Lessons From The Garden - Part 4
Peppers Like to Have Room to Stretch Out
This year I tried to save room in the garden beds by growing my peppers in 3 gallon pots. I was partly successful using this method
Early in the season the peppers thrived, not surprising with the extra warmth provided by the black plastic pots. Most of the plants grew strong and lush, putting out dozens of blossoms and setting quite a few fruits
The issues started later in the season when the plant roots began to reach the limits of the pot space. This made water retention in the soil a problem. Though plenty of fruit set, most of them didn't reach their full size potential at maturity
Most of the sweet peppers that I grow are huge, thick walled varieties. That is what I want when growing peppers, so the smaller size of the fruits this year was a little disappointing
The one area where I was actually pleased with the limited production was in my super hot chilies. My favorite variety is lemon drop, an heirloom chilie from Peru. It is insanely productive with one plant producing up to 300 pods! Confining to a pot, though, limited production to around 60 pods, an amount that was manageable.
I also have some trouble getting C. chinense varieties to ripen due to our relatively cool summers. But, with the extra warmth from the black plastic pots, my Carolina Reaper produced a couple dozen pods that ripened well before the end of the season
The lesson I've learned is, for the results that I want, grow sweet peppers in the main garden beds and the chilies in pots
Early in the season the peppers thrived, not surprising with the extra warmth provided by the black plastic pots. Most of the plants grew strong and lush, putting out dozens of blossoms and setting quite a few fruits
The issues started later in the season when the plant roots began to reach the limits of the pot space. This made water retention in the soil a problem. Though plenty of fruit set, most of them didn't reach their full size potential at maturity
Most of the sweet peppers that I grow are huge, thick walled varieties. That is what I want when growing peppers, so the smaller size of the fruits this year was a little disappointing
The one area where I was actually pleased with the limited production was in my super hot chilies. My favorite variety is lemon drop, an heirloom chilie from Peru. It is insanely productive with one plant producing up to 300 pods! Confining to a pot, though, limited production to around 60 pods, an amount that was manageable.
I also have some trouble getting C. chinense varieties to ripen due to our relatively cool summers. But, with the extra warmth from the black plastic pots, my Carolina Reaper produced a couple dozen pods that ripened well before the end of the season
Cecily, first off, you take beautiful photos. I can't help but love this blog for that reason alone. Second, thanks for describing the process for growing peppers. I've never had good luck with them. Next year I will give them more space.
ReplyDeleteI'm in the south-east of the UK and wowed by the fact that you grow peppers outdoors. Here we're delighted if they grow well in the greenhouse, but better indoors because of the lower temperatures outside. Love photos indeed! Thanks for sharing. I'm a garden designer, feel free to check out my ramblings, mostly about ornamentals though.. www.judisamuelsgardendesign.co.uk. Best wishes, Judi..
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