grow chilies in small pots?

[stefpix]

Hi
I fell in love with chilies after looking at this site. I live in Brooklyn NY and I have limied space for growing. Fire escape in the summer and 2 southern windows and some shelves with fluorescent tubes.

I bought 5 seedlings at the farmers market. Thai red, Pretty in Purple, Chococolate brown, Peruvian Purple.

I do not have so much space and I like the Bonchi idea.
I was wondering though if I grew these in small pots could they survive and produce a small harvest.
I do not have the room to let them grow 1.5/2 meters aso I was thinking of keeping them in 4 to 8 " pots [10 to 20 cm].

I know the stem would not be to thick but that would not matter much.

anyway do you have any tips?

I would like to keep the plants under 30 / 40 cm tall . should I prune the roots if they fill the pot?

thanks
stefano

[Fatalii]

Yes, you can grow them in small pots, especially the varieties with the small pods are able to produce some yield.
Best tips I can give are: biobizz ferts, plenty of light and keep pruning them to keep the foliage small, otherwise the foliage and large stems will need all the root space available.

Hope it helps.

[stefpix]

Thanks!
should I prune after flowering? I want to get some chilies so I am wondering if I prune too much I would prune the branches about to bloom.

I have bought some heirloom starter plants at a marked and I sowed seeds of hot peppers imported from Jamaica and the Dominican Republic at some WI market in Brooklyn. Red / Orange / Yellow peppers some Scotch Bonnet shaped some Habanero shaped. Wonder if tehy all come from the same plants and have different shapes.

shpuld I wai to pune them until they are 30/ 50 cm tall? will overwinter on my windowsill and uner fluorescent lights.

stefano
stefpix.com

[Ryhis]

You don't have any commercial hydroponic-systems there? A few guys here grow with the "Zengow Hydro", it's designed for salads and herbs but can be used with chillis.

Of course, it's probably too expensive to order across the atlantic, but maybe you got something similar threre? The desing isn't too complex, you can easily build a similar construction if you wish.

Here's a few topics about the "miracle machine", of course all in finnish, but you can look at the photos!

http://chilifoorumi.fi/index.php?topic=7421.msg93483#msg93483
http://caderusso.blogit.fi/zen-grow-hydro-chileille/

this last one is in english!

http://www.zengrow.com/en

[stefpix]

zengarden too expensive and large - I have some shelves with fluorescents.

Some I am trying in SH in net pots with hydroton in a half plastic bottle.
Others in soil. Put some plants on the roof and fire escape in 6" / 15 cm pots, want them to grow before I cut them to make bonchis.

Mostly Habanero/Scotch Bonnets with a few Pequin, Thai red/orange, Tabasco, jamaican Brown and a Baccatum and 2 Purple.

what do you think? the Hab/Scotties could yield as bonchis?

thanks
stefano

[Ryhis]

I have one habanero that I thought was an C. Annuum. I cutted it down in order to make a "bonchi" out of it. Well, things changed and I moved and I didn't have time to invest in to the bonchi project. So I just repotted the poor bastardt with some new soil and surprise surprise it bloomed and started to grow pods. Actually, from the pods I could tell that it was an habanero.

Here's a pic of the pod and the plant;


A bit grown from that, but not much, picture taken about two months ago..

and the pod, pic taken about five days ago.



There's more luck than know-how in this chilli. I personnally think that all C. Chinence-plants are difficult, because you have to consider everything, heat, soil, watering and fertilizing. With small pots, I would think about C. Annuum and C. Baccatum.

It would be nice to see some pictures from chillies growing on a NY rooftop! And no Google-earth pics 

[stefpix]

Do you grow it under lights? did the pods mature?

Here I bouht a few plants from the farmer's markt. I like the taste of Habs and Scotties a lot - I like the fruity taste. I bought a Tobago Seasoning plant to get the taste without the heat... But getting used to the heat. I started with peppers as a remedy for squirrels digging my plants.

Anyway I bought these peppper if you can help me to identify.

Mostly they are from the Caribbean. Jamaica, Trinidad, DR. The mexicans call them habaneros and teh west indians call tehm scotch bonnets or scotties. I know tehre are different cultivars but all are chinenses after all .

Also got a few Ajicitos Not hot . What are these? I am trying to include some photos...

But I like the habanero/ scottie taste a lot better.

I am looking for manzanos as well.

here are some photos if you cant help me identify. public link on facebook. you can comment and befriend me

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=236505&id=631078065&l=9a813e9f0d

are these scotch bonnets? imported from Jamaica http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5899278&l=ebcc5eff7f&id=631078065
and these called Ajicito? what are these? http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=6018329&l=f391feceeb&id=631078065

box of peppers from Jamaica http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=6018330&l=6935cf0cd2&id=631078065
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=6018332&l=8c3690eec5&id=631078065
and
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=6018333&l=c2310914b7&id=631078065

and these from the Dominican Republic http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5898578&l=36728b05fc&id=631078065

all in flatbush brooklyn ny. They all germinated from seed. The yellow ones were the hottest ones.

stefano

[Ryhis]

Those are definitely from the caribbean. Looks hot enough to kill a horse!

In the winter I grew under two 36w fluorescent tubes, the plants did grow and I even got a small yield from two C. Annuum bushes and a few pods from a chilli called Numex Twilight. All the flowers from the C.Chinense dropped under the lamps but now when there's enough sunlight and the plants are out in the balcony or at the window ledge the pods do mature.

Habaneros need a lot of light. Preferably sunlight. And also they are picky about the soil, Fatalii should know a few tricks about the soil-question.

Here's my habanero yield. Pods taken from one bush.


I never heard about Ajicitos, Manzano is a rocoto? C. Pubescens?

Fatalii sells manzano seeds; http://fataliiseeds.net/search?query=manzano.