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Pot size and type

Bumper

Bumper

So I am doing some planning for next seasons grow, including number of plants and pot sizes. Swampy NZ  just posted a massive 26kg yield off 8 plants in big capacity pots.
 
http://thehotpepper.com/topic/54253-winter-is-coming26-kgs-of-pods-from-8-plants-and-time-for-a-haircut/
 
Wondering what people prefer.  Other places I have read suggest 5 gallons is too much and 3 is just right.  These 37L - 10 gallon bags look pretty decent, they also have smaller and larger sizes.  
 
Has anyone got an approximate calculation for pods per gallon by type, assuming optimum conditions?
 
Leaning towards smart pots as they are similarly priced as black plastic and appear to have better drainage and aeration.  
 
e.g. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/10-x-37L-Soft-Durable-Fabric-Air-Water-Permeable-Reusable-Smart-Plant-Pot-/331024288450?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15&hash=item4d1295cac2
 
Any advice appreciated before I drop more $ on this hobby.  I can't use the raised beds out the back next season, as we are moving to a proper 4 section rotation system to keep the soil healthy.
 
Planned grow list for this year will be fatalii, aji lemon drop, chocolate habanero, bahamian goat pepper, jamaican gold, yellow 7 pot, aji amarillo, tobasco, birds eye, purple ufos and carolina reapers, so a good mix of tall growing and squat plants.  
 
Yep. Bigger the pot, bigger the plant. With the exception of particular varieties that stagnate in growth at smaller sizes. 
 
My personal experience over a few years has been putting all my peppers in 3-6 gallon buckets. I have come to the decision that 4.5 gallon is my minimum. I might be okay with a smaller container size for first year growth if I had a shorter growing season than I do. 4.5 seems to be the sweet spot for first year growth for me. My plan is to bump them up in larger containers each consecutive overwintering. The ones I choose to overwinter anyways. This grow season I have put some overwintered Caribbean Reds in 7 gallon containers. I'm thinking I will eventually have all my older plants in 10 gallon. Also last grow season I used both buckets and fabric bags and observed the ones in bags outperformed the ones in buckets. That could have just been the varieties themselves so I am going to trial the two again before I make a complete switch to grow bags.
 
Spicy Mushroom said:
Yep. Bigger the pot, bigger the plant. With the exception of particular varieties that stagnate in growth at smaller sizes. 
 
My personal experience over a few years has been putting all my peppers in 3-6 gallon buckets. I have come to the decision that 4.5 gallon is my minimum. I might be okay with a smaller container size for first year growth if I had a shorter growing season than I do. 4.5 seems to be the sweet spot for first year growth for me. My plan is to bump them up in larger containers each consecutive overwintering. The ones I choose to overwinter anyways. This grow season I have put some overwintered Caribbean Reds in 7 gallon containers. I'm thinking I will eventually have all my older plants in 10 gallon. Also last grow season I used both buckets and fabric bags and observed the ones in bags outperformed the ones in buckets. That could have just been the varieties themselves so I am going to trial the two again before I make a complete switch to grow bags.
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can you post a pic of your over wintered Caribbean Reds. 
 
I put my overwintered fataliis and yellow morugas in 10 gallon pots this year. Started them in 5 gallon pots last year. I'm hoping to see a drastic difference.
 
And yes, Bumper. General rule of thumb is go big or go home. No real calculation. Any time you can give your plant room to grow a bigger root system, it will be directly reflected in the overall plant
 
I have used light colored 5 gal buckets with holes drilled for drainage. Anything smaller just dries out too quick on a hot 100 degree Kansas day. Light colored to reflect the sun and keep pots cooler (or have mulch or hay bags around them to insulate them). It depended on my soil mix also. A denser mix helped. I have used some larger pots from a nursery when we bought trees or shrubs and the plants did better in them.
 
I  use 2 to 5 gallon cloth type pots the first year, then if I over winter anything I might pot up to 15 to 20 gallon just to free up some roots. But for me I have never had much success with larger pots and my biggest yields have always come from my 3 gallon root pouch pots. But you can't ignore the success that Swampy and several others on here are having with their large pots.  I still have a 3 to 4 year old Red Moruga bush growing in a Whiskey Barrel that has never produced so much as one pod. 
 
SL3 said:
I  use 2 to 5 gallon cloth type pots the first year, then if I over winter anything I might pot up to 15 to 20 gallon just to free up some roots. But for me I have never had much success with larger pots and my biggest yields have always come from my 3 gallon root pouch pots. But you can't ignore the success that Swampy and several others on here are having with their large pots.  I still have a 3 to 4 year old Red Moruga bush growing in a Whiskey Barrel that has never produced so much as one pod. 
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no pods in 3 years ?  POTASH ,POTASH,POTASH , lots of it . i 've got 4 over wintered plants , red moruga ecorpion, red bbg7 , yellow card scorpion , chocolatee 7 pod that has just sat in my kitchen bay window all winter facing south . only gave water every 2 weeks fed once mid winter . and they gave my a few pods each just sitting there . that was month ago or more . now bbg7 just set 10 pods .  heres a pic of yellow scorpion in the winter .  
 
IMG_0218.JPG

 
sorry about it being sideways adobe need updated at the time .
 
I posted my thoughts in Swampy's thread, but would add:

Don't use grow bags. They break down too fast. If you want to save money, I'm going to start a thread momentarily with some tips.
moruga welder said:
no pods in 3 years ?  POTASH ,POTASH,POTASH , lots of it . i 've got 4 over wintered plants , red moruga ecorpion, red bbg7 , yellow card scorpion , chocolatee 7 pod that has just sat in my kitchen bay window all winter facing south . only gave water every 2 weeks fed once mid winter . and they gave my a few pods each just sitting there . that was month ago or more . now bbg7 just set 10 pods .  heres a pic of yellow scorpion in the winter .  
 
attachicon.gif
IMG_0218.JPG
 
sorry about it being sideways adobe need updated at the time .
Click to expand...
Gotta be careful with potash. It's VERY potent stuff. I'd follow the directions carefully and make sure to give it enough time before making further applications. I'd be looking at Calcium/Magnesium deficiency as a likely culprit as well, especially in potting mix that old.
 
Wicked Mike said:
I posted my thoughts in Swampy's thread, but would add:

Don't use grow bags. They break down too fast. If you want to save money, I'm going to start a thread momentarily with some tips.

Gotta be careful with potash. It's VERY potent stuff. I'd follow the directions carefully and make sure to give it enough time before making further applications. I'd be looking at Calcium/Magnesium deficiency as a likely culprit as well, especially in potting mix that old
Click to expand...
guess i was misleading not lots of it , just higher number of phos. and potash in the flowering stage . sorry bout that .      :onfire:
 
I have quite a few of my Caribbean Reds in 2-3.25 gallon pots right now. Should I let then get to 2 feet before putting them in larger pots or should I let them get bigger ?
 
SavinaRed said:
I have quite a few of my Caribbean Reds in 2-3.25 gallon pots right now. Should I let then get to 2 feet before putting them in larger pots or should I let them get bigger ?
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I generally go by what the root mass looks like. You want an established system of roots that's making full use of the dirt you've given them, but you don't want them circling the bottom of the pot starving.

I just went outside to look for an example and found this:



That much root coming out of the drainage holes is a pretty clear indicator, but I popped it out for a better look.



That's a plant that's ready to be jumped up to either a three or five gal, but it's not so overdue that the plant is suffering.



That said, I should have topped it.
 
Wicked Mike has a good point that applies to seedlings to adult plants.
 
I generally go by what the root mass looks like. You want an established system of roots that's making full use of the dirt you've given them, but you don't want them circling the bottom of the pot starving.
Click to expand...
 
Good roots=Good plant.
 
I've been very torn about this myself, trying to work out what I could reasonable afford and actually fit in the greenhouse/porch/every available window. I got a super good deal on 9 liter buckets (2.3gallons), hoping this will work out. A few will get to go into raised beds, and I'm looking at getting a few larger containers so that I can at least try out different sizes. Can't give too many tips as it's my very first year growing.
 
Great replies and advice as always.  I think I'll get two packs of 10 grow bags, a pack of 5 gallon and a pack of 10 gallon, with an extra couple of 20's for the bahamian goat pepper and any others I will keep and overwinter and grow huge the following season.  $200 for 23 big grow bags that should last 3-4 seasons + isn't that big a deal for a hobby as good as this.
 
As I am growing indoors overwinter, I am hoping they are going to be pretty decent sized plants that will be keen to be potted on in 7 months time.  With the seeds being sown progressively now so they will make good use of the bigger volume I think.  I like Wicked Mike's approach  - the smaller, less vigorous plants I'll hold back in smaller pots as gifts for friends.  Interesting how your friend base grows when they find out you will likely have excess chilli plants for next season…   
 
moruga welder said:
no pods in 3 years ?  POTASH ,POTASH,POTASH , lots of it . i 've got 4 over wintered plants , red moruga ecorpion, red bbg7 , yellow card scorpion , chocolatee 7 pod that has just sat in my kitchen bay window all winter facing south . only gave water every 2 weeks fed once mid winter . and they gave my a few pods each just sitting there . that was month ago or more . now bbg7 just set 10 pods .  heres a pic of yellow scorpion in the winter .  
 
attachicon.gif
IMG_0218.JPG
 
sorry about it being sideways adobe need updated at the time .
Click to expand...
It's the only plant out of hundreds that has ever done this. All my over winters have always done quite well. I think this plant has some genetic issues and I only keep it around as more as a novelty, hoping some day it will produce just one pod. Oh and it does flower from time to time. The only reason I don't use plastic pots anymore is I found my plants cooking in them. The temps stay in the triple digits here for most the summer. I took a temp probe in one of my plastic pots and it was at 104 degrees, next to it a root pouch probed at 87 degrees. That sold me. When I switched to cloth pots my plants really took off, so I doubt I'll ever switch back. 
 
SavinaRed said:
I just ordered 25 of the 7 gallon size grow bags on amazon for $18.00 shipped.
Click to expand...
Wait what????  If I can get them to ship here, I'll jump on that.  We get screwed left right and centre here with mark ups.  Thanks for the tip, haven't ordered yet.  
SavinaRed said:
I just ordered 25 of the 7 gallon size grow bags on amazon for $18.00 shipped.
Click to expand...
Which one's did you get?
 
These are what I am looking at, prices seem much higher.
 
http://www.amazon.com/Smart-Pot-Pack-Gallon-Handles/dp/B00J9S887G/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1430005374&sr=8-7&keywords=smart+pots
 
Bumper said:
Wait what????  If I can get them to ship here, I'll jump on that.  We get screwed left right and centre here with mark ups.  Thanks for the tip, haven't ordered yet.  

Which one's did you get?
 
These are what I am looking at, prices seem much higher.
 
http://www.amazon.com/Smart-Pot-Pack-Gallon-Handles/dp/B00J9S887G/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1430005374&sr=8-7&keywords=smart+pots
Click to expand...
I ordered these
 
 
http://www.amazon.com/ViagrowTM-gallon-Grow-Bag-pack/dp/B00BAZWRXW/ref=pd_sim_lg_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=0MDVZCAXAC4DPJ17T96M
 
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