Does anyone have any good tips on how to encourage alkaloid formation in spice bearing plants? plant foods, soils, ect? i was reading in Trout's notes on tryptamines that there are possible methods for this but he does not go into detail, at least not the parts i've read. Any input would be most appreciated, even just a guess... I figured this may be an interesting topic that us gardener's would find entertaining. blessings...

Stress is usually the number one way to increase alkaloid content. Reduced light conditions, water stress, temperature change, feeding habits and other methods are all forms of stress which can help to increase alkaloids. It probably depends on which kind of plant you are growing though. If you are growing something that likes a lot of water then you might want to try to reduce watering for a short period of time before harvest to increase alkaloids. Or if it's a dry deserty plant then reduced light or sometimes even overwatering (although sometimes risky) can promote content. It depends on your plant so do some research on your plant and find out what kind of stress works best.