Last summer I began growing vegetables on my balcony. Never having planted or grown anything in my life, my first question was:
- What should I grow?
Followed by
- How big should the pot be?
We planted a chilli and a tomato. And I picked lots of cute little pots from ebay and local plant nurseries. I think the biggest was around 8-12 litres.
You should buy a big pot
Buy the biggest pot you can. Small pots are only useful for herbs, to get serious about having some fresh produce, like a chilli, you’ll need a big pot. A really big pot. Around 20 litres.
Plants need room to spread their roots
Your pot will constrict the growth of the roots. Once the roots have no room to go, the plant growth will be stunted, and you’ll get a withered little plant with hardly any fruit.
The photo above is of three broad beans planted at the same time in three different pots. The size difference in the plant is enormous. The largest pot (which is still very small) dwarfs the next biggest plant.
I doubt any of these pots are big enough, all I’ve succeeded in doing is wasting my time in growing them.
Put your business in the biggest pot you can
Your business is like a young plant. Give it lots of sun, fertiliser and just kidding, this isn’t a business post. I just thought the three beans looked funny sitting side by side. If anyone has tips for growing super hot chilli plants please write to me in the comments.
Also if you need to buy a super hot trinadad scorpion chilli (in Melbourne) I’ve got three very strong ones growing - I’d be careful though, if the pepper touches your bare skin you’ll feel it for two days afterwards.