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what size pot help for new grower

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daveydw

hi iam new to growing chillies i have grown jalapenos in the past but iam now trying these types
tasmanian habanero
thai sun
scotch bonnet
what size pots are best for these, they are seedlings at the moment about 3-4 inches tall with 4 pairs of leaves when will they need potting up from 6cm pots they are in now
 
All my plants are in 1 gallon containers, I would put them into 2-5 gallon containers if I had the space. with 1 gallon pails I can put 4 into a carrier and move them from outside to inside relatively easy - the fast answer is the bigger the better....but.

During summer, i put them on my deck in the morning and depending on nightly conditions either leave them out or bring them inside. it is also handy at mid july when tornado season approaches. my city itself generally doesn't get hit by the funnel but we an can get high winds and heavy hail cover.

Come September outdoors at night would be extremely rare. Overwintering, 1 gallon containers are easy to store and move around, I have 20 lined up on a large ledge of an 8' windown.

So, it all depends on your growing environment and the logistics around the life expectancy you have for your plants. My expectations are to keep plants around for mininum 5 years.
 
Peppers will grow very well in 1 gallon containers. But, if you grow them in 5 gallon (or larger) containers you'll probably get larger plants, not to mention that you won't have to water them as often in the larger pots.

Alan
 
daveydw said:
hi iam new to growing chillies i have grown jalapenos in the past but iam now trying these types
tasmanian habanero
thai sun
scotch bonnet
what size pots are best for these, they are seedlings at the moment about 3-4 inches tall with 4 pairs of leaves when will they need potting up from 6cm pots they are in now
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They're ready to pot up when you see roots exiting the drain holes. As others have said, the larger pots will produce bigger plants, but it's best to pot up in stages, rather than jump from 6cm to 5 gal.
 
1 gallon pot as a final pot size is not a good idea. Yes it will grow and yes you will get peppers, but your plants will be stunted. You also wont get very good yields from them. At a bare minimum I would go with a 2.5 gallon pot, with 5 gallon being a way better choice. From there you can go to a 7 gallon or larger container or stay with the 5 gallon container.

Potting up in stages is a very good idea. I go from 4" - 6" - 2.5 gallon - 5 gallon, of course you could always go from the 6" straight to the final spot too. The reason it is a good idea is the plant has more of a tendency to dry out where the roots are, while the rest of the soil may still be a bit soggy, which is not very good growing conditions for the peppers. Another reason is it helps to increase root density in the soil.
 
If you place a small plant with it's small root ball into a large pot it's very easy to get the medium too wet for extended periods, since the plant doesn't require much when small. Potting up gradually in size provides a better more aerated and more easily controlled environment for the developing roots.
 
Thank you Matt and SS both for answering my quesiton about why it's best to pot up in stages. I had the fortune of coming across 25 five gallon planters and one 15 gallon planter. The house had just been landscaped and the owner had them in the recycle! Woo Hoo! Now...to figure out which lucky plant will inherite the 15 gallon???
 
Silver_Surfer said:
Nice score! Any of those Fish seeds sprout for you yet?
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Nope, not yet...I keep hoping! I planted all of them. It's only been just under a week since I finally got them in the growing medium. I'm really stoked about them and hope they take off and I'm able to get a good crop out of them. Thanks for the trade. How about you? Did those Tepins I sent you pop up yet?
 
I'm saving those for next season, I'm already growing more than I'll be able to use now. :)

Looking back at my grow log, the Fish took me 15 days before I saw a sprout.
 
I wouldn't rush into putting a pepper into the 15 gallon pot. I'd save that one more for a 2nd year plant (Overwintered) and pot it up to that towards that spring. For 1st year plants 5 gallon is really good, you can pot up to a 7 - 10 gallon, but it's not necessary. For second year plants I'd pot them up to a 7gallon or bigger (still not absolutely necessary)

I have a Red Hab I started Sept. 09, it is in a 5gallon pot and it currently is over 6' tall (5' without the pot) so a 5 gallon can support a very large plant. It's going to be interesting when I can actually put that one outside.
 
Matt Berry said:
I wouldn't rush into putting a pepper into the 15 gallon pot. I'd save that one more for a 2nd year plant (Overwintered) and pot it up to that towards that spring. For 1st year plants 5 gallon is really good, you can pot up to a 7 - 10 gallon, but it's not necessary. For second year plants I'd pot them up to a 7gallon or bigger (still not absolutely necessary)

I have a Red Hab I started Sept. 09, it is in a 5gallon pot and it currently is over 6' tall (5' without the pot) so a 5 gallon can support a very large plant. It's going to be interesting when I can actually put that one outside.
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Good to know. I'll keep the two 15 gallon pots for later use. Yup, the guy gave me another one since he was planting some kind of tree in his yard. It pays to walk the dogs all over the neighborhood: people get to know you and then are much more approachable when you ask them what they plan on doing with the left over planter pots ;)
 
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