Changed my mind about growing peppers in small pots

Always thought my balcony was too small for anything but herbs. Had a jalapeno plant in a 6-inch pot last year. It gave me maybe three peppers the whole summer. Looked sad. This spring, my cousin gave me a 5-gallon fabric grow bag as a gift. I planted the same type of jalapeno starter in it. The difference is crazy. After two months, the plant is three times bigger. Already picked eight peppers. The roots have way more room, and the fabric lets air in. I was wrong about needing a huge space. Just needed the right container. Anyone else switch to bigger pots and see a huge jump in yield?

3 comments

3 Comments

shah.olivia1mo ago

Honestly, I still get better results with my old plastic pots. The fabric ones dry out way too fast in the sun, so I'm constantly watering. That's more work than just potting up a size in something solid.

emmafisher2mo ago

Totally agree about the fabric pots. That air pruning thing is a game changer for roots. I switched all my tomatoes to 7-gallon fabric bags and they don't get root bound at all. It's like the roots know to branch out instead of circling.

patb122mo ago

Oh man, @emmafisher, that reminds me of my pepper plants last year. I tried fabric pots for the first time with some habaneros, but I put them on my concrete patio. The roots actually grew right through the fabric and stuck to the concrete. Had to peel them off like a sticker.