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Plant in pots or beds?

K

kjwheeler

Hey everybody, I'm new on the forum! Looks great!
I've grown some peppers before. I just got some Bhut Jolokia plants from AlabamaJack. I see a number of folks plant in pots. Any thoughts on pots over straight in beds? Also, can anyone point to general threads on the amount of sun needed and general pepper planting tips, such as compost/fertilizer suggestions, etc.
In other words, I don't really know what I'm doing and would love some direction...
 
I would suggest talking to AJ. Not only does he know a lot in general but he also knows your specific climate. Growing in NJ is different than growing in Texas. With that being said, I do prefer raised beds over pots. I find growing plants in containers to be more difficult. As a result, plants in my raised bed grow larger and produce more. I think it is personal preference though. If you check out some of the grow logs you will notice that there are plenty of members using pots that grow incredible plants. Good luck to you.
 
And Welcome to the forum!

Happy Growing! I can't offer any suggestions as this is my first attempt at growing. But I do plan on using pots. You know, kona gold, mayan magic.....JUST KIDDING!!!!!!!!! just a stupid pot joke :)



We LOVE pics, so if you have time and a camera, post some pics as you go. Lots of helpful folks here~~~
 
Welcome! I grow in pots out of necessity as I live in an apartment and have no yard. There are some advantages to growing in pots such as the ability to move them inside in case of inclimate weather, overwintering, and not having to weed the garden. IMO, you can control your soil better instead of having to make the soil in your yard good for growing. I have grown plants in my mom's garden in her yard and the plants grew bigger, but I believe if you get larger pots, you can grow larger plants as well. Mine have gotten as tall as 4 feet in the pots, but I have read on here about others who have grown 10 feet tall in the ground. I think it'll really come down to your personal preference. Good luck!
 
You can do well in either and being mobile definitely does have its advantages. It all boils down to how big of a plant do you want to grow and how large are the pots you have on hand. :) Pots also take more care and monitoring than raised beds or in ground.
 
Are you talking about "raised" beds or the backyard lawn?

If the latter, and the dirt is good, IMO it will be easier and more productive than containers.

Mike
 
Welcome to the forum KJ!!! I am going to do a little experimenting this year, some in the raised beds, some in pots only. The main advantage I can see for planting in pots is no grub infestation! I had some grubs kill a couple plants last year and wasnt happy about it. If you are going to grow the Bhut's in pots, i would recommend you find some 5 gallon buckets, drill 6-10 1/2" holes in the bottom and maybe 5-6 1/2" holes near the bottom on the sides (for drainage) and fill them with a good potting soil (no Miracle Grow, it sucks!).

Good luck and make sure to get advice on growing from AJ, hes "The Man" when it comes to planting. If I was retired and had his kind of time on my hands, I might challenge him, but I am forced to work to keep all my "toys" LOL

Start a grow log with some pictures for us, keep it updated as best you can. Ask questions here also, dont be shy, there are TONS of very knowledgable members. You picked THE BEST pepper forum, hands down to join!!!
 
I'm mainly stuck with using pots due to space and the wife won't give up her flower space. I actually decided to rip up about an 1/4 of my back lawn to try some in the ground out here. Hope the landlord doesn't mind! If you use pots, just make sure they're big enough to handle the roots. I may have screwed up with a few plants last year with that. Bonsai habaneros!!! But overall I get a pretty decent yield in the pots..... And like everyone else says, you have the option of moving them around.
 
3 or 4 years ago, I think I was one of only a few growing peppers in containers but these days it seems to be the method of choice although in your climate I'd certainly consider growing in a garden if I had the space.
In my climate potted pepper plants always outperform raised beds or garden grown plants. I just think there is more control of all growing variables and plants are moveable when/if needed.
 
I've been growing in containers for years now, and like Potawie, my container plants out perform any plants in ground. It really helps that I can bring them in on cooler nights, which allows me to extend my growing season. For containers you will want to plan on using pots that are 5 gallon minimum, last year I used a bunch of 10 gallon totes from walmart (drill some holes in the bottom) they were 3.50 each and held up very well. This year most of my plants will be in 5 gallon containers.

Now I know Matt50680 hates miracle grow potting mix, and that's ok, but if you can't find anything better, or are on a limited budget, it will work. Just keep in mind it isn't the best stuff out there, it does contain high amounts of nitrogen which can cause you problems. I'd recommend staying away from the miracle grow moisture control mix, it may cause you problems, especially later in the season. So if you are going to use Miracle grow, just get their regular potting mix. I'm not sure if Matt50680 has ever used Miracle grow potting mix, but I have. It is not my preferred soil as it isn't as light as I like that and the included time release fertilizer isn't a big hit either. I have started seeds in it, and have grown full sized plants as well. I currently have a red hab that is over 5' tall, which is growing in MG potting mix. It along with a basement full of other plants are doing great, you can see them if you do a search for my grow log.

Now with all that said, while I'm using MG for some of my plants to prove a point, my other plants are being grown in other soils because of the better results they provide. Don't worry too much about it as it really is hard to go wrong growing peppers, well just as long as you don't over water or over fertilize. They are very tough and can be hard to kill.
 
Thanks

Wow! You guys are great. Didn't expect this kind of participation...I've been on other forums and sometimes it takes days. Great info, I'll be sure to post some pics as I go along.
I'll probably be planting in beds, that's what I've always done, I was just noticing a number of the folks on the forum here had planted in pots and wondered what was up...
Thanks!
 
salsalady said:
And Welcome to the forum!

Happy Growing! I can't offer any suggestions as this is my first attempt at growing. But I do plan on using pots. You know, kona gold, mayan magic.....JUST KIDDING!!!!!!!!! just a stupid pot joke :)
Click to expand...

Ha! Very Funny
 
kjwheeler .... Welcome aboard . You should be able to get a lot of info here. Good luck with this years grow.


" I can't offer any suggestions as this is my first attempt at growing. But I do plan on using pots. You know, kona gold, mayan magic.....JUST KIDDING!!!!!!!!! just a stupid pot joke ." So ..... salsalady !! That's why they call you the Salsalady !!

Peace,
P. Dreadie
 
A couple of drawbacks to container growing are you have to water them more often than plants that are grown in the garden, the soil in the container can get too hot if the container is sitting in direct sunlight all day, and if the container is too small the plant can blow over easily as the plant gets larger and break off limbs or maybe injure nearby plants.

I am growing a few plants in containers this year because I don't have enough room in my garden to put everything I want to grow. I'm trying to minimize the usual container growing problems by planting in 18 gallon (storage) containers from the dollar store. The only drawback I've had with these large pots so far is the large amount of work involved in mixing up enough soil to fill 20+ 18 gallon containers. But, on the other hand, I won't have to mix any soil up for them next year.

By the way, welcome to the forum.


Alan
 
my parents plant in raised beds and every year they have massive production, i don't quite have the same space as them, so i grow in containers, but i do have a couple beds that i reserve for the bigger plants ... but i just make big 'ol holes in the bottom of my containers and smack 'em on top of the bed about 3 5 gal container per bed. otherwise they get some white concrete loving.
 
What kind of day/night temps do you container growers look for when you set your plants outside? As I understand it should be earlier than when plants can go in the ground, since the potting mix can get warm enough faster.
 
The last frost date for the area you live in, usually for people who plant in pots. This year we've had way higher then normal temps and I've already set out 6 plants, but the rest are going to wait till around May 15th for here.
 
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