Pots or beds?

[Westi]

Thanks Sally! That makes sense! I was wondering if you'd found a cucumber that wanted to be a tomato.

Cheers!

[Harlaner]

As per my experience, Peppers and Chillis (have never grown Aubergines) do better in a greenhouse / polytunnel bed.

[Primrose]

I,ve grown chillies & peppers (& occasionally aubergines) in.outside borders and large pots outdoors. Results from border grown plants have always been rubbish but my pot grown plants have always done well, located against a house wall which reflects and retains the heat. The sides of the pots do get pretty warm. If yours are in a greenhouse I would have thought that was generally heat enough with the roots probably getting warmer than in they were planted in a bed.

I plant my chillies In 8" pots, peppers in 10" pots and always mix in a few chicken manure pellets when I transplant them into their f8nal pots. Interestingly the roots always spread Into every inch of the potting compost. In my borders the root spread was pathetically small so I think this reflects the quality of the rooting environment. Are your greenhouse beds generously manured?

What you don,t want to happen is sunlight being reflected upwards so strongly that any fruits start to scorch. This has happened to me in the past during heatwave periods, when ai,ve had to cover the plants over with fleece dur8ng the hottest part of the day to prevent the skins actually being damaged, where I suspect the liquid in the skins has actually slowly started to cook the fruits!

[Muddyboot68]

What an interesting thread. Two years ago was my first time growing all of the above with absolutely brilliant results, but did not know why the results were so good. But I didn't worry because last year I did everything the same as I had taken notes, and the result was a total failure and I did not know why. This thread has given me some of the answers to what went wrong.
Thanks to you all I may got a better crop this year.

[JoelleMaas]

What an interesting thread. Two years ago was my first time growing all of the above with absolutely brilliant results, but did not know why the results were so good. But I didn't worry because last year I did everything the same as I had taken notes, and the result was a total failure and I did not know why. This thread has given me some of the answers to what went wrong.
Thanks to you all I may got a better crop this year.

Many gardeners use a variety of plots, raised beds and containers.

[Primrose]

For many years I,ve always grown a few tumbling tomatoes in patio pots. At the end of the season I remove the plants and some of the compost and until replanting time next year I compost down kitchen & garden green waste including grass clippings (no lawn weedkiller used) in the upper half of the pots and add a layer of new compost before replanting with tomatoes late May.

I've always had brilliant crops and very healthy plants using this method until this year when results have been dreadful

Can anybody suggest why. Is it worn out growing compost which is tired of tomatoes or just the weather?

[retropants]

Primrose, my basket tomatoes are very poor this year too. Nothing different except the cold wet weather. Last few years, I had so many I was bringing tubs into work to share round. As you know, my cordons were completely destroyed by blight.

[Primrose]

Somewhat of a relief to read that Retropants because I was starting to wonder if my technique of "composting in situ in the container in which I grow things" had suddenly come back to bite me. My tomatoes in a south facing border are faring equally disappointingly this year so perhaps it,s just the Influence of poor weather

I suspect experiments growing with pots or beds will always have results influenced by that season,s weather whixh can have a massive influence on the ultimate success od your crop, to the point where it negates the whole experiment unless you grow with under cover protection of some kind.

[robo]

My tomatoes are good this year but we have only had a couple of cold snaps not enough to bother my hanging baskets with tomatoes in my poly tunnel is going great guns I’ve not planted as many tomatoes as usual but they are doing good my blue lake beans are slow but I’ve now started to get some same with my peppers