Debate: Should you feed mutant veggies extra fertilizer or leave them alone?

My neighbor swore dumping more nitrogen on my twisted carrot made it grow even weirder, but my buddy says that just kills the organic look and makes them split. Who's right here, has anyone tested both ways with their own freak produce?

2 comments

2 Comments

jordan_webb499d ago

Have you tried hitting them with a half dose of fish emulsion halfway through the season? I had a batch of mutant bell peppers last year that were all lumpy and misshapen, and giving them just a little extra food made them fill out way better without turning into split monsters. The key is not to go overboard like your neighbor did with the nitrogen bomb. Just a light feeding when they start setting fruit, then back off and let them do their thing. That way you keep the weird organic shapes but still get a decent harvest.

veramartin9d ago

Oh honey, I feel you on those mutant bell peppers! I had a batch of cayennes a couple years back that looked like they'd been in a bar fight - all twisted and bumpy. What worked for me was switching to a diluted seaweed extract instead of fish emulsion. I'd give them a quarter-strength dose every other week once the first flowers showed up. The peppers still had some character but they filled out way nicer without that hard, lumpy texture. You just gotta sneak the food in gentle-like, not dump it on them all at once. That slow and steady approach made a huge difference for me.