I like containers. You can move them, rotate them, etc.

Also you can control the water/ nutrients more in a container.

On the other hand, in the ground they have unlimited rooting potential and the added benefit of earthworms.

My mom grows in the ground. My harvest is larger but I also pay daily attention to my plants where as my mom checks them once a week. Her plants fall victim to snails while my pots have copper tape around them to keep them away. She also ends up with more caterpillars.

I'll be in a condo in a week that won't give me the option to plant in the ground, but I still prefer containers.

The question I would ask is: Where would they get more sun? Can you place a pot in a sunniest spot possible? Or is your garden already full sun?

Moving the pots is merely a convenience for me. I get a few white flies from time to time. It's easy to pull the pot out, put it on a lazy susan and spray it from all angles. Also you can isolate a single plant from the garden if something is happening.

In our zone (5) you won't get much of a harvest from the devil's tongue in the first year (requires too long of a season). If you plant it in a pot, you can keep it alive for a long time. I have a DT that is on its third summer now and produced like mad last year. This year, it already has 8 peppers on it, 2 of which are full size.

On the other hand, in the ground they have unlimited rooting potential and the added benefit of earthworms.

I do all my gardening (this year tomatoes, tomatillos, peppers, cucumbers and herbs)in approx.100 containers. At the end of the season when I dump the soil I find many earthworms in the mix. Probably I pick them up from the previous year's soil which sits in the big pile of soil which overwinters in the yard in a big heap.

> when I dump the soil I find many earthworms in the mix.

Ditto. I'm a container gardener too. There are so many advantages to container gardening peppers that I don't know where to start. Been growing exclusively in containers since '93.

Last year grew Orange Devil for the first time. This picture is dated August 21st so OD produced ripe pods way before frost. From a Feb 24th seed start.

jt

Thanks for your postings. jt the fatali looks great! I was between that and the devils tongue. So: not to sound too ignorant, I have a couple of questions. I bought a bale of Promix and that filled up a dozen or so containers. I have a lot more to go, and an achin' back already. Are you saying you dump the containers at the end of the season and the reuse what you dumped the next year or do you start with fresh stuff every year? I don't mind doing the work at all, it's just my back that disagrees. Thanks in advance.
d

d,

I use ProMix BX. Well worth the price! I reuse the mix at least 2 or 3 years w/o dumping the containers. And sometimes longer. This mix will compact over time and I use a 4' or so piece of small diameter rebar to loosen it up during the growing season especially the 2nd year. Yes, you cut a few roots here and there, but I think aerating and loosening the soil mix is worth it.

ProMix drains really well and with proper watering technique there will not be fertilizer salts buildup.

jt

john,
Orange Devil Habanero seems to be a different variety than Devil's Tongue Habanero. Devil's tongue has an elongated, pointed pod whereas your orange devil has a blunt, almost bell pepper shape to it. My Devil's Tongue habs are almost indistinguishable from many fatalli peppers (although many pictures show that the fatallis are much more yellow than orange). I can never really tell the difference, and it wouldn't suprise me if they were the same, but they definately do not look like the Orange Devils that you have pictured.

> ...but they definately do not look like the Orange Devils that you have pictured.

You are definitely right. Sorry about that! And am familiar with Devil's Tongue.

Senior moment here!

anon

Hi container growers...could you please post pictures of your peppers in containers. I would like to see the set up...thanks.

Pots along the drive

Front lawn

Back lawn

You wiil notice that this practice is not recommended if you care about the lawn.

JohnF

Nancy's set-up is much neater than mine!

JohnF -

Well, that's just because my plants are so small compared to yours and just appear to by tidy, plus I have a lot less of them. And I wasn't brave enough to show pictures of my backyard!!

You've done a great job!

John,

I've always liked that driveway shot.

Nancy,

Very nice! Never been all that neat myself.

...

Can't hardly see the containers, but here goes...

Winter in basement:

Garden area in summer:

And you guys should see John's indoor setup in front window. Really neat!

jt

They'll get bigger, Nancy. They already look nice and healthy.

It's a jungle out there, jt and no, I can't hardly see the pots. I have been amazed at how large you get your's in pots and though I've seen your back yard pics before, forgot they were in pots.

John

Wow..thanks for sharing your pictures; very nice.
JT - Looks like you have a pepper tree in your backyard. That is one huge plant, what kind is it?
thanks again,
sanjay.

Sanjay,

Towards that end of the garden area are the C. pubescens and the C. baccatums. Lots of baccatums grow 6 foot or more. Don't think there is any limit to how tall or long some C. pubescens can grow if they decide need more light or space.

Found a better picture that almost shows the containers. The 6 ft t-posts are placed every few feet on both sides of the double rows of containers. There are numerous holes running up the post so you can string clothesline wire from one end to the other at any height you want for support. At season end there might be 4 wires ea starting aprox 2 ft off the ground. Very good system and easy to add or take away the wires.

jt

Geez if I had as much room as you guys I'd be in trouble!!
Very nice setup's; great looking plants ya'll :)

Vera

Awesome.

You guys are true Professionals.

I can not begin to imagine what the pictures show.

Incredible.

I feel humbled by what I see.

I want to ask a question of John showme

on the indoor picture. what do you use for light. it looks like maybe standard 4 tube fluorescents. I would think they need more light than a fluorescent can provide to look so big and have such nice peppers on them indoors.

thanks

O Nut

Hey john47, how do you cut the grass in between the pots? Or do you just let it grow long until the end of the season?

I move those pots, mow, move the pots back. It's really a pain but it gets the peppers in the sunniest spots.

John

In regards the the Devil's Tongue thing above: I picked my first ripe peppers of the season this evening (6/5). I just planted all of my in-ground peppers over Memorial Day weekend, but my Devil's Tongue has been flowering forever now

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The peppers are a little small due to the plant being badly sunburned (lost a good 50% of its leaves easily, may have been 60%+). It seems that they ripened early in response to the damage.

I also have a question as to the naming of the Devil's Tongue. The peppers themselves look very much like those of the fatalli pepper and I have even found some references that say that they are the same pepper. Might this be true? It seems that they are the same shape, color (close enough), and everything else about the plants is similar.

One company (http://www.sweatnspice.com/619-34.htm) says that "... Fatalii, a habanero from the Central Region of South Africa, commonly known as the "Devil's Tongue".

I feel like I should eat them, but my mouth still remembers the last time I tried that (my fiancee does too, and I don't think she would let me try again :) )

I grew Yellow Devil's Tongue last season. I thought the pods were different than Fatalii (smaller, more crinkled). Overall a slower growing plant too. Heat levels....both atomic! I believe they are two different plants.

Chris

> I would think they need more light than a fluorescent can provide to look so big and have such nice peppers on them indoors.

O Nut,

14 40 watt tubes put out a lot of lumens. And for problem plants I have both HPS and MH fixtures. This year on the recommendation of someone I switched over to GE Sunshine tubes. Color temp 5000k, 2250 lumens and 90 cri. A little more expensive (I think $6) than the 3000 lumen Sylvania tubes in the picture. 15 years ago I was paying about $25 a tube for the Duralites (sp?). Lighting has come a long way.

Sweet peppers, some habs & some jals seem to be less able to adapt to lower light conditions. Only 1/4 recommended strength fertilizer in the winter.

jt

John & John,

Wow - your set-ups are truely amazing! It looks like an incredible investment of time and money, but it is obviously well worth it! Thanks for sharing the pics.

I don't have enough room or enough time to care for that many pots. I always have a few that I keep in pots so I can baby them through the summer and to bring in over the winter, while the rest go in the garden. Last year I dug up two of the best ones and potted them for the winter. They came through quite well so I might continue that trend and save a couple more this year.

Reid