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Morbid Florist posted:Question for the bucket growers: If I planted some bell peppers and some garden salsa peppers in buckets that (according to the internet) are too small, what's the likely outcome here? Just small plants with lower yields, or am I wasting my time entirely?  Time for an experiment! Yes, smaller plants and lower yields (going from the amount of budding flowers on each plant). These are all the same age and grown in virtually identical conditions. The one on the left is three plants in about 100cc of soil. Needs watering up to four times a day now! It sucks the soil bone dry in three to six hours, depending on temperature and direct sunshine. The second one from the left is an experiment with lack of proper drainage. I'm not sure what my conclusion is, apart from the fact that it is possible to grow a plant in a pot with no draining holes. I've made a white paper sleeve for the pot (not pictured) because I noticed the roots were getting cooked. The grey one is about a liter when filled to the brim. Most of my peppers are growing in pots like that. It's not ideal; it's a space saving measure. If I grow them in bigger pots, I have to keep them outside and the yield will be about the same due to the fact that we only have two to three months when nighttime temperature can be expected to generally be above 15°C. Which makes a huge difference, apparently. I put these pots on top of a smaller (e: closed) pot to recuperate drained nutrients. The one on the right is in about 3 liters of soil, which seems to be about the minimal adequate amount for a full sized plant. Pot size matters. But a tiny pot doesn't necessarily result in sickly and dying plants, with a bit of luck and a lot of attention. It has to be noted though that the smaller the pot, the more fickle the plant gets. It's extremely easy to underwater, overwater, under- or overfertilize a plant in a tiny pot. It's also susceptible to temperature shock, because there's no buffer of soil absorbing the differences. Having half full 10qt buckets should be no problem. At that point, there are going to be a shitload of factors and conditions that are going to matter a lot more than the size of the bucket. Flipperwaldt fucked around with this message at 16:25 on Jul 9, 2013 |
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Jul 9, 2013 16:19
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pr0k posted:I'm thinking about getting a bunch of five-gallon buckets and loading up that corner with stuff. Then again, at that price... they definitely work. Plants grow in them. I guess I'm recommending to at least look for the more sturdy ones made from a thicker plastic. vvvvv Actually, where I live, anything that can help out smoothing over temperature differences is a plus.
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Mar 10, 2014 21:57
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