Pepper and Tomato Advice Needed

[shaymac]

Hello,

I planted some green peppers and tomatoes this year in containers on my deck. When I planted them in late May I gave them all the fertilizer sticks. Good for two months it says on the pack. I've been getting tomatoes for about two weeks now, and there are still a ton of green ones. The leaves are turning a tiny bit yellowish. The peppers have about 10 - 14 peppers per plant, most about 3.5 inches in size... as well as around 1.5 inches. My question is: Should I give them all more fertilizer sticks, or is it too late? There are also cucumbers as well about 5 inches, those leaves are also turning a little yellow near the base.

Sorry if these are silly questions. This was my first year growing and things just took off!

Thanks for your time,

shaymac

[Eeyore]

Hi Shay - I see you are in Calgary so I wouldn't worry about giving your plants any more fertilizer. They will soon be done for the year. Here in Edmonton we are harvesting so I'm guessing you won't be far behind. By the time the frost hits your tomatoes will look pretty pathetic and some will likely still be green. If they aren't TOO green place them in a box and cover with newspaper and store in your basement. Check every few days for ripe ones. Right now you can prune the tops off the tomatoes to keep them from starting more flowers. the plants need to put energy into the fruit that is already there. Tomatoes can be washed and frozen whole for use in the winter.
Your peppers will just keep growing and some may even colour up. If they are 3.5 inches across then you can likely start picking them. If you have more than you can use dice them and freeze them for sauces in the winter.
The cukes will look like 773H by the time they are done too. If the skins are relatively smooth your cukes are ready to eat.

No dumb questions Shay. We all started somewhere and with very little knowledge.

[shaymac]

Hi Shay - I see you are in Calgary so I wouldn't worry about giving your plants any more fertilizer. They will soon be done for the year. Here in Edmonton we are harvesting so I'm guessing you won't be far behind. By the time the frost hits your tomatoes will look pretty pathetic and some will likely still be green. If they aren't TOO green place them in a box and cover with newspaper and store in your basement. Check every few days for ripe ones. Right now you can prune the tops off the tomatoes to keep them from starting more flowers. the plants need to put energy into the fruit that is already there. Tomatoes can be washed and frozen whole for use in the winter.
Your peppers will just keep growing and some may even colour up. If they are 3.5 inches across then you can likely start picking them. If you have more than you can use dice them and freeze them for sauces in the winter.
The cukes will look like 773H by the time they are done too. If the skins are relatively smooth your cukes are ready to eat.

No dumb questions Shay. We all started somewhere and with very little knowledge.

Thank you very much for the quick reply.

So for next year I am planning the same grow, just on a larger scale. In order to boost my crop should I re-fertilized after that two month time? These plants did very well for not having fertilizer for over a month. If that's how long those fertilizer sticks last for... two months the pack says.

Thanks again, have a great night.

[Eeyore]

You can fertilize after 2 months if you wish. Personally I'm really slack about feeding my plants and they are lucky if they get fed more than one a season. Remember to rotate your crops so that you don't have the same plants in the same spots next year. You might also want to add compost or manure in the spring to add nutrients to your soil.

[Heidi S]

Shay, container growing is vastly different than growing in the ground. Yes, refertilizing is essential to most container gardening, because the more frequent watering requirement washes the soluble nutrients away quickly. If you are using the fertilizer sticks and they say good for 2 months, that is exactly how long they are expected to last. So planting in May means re-fertilizing in the beginning of July is important for plant health.

Now is really too late to make any difference, but the leaves discolouring is a sign of starvation. You also have to make sure you refresh to soil in your containers regularly to give your plants the nutrients they need.

I run a small greenhouse with all containerized tomatoes and cukes, and replaced all the soil this year, adding micro nutrients as well as compost and composted manure. In addition I have done some liquid feeding every two weeks, on a 1/3 strength basis to give them a bit of pep, and my crop this year has been much better - more fruit, bigger tomatoes, less cat-facing and rot problems than I had last year. My soil in my containers was about 4 years old, and I was fertilizing regularly, but the crop was not nearly as good as this year is. I spoke with a greenhouse expert during the winter and he said my photos of my tomatoes indicated they were starving - I needed to take the actions I mentioned above to fix it. So I did!

[Heidi S]

Ha, Ha - I just verified my own theory - been away from home for almost 6 weeks looking after my elderly father, and my son has been faithfully watering the greenhouse, but I didn't ask him to fertilize. Home this week to find the cukes, peppers and tomato plants all looking extremely anemic and starving. Of course it is too late now for sure, but if I ever have to leave someone else in charge, I will have to make sure they have fertilizing instructions along with doing the watering

Overall I had a good crop this year, but the end of season leaf colour was definitely proof that they all needed more food after the middle of August.

[Dumbo]

I can't really remember but, are you the person who uses seaweed fertilizer? If so, mind if I ask what it is in seaweed fertilizer that you find is maybe better than other things?

[pepperjoe]

Shay,
The yellow leaves may be indicative of a fungus or Bacterial issue.
I recommend putting in the transplant hole a sulfur/copper mixture which can be found at most gardening stores. ( a pack of matches or two fanned out will do too). Then a periodic dusting about monthly. Not only does it keep the fungus/bacteria at bay, but it naturally feeds the plant as well.
Fiery Regards,
Pepper Joe

[CdnChelsea]

Shay,
The yellow leaves may be indicative of a fungus or Bacterial issue.
I recommend putting in the transplant hole a sulfur/copper mixture which can be found at most gardening stores. ( a pack of matches or two fanned out will do too). Then a periodic dusting about monthly. Not only does it keep the fungus/bacteria at bay, but it naturally feeds the plant as well.
Fiery Regards,
Pepper Joe

I just learned something new (for me).

Thanks for the tip, Pepper Joe

: )