Do these containers look big enough?

Addicted · June 15, 2008

I have my bell peppers,habanero and hungarian hot yellow peppers in containers.The first four round containers in the pic are what they are in,the ones pictured are bell pepper plants.Are these containers big enough,or will i have to re pot them when they get bugger.

Jason.

robin303 · June 15, 2008

Well what I have learned is 5 gal min. The smaller ones dry out faster and get root bound and the soil really gets packed. Even though I am using 5 gal paint buckets I get for free if I had the money I would get the 14" clay pots which will dissipate water better because in plastic I had root rot.

Addicted · June 15, 2008

Shoot,i need 45 gallons more soil.this is getting expensive.

Zana · June 16, 2008

Addicted,

I grew a number of tomato and pepper plants in containers of that size last year. All produced fruit but not as much as in containers that were at least half again the size. I stopped counting after 140 containers last year, and continued to harvest until the 1st of November. (Not bad for Southern Ontario, I think. I think my record was the 3rd week of November.)

I used at least 2 to 3 inches of broken terra cotta in the bottom of each container - more if a huge container (I have at least 6 that are about 100 to 150gal US concrete/tufa containers that I put at least 6" of broken terra cotta in the bottom.). I have very little problem with waterlogged roots, and the terra cotta helps wick up the water from the saucers.

As for the soil, I recycle it annually. Keeps the cost down. Pots are marked on the bottom with the "age" of the soil mix- before planting out. After 3 seasons it goes into the flower beds. Each season, I take the old soil mix and dump into a large wheeled garbage bin in the fall, after removing any weeds (to the recycle bags) and plants (unless diseased, to the compost bin). The sealed bin sits all winter on my concrete patio in full sunlight(provided it isn't completely buried with snow like this past winter). That usually will kill off most of the weed seeds....or stray garlic chives before I go to use it the next Spring. Before I go to use it agian in the Spring, I dump about 1/2 of a wheelbarrowful into my large wheel barrow, add fresh mature compost, and other amendments, plus organic fertiliser.

As a result, I don't end up having to "buy" much in the way of new "soil" each year. Probably its only a 25% turnover annually.

Addicted · June 16, 2008

Thanks for the info Zana,I got lucky though...The truckload of soil that was given to me is not too acidic like i had thought.So tonight i started transfering plants in to makeshift raised beds.Kiddie pools!..so far they seem cheap and effective.

Jason.

korney19 · June 21, 2008

Try to look at the bottom of the black containers, there should be a number like 400, 600, 900, 1200, etc. the #s preceeding the zeros are the # of trade quarts I think. So a 900 = 9 qts, 1200 = 3 gallon, etc.

I've grown peppers in containers as small as 2 gallons if fed regularly & watered daily, sometimes 2x. Of course, bigger is better, but I've been growing my peppers in 4-gallon kitty litter type square buckets, usually only 3/4 full.

Hope this helps.

June 15, 2008	#1
Addicted Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Ma Posts: 61	Do these containers look big enough? I have my bell peppers,habanero and hungarian hot yellow peppers in containers.The first four round containers in the pic are what they are in,the ones pictured are bell pepper plants.Are these containers big enough,or will i have to re pot them when they get bugger. Jason.

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June 15, 2008	#2
robin303 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Austin, TX Zone 8b Posts: 531	Well what I have learned is 5 gal min. The smaller ones dry out faster and get root bound and the soil really gets packed. Even though I am using 5 gal paint buckets I get for free if I had the money I would get the 14" clay pots which will dissipate water better because in plastic I had root rot.

June 16, 2008	#4
Zana Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Southwestern Ontario, Canada Posts: 4,521	Addicted, I grew a number of tomato and pepper plants in containers of that size last year. All produced fruit but not as much as in containers that were at least half again the size. I stopped counting after 140 containers last year, and continued to harvest until the 1st of November. (Not bad for Southern Ontario, I think. I think my record was the 3rd week of November.) I used at least 2 to 3 inches of broken terra cotta in the bottom of each container - more if a huge container (I have at least 6 that are about 100 to 150gal US concrete/tufa containers that I put at least 6" of broken terra cotta in the bottom.). I have very little problem with waterlogged roots, and the terra cotta helps wick up the water from the saucers. As for the soil, I recycle it annually. Keeps the cost down. Pots are marked on the bottom with the "age" of the soil mix- before planting out. After 3 seasons it goes into the flower beds. Each season, I take the old soil mix and dump into a large wheeled garbage bin in the fall, after removing any weeds (to the recycle bags) and plants (unless diseased, to the compost bin). The sealed bin sits all winter on my concrete patio in full sunlight(provided it isn't completely buried with snow like this past winter). That usually will kill off most of the weed seeds....or stray garlic chives before I go to use it the next Spring. Before I go to use it agian in the Spring, I dump about 1/2 of a wheelbarrowful into my large wheel barrow, add fresh mature compost, and other amendments, plus organic fertiliser. As a result, I don't end up having to "buy" much in the way of new "soil" each year. Probably its only a 25% turnover annually.

June 21, 2008	#6
korney19 Buffalo-Niagara Tomato TasteFest™ Co-Founder Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: The Niagara Frontier Posts: 942	Try to look at the bottom of the black containers, there should be a number like 400, 600, 900, 1200, etc. the #s preceeding the zeros are the # of trade quarts I think. So a 900 = 9 qts, 1200 = 3 gallon, etc. I've grown peppers in containers as small as 2 gallons if fed regularly & watered daily, sometimes 2x. Of course, bigger is better, but I've been growing my peppers in 4-gallon kitty litter type square buckets, usually only 3/4 full. Hope this helps.