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Pots or raised planting beds?

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PeppaKid

I'm a first time grower this season here in the DFW area in Texas and I've got some bhuts, Trinidad scorpions, and sweet banana peppers, along with a few varieties of tomatoes and other vegetables. My question regarding the peppers is this, is it better to plant in pots or a raised planting bed? What are the pros and cons to each regarding ease of maintenance, cost, and eventual yield of the plants? If raised beds is what will work better, what type of wood is recommended? I've heard redwood and cedar are good to prevent rot and insects, but are they ok for the plants? Again I'm a first timer here so any information at all would be helpful. I understand the basics and so far have had good luck with germination but things like spacing and feeding I'm not so sure about. I've heard about 2' is good for the peppers, I plan to have some sort of lattice or something for support (we had gusts of up to 59mph here a few days ago, although that was unusual). However feeding is what I'm not so clear on. Organic is obviously my prefered option.

Thank you in advance for any and all information!

I look forward to having big sexy pepper plants to share here in the near future lol
 
Both!
Pots are great because they are portable and cheap. A 5 gallon pail works good and costs $0-3. You can move them around as needed and bring them indoors if the weather is bad, or to isolate a plant. Potting soil can be expensive and mixing your own can be a lot of work depending on how many pots you're filling, and you have to do it every year.

Raised beds look nice and (should) last a long time. They usually drain really well too. The initial cost of a raised bed is more, but they are low maintenance after that. Just ammend the soil a bit each year and it's ready to go. Cedar and redwood are good, but pressure treated pine is cheaper and will last longer. They changed the chemicals in pressure treated wood a few years ago, and it is perfectly safe for gardens now. 2' spacing is a good bet, and I wouldn't go any less than that.

The plants in my raised bed were bigger and produced more than my pots last year, but I will still have plenty of pots this year.
 
Good question, PeppaKid, and nice answer, musky!

I will be keeping a close eye on this thread as I will be trying my hand at raised beds next season.

As musky points out, pots are great as they are easily movable. The only problem for me is that I am growing my plants at an alternate location (too many pepper lovin' possums here at my place!) and I can't get to them every day to move them in and out of our intense sun. One thing I learned very quickly was that pepper plants don't like their roots cooked in a pot that has had the sun beating down on it all day! I'm hoping that by building and planting in raised beds next season, I will remedy this issue.
 
Awesome thanks for the info guys! I decided I'm going to do about half in pots and half in a raised bed. Partially for convenience and also because I don't have enough full-sun space in the back yard right now with our big tree blocking the sun from more than half of the yard. A bed big enough for 60+ plants spaced 2' apart no matter how it's arranged is much bigger than the available sun can cover lol. Some of the plants will have to stay in the front to get their sun. Also I was planning to put chicken wire or something similar around the perimeter of the bed to keep the dogs out and give at least a little protection from some animals.

I want these babies to grow nice and big and give me lots of nice peppers so i want to do all I can to keep them safe and healthy haha.

Again though, thanks for the info, I hope to get the bed built and ready within about a week.

As for feeding, the guy at the gardening supply store suggested I mix in some pepper and tomato food with the soil a few weeks before I pit the plants in. It's an organic feed but I can't remember the specific brand and contents. Does that sound like a good idea or not?
 
gasificada said:
Good question, PeppaKid, and nice answer, musky!

I will be keeping a close eye on this thread as I will be trying my hand at raised beds next season.

As musky points out, pots are great as they are easily movable. The only problem for me is that I am growing my plants at an alternate location (too many pepper lovin' possums here at my place!) and I can't get to them every day to move them in and out of our intense sun. One thing I learned very quickly was that pepper plants don't like their roots cooked in a pot that has had the sun beating down on it all day! I'm hoping that by building and planting in raised beds next season, I will remedy this issue.
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same for me here in ballina... im gonna try building a raised bed for readiness around august ... i transplanted some sick little plants into pots in about january and so far they have perked up but i really love the production of pods ive got off my red habanero plants that were left in the ground.
 
As far as feeding goes, I just mix an organic slow-release fert we have here called "Dynamic Lifter" in with the soil and then after a few months, reapply to the soil surface. It's a blend of manure and blood and bone, and it appears to do the trick! (plus it's what Neil at THSC recommended for me ;)). I'm guessing you would have something similar over there?

If you can get your hands on some worm juice or worm castings, definitely do so too! Your plants will thank you for it!
 
Alrighty gasificada, sounds good :D

I'm really excited to have some peppers in the next few months, if all goes well of course. Next weekend when I go get all my lumber and soil, I'll be picking up some dynamic-lifter or something similar and some worm poo :)

Thanks for the help :)
 
PeppaKid said:
Alrighty gasificada, sounds good :D

I'm really excited to have some peppers in the next few months, if all goes well of course. Next weekend when I go get all my lumber and soil, I'll be picking up some dynamic-lifter or something similar and some worm poo :)

Thanks for the help :)
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No worries. :)

Wait to see what others have to say too before you commit though.... most of everyone here is far far more experienced than me! ;)

Also, to my understanding, unless you get a good healthy soil to begin with for your raised beds, a simple fert may not do the trick and you will probably have to 'build it up' with other things like compost. It is also very important to ensure that you have well draining soil too (both for pots and raised beds) as pepper plants aren't fond at all on having 'wet feet'. Oh, and your pH level is important too!
 
What you have told me so far is basically what I had planned I just didn't know specifics like what to feed with and when to feed. As for soil, to my knowledge, the place I go for my gardening supplies (I want to say it's Marshall grain company) mainly sells organic plants, ferts, and soils. The woman I talked to a few days ago told me they had soil specifically for square-foot gardening and raised beds, but I was in a hurry and didn't have a chance to go check it out. I'm not quite sure how our natural soil is here but I can't imagine it's anything too good, it's a lot of clay and very dry brittle crap, otherwise I'd just plant in the ground lol.

I'll wait to see what else others have to add and go from there. I'd like to get the bed built and ready next weekend but it's not too important yet. Until then, I'll be doing more research haha. Thanks again :)
 
Alright my plants are still young and in jiffy pellets right now. They're growing quite spindly and I know it's from lack of useful light. What is a cheap option to provide a bit more light than a slightly lit window sill. There aren't any sunny windows in the house and I can't afford an expensive set up. Preferably a free standing lamp with a bulb or 2.
 
6500K flourescent is a good bet. Either tubes or CFL. The tubes can go as close as 1 inch from the plants. No more spindly.
 
I got my cheap-ass bad boy fixture (including Sylvania Gro-Lux tubes) from a hydro shop for $30....

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Certainly nothing fancy but does the job for me.
 
if it's just gonna be for peppers, if you can afford the cost and the labor / pain of making a raised bed, personally it's well worth it. =D
 
Gasificada that's pretty much exactly what I'm looking for :-) I found a few hydroponics shops in my area sk I'm gonna check that out tomorrow morning.

Franzb69, in my opinion there ain't nothin' better than a good hands on DIY weekend project, and the labor is fun and well worth the pay off I think :-) the financial cost is the only crappy part haha
 
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