Built my first indoor system. 3 shelves 19"x54". Frost here about Nov. 1-Apr. 10. I have room in the garden & will ditch the pots mid April. If I start germinating Nov. 1 & pick varieties that aren't huge could I get by with 3 gallon grow bags? Trying to maximize indoor space. Thanks in advance for advice!
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3 gallon pots OK for this?
- Thread starter coachspencerxc
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Thanks... also another question... Viagrow bags look like the most cost effective option by a mile other than salvaged pots. I have an unlimited supply of 1.5 gallon pots but nothing bigger. Are the Viagrow bags suitable for using for several months?
I heard they were good for a at least a growing season.coachspencerxc said:
Grow bags aren't very good for not disturbing the plant when it comes time to transplant. Using rigid pots instead the whole thing can come out like a big plug which is good when dealing with as much as 3 gallons of soil.
That is, unless they are burlap and you manage to keep them intact over winter and later drop the whole bag into the ground where the roots will then penetrate it and it will rot away... BUT the bag may fall apart when it's time to move them, and you may find you need to keep good airflow or else there may be fungus growing on it.
1.5 gallon bags are not enough to avoid stunting the plant, assuming it has plenty of light for the ~5 months from first to last frost. However with limited space and/or light it may be necessary to have a stunted plant(s) until it can go outside next season.
Even so, I feel the typical 2 to 3 gallon thin plastic type nurseries use would be more appropriate from a standpoint of both capacity and transplant ease.
1.5 gal. for one season? No way. North Carolina has a longer season than mine and starting in late spring instead of an extra 5 months, my 20 gallon containers are stunting plants.
Don't get me wrong, you can grow a tiny plant in that amount of soil and get a few peppers, but 5X more soil can result in over 10X more peppers.
That is, unless they are burlap and you manage to keep them intact over winter and later drop the whole bag into the ground where the roots will then penetrate it and it will rot away... BUT the bag may fall apart when it's time to move them, and you may find you need to keep good airflow or else there may be fungus growing on it.
1.5 gallon bags are not enough to avoid stunting the plant, assuming it has plenty of light for the ~5 months from first to last frost. However with limited space and/or light it may be necessary to have a stunted plant(s) until it can go outside next season.
Even so, I feel the typical 2 to 3 gallon thin plastic type nurseries use would be more appropriate from a standpoint of both capacity and transplant ease.
Grass Snake said:
1.5 gal. for one season? No way. North Carolina has a longer season than mine and starting in late spring instead of an extra 5 months, my 20 gallon containers are stunting plants.
Don't get me wrong, you can grow a tiny plant in that amount of soil and get a few peppers, but 5X more soil can result in over 10X more peppers.
He was talking about the 1.5gal pots he had laying around not the bags. I hope he would go with a larger bag if he went that routeDave2000 said:
Hmm... interesting responses so far. No, I wasn't planning on using the 1.5 gallon pots. Just saying I can get them & would consider using 3 gal nursery pots if I had them over the grow bags but just curious if 3 gal is big enough for sort of "preseason" growing & if so if the grow bags work well for people. My philosophy with my first winter grow is more the get a major jump start for summer but have maybe 20 plants producing some peppers. Not necessarily looking for optimal indoor conditions but rather doing enough to get some peppers through the winter and have healthy enough plants to put out in April.
Out of curiosity, how do I go about making geotextile or burlap bags?
Thanks for the responses!
Out of curiosity, how do I go about making geotextile or burlap bags?
Thanks for the responses!
I would go for square salvaged pots that are slightly conical. Bags are nice and all, but when you repot or transplant them you will have to stress your roots a lot.
If it's their final container it's not a problem to use bags.
Or do what I did and invest in some good square pots. When you buy some through the back door of a nursery (ask the farmer politely) New ones will run for around 50cts to $1 per 3 gallon container. Use square pots to max your plants per square feet, but keep doing critter patrol rounds twice a day.
If it's their final container it's not a problem to use bags.
Or do what I did and invest in some good square pots. When you buy some through the back door of a nursery (ask the farmer politely) New ones will run for around 50cts to $1 per 3 gallon container. Use square pots to max your plants per square feet, but keep doing critter patrol rounds twice a day.
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=262977
I haven't decided whether to glue or sew em but the measurements here are a nice guide
Use 6 oz geotextile landscape fabric, nonwoven bought on ebay or locally if you have a supplier, some hardware stores carry the right stuff
I haven't decided whether to glue or sew em but the measurements here are a nice guide
Use 6 oz geotextile landscape fabric, nonwoven bought on ebay or locally if you have a supplier, some hardware stores carry the right stuff
Making pots isn't much different than cutting out pieces of paper and taping them together to make something, except you need to sew instead of using tape or glue, overlapping edges so they don't come apart easily, and cut fabric edges need sewn too so they don't unravel even if they aren't sewn to another edge. Often a cut fabric edge will be folded over before sewn for additional protection, with the practical limit of what the sewing machine can handle... sewing large things by hand isn't practical, IMO.
...and as I say I don't have 3 gallon rigid pots, 15 fell into my lap today. I'll keep my eyes peeled for other sources and square ones as you all suggest but happy to know no one's saying, "3 gallons? No way you can grow in 3 gallon pots." Will free up a lot of space using 5 gallon buckets would have taken up. I thought I'd be OK if the 3 gallon pots were temporary but wanted to check with people with experience. THANKS.
I can't see myself making fabric pots, but am intrigued by the idea. Maybe in the future.
I can't see myself making fabric pots, but am intrigued by the idea. Maybe in the future.
I grow in the greenhouse year round, and for quite a few of my plants I use 3 gallon pots as the final pot for the plant. These plants get watered automatically twice a day in the summer, and once a day in the winter. These pots are larger, or comparable to what commercial growers use to grow greenhouse crops of bell peppers. I have in the past made comparisons with larger pots, and have not seen a significant increase in size with the larger pots. The larger pots do give me a bit more wiggle room if the drip system fails. With the small pots, a missed irrigation will cause the plants to start to wilt on a hot day. I use a peat-based potting mixture similar to some used commercially, and find that my best performance comes with almost constant low-level fertilization through the irrigation water. I've in the past started quite a few plants early as discussed here. Even if I keep the plants in 1 gallon containers, I get good growth. The smaller containers allow me to grow more varieties.
Renais
Renais
Exactly the answer I was hoping for from an experienced grower. Thanks!Renais1 said:
Smaller pots don't really save all that much space after the first 2-3 months (outside, if an indoor grow is going slower then add a month or two).
My smallest pots are 5 gallon and they have to be spaced apart to give the plant room for vertical growth, otherwise they'd start heavily shading each other, putting more energy into stem growth, and then also the possible benefit of being able to move a smaller pot easier is gone with branches intertwined with adjacent plants.
Those I have in 5 gallon buckets allow being spaced closer together only because they don't grow as large as those in larger containers. There's still enough room between each to fit a 20 gallon container for each if I chose to. Perhaps I should retract my prior statement. Smaller pots do save space but the plant would normally take up more vertical space above the pot than below it so you end up with smaller plants.
My smallest pots are 5 gallon and they have to be spaced apart to give the plant room for vertical growth, otherwise they'd start heavily shading each other, putting more energy into stem growth, and then also the possible benefit of being able to move a smaller pot easier is gone with branches intertwined with adjacent plants.
Those I have in 5 gallon buckets allow being spaced closer together only because they don't grow as large as those in larger containers. There's still enough room between each to fit a 20 gallon container for each if I chose to. Perhaps I should retract my prior statement. Smaller pots do save space but the plant would normally take up more vertical space above the pot than below it so you end up with smaller plants.
Ah. I hadn't considered that. So while 3 gallons may be OK for roots, the plant is going to spread out too much. Makes sense. Thanks.Dave2000 said:
coachspencerxc said:
Funny you say that b/c that's something to find a lot on "other" forums, regardless of pot size.
TBH your skill as a grower, but also your end goal (ie: how many pods you want) come into play. You can control vertical growth by LSTing with bonsai wire (comes in different thicknesses) and forcing the plant to maintain a specific shape for your needs; the first time I heard of LST was in an article about how they use it in France to force trees to grow flat to be placed in rows or against buildings. It's also not unheard of to trim roots. Almost sounds like we are talking about a different kind of plant huh? hehe.
Personally I feel that 3 gallons is plenty unless you are growing to sell. I personally am not able to use all that I have despite my meager grow and the majority of my plants are in 3 gal fabric pots.
