Pot size

Hopefully a quick and easy one.

I have raised beds this season and also started up 6x5 gal pots for the first time.

is 5 gal large enough for peppers indefinitely? I'd have to fertilize over time for sure but root wise? Also, would it be worth it if it meant overwintering by basically just bringing those same buckets indoors before putting them out again the following season? Any diminishing returns?
 
Peppers tend to restrict growth to their pot size quite well so I wouldn't worry about it too much. A plant in a 150L pot will vastly outgrow a plant in a 20L pot
 
5 gallons is is fine.  While probably on the small end of the "This will work" scale, the peppers will grow healthy and produce plenty of pods.
 
The plants tend to grow until they reach a limit in either root space, nutrients, or a combination of both.  With proper fertilization, you can grow a surprisingly big plant in a smallish container.
 
IMO, overwintering is a wonderful thing that will greatly improve your pod harvest over a single-season grow.  Dragging them into the garage during the rare Florida freeze is a minimal effort.  (If you lived in some hellish frozen wasteland, like Minnesota, you'd need to provide continual light and heat, which might be too much trouble...)
 
Powelly said:
Peppers tend to restrict growth to their pot size quite well so I wouldn't worry about it too much. A plant in a 150L pot will vastly outgrow a plant in a 20L pot
 
 
Geonerd said:
The plants tend to grow until they reach a limit in either root space, nutrients, or a combination of both.  With proper fertilization, you can grow a surprisingly big plant in a smallish container.
 
Agreed.
 
Geonerd said:
(If you lived in some hellish frozen wasteland, like Minnesota, you'd need to provide continual light and heat, which might be too much trouble...)
 
Hey, that's an oxymoron! This is hell.. Better known as AZ in the summer....
 
6-horrific-facts-about-hell-you-need-to-know-sheol-hades-gehenna.jpg

 
 
This is growing Jalapeño in a frozen wasteland......
 
IMG_0368_zpskiyh4sv7.jpg
 
seussiii said:
Hopefully a quick and easy one.

I have raised beds this season and also started up 6x5 gal pots for the first time.

is 5 gal large enough for peppers indefinitely? I'd have to fertilize over time for sure but root wise? Also, would it be worth it if it meant overwintering by basically just bringing those same buckets indoors before putting them out again the following season? Any diminishing returns?
 
Seussiii - where exactly in Florida are you?
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Gotta be careful with non-Florida advice on this one.  Some parts of Florida do experience colder weather than others, and so freezes in your area may be not so rare.  A lot of folks don't know the realities of this climate.  It's not a simple extension of logic, based off of a standard 4 month growing cycle.  One of the big challenges of year round growing, is that the media you plant in gets broken down, and you don't always stop to think about it.  Many folks start with fresh mix every year.  If you don't pay attention to that here, you can find yourself in trouble midway through a good grow.
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As for the question of whether 5 gallon pots are good indefinitely - the answer is most certainly not.  If you are going to overwinter, then yes, go for it. (overwinter means you transfer to smaller containers for the "dormant" period)  If you live in a place where you can grow year round, then the assumption is that you want the plant to grow as big as it will get, no?  Even at that, you will need to refresh your container every few years, as the potting mix compacts.  5 gallon containers will reach their potential very easily in one season.  They will continue to put on new foliage and produce, but the size will be maxed out.
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Look at this pic - this was a 7 pot bubblegum, right after Hurricane Matthew.   It looks like shit, because it got all of its leaves blown off, and/or it suffered from poor transpiration, while being packed tightly for a week, in amongst other plants on my covered porch.  But the point is, notice the container size.  That's a 27 gallon tote.  I cut it back to stump every year, (that was year 2) and I refresh the media every 3 seasons. (if using certain media, it will be even more often)
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Great responses everyone.
 
I was pretty certain that I'd only use the 5 gals for one season but started wondering about multi season as a bonus.
 
What i will probably do is refresh the 5 gals in the early spring each season. Basically dump last seasons bucket into a wheel barrow and mix it up with some fresh compost etc. That should be enough no? Not to mention maintenance ferts etc once potted. 
 
And yea I am in zone 9a up on the panhandle so we definitely get sub 30 some years. High teens a few years back.
 
I haven't researched overwintering and am not familiar with the benefits. I have ~50 peppers going this season so I'm not sure it would be worth it unless there was a specific plant I became attached to lol.
 
Now I am aiming more towards producing for a farmers markets. We'll see. 
 
Yeah, what you just described sounds like you are treating every grow as a single season, and so the answer is yes, for those, 5 gallons - especially a true 5 gallon container, like a bucket - is great.
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Once you start thinking longer term, you'll have to re-evaluate.  Although, where you are located, I almost consider that more of a temperate grow.  Despite being just a growing zone below you, we have very different attributes. But I think you'll be fine.
 
relevant. use search function there are a few topics every year about this same thing.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Bm93RBvMfc
 
Not trying to hijack your thread, but I over wintered my plants in what I thought were 5 gallon nursery pots. I noticed today they are in 3.5. Should I up pot these (I'm thinking I should). I might go buy some HD 5 gallon buckets. All things being equal would there be much difference between 3.5 and 5 gallon?
 
Jacobt said:
Not trying to hijack your thread, but I over wintered my plants in what I thought were 5 gallon nursery pots. I noticed today they are in 3.5. Should I up pot these (I'm thinking I should). I might go buy some HD 5 gallon buckets. All things being equal would there be much difference between 3.5 and 5 gallon?
Unfortunately, "gallon" sizes on pots are not really in gallons, nor are they standardized. Different manufacturers have different sizes. To add to that, most of what we call "gallon" on a container is actually "#", which again, isn't related to gallons.
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That being said... You should bump those up to a larger pot to grow out. If you go to Home Depot and buy buckets, it would be best to make sure that you get "food grade" buckets. Those cheap buckets can leach nasty shit into your potting mix.
 
Jacobt said:
I saw some large grow fabric bags on amazon. I might go that route. Thanks.
I tried to look one up for you, but I can't find it, anymore. They used to carry a 7 gallon size that was taller than it was wide. It was really nice for growing peppers. It would just about perfectly line the inside of a 5 gallon bucket.
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Unfortunately, I don't see them, anymore.
 
Those are good, but I always liked the taller ones a little better. I like the tall, because often we get heavy rains, and the taller containers have a lower perched water table. (more growing space above the saturation zone)
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But the ones you get will be just fine.
 
solid7 said:
Those cheap buckets can leach nasty shit into your potting mix.
 
Ever get a take out meal from a sandwich shop or Chinese-to-go? How about bringing home your leftovers from that fancy restaurant? Did you reheat it in that container? Better yet, go look in your freezer at the bottom of those plastic trays your meat is in. Ever get a hot coffee from  MickeyD's or cold drink from Chick-fil-A's? How about those plastic knives/forks/spoons you've used for upteen years at many cookouts?
 
Go ahead, look for the Resin ID Code, is it 
50px-Symbol_Resin_Code_6_PS.svg.png
?
 
 
http://naturalsociety.com/recycling-symbols-numbers-plastic-bottles-meaning/...This kind of plastic also poses a health risk, leaching potentially toxic chemicals, especially when heated.
 
http://https://www.lifewithoutplastic.com/store/common_plastics_no_1_to_no_7...PS food containers can leach styrene, which is reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen and is considered a brain and nervous system toxicant. Animal studies have shown adverse effects on genes, lungs, liver, and the immune system. Note that styrene is also present in second-hand cigarette smoke, off-gassing building materials, and car exhaust.  The leaching of styrene from PS containers into food is increased when the food or liquid is hot and oily.
 
http://www.breastcancer.org/risk/factors/plastic......do not cook food in these plastics and avoid using no. 6 plastics around any type of food 
 
http://mentalfloss.com/article/50207/what-do-those-recycling-symbols-and-codes-mean.....it's also been shown to leach dangerous toxins over time into anything packaged in it
 
Think that's bad, look at Polyvinyl chloride or plain old PVC 
50px-Symbol_Resin_Code_03_PVC.svg.png
  ....
 
  Typical Use:  Soft PVC (softened with plasticizers) used in toys, clear food (e.g., take-out) and non-food packaging (e.g., blister wrap, cling wrap), squeeze bottles, shampoo bottles, mouthwash bottles, cooking oil and peanut butter jars, detergent and window cleaner bottles, loose-leaf binders, shower curtains, blood bags and medical tubing, "pleather" clothing, Naugahyde upholstery, wire and cable insulation, carpet backing and flooring. Rigid PVC used for blister packs and clamshell packaging, credit cards, piping (e.g., for plumbing), vinyl siding, window frames, fencing, decking, and other construction materials.
 
Toxicity:  PVC is widely considered the most toxic and hazardous plastic that is still - unbelievably so - commonly used to make numerous consumer products. It may contain and/or leach a variety of toxic chemicals including, but not limited to:  bisphenol A (BPA), phthalates, lead, dioxins, mercury, and cadmium. Here is a taste of the toxic life cycle of PVC:
 
The vinyl chloride monomer from which PVC is made is a known carcinogen, thus putting manufacturing workers and surrounding communities at risk.
 
 
Soft forms of PVC, such as toys and packaging and bottles, may leach phthalates. For example, di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and butyl benzyl phthalate (BBzP) are two phthalates commonly used as plasticizers or softening agents (usually DEHP). DEHP and BBzP are endocrine disruptors mimicking the female hormone estrogen and have been strongly linked to asthma and allergic symptoms in children living in homes where PVC dust was present and to ADHD in children; may cause certain types of cancer, including breast cancer. Recent consumer product legislation in Europe, Canada and the US, bans DEHP and BBzP and other dangerous phthalates from use in children's products in concentrations greater than 0.1%. 
 
Go in your cellar, look up, see if you have white pipes running around about 3/4 to 1 inch in dia.
 
My point? If the government hasn't banned it and it's cost effective.........................................
 
`
 
You'd be surprised by how many people on this forum use reusable shopping bags like the ones from @#^*-Mart. Only really good for a single season but it's just to show type and shape of container is a personal choice based on cost and space.
The majority of my plants go into 3-gal pots with a few favorites in 15-gal pots. I usually have anywhere from 20 to 50 plants at any given time. They get big enough and supply a fair amount of pods for me. Enough to keep my freezer full and my dehydrator busy.
 
Hoping to plant in 4 1/4 gal. food-grade white buckets. Where should the holes be drilled, how many holes, and how large should the holes be?
 
catherinew said:
Hoping to plant in 4 1/4 gal. food-grade white buckets. Where should the holes be drilled, how many holes, and how large should the holes be?
 
3 on the sides as low down as you can get
1/2 centimetre should be plenty
 
Not really a huge problem or something that requires a lot of thought tbh
 
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