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Scratch's Outdoor 2013 - planted out finally.

Alright, the season is officially over in Vermont, so it's time to fire up the lights and grow some peppers indoors. This is always my favorite part about winter. I love being able to come home after work and still have some sunshine to play in. Considering it gets dark around 4:30 in the deepest parts of winter, I'll take any sunlight I can get!

I'm giving hydroponics a go this winter, so this will be a huge learning experience for me. But, if we didn't learn something new each time, it would get pretty boring, wouldn't you say?

Alright, peppers!

Plants are currently under 3 2' 4100k T8 lights, 17w each for a total of 51w of light.
DWC buckets with GH Flora series nutrients

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This is my Carolina Reaper(hp22-b) seeding. She's about 7 weeks old. She's obviously stunted, considering her age, but I'm not in any rush to have a monster plant. Besides, I've already learned something from her, rockwool sucks. I am definitely not buying anymore after I use up what i have on hand. From what I've seen, rapid rooters are the way to go.

This is my Scotch Bonnet seedling. 11 weeks old, and finally coming into the growth spurt stage. She grows a half inch or more every day!

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As you can see, she's starting to flower.
Can anyone identify the browning on the lower leaves? I think I may have spilled some of the soup on them when changing out the reservoir, but maybe it's something else.

This is a Bhut Jolokia that I've been growing since November of last year. I've nearly killed it 3 times now, and everytime it drops all it's leaves from stress, they bounce right back. So I figure, what the hell. Let's see how many lives this cat has.
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And last but not least, my mango. 6 months old.

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Once i get the space cleared out, these will all be moved into a 2'x3' tent with a 250w HPS lamp. Until then, I don't mind keeping them small and slow growing.

That's all for now, thanks for stopping in.

Scratch
 
Will do. And I'm thinking after I get back on my feet(been unemployed for the last 2 months), I'll get a bottle of proper calmag. Any suggestions for brands? I'm a fan of GenHydro, but always open to other options.
 
They are all pretty much the same, I use either calimagic from GH or cal mag from botanicare just depends which one I have more of when I run out. Currently I'm using the calimagic right now.
 
Thanks Joe! Those are your seeds I'm growing there. I love them! I grew out you Scotch B. this past summer and absolutely fell in love. That's why it chose it for my hydro experiment.
 
I'm fairly experienced with hydroponics, so I may be able to help. Most of your problems (except for the pests), look like a pH problem. Many times if your pH is wrong then nutrients get locked out, which then causes the nute deficiencies. So instead of adding more of the deficient nutrient, I would recommend a reservoir change/pH adjustment.

As for your aphids, you may want to look into neem oil. Its natural repellant and you can still eat the fruit afterwards. If you don't want to go that route you can always spray your plants with a diluted soap/water combo and then wash them clean half an hour later.
 
Ugh. Stupid program crashed after I had typed out a page long response.

I've got the aphids under control, but yes , my ph is out of sorts. Mostly because I've gotten lazy, and wait two weeks before Rez changes. I've been meaning to get black into a more active habit, but Christmas has been a pain. Now that that is over I'm hoping to really pick it back up
 
Changed out my buckets this afternoon. The aphids are coming back, so I sprayed the plants with a strong h2o2 solution and set them out on my porch for a few minutes, hoping a quick blast of cold may kill them nasties. While they were outside I cleaned the tent with the same spray, removed any dead debris and mixed up some new nutes. I will post pics and maybe a video in a little while.
 
Ok photos!

Scotch Bonnet after a cold shower and some new soup.
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It's a bit wilted, but I think it's going to pull through. I'll have to keep a close eye on it tonight to be sure.

Carolina Reaper after cold shower and new soup
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Just a shot of the whole tent. My avocado is doing well. I love that little plant, but boy is it a slow grower.

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The Bhut Jolokia that wouldn't die, in fresh soil.

And my Fatalli seedling. It's taking its time shooting roots, but I noticed this morning a little white hair reaching towards the edge of the net pot, so I will be moving this to a 5 gallon bucket system in the next week or so.
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Thanks for stopping in, and Happy New Year!
 
Nice update Scratch, those plants should start perking up by the morning. That is the great thing about hydro, the plants will let you know real quick if it liked what you gave it.
 
Well this morning was a disappointment.

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The leaves are all dead, but the frackin aphids aren't. I think it might be time to pull the plug and start over.
 
I'm sorry to see and hear the bad news, scratch. I would still try and save it, but if you are going to start over, I would recommend that you clean your whole growing space really really well. Scrub it down, disinfect it, just make sure that there will be no aphids for your next try.
 
I'm going to give it a week, and if it doesn't bounce back, I'm doing just that. I plan on bleaching every square inch of the tent, inside and out. Luckily me fatalli seedling is in isolation at the moment, so I'll have something to put in there.
 
I was too Scott. But this my first attempt at a hydroponic pepper, so I expected some setbacks. Chalk it up as a learning experience.
 
It will start getting easier, my first time trying out hydro was a disaster. Once you get a feel for it the only thing that sucks are the pests that are inevitable.
 
Yeah, I know what you mean. I've grown other plants in hydro with reasonable success, but they weren't as finicky as peppers.

My biggest pitfall so far with hydro is seed starting. I've been using 1" rockwool cubes, and have found it takes forever to get the roots to push out of it.
 
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