Fertalizing Seedlings

[MrCMB99]

Greetings!

So I'm on my third year of growing tomatoes and pepper from seeds, but I'm still trying to figure out how this works. So each book and website suggests that once seeds begin to sprout, they should be fertilized once a week or once every two weeks. This I get.

However, what I'm not clear of is how much fertilizer. I'm using an organic 2-2-2 that says to mix one capfull with a gallon of water. I have my seedlings going in self-watering trays (that use capillary mats). How much of the water/fertalizer mixture should I pour into the tray, or should I spray it on top using a squirt bottle? If I do that, how many squirts per plant per week?

Thanks for all your help!

[Martin H]

I might be the odd one out on here, but I never feed my tomato and pepper seedlings. They get all the feed from the compost until they get big.

Are you growing hydroponically with no compost? Then you would need to feed them obviously and an expert will probably be along shortly.

Me, I sow the seed thinly in multi-purpose compost. Once they have two proper leaves I prick them out into their own small pots of multi-purpose. Once the roots are coming out of the bottom of the pots I put them into bigger pots. And so on until they are in their final pots.

Only once the final pots are full of root do I start feeding.

[veggiechicken]

Hi and welcome!

I don't fertilise seedlings - I pot them on into new compost as they grow, until they reach a size to be planted in their final positions. I only start feeding them when they set fruit.

This is just what I do, others may be different.

EDIT Snap Martin

[Bren In Pots]

Hello and welcome to the vine MrCMB everyone has their own ideas these are mine.

I don't feed my tomatoes until they're planted in the GH border and have set their first truss then I feed weekly either with a home made comfrey feed or a dedicated toms feed.

My sweet peppers are grown on self watering trays i give them a comfrey feed once they've set no real measuring though I just tip some in the trough.