General discussion regarding the techniques and methods used to successfully grow tomato plants in containers.
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#1 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Somis, Ca
Posts: 649
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I am going to grow Jalepeno Peppers and Cilantro in pots this year....along with my toms. Is a 5 gallon paint bucket going to be big enough for the peppers and cilantro??? I know maters need much bigger. The 5 gal buckets are bigger than 5 gal nursery pots.
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#2 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: MA/NH Border
Posts: 4,919
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I grow all my hot peppers and most herbs in 5 gallon grow bags and they do just fine.
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#3 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: SoCal Inland
Posts: 2,705
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I have grown peppers quite well in 5 gallon buckets too.
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#4 |
BANNED
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Vista, CA
Posts: 1,112
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One 5-gallon per pepper plant. For cilantro I prefer an 8" or 10" plastic pot or trough.
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Richard _<||>_ |
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#5 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: ny
Posts: 1,219
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My tomatoes grow fine in 5-gallon buckets so I assume they will work for peppers too since pepper plants are much smaller. One thing though, I would look into grow bags or drill extra large holes and then line with landscaping fabric for air-pruning. Especially since I've read peppers like it dry... That's how I plan to do mine (if I can ever get peppers to germinate for me!!)
Last edited by luigiwu; March 19, 2014 at 11:31 PM. |
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#6 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: MN zone 4
Posts: 359
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I've heard some people say that food-grade plastic buckets are preferable if you're growing plants for food. Your favorite bakery, deli or restaurant might give you their empties if you ask nice
![]() 5 gallons should be fine for size. Containers need to be watered often if they're outside in hot or windy weather, but you'll still want good drainage. Let us know how it works out. |
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#7 |
BANNED
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Vista, CA
Posts: 1,112
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Down here in the land of wholesale growers, 5-gallon nursery pots in various styles are in plentiful supply for $0.25 to 0.45 each at a wholesale supplier. If you are using a 5-gallon bucket instead, then yes drill 3/8" holes on the sides adjacent to the bottom and several more in the bottom itself.
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Richard _<||>_ |
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#8 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Den of Drunken Fools
Posts: 38,539
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Yes drill the holes in the side at the bottom not under the container. Some of my cacti containers I drilled holes all over the sides. Worth |
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#9 |
BANNED
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Vista, CA
Posts: 1,112
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What, you want it cheap and healthy too?
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Richard _<||>_ |
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#10 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Croatia
Posts: 42
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You can get away woth much smaller pots for peppers if you know what you're doing. If 5 gal are easy to come by then use those. Peppers don't mind being root bound if properly fed, and usual recommendations are vastly oversized, probably by people who've never tried growing in smaller pots. Jalapenos are incredibly tough, they can even take my clay soil without problems, so whatever you do they are really hard to kill.
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#11 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: MA/NH Border
Posts: 4,919
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Here's one of my Capperino F1 plants - a hot cherry pepper -- growing in a 4"x4"x6" pot. I lost count at 15 flower buds, and several are now blooming. So yes, it is very possible to grow them in even smaller containers.
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#12 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Rock Hill, SC
Posts: 5,346
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I've actually had better results for peppers in containers than in the ground. Either a single plant in a 3-5 gallon container, or four plants in an 15-18 gallon container.
Don't forget the dolomitic lime and a little bit of epsom salts along with copious amounts of TomatoTone, GardenTone, or your preferred low-N fertilizer. Also, I remove the first blossom that forms in the first branch or "crotch" of the plant.
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[SIZE="3"]I've relaunched my gardening website -- [B]TheUnconventionalTomato.com[/B][/SIZE] * [I][SIZE="1"]*I'm not allowed to post weblinks so you'll have to copy-paste it manually.[/SIZE][/I] |
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#13 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Zone 6
Posts: 365
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I plant my sweet bells and frying peppers in 3-gallon pots and always wind up with more than I need...I dip them in a tray of water and Texas Tomato Food solution once a week, and water from the top as needed. Containers also give you portability at end of season if you need some 'extra time' for them to turn color. I use 10-gallon fabric smart pots for the 'super-hots'.
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#14 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Rock Hill, SC
Posts: 5,346
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That's the other thing. You can be mean to your super-hots and withhold water when the fruit is ripening up and they will be hotter than the blazes of heck.
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[SIZE="3"]I've relaunched my gardening website -- [B]TheUnconventionalTomato.com[/B][/SIZE] * [I][SIZE="1"]*I'm not allowed to post weblinks so you'll have to copy-paste it manually.[/SIZE][/I] |
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#15 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Croatia
Posts: 42
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i forgot to add some examples for small pots and peppers in my previous post, i kinda specialized in that direction:
8l, or 2 gal ![]() a butch t scorpion,7l or 1.8 gal ![]() 4l or 1 gal ![]() 3l, or 0.8 gal ![]() and if productivity is in question (because previous pics were taken right before cutting the plants down before winter), this is a chocolate bhut jolokia: ![]() so yeah, it's possible and even easy. this is also the reason peppers do incredibly well in hydroponic setups, a guy in Finland grows 4m tall pepper trees in 30 cm deep hydro tubs,its insane. |
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