This year I am spacing mines 30". I would've done 36" but trying to optimize my limited garden space.

There are lots of issues with the recommendation but if it works for you go for it. My main concern as with others is the labeling of various materials as if it were essentially one nutrient. For example Bone Meal is usially 23% Calcium, 18% Phosphorus. Blood meal likewise has a host of nutrients.
The alfalfa hay mulch (Tip#8)is a mega-Tip. It may provide as many nutrients when decomposed as all other sources depending on how much is applied and the overall alfalfa quality. Example, a 26% protein Alfalfa hay would contain over 4% nitrogen and usually ~2% potassium,~2% Calcium .5% Phosphorus,.3%Magnesium. The big tip here is to locate a quality alfalfa hay at a cheap enough price to afford to mulch with it.

texas-weed,

Thanks for taking your time and sharing your tips. No matter how you put it, there will always be a few that have tunnel vision.

Ron

You know..there might still be a FAQ editor position open!

Taz,

Sometimes you crack me up, but I was a fan of Andrew Dice Clay as well. Little miss Muffet sat on a tuffet, eating her curds and whey....

I think some people must sleep with their box of epsom salts

i don't sleep with it, but i have taken an intimate bath with it..

This year my indeterminate plants are staked on 30" centers. They are pruned with no branches or leaves for the first 24" from the soil. I spray with Daconil Fungicide every 3-4 weeks though and think they will be Ok.

With sixteen tomato plants in a 540sqft garden I don't have room for 3-4' spacing. I grow more than just tomatoes.

You mention mulching with Alphafa hay. Would there be a problem using grass hay for mulching since we raise horses and have plenty of grass hay but no Alphafa. Would our grass hay be the same as your Prarie Grass? Also, I used the plastic landscaping material covered with straw last year. I didn't have any problem with it.