So, being that I’m in Texas I usually start my plants a little later because of the heat/humidity we experience here. It’s not necessarily something I’ve always done but the last couple years I havnt been able to grow in ground because of our current living situation. That being said I have noticed that it does seem to help container plants pretty well because the soil compounds seem to hold the water better/longer. I built a rack with an irrigation system for each bucket however, it doesn’t appear that the plants do near as good as they do when planted in ground. Does anyone do anything similar or have any tips/pointers on what I can do for the next growing season so it will be more successful?
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misc Texas growers
- Thread starter FIREater8632
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Siv
Extreme Member
In used 10 gallon grow bags with a plastic tray on the bottom to prevent all the water running straight through. I used this method for a few years to great success. A simple drip watering system on a hose timer and it's impossible to overwater your plants.
I switched to raised beds last year and they aren't nearly as easy. The plants grew well but tending to the weeds was a challenge and I feel like they didn't fruit as much. Overall, after the expense, I'm kinda wishing I stuck with the grow bags.
I switched to raised beds last year and they aren't nearly as easy. The plants grew well but tending to the weeds was a challenge and I feel like they didn't fruit as much. Overall, after the expense, I'm kinda wishing I stuck with the grow bags.
Thanks for the info, what are you using as a planting schedule etc.? I’m used to having a full garden in ground. So I would go off of the farmers almanac for the most part however, taking into consideration I’m growing in 5gal buckets the plants are a smaller size and I feared wouldn’t be as strong/tolerable through the summer months. All of my current plants weren’t planted until late June vs March/April. They have done well, for the most part, just curious as to if I should do things differently with having to use buckets to grow in for the time being.In used 10 gallon grow bags with a plastic tray on the bottom to prevent all the water running straight through. I used this method for a few years to great success. A simple drip watering system on a hose timer and it's impossible to overwater your plants.
I switched to raised beds last year and they aren't nearly as easy. The plants grew well but tending to the weeds was a challenge and I feel like they didn't fruit as much. Overall, after the expense, I'm kinda wishing I stuck with the grow bags.
Siv
Extreme Member
What's your shade situation like? The very first time I tried growing a chilli plant, I bought a pot from Lowes and stuck it against the wall on the east side of our house. You get morning sun but then it's shaded by the house for half the day. No problems through the summer with some shade.
For my grow bags, I put up some netting to provide shade during the height of summer.
I usually start my seeds indoors in Feb and take them outside early April. I use a heat mat and lights though. With the shade, I usually get two harvests, one in summer and one in fall.
You can read about my earlier adventures here:
My first year: http://thehotpepper.com/topic/70997-sivs-2019-first-time-glog/
My second year: http://thehotpepper.com/topic/73302-sivs-second-time-lucky-2020-glog/page-10
For my grow bags, I put up some netting to provide shade during the height of summer.
I usually start my seeds indoors in Feb and take them outside early April. I use a heat mat and lights though. With the shade, I usually get two harvests, one in summer and one in fall.
You can read about my earlier adventures here:
My first year: http://thehotpepper.com/topic/70997-sivs-2019-first-time-glog/
My second year: http://thehotpepper.com/topic/73302-sivs-second-time-lucky-2020-glog/page-10
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They are shaded more towards the hottest part of the day, I’ll check out the links you added. As I said any information that can help is greatly appreciated. I’m used to being able to actually till and plant a full on garden so the plants always did really well for me in ground. This is the first season I’ve full on done planter/containers the entire grow. I have noticed the plants aren’t as tall but it seems they are still producing very well. My 2 bell pepper plants (orange and green) have done great and I’ve harvested a couple times already and looks like I’ll have one more out of them before they go dormant. Basil plants, okra, tomatoes have all done pretty much as normal. As far as the ones that havnt done the best are the Chile pequin and my cayenne. At 5 months old my pequins are just now starting to produce blossoms and my cayennes are finally about to the point to harvest them…just waiting for the color change. Lost my jalapeño and Serrano plants to leaf footed bugs earlier in the season.