Gardening and Landscaping

[janice shell]

Hard to tell how big your containers are without any point of reference, but my guess is that they're too small for three peppas apiece. Pepper plants naturally look tiny when you plant 'em, but they grow fast, and big. My largest this year is the neon yellow habanero. It's about three feet tall (not counting the pot) and three feet wide. The ancho is a little taller, but not as bushy. The bhut jolokia (World's Hottest Peppa!) is pretty big too.

The Cross Country Nurseries people say they sometimes grow peppas in half-barrels, three plants in each. But they didn't say whether they're talking about large, medium, or small plants. I only grow relatively small peppers (small fruit, that is) because I find they do better in pots than big bell peppers, which seem inclined to blossom end rot no matter how much fertilizer I give 'em.

Maybe next year I'll try some tomatoes. I've never had any luck growing them in containers. Two years ago I ordered some that were guaranteed to grow well in pots, but though lots of fruit grew, it somehow never actually ripened. Just rotted. Maybe a cherry tomato type would be the solution.