Container Gardening and Pot Size

9 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
9 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
9 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
9 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
9 years ago
5 gal.
bigger is better but not that much better.
pepper_rancher
9 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
9 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
9 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
9 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.