Yes the pellets are great, our peppers are lagging too and all fresh seed.
I know someone who put their cat in the freezer too. So when our dog was declining, I dug a hole in advance with a post hole digger. Saved the fill dirt in 2 covered 10 gallon buckets. He was a little guy. Covered the hole with a board and it stayed that way for 2 winters until the next July.