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limited space, 2 plants 1 pot

gourdmaster

gourdmaster

Hey all,
 
So ive heard planting 2 or 3 pots per container works, but generally the youll get about the same yield as one plant in the same pot, because the plants fight for space and the nutrients in the soil. But if you are trying to work on an unstable pepper in an early falial gen, would putting multiple plants in the same container be beneficial?
 
Even if the plants dont put out as many peppers, you would be able to tell which plant is the strongest grower, you would have a wider genetic pool meaning the chances of seeing the phenotype you're trying to isolate increases, and you would see which of the plants is the most stable with the least variations in pods. Since the plants are all the same species too, if they cross pollinate would it impact the process? It doesnt seem like it would.
 
Am i wrong in this thinking? Or would this work as a space saving shortcut for pepper breeding?
 
I never plant more then 1 per container the roots get tangled up together and when I cross my plants I like better control of each plant, My vote is no to multiple plants in the same pot. One plant one container
 
I say to keep it to one plant per container. 
If you are serious about breeding peppers then you need to find more space. 
Trying to take shortcuts probably isn't the best way to go when breeding. There are too many growers doing that already.
 
To put it this way, whichever plant grows taller first will strangle the other one while blocking all the sun. Get a second pot ASAP.
 
I experimented last season. I planted several varieties, each variety being represented in ground (planted single), and in pots (both single and 2 per pot). In each variety, the end result was consistent - when planted singly, whether in ground or in a pot, I got bigger, healthier plants with far greater fruit yields than when 2 plants were sharing the same container. Unless you are using huge containers, get them into separate pots ASAP.
 
yes i understand that, but thats not really point. Im planning on planting two plants of the same unstable variety and netting the plants. Yes ill see which plant overgrows the other, and ill likely take seeds from one of the peppers on that plant, unless an ideal phenotype does appear on the other. Tear up the plants at the end of their season and repeat.
 
I understand that the plants get crowded and dont grow as robustly or produce as heavy a harvest. If im after just the genetics though, to my mind multiple plants contributing genetic information would produce stronger following generations, and an adverse environment would allow you to see which of the plants growing is hardiest.
 
I plan on having one or two single plant pots too dont get me wrong, but im wondering if im off base in this line of thinking.
 
If you are chasing good genes and your environment does not allow for good genes to present, how do you intend to be able to identify these good genes? It simply will not work my friend.
 
Examples: you want to identify the tastiest pods, but you only have 6 pods to choose from rather than 60 pods if planted separately; you want to identify tallest plants, but both plant only grew to half of their true genetic potential. You need to find out what their true genetic potential really is by growing them in an environment that allows for full presentation.
 
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