Growing peppers in pots

I love growing peppers in pots. They just seem to do better and I definitely get more fruit. If I had to speculate on why, I would say that it's because they get the really nice potting soil, closely regulated water and the pots help keep them warm.

I use 15" or so plastic pots with a terracotta finish. They are big enough to easily hold a basketball comfortably without having a lot of extra space. I fill them with Pro-Mix potting soil which you can pick up at Broadway Gardens in South Portland. It comes in bags but I get the big bricks of it. I suppose you could use whatever kind of potting soil, as long as it's well drained and rich in organic matter.

The plants themselves were started in late March and brought outside in late May as soon as it warmed up. I've got three plants per pot this year but in the past I've usually done only two. These are Ace peppers from Johnny's and are listed as good for container growing. Actually, most of their peppers work well in pots and as I've said before, I wish I had done all of this year's crop this way.

I have fewer pest problems when the peppers aren't in the ground. I've always kept them on the tar of the driveway or, this year, on the bricks around the patio. The first year I grew them, it was on a wooden deck. I did notice today that something has eaten a perfectly round whole in one of the peppers, but it seems untouched aside from that.

I know that I'd probably get more peppers if I started picking them while they're green. Even with some really large fruits on their way to ripening, these guys are still making little teeny peppers that will probably not get big enough to eat. I don't pick them early though because Maine has such a short growing season and I really like my peppers when they're red.

I could ramble on about this but this is the anniversary weekend at the store and it's time for me to go pull a 32 hour shift. I'll catch up with everyone on Monday. Afternoon.