Re: [CH] Hydroponics
The Adair's (adair@onyx.digisys.net)
Wed, 30 Dec 1998 16:17:50 +0000
> Ive been wondering the same thing about hydro and habanero's. I am waiting
> to see if any replies to the other question posted recently about hydro and
> flower droppage..... :-)
Hi,
I'm a newbie here too and have been waiting for a hydro thread to
start up hoping to pick up some tips myself.
I've been growing peppers hydroponically for three years now though
I've never grown Habs (well, that's not entirely true I started some
but they quickly overshadowed my beloved Bolivian Rainbows and I
removed them to the outside garden). I've got a homebuilt setup that
really was quite easy to put together. I use two four foot
flourescent lamp fixtures with one cool white and one gro-lux lamp in
each one. I'd really like to upgrade to halide someday but the
system I have works really well for me. I always have plenty of
peppers. For a nutrient I've always used Eco-Gro without
modification to the instructions for use that are on the bottle.
As to flower droppage..... Right now I'm growing Super Chiles and
Bolivian Rainbows, it seems that after they set the first fruits I
get a lot of flower droppage which tapers off after awhile. It never
seems to affect the health of the plant and after they mature a
little they start setting a lot more fruit though I always get what I
think is a lot of droppage. I planted my current crop last May and
all my plants are loaded with peppers now and they have been since
mid September. They always start out a little sparse though. I
guess I'm going to have to build another system to grow some habs
though the one I already have in the dining room is stretching it a
bit with the wife (a reluctant CH would be a polite way to describe
her).
To Joe Ferguson:
Your choice of a setup sounds feasable to me and is a real
good way to start. You'll be very satisfied with the results. I got
started with a little setup that I bought at a farmers market and it
worked so well I soon wanted a bigger system. Hence the 14 hole
homebuilt I'm using now.
To Dennis Brewer,
Sorry I can't help you. Your ph levels are the same that I use and
your temps sound fine (though hotter than I am able to do here). I
have wood heat and I live in Northwest Montana so I get some pretty
wild temp fluctuation in the winter. I don't really mess around with
my system much except to keep track of the volume of nutrient
solution in my holding tank. When the pump sounds funny I add more.
I lose quite a bit to evaporation. I change my nutrient about
once a month though I have gone as long as two months without any
noticeable damage to the plants. I'm hoping someone out there will
be able to answer your question. Maybe Habs like a different ph or
need something different in the light spectrum than your sodium
lights can provide. It's entirely possible that patience will be the
answer as I've explained above.
Good luck and let me know how things progress.
Tim Adair