Of course you can make it any size you see fit, and using any materials that are easily available to you. Though I think 6 inches wide will probably do, I would opt a little wider 8-12 inches wide. Here's how I planed to build mine. First plywood would be stronger, but OSB board would be cheaper and still strong enough. It runs about $7-$8 for a 8x4 sheet around here. I plan the inside diameter to be 12 inch deep, about 12 inch wide, and 8 feet long. Make it as long as you want also, 8 feet is all I need. Though I plan to build 2, set them parallel with each other about 5-6 feet apart, and place a A-frame trellis between the two trenches. You already have your trellis. To strengthen the box structure, I plan on running 1x2's (they run $0.84 ea here) along the outside for added support. You can use 2x4's but would be about 3-4 times the price, and 1x2's should be enough support. For a trench box that long, I would probably run one horizontal row of 1x2 along the top and bottom of the box. Then periodically place vertical pieces between them. Here in the desert I need to insulate the roots from the heat, you probably wont want to do this part, especially if you are going to have the trench in the ground. My trench is planed to be on top of the ground. The inside of the box will be lined with probably 2 layers of 1/2 inch (or 1 inch) thick Styrofoam sheet insulation. Glued in with PL300 foamboard adhesive (it's made specifically to glue Styrofoam insulation to wood and construction materials. Then I plan to line the inside with vinyl sheeting. I don't know if Low's or Home Depot carry it, but ACE hardware just down the street from me does. They have 3 different thickness that run from about $3-$6 a square yard (in one yard widths). For the inside diameter I plan, it should just fit nicely without even overlapping it (except the end pieces. I plan to use 100% silicone to seal the ends and glue down the vinyl sheeting (as well as all corners and edges after the Styrofoam is glued in). Fish pond liner would be just fine, and plenty durable. I don't know how much it runs, but I think I will look into pricing that as well. For the drain I plan to cut a hole just big enough to run a pvc tube through the wood, and a little smaller than the wood hole in the Styrofoam (for a snug fit). Then glue it to the Styrofoam with the foamboard adhesive. Then run beds of silicone, and screw in a pvc connectors on both sides of the tube and snug it down. Making the lip of the connector on the inside of the box as short as possible (but still durable), so as much water will drain out as possible. I may decide to have more than one of these drains per box. But if one side of the box is raised a little, the water should flow nicely to the side with the drain/s. Because the heat and sun is so bad here on things. I plan to paint the outside of the box with a roofing material. I forget what it's called, but it's white, thick, durable and flexible. They use it on rooftops for reflecting the suns rays (overall cooling the building). That will also add another layer of insulation for the roots for me (reflecting the heat). But I need to find somewhere where they sell it in one gallon buckets. The 5 gallon buckets are way more than I need, and it's not exactly cheep (a one gallon should run about $10-12). That should protect the wood from moisture if you plan to bury it in the ground as well. However there is another material for that also, but it's black. I forget what they call that also, but they use it to protect walls that extend underground so they don't absorb moisture (like basement walls, underground stairways etc.). I don't know how much it runs, but you will want to protect the wood from ground moisture if you place it in the ground. And products like Thompson water seal wear off and need to be reapplied regularly. Once the box is ready, I plan to simply place a section of inexpensive furnace filter screening ($2, I just cut the screening material out of a inexpensive furnace filter) on top of the drain holes. Then I will place a layer of rocks on top of that to about 2 inches deep along the bottom of the trench. This will hold the screening in place and help with drainage all the way through the box. Then just fill with the growing medium and plants, setup the drip system. You should have a very durable planter box that will withstand the weather and you can use year after year. .

Hi everyone! I'm looking for any and all hot peppers to grow. I'm not being picky as I just started on my hot pepper obsession. I have a few things to trade (please see my trade list) but they wont be 100's of seeds in the trade. Please let me know how many seeds you would like and/or ask and I'll let you know how many I have. Since I'm new to this I wanted to make sure I had no hybrids from the 2013 season and didn't keep any of the seeds that even might be suspect. Thanks for looking! Genie

If you use a "mix" like Josh said, most have small amounts of nutrients to get through seedling stage. Maybe a light dose or 2 of All-purpose or fish ferts prior to planting in the garden or final pot. I wouldn't worry about epsom salts at this point at all. Mg is needed more at flowering than during growth stage. And even then, if you're planting in-ground, most soil has plenty of Mg in it. You really don't want to add it unless your plants show you need it. Even if your native soil doesn't have much and your soil is on the acidic side, you can always add dolomite lime for Ca and Mg. If on the alkaline side, then you would want epsom salts. If you're planting in pots or in-ground, you need to check the ph of the soil or the mix. Again, if acidic and your water supply is acidic, you can add Dolomite lime. I don't since my water is pretty alkaline. I, myself, add gypsum and a bit of bone meal for the Ca and epsom salts for the Mg for my potted plants. The general rule is anything east of the Mississippi is acidic, west alkaline. Since most veggies like acidic(peppers 5.8-7.0 I think), I don't use ANY lime (in-ground or pots). Just a general rule -- always exceptions to any rule. Need to at least check ph of soil, soil mix, and your water. That, or have a soil test done by a lab. Walmart or any drugstore will have unscented epsom salts. Kevin This post was edited by woohooman on Sun, Feb 23, 14 at 22:09

I would say they are hotter than is optimal. Being on the floor which is even hotter could be pushing them too far. Getting them raised off the floor sounds like a good idea. I just looked at your weather forecast (Bend, OR) and it looks like a great stretch of weather for peppers with lots of sun and low 80's to upper 70's for highs although it is going to be pretty cool nights in the mid to upper 40's. I think maybe they will start to take off in the next few weeks. My super hots have been doing really well the last few weeks and we have been mid 80's and some 90's. But our nights don't seem to cool of nearly as much as yours. We typically stay in the lower 60's at night this time of year. Bruce