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reemas_gw

container pot size for ghost chili

reemas
11 years ago

hi,

i'm completely new to gardening in general. i cannot take credit for these two plants (ghost chili on left and habanero on right) as i just bought these like this from a nursery.

i bought espoma potting mix and planted the two plants in a 25" rectangluar container.

couple questions:

1.) is this soil ok? do i need to add anything?

2.) is the container size okay? they came in smaller pots at the nursery and i just moved them into the box. is it deep enough?

3.) how often do i water them? i live in Long Beach, CA (near los angeles, CA).

any advice would be great. i'm totally lost.

Comments (8)

  • richiebaker1245
    11 years ago

    Hi reemus, I have a ghost and hab. I'm no expert but I gather from what I've learnt off this forum, that pot looks long and thin, too small for two plants. The bigger the better, so they can spread their roots. I think you're supposed to be able to fit the plant in the pot, if you were to hold it upside down. As for water, less is better. Wait until dry and nearly wilting. When I first got my ghost, it went pale and droopy because I was trying to look after it too much (over-watering). Can't help with your soil, never heard of it, but I'm in the uk.

    Like I said, I'm no expert, but hope this helps.

    Rich.

  • capoman
    11 years ago

    Yes, the pot is too shallow. Should be in 3 gallon pots each or larger. Not too familiar with the Espoma soil, but I suspect it's peat based. I would prefer a bark based soil but you can make peat soils work if you are careful not to over water it. You may want to check out the container forum as that's the best place for container soil, watering and fertilizer advice. Check out Tapla's treatise on these subjects which are the best pieces of container growing advice I've found. I've been growing peppers in containers for awhile now using his methods very successfully.

    Good luck! Growing superhots can easily turn into an addiction!

  • scorpion_john
    11 years ago

    way too small, this is my first year using containers, but i recently repotted my superhots due to advice here, and was suprised to find the roots had made it to the bottom of my pots, and they were alot deeper than yours. I put mine in 5 gallon pots thanks to the advise here, john

  • habjolokia z 6b/7
    11 years ago

    I tried to grow two Ghost last year in the same type of container because I did not expect the germination results I had and did not plan to have 4 Ghost plants.

    The major issue besides not being large enough container, they get too top heavy and will cause the pot to flip on its side. I ended up taking it out of the pot (the roots were so intertwined had to cut it to seperate) and planted in ground.

    Bigger pot is better for sure. Not sure about the Epsoma either.

  • Edymnion
    11 years ago

    Agreed, 5 gallon pots should be considered your minimum final size for healthy peppers. 5 gallon is the size of large laundry detergent buckets.

    Ideally you will want to go to Walmart or any of the big box stores and buy the really big tree sized pots. The ones you can barely wrap your arms around.

    Good rule of thumb is that you should give your peppers a pot that is big enough to go over the top of the plant you want to grow. That is, you should give them as much room under the ground as they take up above it.

    The bigger the pot, the bigger and happier the pepper.

  • capt_saicin
    11 years ago

    I have found here in S. Fla that my Jolokias out grow 5-7 gal. pots in about 2 years/seasons. After that their production drops dramatically. I gave several to a friend who replanted them in the ground. They were clearly root bouind. They have since begun to flourish again.

  • capoman
    11 years ago

    I digress about the 3 gallon minimum. That is advice I would give for my zone. In your zone will need larger then that due to having a much longer and possibly perpetual season.

  • Mac_3
    11 years ago

    reemas:
    apparently --at least according to one guy-- bhut jolokia plants grow up to seven feet tall and can live to seven years :) This guy has a seven-foot tall plant which bears hundreds of peppers at a go, which is about four or five years old: http://www.ghostpeppers.com/seeds.php
    And strangely enough, the plant seems rather scrawny (to me), with a rather thin stem, and its pot seems inordinately small. Amazing.

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