I'm growing things in pots this year as an experiment.

Here is what I discovered so far:

1. Any pots you had last year need the soil smended to replenish nutrients. Even if you didn't grow much in the pot last year.

2. You can plant the things in pots that are 1-2 gallons size, but you need to have the pots in a water source. I have put my pepper plants in small pots that drain well down into containers with no holes to keep the water levels going. So far... the plants rather love wet feet.

3. A tomato in a 5 gallon bucket with no holes in the bottom does great. The tomato needs so much water that it soaks up what is in the bottom.

I'm just doing peppers, eggplants, and a few tomatoes in pots.

Peppers in pots are: Super cayenne, Jalepeno's, Carmen. I have been picking from these already.

Eggplant: Rosa Bianca

What is your fertilizing schedule, and what do you use. How often and how much water.

Hi,
I'm growing a tomato in a big container, first time for me.
So far I have a few tomatoes, not that many, but the ones I have look good.

When I started I got advice from the tomatoes forum and the container forum on Garden Web [altho some of those people are anti-organic].

I water every day, til the water runs out the bottom. The only fertilizer I use is the same fish emulsion which I use on my plants and herbs, once a week.

I'll be interested to see what is recommended here for fertilizer.

ellen

I've been growing plants in pots for years with mostly good results. It's a good system if the pots are large enough, and you know you're going to be able to tend them daily--or at least 3-4 times a week. Mostly they have been tomatoes, peppers and herbs. Last year I had things going and had a medical emergency in the family that kept me away for a week or more at a time through June, and my pots didn't do anything--even tho my son did some watering for me, I wasn't here to take care of them so no homegrown anything last year. I'm mostly in raised beds this year, and I think the only major drawback to the pots is the watering schedule and the size of the pots.

When I started new pots, I dug up the lasagna beds and mixed that with rabbit manure and worm castings. So I haven't fertilied.

I try to start my beds with manure in them (I an tell when & where I don't use it.) I usually don't have to add anything when I start out pretreated. I may add the grass clippings.

This summer Mother Nature has cooperated a lot when it comes to watering, but I water every 2-3 days. The Super Cayennes were loaded with peppers and drying out really fast until I put those pots in 1) a 5 gallon bucket for one and a bigger pot that has no holes. They were practically wilting with my attempts to water not doing a lot. The compost/lasagna stuff drains really fast and dries out fast IMO.

I think the plants must really use the water up when they are producing fruit. This has given me a whole new perspective on how often I should water when the stuff is just in the ground. The jalepenos don't seem to need as much water as the super Cayennes do. Those Super Cayennes are loaded with peppers that are 7-8 inches long!

I haven't had to put the Jalapenos in anything like a saucer. The Carmen pepper I have is in a large plastic pot that has one of those built in saucer things.

We have had a lot of rain this year and it has been a lot cooler. So to gauge how much to water...it is less this year than in previous years. But the "saucer" or pot without a hole in it helps a lot. I can always pull the plants out of the water holding pot.

I don't think I would grow anything if I didn't have rabbit manure!

Rabbit,

My problem with growing things in pots w/o holes is that, while this is good in dry time, there are those times when 3 inches of rain comes down, and the bucket will be filled with mud! I actually considered putting a valve on some, to let this out, but to trap all of the water any other time, instead of letting some out every time it is watered, or when lighter rains come. I haven't tried this yet, however, and it is not something feasible on a large scale.

I have an EP growing better in a 4 gal. bucket than any of my others, and it needs so much water that I have to water it every day, or on the second day it is wilted. I have to put a drip emitter on it, to save me doing this! All of my peppers are doing great in the pots, as well and were a little behind the in-ground ones, at first (I think because of the cool weather), but have now taken over them. They are all in 3 gal pots, with emitters, so they never go thirsty. And peppers do not seem bothered too much when they get a little dry.

Good luck with all those peppers, and the rest of the garden!

Dave

I've had the same problem with pots and no holes, but either flower pots with saucers and buckets with holes in the side an inch or so above the bottom will hold water and not let the plants drown. I've let my peppers start to wilt before watering them and it doesn't seem to bother them much where a tomato will often crack if you do that.

Let me clarify my statements,

I have the plants in pots with holes in the bottom. What I am doing is putting those pots down in say.. a 5 gallon bucket or something similar that has no holes so the plants can absorb more water as this compost I have drains really fast, so putting the pots down in something that holds some water allows the plants to soak up some water that would other wise run out of the pot almost as quickly as I put it in.

This allows me to let the plants soak up water, then I can remove them from the water holding devices when they have had enough to drink. This should be a good method to use in really hot and dry years (which has been the norm over the last 10-15 years).

The tomatoes are the only thing "potted" in a 5 gallon bucket.

I got out tonight and the jalapenos had really gone crazy. They needed a soaking.

I was hoping to give encouragement to folks who are considering containers for vegetables.
I have done herbs in pots with great success, I have been playing with peppers in pots. This is the 1st year I have really "dove in" with trusting my peppers to pots almost totally.

I have actually had a better yield off of the peppers in pots than I have had in the ground. The one thing I really like is being able to move them around in the pots so that I can stick the pot in a place where some crop has done it's thing and there is space. I ran out of space last year, planted too much stuff too close together.... faster growing things fell over and covered up the pepper plants and I only got 3-4 peppers off of a plant that I rediscovered late in the season. I picked more off of 2 plants tonight than I picked off of 4 all season last year.

Do you have any suggestions for fertilizing my tomato plant in a big container?

I mixed compost in with the potting soil when I planted it.

I ocassionally fertilize with fish emulsion, I am not very consistent.

Any other idea?

thanks,
ellen

I seldom fertilize anything "all summer". Fish emulsion is great for getting a lot of green going, just as manures are. But once the veggies start blooming, I don't see any reason to keep feeding them.

You do know you can dilute some fish emulsion solutions in water and pour it on the leaves? That's what I did with basil and tomatoes a few years. I actually got into a little too much nitrogen that way. (I was doing it weekly then).

Thanks for the clarification--Bottom watering is probably your best bet in that situation, but it didn't seem you were providing a way for the the excess water to drain off--keeping enough water in the bottom until you have thoroughly irrigated is almost always needed regardless of the planting mixture. I think the pepper does better in pots because even the roots get the heat needed to produce good healthy peppers, not just the greenery that you sometimes get when planted in the ground.

I must confess... if anything I have isn't doing what I think it should, or it looks yellow, I add some rabbit manure. Not much, you can use the stuff like fertilizer pellets.
I typically will add say a handful which is about 20 little pellets. It sure perked up the plant I had put in a pot that hadn't reconditioned this spring. Once I get my plants the size I want, then I leave them alone.

May I suggest going to the pet store and getting s days worth of litter from there?
I feel a bunny keeps things in balance for me. I can occasionally feed her weeds and kitchen scraps and I get fertilzer in return. The bunny really likes honeysuckle and some other things.

I have a feeling that I'm going to use worm poop in about the same way you use rabbit manure, wasrabbity

The report so far... The peppers have done great in pots. My eggplants haven't done too well, but the ones in the ground didn't either.

Tomatoes have been coming along in the pots, but I only put 3 plants in pots.

I did get out there just now, cleaned out the rabbit cage (I'm down to 1 rabbit) and gave a number of the plants a little manure. I dug down around the edge of the pot (lots of roots!)
and placed a trowel full of manure and covered with soil.

But the Cayennes, jalepenos, Carmen, and Thia Dragon are all doing well in pots. I haven't lost a one!

I plan to try to use them as ornamental peppers on my back porch and maybe try to keep a few as long as I can this fall and winter indoors!

I've done pretty well with pepers overwintering--not many peppers inside, but healthy plants. I've got a couple of late tomatoes in post that I will cover or make a mini greenhouse for this fall and expect to have some tomatoes til at least Thanksgiving--given winter isn't TOO early. I've had cherry tomatoes in buckets pretty successfully so far. Late tomato plants are from pruning the tomato plants in the garden and are as healthy so far (or maybe healthier at same stage) as the early ones.