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container Container Size

AJ Drew

AJ Drew

I am not much of a container grower.  Hoping to have a green house I can heat by this fall.  Tried last fall with a high tunnel but it just cost too much to heat.  Want to try it again with one built with double pane hard glazing.

Figure on container growing what will fill it outdoors, then when I get the thing built this fall moving them into it.  So the question is, what size containers would be the minimum to use for something like this?

Very much want to grow year round, but dont want to go broke.
 
 
You could look into heating with composting ... Why not use your compost pile as a heater during the colder weeks...I was already thinking about that some time ago and there is plenty of reading material across the net.

Could work and shouldnt cost much with some improvising.
 
I use 3 gallon pots with success. I have had 2 foot plants with pods in red solo cups. Last year I used 3 gallon pots exclusively and when the season was over I inspected the root balls and didnt find any that were root bound. Bigger is better, but 3 is sufficient
 
ajdrew said:
I am not much of a container grower.  Hoping to have a green house I can heat by this fall.  Tried last fall with a high tunnel but it just cost too much to heat.  Want to try it again with one built with double pane hard glazing.

Figure on container growing what will fill it outdoors, then when I get the thing built this fall moving them into it.  So the question is, what size containers would be the minimum to use for something like this?

Very much want to grow year round, but dont want to go broke.
 
Click to expand...
 
Geothermal maybe?
 
 
This breaks down to about $1.9 each
 
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Hydroponics-Organic-5-Gal-Nursery-Pots-10-Pack-VHPP500-10/202985184
 
or the poly bags are even cheaper. 5 gal i think would be preferable since you would have longer season in the greenhouse...
 
or just get rockwool / coco grow bags and do drip to waste like most professional greenhouses...
 
On alternative forms of heating, do want to explore.  In fact, have been working on a pit house / underground greenhouse for a bit.  Lots of digging.  Till I get there, want something I can throw electricity at.

On the 3 gallon pots, wow some folk have great results.
 
So this year my plan is a bit ambitious. I have 10, 10 gallon pots for my "larger" plants like red & orange rocoto, amarillear, aji Amarillo, Jays peach ghost scorpion and a couple tepin plants. They will be planted with Promix HP, got a deal of $25 / 3.8 compressed bales.

Now I know I don't need pots that big but hey...why not ;)

The rest will either go into 3 gallon pots or a raised bed.
 
Ultimately the square footage for catching sun is the limit. If you have good results, plants would get larger in pots bigger than 3 gallons but you'd have room for fewer plants, and yet you usually get the largest pod ratio out of bigger plants because every few new inches of growth and stem forking can double the # of pods over the last fork.

Towards that end I'd recommend at least 7 and better 10 gallon pots. With everything else equal, I get about twice the peppers off a plant in 10 gallons compared to one in 5 gallons, and don't have to water as often till later in the season.

I'm factoring that your grow season is about the same length as mine, except longer with a greenhouse. People with shorter seasons can get as much benefit from more plants in smaller pots because their season is over before the plant gets to the size where each wave of forks is making hundreds of new peppers, then double hundreds, quadroople hundreds, etc. except if they overwinter. 10 gallons isn't big enough for a healthy overwintered plant unless it's severely pruned, or you get the same as above, plant doesn't get as large as it otherwise could have but you have room for more plants.

Edit: I should mention I'm taking quantities of very hot and super hot, not larger peppers... you're not going to have quadroople hundreds of bells per round of forks, lol.
 
5 Gal. Nursery Grow Bags are very affordable and has good reviews on it. I've found 25 bags for about $13, cheaper than buckets that are about $3 each.
 
^ 5 gal buckets can be cheaper than that. All those I acquired over the years were free (and a rainbow of colors!) but I've seen them locally on craigslist, food grade/washed-out, 10 matching buckets for $10 is about the going rate unless you want 100+. If nothing else they're good for making compost tea.
 
     5 gallons is the smallest I like to use. I've grown a few in smaller pots (~3 gallons) and they just don't do well. They're always dry and the constant moisture fluctuations make BER a nightmare. (These weren't even big plants, btw. Just some hot wax peppers.) 
     When all my 5 gallon pots and buckets wear out, I won't buy anything else smaller than 7.5 gallons. I get my best results in 10-15 gallon pots. 
 
I think at least 5 gallons each, also. I use lowes/homedepot buckets and drill holes. Cheap and easy.
 
tsurrie said:
You could look into heating with composting ... Why not use your compost pile as a heater during the colder weeks...I was already thinking about that some time ago and there is plenty of reading material across the net.

Could work and shouldnt cost much with some improvising.
Click to expand...
 
 
And provides CO2!
 
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