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Pot Size.. Does size matter?

LordHill

LordHill

For most of the winter I have planned my next pepper season to go intk 5 gallon buckets. This seems like overkill.. Would 3 gallon pots be sufficient? I would hate to have to drill holes in roughly 20 perfectly good buckets. I will if i need too, but if 3 gallons is enough I would rather just get those.. im not looking for monster plants, michigan winter doesnt allow that.

Garden is no good, nor is raised bed.. I want full control over watering and sunlight.

3 gallon or 5 gallon?
 
Well, what kinds are you growing? How much yield are you looking for? Are you experienced or inexperienced? Growing with pots on the ground or on concrete? I've seen people successfully grow large plants in little tiny containers (like beer can size) but I don't think I'd have any success with a container that small.
 
Personally, I'd go with three gallon simply because of logistics. But it's like a third the size of a five gallon bucket so if you're more comfortable with those, it might be a big hit.
 
Pot size is one of the biggest single factors in how well you plants will grow and how much they will produce.
I have Dorset Naga plants in 5,17 and 42 gallons.The 5 gallon plant is tiny compared to the others.
I also have Reapers in 13,17 and 29 gallon.Each sized plant is progressively bigger and producing more fruit.
Next year 17 gallons is going to be the smallest size I will plant into.Big pots= big plants= big yields.
 
 
Swampy_NZ said:
Pot size is one of the biggest single factors in how well you plants will grow and how much they will produce.
I have Dorset Naga plants in 5,17 and 42 gallons.The 5 gallon plant is tiny compared to the others.
I also have Reapers in 13,17 and 29 gallon.Each sized plant is progressively bigger and producing more fruit.
Next year 17 gallons is going to be the smallest size I will plant into.Big pots= big plants= big yields.
 
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looking great !
 
Swampy_NZ said:
Pot size is one of the biggest single factors in how well you plants will grow and how much they will produce.
I have Dorset Naga plants in 5,17 and 42 gallons.The 5 gallon plant is tiny compared to the others.
I also have Reapers in 13,17 and 29 gallon.Each sized plant is progressively bigger and producing more fruit.
Next year 17 gallons is going to be the smallest size I will plant into.Big pots= big plants= big yields.
 
Click to expand...

I went from 1-3 then to a 5gal



10913586_10203347700001816_166266751_n_zpsb07077ec.jpg



The bigger the better
 
3 gallon is a great size for first season. i used two size pots last year for supers. 18L and 25L. the difference between the two was negligable. however if i improve my feeding and they were overwintered, i would see improvement in the bigger pots i feel.

however you CAN grow in smaller pots. it wont kill the plant and you would probably get pods, but essentially the plant is Bonsai'd cause of the restricted roots and restricted ability to uptake nutrients.
 
i had mine in 5 gallon trade pots , gonna go up to 7 and 10 just wondering if it would matter much if they were in squat ( being not as tall but bigger around ) containers or the tall ones   ?
 
I did 1 gal pots last year.. Not  good..My plants did not like me it was a battle to the end  with water  one day  under next over..
 
Variety is bit of everything:
Jalapeno
Reaper
Maruga
Red/yellow brain
White bhut
Choc reaper (we will see)
Mini orange bell
Ot heim
Yellow bulls horn
Yellow bulls heart
Pablano
Peter
brazillian starfish
bishops hat
Etc.

Big huge plants would be awesome, but in michigan we can grown pretty much from may thru october.. 6 months is a high estimate, 5 months is realistic (plants already started indoors, 5 months of outdoors)

I dont need huge yield, i just want a few dozen of each variety. This is my 2nd year growing peppers. Its more or less an experimental year. Growing alot of varietys and various heat levels to decide what we like.

I guess 3 gallon this year. Next year when we have narrowed down our varietys I will use 5 gallons.
 
Perfectly good buckets eh?  LoL!  Drill some holes in them SOB's and call it a pot.  I'd def go with the 5 gal over the 3 gallon.  

I personally don't think 5 gallon buckets are enough anyways.  I grew plants in WI for many years  and they always outgrew the 5 gallon buckets.  If you already had your mind made up why even start a thread and ask what to do?
 
3 gal containers are nice if you are growing a new pepper to see if you are going to like it before committing a large container and resources to it. You will get enough pods to get a good idea what its like fresh and enough to dry and make some powder. And maybe share with the neighbors.
 
Started the thread because i didnt have my mind made up. I didnt make up my mind until people made it clear that bigger container = higher yeild. Thats not my goal. I was leaning toward 3 gallon from the start, wanted to make sure there wasnt a reason not to use them. From this thread i have learned that 5 gallon or bigger is preferred, but 3 gallon will serve my purpose
 
If you don't wanna drill holes in 5 gallon buckets, you could always look into 5 gallon garden fabric grow bags. They're cheap, and mine are on their third season and still going strong
 
provided you have an irrigation system in place, you can get very good yields with small containers.
 
i harvested like 40+ lbs of tomatos from a single rock wool slab w/ 2 plants.
 
D3monic said:
5gal pot is cheaper than a 5 gallon bucket. Unless buckets are free. Another people use is fabric grocery bags 
 
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Not around here they aren't. A 5 gal pot will go close $5.00 and I can get 5 gal buckets for $2.89 at Walmart. plus you get a nifty carrying handle.
 
grow bags are what i reccomend to all... 10 gallon bags are like 50 cents each i think. the smaller ones are alot less... i think you can get 3 and 5 gallon black LDPE bags for like 20 cents each.
 
the 1 gallon bags are awsome for transplaning too... skipping the solo cup stage.

actually it looks like its more like 40 cents each for the 5 gallon bags.
 
check on ebay
 
I think that the biggest issue that you will have with the three gallon pots is that you have to water them very often in the summer. At least once a day maybe twice depending on the heat.
 
Ocho Cinco said:
I think that the biggest issue that you will have with the three gallon pots is that you have to water them very often in the summer. At least once a day maybe twice depending on the heat.
Click to expand...
 
yea, more than that even.
 
it all depends on the soil composition.
 
peat lite or coco lite will need watering half a dozen times a day...the key to optimizing gas exchange within the roots is a very light medium, with very high pore space volume...
 
however all the gas exchange in the world means nothing unless you have the time or equipment to water the plants properly... so id highly recommend a proper irrigation system prior to going down the small container high gas exchange rout.
 
id also warn against organic approaches with small containers... gut feeling.  
 
the biggest issue with small containers is instability very early on... address this issue however you like, but for peppers id recommend some cheap trellises staked directly into the soil around the container.
 
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