container Raised Bed or 5 Gal Containers

Islander

Islander

Hello THP Members
 
I have recently stepped into the world of growing superhots :)
 
My plan was to build a few 4'x8'x 12" raised beds.  Line the bottom with thick plastic and then brick pavers. For the soil I planned on doing a 3 part mix of manure, sand, garden soil.  Any recommendations as to what should be used or advice to another method?
 
If i were to go with the containers I would still build the raised beds and line with plastic and brick just for cosmetic purposes.  And then fill the pots with the same 3 part mix.
 
My pepper list is as follows.
 
1) Red Bhut Jolokia
2) Yellow Bhut Jolokia
3) Trinidad Moruga Scorpian
4) Carolina Reaper
5) White Habanero
6) Jalapeno
7) Cayenne
8) Firecracker
9) Red Peter Pepper
 
Well there are pros and cons to both.. With containers you can move them wherever you need including indoors. Peppers make awesome container plants. I'm in the middle of building a very large raised garden bed now for my grow. How tall are you planning to make it and why line the bottom with plastic? I think that may cause it to hold water. I'm lining the inside wall of mine to keep soil from eroding out. It's made of barnwood so there are holes and stuff. But I'm not gonna line the bottom so that the roots can grow into the ground eventually. That's part of the beauty of it!

I like your grow list. It's very simple but has a lot of good peppers :) white habs are especially great
 
I would go for raised bed any day.  And I would leave the bottom unlined.  Roots like to move and the more room you give the peppers to stretch their legs, the better they'll do.  Also plastic on the bottom can inhibit drainage, which is a huge benefit of raised beds in the first place.  I didn't line my two 4'x4'x12" beds and soil erosion has been at a minimum for 3 years now.  
 
Islander..... :welcome:  to THP
 
As for your question, raised beds or containers, it is all up to personal preference.
 
I am getting that your beds 4x8 by 12" high.  I understand it as you will lay plastic (weed barrier?? is ok) and then build the sides up with brick pavers a foot high. In your post you say that if you decide to go with the containers then you will still fill the raised beds with dirt for cosmetic purposes.  If this is the case, and your going to spend the money to fill the raised beds then you mights as well utilize them, if it were me I would use this year as a "test run" and do both, focusing more on the raised beds and filling them in with plants.  I would plant a few peppers in some pots and see what your preference is.
 
However if you are using the raised bed for other vegetables and real estate will become and issue then id plant all peppers in containers and leave the raised beds for other veggies.
 
Good luck with what ever you decide and keep us posted with some pictures!!
 
I prefer the pots. I have some small 15 gallon to as large as 25 gallon pots. These are commercial black plastic pots. They can be moved if necessary. The 25 gallon can approach over 200 + lbs when full. I can also move them based on seasonal sun and shading.
 
i've used raised beds / raised mounds in a field. This year i'm trying containers.
 
Each plant has his own controlled area, if one gets bugs or whatever you can just quarantine him away from the others. Easy to move them in for overwintering, freeze protection, grass fire, etc. Bags don't look like a big box of dirt in the winter as i can clean them and put them away. I can replace the soil easier than digging up a raised bed.
 
Pepperjack91 said:
Well there are pros and cons to both..
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This is true. I like to grow with both. I have a 4'x8'x12" raised bed as well. In years past I over palnted it with any where between seven and ten plants. By the end of the season they were all just a tangled mess. This year I'm only planting four plants in the bed.
 
I am building 20-30 of these this year and you can move them around if needed. http://ana-white.com/2012/11/plans/counter-height-garden-boxes-2-feet-x-4-feet
 
 
 
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I like both methods. For raised beds, skip the bottoms, you need drainage and you want roots to be able to grow into the ground if need be (if you build them on the ground).

If raised beds are off the ground, like in the above photos, you don't need to bend down and your back will like that method.

Buckets/containers are mobile. Too much sun? Move em. Not enough sun? Move em. Hurricane or tornado coming? Move em. Just make sure you use well-draining soil (lots of perlite) and drill lots of holes in the bottoms.
 
To add on to what other people have said, I'd go with an experiment.  Build only 1 or 2 raised beds this year, and put half your peppers in the beds, and put the other half in containers, and see which option gives you the best results.  Also remember to put a few plants of each kind of pepper in both the bed and container, as some pepper species just grow bigger than others.  Also, you may find that some peppers are better in one growing medium than the other. 
 
If you live in an area that doesn't get very warm (up north) then containers might be the better choice as they will radiate heat faster in the morning to warm the soil up for the day.  But if you live in warmer climates, than you may find that beds retain water better than containers.  I use containers but have to water them at least every two days, if not every day when its hot'ish.
 
One other thing to think about is you might want your bed to be a bit taller, say 18" instead of 12".  That will give the roots more room to grow and be happy.
 
You list your location as "mainland", but don't give enough info regarding your climate. I've lived in Houston, TX and Torrance, CA (subtropical) and now live in Cleveland, OH (definitely not subtropical.) I always grew in the ground when I lived in a subtropical zone, but now always grow in containers, precisely for the reasons given above. Our growing season is very short, and if I couldn't move the pepper plants, I'd probably have no peppers. It would help if we knew what your climate is like year-round so we can better help you.
 
Yea don't line the bottom with plastic as others have said. It's ok to use newspaper but not plastic.
 
My biggest and most productive plants have always been the ones grown in the ground, but I have good soil.
 
If my soil was bad I would do a raised bed. I have grown a few in containers each year just because I have run out of room in the garden, and I've never been impressed. The plants were always smaller; However, I was using 3-5 gal containers, and I believe if I had used tree-sized pots my results would have been better.
 
I'm not sure about your soil mix, don't have enough experience with soil for raised beds. Avoid the sand in containers. Maybe too heavy on the manure as well.
Oh and I do overwinter plants. I choose the biggest ones and dig them out of the ground, put em in containers. Peppers are easy to dig up because they have small root systems, so don't let that deter you from raised beds. I haven't killed one yet :)
 
My raised bed is lined with cinderblocks and filled with forest soil and compost, I'm probably going to add some mulch and a weed shield fabric to it this year, I can fit 20 peppers in it.  It's mostly for my annuums since the deer like that area, it's not far from my blackberry patch. They leave it alone when I sprinkle cayenne powder on them but the rain will wash it away...I buy it in bulk at a warehouse outlet store like Sam's or Costco.  All the chinenses will be in fabric pots and dutch buckets on the patio.
 
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I built this last weekend but my wife has already commandeered it for her vegetable garden. So it's off to the hardware store to get more lumber for mine. I did staple 1/2 x 1/2 livestock wire to the bottom to prevent the gophers from coming up. I have always had to plant in pots due to all the critters where I live, but I have seen the success of others by using raised gardens so I thought I would give it a try myself.
 

 

 
 
I like raised beds but I plant my other stuff in them like bush beans and squash. I like containers for my peppers because I can move them around as needed and it facilitates overwintering.
 
Wow!  Thanks for all the replies!  Im liking this community already :)     I currently live in Tennessee around Nashville.  Im from Hilo Hawaii.  I had planned on lining the bottom of the bed with plastic but a breathable weed barrier would be a better choice.  And if i did do containers i would just place them in the empty beds lined with weed barrier and then with brick pavers to help hold heat.  I see alot of nice ideas, now my brain is turning faster... lol

I recently got out of saltwater reefkeeping so its a challenge to not over think things......   
 
Welcome to the site! The winters where you are at are not nearly as hard as the ones here, but definitely a far cry from Hawaii. It will take you a season or two to get used to the growing differences, or at least, that's what it took for me. You don't really need a weed barrier at the bottom of a raised bed, assuming you are going to fill it more than a few inches deep, as most weeds don't start that deep. But at the same time, I've seen people just heap dirt on top of existing weeds - while that does kill the tops off (from lack of light and such), it doesn't stop the roots. I recommend clearing any existing growth where you plan on putting the raised beds. Best wishes on your grow!
 
Islander said:
Wow!  Thanks for all the replies!  Im liking this community already :)     I currently live in Tennessee around Nashville.  Im from Hilo Hawaii.  I had planned on lining the bottom of the bed with plastic but a breathable weed barrier would be a better choice.  And if i did do containers i would just place them in the empty beds lined with weed barrier and then with brick pavers to help hold heat.  I see alot of nice ideas, now my brain is turning faster... lol

I recently got out of saltwater reefkeeping so its a challenge to not over think things......   
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ms1476 said:
Wow!  Thanks for all the replies!  Im liking this community already :)     I currently live in Tennessee around Nashville.  Im from Hilo Hawaii.  I had planned on lining the bottom of the bed with plastic but a breathable weed barrier would be a better choice.  And if i did do containers i would just place them in the empty beds lined with weed barrier and then with brick pavers to help hold heat.  I see alot of nice ideas, now my brain is turning faster... lol

I recently got out of saltwater reefkeeping so its a challenge to not over think things......   
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
You replaced one easy-to-obsess-over hobby with another! Heck yeah! Gotta do something with our time!
 
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