Hey everyone! I'm back with something I've always wanted to do but have been putting it off for several years, an indoor hot pepper scrog. I've been busy with my greenhouse this year, remodeling my house, work (of course), going back to school full time and last but definitely not least entertaining a new woman. Cross my fingers this one works out, I'm 36 now and hoping for something to stick! lol .... The greenhouse has has been going well but I'm still working on getting it completely dialed in for my very tough climate (Flagstaff, AZ - 7,000' elevation).
Anyway, I had a few extras out in the greenhouse and the remodel on my garage is getting close to being done so I figured I'd give it a go. I had my pick between Pepper Guru's Fatalii (seeds came from his big mother plant he had a few years ago, a chocolate bhut or regular bhut. I went with Pepper Guru's fatalii.
I have several hurdles to overcome right out of the gate. Firstly, this plant was in the greenhouse, the greenhouse plants have aphids. However, this plant was 6' high on a rack and I inspected it EXTREMELY well. I didnt see a single bug on it. Just to be safe I sprayed the hell out of it, scraped out all the potted soil it was in, brought it in and transplanted it into a 5 gallon container filled with supersoil and a generous amount of worm castings from my bins. Im going to keep a very close eye on it and next week Im leaving out of town so I may stick a hot shot pest strip out in the garage next to it for the 5 days Ill be gone, just as a safety precaution. I've been hit with spider mites on my indoor medical grows and I definitely dont want to deal with it this go around. Time will tell and we will see if I dodged the bullet.
Secondly, as mentioned Im 7,000' up. Night time temps outside are already dipping into the low 40's and my garage is NOT insulated. I do believe we will get another month of warmer weather but we will be well on our way into winter soon. At that time I may have to look to moving this setup into the house, or into a storage room I recently built in the garage as part of my remodel. If I move it into the storage room (which is probably what Ill do) I can put a space heater in there on a thermostate and keep proper growing conditions going through winter.
Otherwise, the plant may just have to slow down in another month or two, probably just about the time it starts filling up the "screen".
Heres what I have going so far, I literally just transplanted her about thirty minutes ago:
Right now I have her under a 4' x 4 bulb T5. The bulbs are very old and about to go out, which is fine, because I have a new 4' x 8 bulb unit on its way with new bulbs that Ill use once she grows through the top shelf and fills it up.
As you can see, the light is currently mounted UNDERNEATH the shelf right above it. This will change. Once the plant grows a bit Ill put the light above the shelf and let the plant grow up through it. As she grows, I will tie down the branches until she completely covers the shelf horizontally. At that point (or sometime a little before this point) Ill swap out this light for the larger 8 bulb unit and hit her with a full 40,000 lumens about 3-4" from the canopy. I currently have the lights on from 6PM through the night until noon in an attempt to keep her warmer.
Wish me luck that she is productive and I side stepped any pests!
Anyway, I had a few extras out in the greenhouse and the remodel on my garage is getting close to being done so I figured I'd give it a go. I had my pick between Pepper Guru's Fatalii (seeds came from his big mother plant he had a few years ago, a chocolate bhut or regular bhut. I went with Pepper Guru's fatalii.
I have several hurdles to overcome right out of the gate. Firstly, this plant was in the greenhouse, the greenhouse plants have aphids. However, this plant was 6' high on a rack and I inspected it EXTREMELY well. I didnt see a single bug on it. Just to be safe I sprayed the hell out of it, scraped out all the potted soil it was in, brought it in and transplanted it into a 5 gallon container filled with supersoil and a generous amount of worm castings from my bins. Im going to keep a very close eye on it and next week Im leaving out of town so I may stick a hot shot pest strip out in the garage next to it for the 5 days Ill be gone, just as a safety precaution. I've been hit with spider mites on my indoor medical grows and I definitely dont want to deal with it this go around. Time will tell and we will see if I dodged the bullet.
Secondly, as mentioned Im 7,000' up. Night time temps outside are already dipping into the low 40's and my garage is NOT insulated. I do believe we will get another month of warmer weather but we will be well on our way into winter soon. At that time I may have to look to moving this setup into the house, or into a storage room I recently built in the garage as part of my remodel. If I move it into the storage room (which is probably what Ill do) I can put a space heater in there on a thermostate and keep proper growing conditions going through winter.
Otherwise, the plant may just have to slow down in another month or two, probably just about the time it starts filling up the "screen".
Heres what I have going so far, I literally just transplanted her about thirty minutes ago:
Right now I have her under a 4' x 4 bulb T5. The bulbs are very old and about to go out, which is fine, because I have a new 4' x 8 bulb unit on its way with new bulbs that Ill use once she grows through the top shelf and fills it up.
As you can see, the light is currently mounted UNDERNEATH the shelf right above it. This will change. Once the plant grows a bit Ill put the light above the shelf and let the plant grow up through it. As she grows, I will tie down the branches until she completely covers the shelf horizontally. At that point (or sometime a little before this point) Ill swap out this light for the larger 8 bulb unit and hit her with a full 40,000 lumens about 3-4" from the canopy. I currently have the lights on from 6PM through the night until noon in an attempt to keep her warmer.
Wish me luck that she is productive and I side stepped any pests!
