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container Container grown peppers............ How big do they get????

bucdout57

bucdout57

Well just wondering. First year growing in actual containers and wondering what my back yard is gonna look like in a few months. Currently got about I say sixty plants in containers thru out my back yard. I will post picture later when there is light. Been meaning to start a glog but to be honest haven't had the time to write them all down. I originally started with like two hundred seedlings. To my surprise growing them past a seedling to an adolescent has been my biggest struggle. Way to many to count died off on me and a lot were given away to friends or family members. Let's just say that I'm trying to learn from my mistakes and if the world goes not end this year. Next year will be much more satisfying and a more positive success and something to really be proud of. I've read many threads in the hilts with over a hundred plants. Now that's my goal for next year.a big bow to all of you. You know who you are.now let me continue.

What survived the aphids and the drought of 2015. I'm in Los Angeles by the way. That would be me getting two new jobs and not being home to often. Hence the lack of proper watering and the drought.
Currently the wife is looking at me like wtf.... Her nice backyard is no longer nice and now is cluttered with way to many black containers and because of my new job a little bigger container (Mayo Bucket) to hope to promote better grown. Thinking they are a little bit larger than the five gallons I have on the side of the house and several 15 gallon ones.

Like I stated new to growing and am hoping you all can assist me in the proper feeding schedule. My soil consists of promix hd. With a two inch layer of mulch on top. I am about yo apply fish fertilizer tommorrow after work but wondering blood meal would be better. Pics coming. Sorry for not doing that first.

Sorry for blabbing now on to my question.

How big do they get if feed properly???
Which I NEED and WANT to do.

And can you please post pictures or pm me with what you have grown either this year or previous years.
Thanks in advance to any responses.
 
Seen the videos before planting them in the containers. Really looking for more hands on experience and hoping to see some pictures of what I should expect go see in the next few months. They are really tight right now. Dreading getting rid of many of them to make room for my favorites.

This is what they looked like a month or two ago.

http://i.imgur.com/KdXS1s5

http://i.imgur.com/bvx4aZG

http://i.imgur.com/r8jKelP


Someone wanna pm and explain how to add the images thru an ipad? I am not getting the advanced menu like on my desktop. Thanks in advance.
 
I am in the same boat with you.  I have a pepper bush in a 3 gallon container that was stated in May.  Currently it is about 3 feet tall, and has at least 40-50 pods on it that are all ripening up.   I have 6 more in 5 gallon pots, and the rest are in the ground.  We will see what the future brings. 
 
I am hoping the plants max out in the growth potential department in the 5 gal. 
 
The videos are hands on experience, grown by the people who grow the dorset naga which neatly illustrates that, with the right specimen, the bigger the better.  Pro tips are as good as amateur, arguably better  ;)
 
Step them up as they grow and make the final pot as big as you can up to 20 gallons. Check out Swampy NZ - he got over 20kg of pods from 8 plants.  If you plan on keeping them in those pots, be prepared for less yield.  
 
That said, there are plenty of glogs on here with 3 gallon pots loaded with chiles, as much down to your growing skills and environment as the pot.  The first pic has them packed in there, a bit more space will reduce risk of pests and give more light to the canopies.  
 
It is usually a matter of balance also -- sure a plant in a bigger pot will get larger since it has more room for growth but keeping the correct balance of resources (ie. water, fertilizers,etc.) will also effect the output - depending on where you are growing and the length of the season and conditions will also effect what size pots are best for your environment.
 
Figure the smaller the pot they are in the more important it is to water/feed the plant - so that it always has nutrients available as it needs them - but on the same note the easier it is to kill it from over doing the water/food since those nutrrients are going to be more concentrated since there is less soil for them to spread out in. ( which is why experience makes a big difference in results as much or even more than the pot sizes you use.
 
It's all about balance, experience and experimentation to find out what works best for your area and learning when to react and adapt to various situations to minimize damage when problems arise or the environment changes so you can avoid problems rather than react to them after the damage is already done.
 
juanitos said:
next time mix some slow release fert into your soil, this guy is member here and has had great results past 2 years.
i feed my plants hydroponic nutrients on drip system every single watering so i don't do that.
Click to expand...
 
What I do is mix a 8-8-12 with micro-nutrients in with the soil 1-2 inches below where the root ball goes during transplant.  Then after the transplant I'll add some 20-0-0 top dressing.  Of course after the roots have been established and will not be burned by the ferts. 
 
Seems to work well for other members of the nightshade family. 
 
juanitos said:
next time mix some slow release fert into your soil, this guy is member here and has had great results past 2 years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5pXu19-o1w
 
i feed my plants hydroponic nutrients on drip system every single watering so i don't do that.
Click to expand...
Thanks juanitos watch the video good info on a better soil set up than mine. Will definitely try this out next season. Need to google what the mushroom compost and garden tone and garden lime are good for. Never used any of them before.
 
JDFan said:
It is usually a matter of balance also -- sure a plant in a bigger pot will get larger since it has more room for growth but keeping the correct balance of resources (ie. water, fertilizers,etc.) will also effect the output - depending on where you are growing and the length of the season and conditions will also effect what size pots are best for your environment.
 
Figure the smaller the pot they are in the more important it is to water/feed the plant - so that it always has nutrients available as it needs them - but on the same note the easier it is to kill it from over doing the water/food since those nutrrients are going to be more concentrated since there is less soil for them to spread out in. ( which is why experience makes a big difference in results as much or even more than the pot sizes you use.
 
It's all about balance, experience and experimentation to find out what works best for your area and learning when to react and adapt to various situations to minimize damage when problems arise or the environment changes so you can avoid problems rather than react to them after the damage is already done.
Click to expand...
I couldn't agree with this post more. I live and grow chili peppers in a northern climate. I have about 90 days for a growing season. It's short and often quite cool. I've tried growing in 5 gallon buckets, but because I have a cooler climate they'd stay wet for weeks. I could never get a decently hot pepper out of them. I tried growing in smaller pots. They'd produce peppers with decent heat, but they were often small and the production wasn't all that great.

Things didn't turn around for me until I switched to coco as a root zone medium. I'm able to grow much larger plants for a given pot size than I ever was able to in soil. I know this doesn't really answer your question, but it really does depend on a number of variables. Are you going to fertilize, grow organic, or use plain potting soil? Maybe use a different root zone medium? Do you have an environment that will allow for the plants to reach full size?

Neil
 
Picture using the other link...

KdXS1s5.jpg
 
Depends on the plant. I have a bhut jolokia in a "15 gal" (aka 13.5ish actual gallons) nursery pot that is huge. I also have a few lemon drops in 5 gallon buckets which are about as big as they can get.
 

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I have a brazilian starfish that i bumped from a 1 gallon when it was about 4 ft tall to a 15 gallon and now it's well over 6 ft
 
Forgot to mention that both the bhut and the lemon drop were started in the middle and beginning of February respectively. So they are 4.5-5 months old. The lemon drop has not grown any larger since the beginning of June. The bhut continues to grow up and out.
 
Most of my container plants are in 3 gallon nursery pots. This is way smaller than a lot of folk recommend, but I used what I had. Local nursery gave to me for free :) So far they are doing well. The mix recipe I'm using is:
 
2.8 cu ft Fafard 3B
1 cu ft composted cow manure
~1/3 gal perlite. (Rough estimate, the fafard has a bunch already, but added some for the compost manure)
14-14-14 3-4 month slow release osmocote (Southern Ag brand)
 
So far this is working well. I wish I had added some garden tone, bonemeal, etc... to add calcium. I've seen a few pods with what looks like ber, and started supplementing with CalMag+. I'll need to add more of the osmocote sometime this month. Here's a pic from this morning.
iIUsb1el.jpg

 
The biggest challenge so far with this setup is staying on top of the watering. With these hot days, they need a good soaking every other day. I'm currently putting together a plan for a drip system, with timer. That should help. 
 
suchen said:
Depends on the plant. I have a bhut jolokia in a "15 gal" (aka 13.5ish actual gallons) nursery pot that is huge. I also have a few lemon drops in 5 gallon buckets which are about as big as they can get.
Click to expand...
Man suchen that's really big. Florida weather is perfect for peppers. Mine are all small and no good growth with a lot of yellowing. Nothing to brag about. Yet....
Peter S said:
Most of my container plants are in 3 gallon nursery pots. This is way smaller than a lot of folk recommend, but I used what I had. Local nursery gave to me for free :) So far they are doing well. The mix recipe I'm using is:
 
2.8 cu ft Fafard 3B
1 cu ft composted cow manure
~1/3 gal perlite. (Rough estimate, the fafard has a bunch already, but added some for the compost manure)
14-14-14 3-4 month slow release osmocote (Southern Ag brand)
 
So far this is working well. I wish I had added some garden tone, bonemeal, etc... to add calcium. I've seen a few pods with what looks like ber, and started supplementing with CalMag+. I'll need to add more of the osmocote sometime this month. Here's a pic from this morning.
iIUsb1el.jpg

 
The biggest challenge so far with this setup is staying on top of the watering. With these hot days, they need a good soaking every other day. I'm currently putting together a plan for a drip system, with timer. That should help.
Click to expand...
Man those are also pretty large. Good job they look really healthy. Unlike mine.
 
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