Advice with my jalapeño plants!

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PepperAaron

I am new here and have read a lot about peppers and plan to continue learning and grow some super hots next spring!
For a trial run I have a few jalapeño plants growing that are around a month old. I have them in small peat pots and the cheapest walmart soil there is. So far they are going great but I have a few questions.

When I transplant should I mix something with the cheap potting soil mix or will that do fine?

Should I use a 1 3 or 5 gallon for the final home on my apartment balcony?

Is 3 hours or so sunlight a day enough to grow healthy?

For fertilizer I am considering Epsom salt every 2 weeks and sulfur powder at the base once a month, should I add something between the Epsom salt times?

I appreciate the advice guys!
 
Hello and  :welcome:  to THP Aaron! Here you will find an amazing amount of info to help you with your growing and this place is full of friendly helpful people to assist with any questions you have when it comes to chiles.
 
Soil: There are so many types of soils you can use and so many things you can add. The soil and it's amendments are the most important component to growing. It holds the roots, nutrients, beneficial fungi and bacteria, water, etc. You can use the Walmart soil but if you are ever looking for a better soil some popular brands are pro mix bx, fafards, fox farm ocean forest. These might be a little expensive but are well worth it especially if you decide to expand into growing some of the superhot chiles. One of the most important things with soil in containers is drainage. Chiles hate wet feet and will not grow well if too wet. Try and find perlite and mix it into whatever soil you decide on at about a rate of 1/3. There are so many other things you can add to soil to make it better like slow release fertilizers, worm castings, compost, guano, lime, etc. You can find many many container soil mixes on this forum. Or you could just use the soil you have (preferably mixed with perlite if you can find it) as is and use liquid fertilizers to take care of nutrients.
 
Container: 5 gallon is your best bet if you have the room. Most times bigger is better, the more room the plant has to put out roots the bigger the plants will be. Also the plant will be slower to get root bound the larger the container. I use a mix of 5 gallon buckets, 10-15 gallon buckets and the blue reusable Walmart $1 shopping bags. Those work great and the plants don't get root bound.
 
Sun: Chiles should get at least 6 full hours of sunlight each day
 
Fertilizer: I use epsom salt as a foliar spray about every 2 weeks. About 1.5 tsp in a regular size spray bottle and mist the leaves early in the morning. I have never used sulfur powder myself so no idea on that. I don't know if your potting soil has fertilizer already in it but you need some type of fertilizer with N/P/K (nitrogen/phosphorus/potassium). All kinds you can use. Fish and kelp fertilizers are great, you could top dress with something like tomato tone or you could even use miracle gro if you can't find anything else. I used to use the miracle gro tomato when I first started growing as I heard it was better than the regular blue. Whatever ferts you use, you can follow label directions, use weekly at 1/2 the normal rate, or even use at every watering at around 1/4 of label directions. There are many many posts about the different fertilizers and members experiences with them on this forum.
 
Hope some of this is helpful to you and I hope your grow goes great (hope I didn't forget anything). Any other questions don't hesitate to ask
 
the cheap potting soil in bigger pots will stay really wet and compress this makes the roots not get good oxygen.
It would be good to mix a good amount perlite. don't buy perlite in the small bags at lowes / depot / walmart. you need to go to a nursery and they will sell you 2cuft bag for 19.99.
 
i think 3 gallon is a good size for a balcony. 5 gallon if you think you have enough space (plants can get 5ft+ tall/3 ft wide). Viagrow bags are a really cheap good option
 
3 hours isn't a lot... They will grow just not be optimum big producers.
 
for a fertilizer i suggest you get a good actual fertilizer not just epsom salt / sulfur. Tomato tone, miracle grow plant food are easy to find for beginners. i recommend dyna gro foliage pro if you want to get serious it has macros and micros and will be all u need.
 
I understand plants have grown for years and years in nature, I'm not trying to perfect the grow by any means. I am justseekin advice for better growth, if I just stick it in a bucket with cheap potting soil and tap water it will suffer compared to real fertilized plants. I am not over thinking, I am simply tryin to optimize my yield.

I appreciate the tips everybody :) soon I will look for fertilizer and definitely mix a growing medium with my potting soil!

Would it be a good idea to bury a small bream or crappie in the bottom of the bucket as I add my soil?
 
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