Container Gardening and Pot Size

12 years ago

Hello to my pepper loving friends at Hot Pepper Forum!
I'm entertaining a new idea with regard to growing peppers this year.........growing in pots.. This decision was not simply because I wanted to do so, but as a result of two different issues........my health and it's varying nature day by day, and also the fact that my garden area these days is simply a mud hole. We had not had rain for a couple of weeks and my garden "growing area" was still too wet to till. I found out what the problem was a couple of years back........something called "hard pan", and I suppose it's the result of all my tilling over the years resulting in a nonporous layer of dirt a couple of feet down.
My question to all of you today with regard to the pot size issue...........what size of pot do I need to put my pepper plants in to come close to the growth size I'd get if planting in the ground?? I do realize that planting in the ground is ultimately superior, but due to the reasons stated above I'm just not sure if I can go that route anymore..
Thanks in advance for any info you might have!

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Comments (8)

seysonn
12 years ago
You will here more suggestions. But pot size in part depends on the variety that you want to plant and grow. In average practice they us 3 to 5 gallon containers per plant. You can have a long planter to plant more than one in it. Just an option

Stay Tuned !
stoneys_fatali
12 years ago
Mine are mostly in 5 gallon containers but as they get bigger, you'll want to re-pot accordingly.
Your plants will usually give you signs like trunk width, size, etc.

Stoney
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woohooman San Diego CA zone 10a
12 years ago
IMO, depends on how long your season is and which varieties. I've had good luck with superhots in 5 gal, but much better with 10-15 gal. With large fruited annuums like bells and anaheims, I'm trying nothing but big pots --15 gal. Every time I've done them in 5 gal, the first flush is ok, but the fruit just suck after that 1st harvest. Almost all my annuums are in ground like every year -- disappointment is limited then... :)

Kevin
esox07 (4b) Wisconsin
12 years ago
5 gal.
bigger is better but not that much better.
pepper_rancher
12 years ago
this was an incredibly useful video posted by seysonn a few days back...
look at the freaking huuuuge pepper plant in the 42 gallon pot at the end (mind blown)

Here is a link that might be useful: pepper pot size
seysonn
12 years ago
Pepper_Rancher,

It depends on the POT LIFE of a given pepper plant. Probably that huge plant in 160 liter ( 42 gallon) pot was several years old. My season/pot life is shorter than 5 months for peppers so even a gallon container will do for some peppers before they fill the pot with roots by the end of season. In the same video ( at about T1:10) you can see a huge plant in a one gallon pot (the one with white pods)
So as Kevin said it depend on the length of your season and as BRUCE mentioned , big pot is better but by not that much.
So my pots sizes range from 1.5 gallon to 5.
skyclad
Original Author
12 years ago
I want to thank everyone for their ideas and input on my question regarding container size.. I now have some very good ideas on how to proceed..!
Thanks again to all of you....!!
S
don555
12 years ago
I use 7 gallon pots, which is bigger than I need for the varieties I grow and my short summers. But I like the bigger pots because if I go away for a few days I can give the plants a soak before I leave and know that they will be fine until I return, even if the weather is hot and dry.