I've had pretty good luck with MG Moisture Control. Does your clay pot have drainage? If not, you might just want to use the inside green pot.

John A

Hi, John thanks for stopping by. Yes, the clay pot also has a drainage hole. Isn't MG moisture control a no no when you need to avoid wet roots? I thought peppers needed good drainage soils, so I'm a little confused.

we just use regular potting soil with extra perlite in it. Peppers don't like wet feet at all and do better with "benign neglect" and a little drying out between waterings so your well drained mix would probably be just fine.

k

Thanks guys. I've only made 511 once, and in MUCH bigger quantities, so 70 Soil and 30 perlite it is (unless you meant the opposite, Grace?). How much lime would you put in a pot that size, 1tsp, maybe?

I don't know what fish emulsion is, however, we do have 2 cats, so if it smells like fish, peppers might not stay upright in the pot for long... is it some sort of fertilizer? Can I buy something else?

Also, as far as watering goes, I'm getting the feeling that peppers are another one of those "better to err on the dry side of moist" like lemons?

Thanks for all the help, y'all :)

.

Atheen

Nope, I definitely meant 70/30 soil to perlite. At first, getting this notification, I didn't read the subject line and thought I had said 70/30 for succulent soil and was rushing here to correct myself LOL. :-)

You don't need need lime in this mix.

Not sure which Fafard you have but my potting mix, Pro Mix HP, basically has nothing in it. If yours does have some nutrients, you should be okay for awhile. If not, I'd recommend getting a bottle of Foliage Pro to start and you'll be eons ahead of now. But if you're using that, I wouldn't start until about a week later once the plant settles in a bit and even then, start off with a 1/2 dose on moist soil.

Until then, just water, and yes--lightly moist but definitely it wet. As insurance, you might want to put some Osmocote in there but that's up to you. As long as you're diligent about fertilizing, you don't need to.

Also, and you may not know this already, but when you mix the soil, put the perlite and soil together in a large bowl, water it enough to make a soggy (but not soupy) mix, and totally mix it together well. THEN you use that soil. If you try to dry mix and pour it in the pot, plant the pepper then water, the perlite will float and the peat will drop, basically rendering your mix too dry and too wet on top and bottom, respectively. Once this is done, then begin your pepper de-potting and roots business.

Also, when watering this perlite soil, water lightly and thoroughly, meaning don't flood the soil but hose in lightly for a long time to prevent the perlite from floating.

That said, Atheen, that pot won't last long for a Cayenne plant, you know that, right? Personally, I'd use a 3 gallon minimum, if not 5-gallon, I would think, so It's not a pepper I grow myself. So if you use this pot and all goes well, you'll probably need to transplant again soon. If I were to guess, your pot is about a gallon. :)

definitely better to err on the dry side. You can even let it visibly wilt a little before watering.

Grace is right though, the roots are probably pretty overgrown. You will want to detangle them and then give the plant a little extra attention, some shade, a simple 4-1-1 type fertilizer or something equally balanced will work instead of fish emulsion. Small doses though.

Will have some transplant shock but should recover like a champ.

k