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in-ground containers? ground? need opinions

ThePepperManiac

ThePepperManiac

ok guys i was thinking about what to do next year... im planing on growing 150 to 200 plants and was wondering what to do i was planning on getting some grow bags and making some soil consisting of coco coir and perlite... any ideas on different soil... also i dont know what would work better ground or container... by work better i mean produce more and grow big pretty big.... it would probably be alot easier to grow that many plants in grow bags to instead of digging that many holes....


THANKS TYLER
 
i have a 10x10 raised bed for my whole garden and only grew 30-40 pepper plants but now i have alot of real good seeds and am steping it up a little.... MEGAHOT you said it was expensive but will i get more production and bigger plants with the contaniers i was planning on buying grow bags which on scambay "ebay" 100 7 gallon growbags sell for 58$..... Thanks milkstud a couple people said to plant in ground... and MUSKYMOJO do you get good production that way... i was also thinking that if i were to plant in contaniers i can plant earlier than inground... which ever way you guys recommend im gonna do cause this is only my 2nd year growing so you guys have way more experience than me... but eithier way im planting one of each variety in a container so i can isolate the entire plant and get pure seed stock for next year..


THANKS FOR ALL THE REPLYS SO FAR TYLER
 
My plants in groubd are not doing as good as my plants in pots and raised beds

My plants in ground require more attention. My plants in pots are doing the best...

Dont ask how... all i know is i give my potted plants casting tea. Seems to make a big help!
 
tylerdodd25_92 said:
i have a 10x10 raised bed for my whole garden and only grew 30-40 pepper plants but now i have alot of real good seeds and am steping it up a little.... MEGAHOT you said it was expensive but will i get more production and bigger plants with the contaniers i was planning on buying grow bags which on scambay "ebay" 100 7 gallon growbags sell for 58$..... Thanks milkstud a couple people said to plant in ground... and MUSKYMOJO do you get good production that way... i was also thinking that if i were to plant in contaniers i can plant earlier than inground... which ever way you guys recommend im gonna do cause this is only my 2nd year growing so you guys have way more experience than me... but eithier way im planting one of each variety in a container so i can isolate the entire plant and get pure seed stock for next year..


THANKS FOR ALL THE REPLYS SO FAR TYLER
Click to expand...

Sounds like a good plan bro!
 
I'm in OH, and grow in pots, but I don't have nearly as many plants as you are talking - had 48 last year and only 24 this year. I grew in pots because I have a postage-stamp sized yard, and I wanted to be able to move the plants when the weather got bad. I did put in a small bed in the front of my house though. The soil here has a lot of clay in it, and so I had the dirt removed down to a couple feet then had garden soil brought to fill it in. The plants I put in the bed absolutely loved it, and it was much easier to weed.

Ultimately, containers vs. ground is up to you and your needs and growing conditions. AlabamaJack, in Texas, grows a ton of plants in pots around his house, and has installed a drip system, so it's do-able. You and I have a shorter growing season than he has, so have different considerations. I'd suggest making a list - what are the reasons to consider pots and what are the reasons to consider ground, given your circumstances? That should help you make a decision.
 
Yes, the plastic mulch thing works great for me. Your "best bet" really depends on a lot of things though. If you have really good soil in your yard, it would be a shame not to use it IMHO. Pots and ground both have their ups and downs, but in my experience growing in the ground is cheaper, easier to maintain, and gives me the best results. That said, I'm strictly an organic gardener.
 
Containers get you in the game fast. Buy/make soil, and put it in. You can also put them on tables and work at waist height. Going in the ground means some prep work unless you already have a good garden space with loose and rich dirt. In my perfect world, I'd go in-ground using raised beds created by double-digging and follow an organic biodynamic intense horticulture plan(google John Jeavons). But in a multi-use urban yard with little space, containers are most practical, so there I am. I use a low pressure system with 1/4" soaker hoses for most of the plants. Due to out of control germination and cloning, I'm also hand watering about 20 plants, so have lost the convenience of containers on a drip system there. Next year no containers not on the system! Just my 2 $.01, but I hope my experience is helpful. It's really not a simple cut and dried thing!

Good luck getting it going whatever you decide!
 
It really doesn't make a difference which way you go, ground or raised bed or container...now before you guys start arguing which is best, you just have to learn through experience which way works best for you...if you grow in the ground, you have to amend your soil to the correct pH and make sure the essential nutrients (including micronutrients) are present or can be added...I would definitely take a soil sample to your local ag extension office and get them to test it...then tell they what you want to grow (if they don't know anything about peppers, tell them tomato's) and they will recommend the ammendments you need to make to your soil....raised beds and container plants are easier for me because I have learned to grow in them...

Each environment has it's own needs which is to say that what works for me here in North Texas may not work for you up in Pennsylvania...and each year brings about challenges also...an age old question is "what is mother nature gonna throw at me this year?"....drought?, heat wave, too much rain?, too cold?....you just have to learn through experience what in particular works for you...

IMO soil composition (or grow media) is the key to healthy plants...
 
However you do it, plan on spending a lot of time with them. I put most of my plants in the ground this year. Last year I was in all containers which just became more work than I wanted to deal with. This year, more plants same amount of time spent with them, but hopefully more peppers.

If you are going to use all containers then definitely work out a plan for automating watering and fertilizing, it will save your sanity.
 
Wulf said:
Are there cheap ways of doing that, or all requiring a fair investment?
Click to expand...

The cost all depends on how many plants you are growing or want to grow next year and how big your system is...drippers, drip tube, drip tape are fairly inexpensive....if you want to set up a fully automated fertigation system, that's where the expense comes in....an inline fertigator (such as an EZ Flow) and timers are the most expensive thing you will have to buy...
 
Wulf said:
Are there cheap ways of doing that, or all requiring a fair investment?
Click to expand...

Can you put a price on your sanity? I can't, but thats because I am on the brink as it is :shh:

But really, what AJ said, it really depends on the size of your operation. Remember that almost all of the methods that are out there can be expanded so build the head end with some factor of expansion in mind so that you don't have to rebuild the whole thing when you decide to grow an extra 20 plants.

I think I might have $300 invested in my system, I could have gone all out and spent about $2500 but I am happy with what I've got and it should last quite a few years.
 
Last post and then I'll stop derailing this thread, but would you mind giving a quick outline of your system? I've done some searching on Google and the grow tech forum here, and drip lines/tape/etc are mentioned a lot but I haven't found an actual explanation/tutorial for them.

A few stores that came back from a Google search say they output something in the range of 2 gallons per hour? That seems excessive, though there must be lower output ones.... Also, I assume the tape/lines must connect to a water source, but nothing showing how that works. Just plug into a garden hose connector, or some special water barrel setup?

Thanks.

And, to actually be on topic, I would say that 200 plants are way too many to try tending to in containers.
 
Wulf said:
Last post and then I'll stop derailing this thread, but would you mind giving a quick outline of your system? I've done some searching on Google and the grow tech forum here, and drip lines/tape/etc are mentioned a lot but I haven't found an actual explanation/tutorial for them.

A few stores that came back from a Google search say they output something in the range of 2 gallons per hour? That seems excessive, though there must be lower output ones.... Also, I assume the tape/lines must connect to a water source, but nothing showing how that works. Just plug into a garden hose connector, or some special water barrel setup?

Thanks.

And, to actually be on topic, I would say that 200 plants are way too many to try tending to in containers.
Click to expand...
your not derailing the thread im learning about what they are talking about tooo these people on here have sooo much knowledge to share..

LOOK WHAT THIS GUY IS DOING..... NEVER SAY TOO MANY HE MUST HAVE 1000 PLANTS


20120715farm1d.JPG
 
tylerdodd25_92 said:
your not derailing the thread im learning about what they are talking about tooo these people on here have sooo much knowledge to share..

LOOK WHAT THIS GUY IS DOING..... NEVER SAY TOO MANY HE MUST HAVE 1000 PLANTS
Click to expand...
K, good to hear I'm not derailing.

But I'm gonna go ahead and guess that there's either more than one person responsible for the above set up, or he's earning a good amount of money all for himself =]

Of course, I'm newer to this than you so maybe containers just seem like a lot of extra work to me because I don't have enough experience.
 
Wulf said:
K, good to hear I'm not derailing.

But I'm gonna go ahead and guess that there's either more than one person responsible for the above set up, or he's earning a good amount of money all for himself =]

Of course, I'm newer to this than you so maybe containers just seem like a lot of extra work to me because I don't have enough experience.
Click to expand...
yeah he sells them his username is pepperrich and he has like 6-7 ads for fresh pepper boxes and yeah im sure its not just one person tending to all those peppers.... but i think i will do all in the ground next year unless anyone has anyother comments/suggestions and then put 1 of each variety into a conatiner for isolation purposes and isolate the whole plant and save the seeds for isolated seed stock for the following year...
 
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