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Total Newb wanting to get started (Advice/Knowledge wanted)

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Dan Kirkland

So I have had gardens for years growing up, and now that I'm in a position to do so I want to try to grow some of my own food. However I have some hurdles to doing this.
 
First off, I live in a small apartment, so I am limited to what I can do either on a window sill or outside on a patio/porch. Space is my biggest problem, I know some plants can get fairly large. 
 
Second, I don't know what to start with for spicy stuff. I love Carribean Red Habaneros and other things in the range of that level of spice, Cayennes are also a favorite, but I don't know what is easier to grow or what would work better for beginners. As far as what I'd be using them for, I want to make some spices for my wife like with the cayennes and hot sauces/salsas with the hotter stuff.
 
So if you have any advice as to what I should look to do for containers (wife is a neat freak, in a good way), organization, what to grow etc... then I'd love to hear it! 
 
I know a little about planting and growing, but I am always wanting to learn something new.
 
You want a pot that's at least 5 gallons or bigger. The bigger the better. As to what types do you want something hotter than CRH? If you like them then grow them. Tell you what. Send me a pm with your address. I'll send you some Bahamanian Goat Pepper seeds and some Trinidad Red Scorpion seeds. The BGP is habanero strength but with a different flavor profile. The TRS is a superhot. So grow your cayenne and one of each of the others and you'll be set.
 
read the FAQ if you haven't already (stickied in this forum)
 
Some peppers you can't find in the store that are around your heat level are aji pineapple(sweet), aji lemon drop(citrus), and scotch bonnet(used in jerk sauce). check the vendor vault forum for good vendors(not ebay or amazon please).
 
If you want to keep the plants small you can use 1 or 3 gallon pots. You can put them in stylish pots or flower boxes if you want as well. Just make sure they drain as peppers don't like to be sopping wet all the time.
 
Peppers are mostly easy to grow besides wilds / pubs varieties that can take over a year to produce so don't worry about what variety you get.
 
Look into deep water culture. Plants will grow four times as fast and it takes up minimal space.
 
I was in your shoes up until June. My balcony was five by five. I have five pieces of advice to offer:
 
1) Learn as much as you can about potting media. You can't have healthy plants without strong nutrition, especially in container culture.
2) Fewer plants in larger pots is generally going to be more worthwhile, especially over the long haul. For most apartment dwellers, five gallons is the best compromise. Most peppers tend to get painfully rootbound in pots any smaller than that, especially over time. Also, do yourself a favor and avoid the big terra cotta pots. You want the plain black plastic pots nurserymen are using. They trap less moisture.
3) Grow an Ají Lemon Drop plant. You want this plant. You need this plant. This plant is your raison d'être. They're ridiculously easy to grow, set massive yields, and are a great balance between heat and flavor.
4) PM me an address. I have some really cool cultivars, and I'll send you free seeds and stuff.
5) Have fun with this, and welcome to THP.
 
Wow, ya'll are really generous! I would love to take you both up on the offers for the seeds. Wicked Mike, I've never tried an Aji Lemon, from what I gather on articles and descriptions it sounds like it'd be quite tasty. I'll PM both you and hotstuff my address. 
 
I will look into a few 5 gallon pots, I guess 5 gallon buckets would suffice?
 
thanks for the suggestion on the deep water culture Nova, will look into that as well. 
 
I'm going to add Cherry Bomb to that list. Quite easy to grow, great yield and very tough plants. I think they have a great balance between flavor and heat as well. Although they are available in grocery stores, they tend to be small and tasteless. Mine grown in 3 gal pales grow to the size of golf balls. 
 
And yes, drainage in buckets is IMPORTANT! I have found one thing in addition. Many buckets, even with holes drilled in the bottom, have a lip around the bottom that contacts the ground and prevents the water from escaping so it pools under the plant. I cut notches out around the bottom lip and drill a few holes around the outside near the bottom for extra drainage. Also, my moisture probe doesn't reach the bottom third of larger buckets so I can just insert it into the holes on the side to get an idea of what's going on at the bottom.
 
Happy growing!   
 
Grow at least one annuum like a jalapeno or cayenne so you have something to eat for your trouble while you wait the extra month or so it'll take for the hotter peppers to ripen.  Figure out how much of your patio space you are prepared to surrender to them if you otherwise use(d) it, space that receives the most sun.
 
As for ease of growing, being in TX the main thing is you may have some blossom drop and unproductive months in the hottest part of the season, and a need to water fairly often, especially in pots only 5 gallons in size.  The hotter (chinense) peppers will lose water faster so they should be either in larger pots or watered more often.
 
As to the 5G buckets and their drainage:
I typically drill 3/16"-1/4" holes, on the bottome @ 12, 3, 6 & 9 o'clock as well as one in the center & 4 more splitting the distance b/w the original clock positions mentioned. Then, to combat the forementioned problem of bottom bucket lips etc, I go to the side walls of the bucket, every 3" or so, as close to the bottom as possible.
Did all that make any sense?
So far, I have yet to have any issues with my potted peppers suffering excessive water problems.
Good luck!
 
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