Fertilizer For Hot Peppers Plants
updated 12/12/24
Fertilizer helps your plants grow big and healthy by supplying them with the nutrients they need. This is critical for seedlings indoors and for mature plants outdoors. Some of us only get 8 or so months to grow our plants and fertilizer helps us yield bigger harvests. First, the basics….
The Life Cycle of Hot Pepper Plants
The goal is to provide the right kind of fertilizer during the different stages of the plants growth. When your seedlings develop their second or third set of leaves, the focus should be on increasing the plants overall size. Then, when your plants start to develop flowers and buds the focus shifts to supporting and maximizing fruit production. Towards the middle of the season we want to make sure the plant stays healthy and prevent ailments like blossom end rot. There are special fertilizers for all of these different stages.
Let’s Talk About NPK
Every fertilizer has an NPK rating expressed in numbers with dashes, like “5-1-1”, always listed in order of NPK. Here is a simple breakdown in my own words.
N – Nitrogen – (6) This helps the plant grow big and green. Most helpful during the beginning stages of plant life.
P – Phosphorus – (4) Helps with root development and flowering/fruiting.
K – Potassium – (4) Helps with disease control.
What Kind of Fertilizer to Use For Hot Pepper Seedlings
Organic Fertilizers
If you’re using Fox Farm’s Ocean Forest, Happy Frog, or other soils that already contain fertilizer, be careful about adding extra fertilizer! While my pepper plants are indoors (2 months max) I don’t add any extra fertilizer when using Ocean Forest/Happy Frog.
While indoors, I prefer a fertilizer that does not smell. I like to use organic whenever possible but you will find that organic fertilizers are often made up of digested animal products. This means there will likely be a foul and offensive odor permeating throughout your house for 2-3 months. Can you live with that? If so, then there are plenty to choose from.
I have used the Dr. Earth liquid fertilizer with good results. It smells a bit like bile and has a decent Nitrogen rating for early-on growth. You can get it on Amazon and it’s usually readily available at Home Depot too. Make sure to look for the 3-2-2 NPK and not the 1-1-1 version.
I have also used AgroThrive as well. This has a slightly better odor and I didn’t find it too offensive.
A lot of people like the Alaskan Fish Fertilizer (5-1-1), usually plentiful at your local box store. Pay no attention to the sudden outbreak of feral cats around your house.
Synthetic Fertilizers
Grow Big by Fox Farm is a popular choice for indoor fertilizer due to having great NPK values for early plant development and it also has zero odor. You can use this for both containers and the double-cup method.
Although FoxFarm prides themselves on using only the finest natural ingredients, Grow Big and Tiger Bloom are not organic. Their Big Bloom is, however.
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Fertilizing Mature Pepper Plants
Once the plants are transplanted outside, I usually wait 1-2 weeks before adding fertilizer. After which, I use a granular based organic fertilizer for the rest of the season.
I like the Espoma Garden-Tone granular fertilizer. It’s organic, has calcium, readily available at the big box stores, and is relatively inexpensive. I feed my entire garden with this stuff once per month. It has an NPK rating of 3-4-4 which is a nice all-around balance that applies a good supply of phosphorus and potassium to support fruit production and disease resistance (thanks to the added calcium).
It’s made of composted chicken manure (yummy) and for some reason my cockapoo finds it delicious. ( “>﹏< )
Regardless of what fertilizer you choose, make sure you read and follow the application instructions on the back of the bag.