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Grow in perlite
- Thread starter pwb
- Start date
Interesting... I would say the same, perlite is zero nutrients. I am using it mixed with soil and sand, to have a bit lighter soil, and better drainage. But searching on the net I found this http://www.schundler.com/using.htm. It is dated 1979, according to the statement on the left side of page. They are speaking about growing using 100% perlite. However they don't speak about nutrients, and I think, as juanitos and mpicante, that is a must to add nutrients to this growing environment.
@pwb, how are you watering the plant? Because I suppose the perlite will float, if you are watering from above, especially is you put too much water.
@pwb, how are you watering the plant? Because I suppose the perlite will float, if you are watering from above, especially is you put too much water.
mpicante said:
Transplantet after the first leaves. It was a plant that i should throw away, but instead i rinsed the roots in water and planted it in perlite, it was only for fun. But i think i will make a drip watering system and use perlite on more plants next time. I think i could germinate it in rockwool and move it to perlite without any need of soil.
rghm1u20 said:
I water the plant as i water the other plants and its from the top. The funny thing is that the perlite seems to stick together when its wet, maybe its beacuse of the amount of perlite "dust" thats in the perlite i used? The surface is solid after it dries up. I did try to water the perlite from the bottom and the water was sucked up so its possible, but right now i water my plants from the top, but after moving all out in the greenhouse i will also be watering it from the bottom to.
Am I beating a dead horse if I agree with everyone above: You need to feed it with hydro nutrients.
I will be a bit more specific though.
Urea (common nitrogen source in most household fertilizers) does not work in a hydroponic system, it requires soil to make the nitrates available to the plants.
In addition to providing the Macro nutrients (N-P-K) you will have to provide the Micro nutrients to a sterile solution such as perlite.
Lastly, remember one of the important things that plants get in well draining potting soil is... both water and oxygen. In hydroponics there are many ways to provide this balance; it sounds like right now you are just watering the plant and it comes out the bottom right? If so, you are providing plenty of oxygen, but when the plant gets larger this wont be enough water/solution to keep it watered and fed, so you will need to setup a more conventional system. I recommend researching "dutch buckets" if you want a "real/pure" hydroponic system, or check out my other thread ill link at the bottom if you want something with no maintenance.
And I strongly recommend making your own hydro nutrient as follows:
5 gallons of water
Materblend 4-18-38 - 12 grams
Calcium Nitrate - 12 grams
Magnesium Sulfate - 6 grams
The cost per gallon is $0.016 (one and a half pennies)
Check out this thread about my DIY hydroponic/soil grow box: http://thehotpepper.com/topic/54589-diy-guide-how-to-make-off-grid-hydroponic-self-watering-container/
I will be a bit more specific though.
Urea (common nitrogen source in most household fertilizers) does not work in a hydroponic system, it requires soil to make the nitrates available to the plants.
In addition to providing the Macro nutrients (N-P-K) you will have to provide the Micro nutrients to a sterile solution such as perlite.
Lastly, remember one of the important things that plants get in well draining potting soil is... both water and oxygen. In hydroponics there are many ways to provide this balance; it sounds like right now you are just watering the plant and it comes out the bottom right? If so, you are providing plenty of oxygen, but when the plant gets larger this wont be enough water/solution to keep it watered and fed, so you will need to setup a more conventional system. I recommend researching "dutch buckets" if you want a "real/pure" hydroponic system, or check out my other thread ill link at the bottom if you want something with no maintenance.
And I strongly recommend making your own hydro nutrient as follows:
5 gallons of water
Materblend 4-18-38 - 12 grams
Calcium Nitrate - 12 grams
Magnesium Sulfate - 6 grams
The cost per gallon is $0.016 (one and a half pennies)
Check out this thread about my DIY hydroponic/soil grow box: http://thehotpepper.com/topic/54589-diy-guide-how-to-make-off-grid-hydroponic-self-watering-container/
It looks great! So what are you feeding it ?
Same as my other chilli plants that are in soil. Most of the time it get water with bayer garden phostrogen, sometimes i use FloraDuo from GenHydro (i also use that to my soil plants) and a little calcium nitrate 2-3 times. Epsom salt as foliar spray, sometime i use calcium chloride with epsom salt or calmag if i have that. I did think i would feed it like it was in hydro, but i dont have time so it is only a experiment and i started to use the same water and feeding as my ordinary chilli plants, but i do water it more frequent, but that that is because the small size of the pot.
whoa , super niceee