Looking at some of the pics of plants Im just amazed at how big and fruitful these things are, they look like trees. Mine looks like little plants with a few peppers on them and some flowers. I dont get it. Are they a few years old or something? Mine started from seed in April and are about up a little past your knees now and have maybe 4-5 pods coming out and a few flowers. Help me make them like yours!!!
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How do you guys get your plants so big?
- Thread starter Necrocannibal
- Start date
millworkman
eXtreme
April is way to late for out climate to start. I am in Knoxville, and started most of my plants in january or february. Second is soil. Miracle grow potting soil will not help get big plants, do a search on here for soil mixes. I use a 4:1 mix of peat to composted manure. Most people have tremendous luck with pro-mix. Lastly is fertilizer. A good regimen of quality ferts/compost/manure will help out too.
Which varieties are you growing? Are they in containers? Post some pics.
And as MW said April is late, I start mine mid February and my largest were overwintered from last year.
And as MW said April is late, I start mine mid February and my largest were overwintered from last year.
Also, container size can effect plant size... A plant will stop growing once it's roots fill up the container. It may even lose vigor and show signs of nutrient deficiency.
Another thing is, a small or medium sized plant loaded with pods will almost certainly stop growing for the period the pods are on the plant (from fruit set to ripening) which for some varieties can be a very long time.
Additional things like frequent wilting from lack of watering and nutrient deficiencies will hault the growth of the plant, which depending on the species, may normally grow very slow in the first place. And if you want a large productive plant you will most certainly need to provide an adequate fertilizer, at the right times and most importantly not too often.
And one of the most important factors is the amount of light they receive, almost all species require 6+ hours of direct sun (Full Sun) and indirect light when not in direct sun (Visible sky without sun, or sunlight reflecting off a bright nearby object) can help as well. Getting less than 6 hours of direct sun a day, and or lots of shade will slow a plant down significantly.
Low Mean Temperatures will also slow a plants metabolism and can cause your plants to be smaller than normal.
Couple this with a late start and a short season, and it's no suprise that a plant isnt growing as large as others you may see here.
Hope that helps you understand, and good luck with next season.
Another thing is, a small or medium sized plant loaded with pods will almost certainly stop growing for the period the pods are on the plant (from fruit set to ripening) which for some varieties can be a very long time.
Additional things like frequent wilting from lack of watering and nutrient deficiencies will hault the growth of the plant, which depending on the species, may normally grow very slow in the first place. And if you want a large productive plant you will most certainly need to provide an adequate fertilizer, at the right times and most importantly not too often.
And one of the most important factors is the amount of light they receive, almost all species require 6+ hours of direct sun (Full Sun) and indirect light when not in direct sun (Visible sky without sun, or sunlight reflecting off a bright nearby object) can help as well. Getting less than 6 hours of direct sun a day, and or lots of shade will slow a plant down significantly.
Low Mean Temperatures will also slow a plants metabolism and can cause your plants to be smaller than normal.
Couple this with a late start and a short season, and it's no suprise that a plant isnt growing as large as others you may see here.
Hope that helps you understand, and good luck with next season.
I give them the best soil money can buy, a lrage pot, organic hydroponic nutrients, a love....lots of love!
I will be honest I just got lucky to have enough good soil(mushroom mix) along with used coffee grounds to feed it once a week, without knowing what the outcome would be.
my plant was started about a year ago and overwintered by a southwest window then put in the ground in april and has done quite well. with me it was just what I would have done in my garden with any other plant. this was the only peppers I grew this spring, now I have some bell peppers growing for fall.
my plant was started about a year ago and overwintered by a southwest window then put in the ground in april and has done quite well. with me it was just what I would have done in my garden with any other plant. this was the only peppers I grew this spring, now I have some bell peppers growing for fall.
Give them lots of room to grow, both vertically (into the ground) and horizontally. You'll be amazed at how big pepper plants can get when they're not restricted to little flower pots.
Ill try and get some pics but Im growing Trinidad Scorpions and Caribbean Red Habaneros. I didnt get the Scorpion seeds until April so thats why it was so late. One good thing is the Scorpion seeds came from Neil in Oz so I know they are the real deal.
Scott Roberts said:
Im going to try and buy some bigger pots. They are in either 3 or 5 gallon pots right now and Im going to buy 25 gallons pots and transplant them and then winterize them also and keep them alive for years to come.
Yeah I want them to be big and healhty for a long time and Im a pretty big guy so I dont think a 25 gallon pot will be too bad to move around. Im used to picking up and moving heavy objects around.
Necrocannibal said:
Fill it with dirt, and have a giant plant inside it which will make it very hard to even get near it. I think you might realize it's easier said than done.
And whatever you do, do not put it on soft ground... It will sink into the ground making horizontal movement impossible.
Necrocannibal said:
At the end of last season I moved some of my best plants to much larger containers with new potting mix. I thought they would put out roots and grow like crazy the following spring. I was wrong. The roots had no time to grow out into the new containers and the plants either died or were very slow to recover the following spring. The potting mix also stayed to wet and suffocated the roots.
This year when the season is over I'm doing the opposite; pruning and moving to smaller containers. This way the mix will have a chance to dry out more and keep the roots happy.
Anyway, If you're going to try and grow huge plants for next year you might be better off waiting until spring for the jump to a large container. The plant probably can't make use of the extra space until then.
I think you may also want to consider your growing medium. If you plan to leave this plant in the container for several years the growing mix may become an issue. The mix will begin to break down and compact which is not good for the roots. Hopefully someone more experienced with container growing can give you further advice.
Josh said:
Good point, maybe 25 gallons is too big? Or could transplant ever year.
I have been trying to grow Scorpions for 2 years. First year was cut down by some jackass lawnmen. Second year ended up not being a Scorpion plant. This year the seeds came from Neil so Im keeping this plant alive since only one of 10 seeds grew.