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20gal brutes

I think this is an awesome little experiment ...makes me want to go cut the top off the 55 gallon plastic drum I have and toss a pepper plant in to it lol
not really cause I wouldn't be able to move it but yeah man cool experiment ...
 
Good for you hp22bh, not everyone can have an open mind and accept change or stepping outside the box. Your trying something different for a container and while not the norm it seems to be working out for you just fine. You are aware of what the most likely issues will be and keeping an eye out for it. With the height of that thing its gonna take a helluva lot to get to that point I think. Once she get a bit bigger a lot of the rain that comes down may not even hit the soil underneath and soak in. Look forward to seeing your progress and success in this.
 
Delta said:
Headroom - garbage can + plant growing crazy = you will need a ladder to harvest. It'll be like apple picking.
 
This IS ambitious. I'll look forward to seeing the results. 
 
I have a question though. Wouldn't it be a lot easier to control and care for 10 plants than one that size, producing what the ten would likely produce?
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I don't have an answer for that because, I have 40 smaller ones.
 
Proud Marine Dad said:
Overkill unless you plan on overwintering it and growing it several years in that container. You should have drain holes though or you are going to rot the roots.
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For a plant currently that size in that growing zone, yes it is a few gallons more than necessary.  However if he were a couple hundred miles closer to the equator and/or started them earlier in the season, that would be about right with smaller stunting the plant and larger showing diminishing returns.  
Delta said:
Headroom - garbage can + plant growing crazy = you will need a ladder to harvest. It'll be like apple picking.
 
This IS ambitious. I'll look forward to seeing the results. 
 
I have a question though. Wouldn't it be a lot easier to control and care for 10 plants than one that size, producing what the ten would likely produce?
Click to expand...
 
That may be a 20 gallon container but the soil, even split up into 4 x 5 gallon buckets which is a size small enough that it stunts plant size in a good environment, will still need more sq. feet of space than one plant in 20 gal.  (depending on location, so they aren't shading each other much).  10 plants in adequate sized containers is a lot more soil and space.
 
I understand I could have approached this project in a variety of ways. Many of them far more beneficial in affecting plant size and overall productivity. That however was not the primary intention (this time around.) I wanted to see if utilizing the same growing medium as with all my other plants in a large and deep container would have any significant benefits. I also intentionally did not put any drain holes in the trash can as I wanted to see if the depth of the soil would allow rain water enough separation to not cause any over watering issues and provide a watershed for the dry hot months to come.
 
So far I am pleased with the results. We have gotten so much rain in the last week and I really thought I was going to have to rescue the plant at some point. But checking it today after work, Its as green and healthy looking as I could hope for under any conditions.
 
For next year, maybe Ill start a plant in say Sept. Put together a pro mix soil and a regiment of nutrients and fertilizers and bring it out to the summer sun at 8 months old.
 
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