Hello all,
New member's first post so I'll start with a little background: I live in Birmingham, Alabama and have done a little container gardening on and off for about 6 years. Last year was my first larger project and above all plants growing hot peppers is my favorite. I live in condo style apartments so I have limited back yard space, hence I have to grow in containers. Last year for my hot pepper medium I simply used miracle grow potting mix mixed with a little extra spagnum peat. I planted seedlings from the home depot: jalapenos, red cayennes, jumbo jalapenos, cherry peppers and tabasco chiles. They all did fairly well in that medium, especially the tabasco chiles which really took off in the late summer. My cayennes did the poorest, they fruited nicely but shed all of their leaves about half way through their fruiting.
I have been researching mediums for hot peppers for the past month, and have found that the soil needs to drain well but not too fast, that too much nitrogen can make them grow bushy but stunt the fruiting process, and that this pro mix stuff is supposedly the best. I have also read numerous medium recipes (that no one seems to be able to agree on one being the best). This year will be my first major grow with more variety: golden and red cayennes, habaneros, choc habaneros, big jims, jamaican hots (which may just be another strain of habs? sorry new to this), serranos, jalapenos, and I hope to find some tabasco seedlings again as those did so well. Anyways, I have limited space so composting is not an option, nor is a major medium mix project. Also, this pro mix stuff looks a little too pricey for me. I was considering using basic potting mix like miracle gro (not the organic stuff, heard too much negative feedback) and mix in some pine bark. Anything else I should mix in (calcium, phosphorous?)? Any help or feedback is greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long post!
New member's first post so I'll start with a little background: I live in Birmingham, Alabama and have done a little container gardening on and off for about 6 years. Last year was my first larger project and above all plants growing hot peppers is my favorite. I live in condo style apartments so I have limited back yard space, hence I have to grow in containers. Last year for my hot pepper medium I simply used miracle grow potting mix mixed with a little extra spagnum peat. I planted seedlings from the home depot: jalapenos, red cayennes, jumbo jalapenos, cherry peppers and tabasco chiles. They all did fairly well in that medium, especially the tabasco chiles which really took off in the late summer. My cayennes did the poorest, they fruited nicely but shed all of their leaves about half way through their fruiting.
I have been researching mediums for hot peppers for the past month, and have found that the soil needs to drain well but not too fast, that too much nitrogen can make them grow bushy but stunt the fruiting process, and that this pro mix stuff is supposedly the best. I have also read numerous medium recipes (that no one seems to be able to agree on one being the best). This year will be my first major grow with more variety: golden and red cayennes, habaneros, choc habaneros, big jims, jamaican hots (which may just be another strain of habs? sorry new to this), serranos, jalapenos, and I hope to find some tabasco seedlings again as those did so well. Anyways, I have limited space so composting is not an option, nor is a major medium mix project. Also, this pro mix stuff looks a little too pricey for me. I was considering using basic potting mix like miracle gro (not the organic stuff, heard too much negative feedback) and mix in some pine bark. Anything else I should mix in (calcium, phosphorous?)? Any help or feedback is greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long post!
