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Texas Indoor Grow (First Time Growing)

Hey guys.
 
I'm brand new to the field of pepper growing. My brother and I live together and we're both big pepper guys and love hot, spicy food. The idea just sort of came to me one day to grow our own peppers, and it all just sort of stuck. 
 
In all honestly I've been looking for a hobby after my recent divorce and this one just sort of stuck with me. I've grown some basil in the past but wasn't very knowledgeable about growing plants (hurr durr, just water it and it grows). I did my research this time, looked up advice from indoor growers, and started my search for all the right stuff I'd need.
 
I love tending to my plants, but I gotta be honest guys, they don't look too hot (pun not intended). I'll give you the rundown on when I started up and the specifics of my peppers.
 
I ordered these varieties from TomatoGrowers.com, which some other pepper growers used. 
 
  • Rocotillo
  • Bhut Jolokia
  • Red Thick Cayenne
  • Caribbean Red
  • Cajun Belle
Here are others I got from the generosity of my fellow pepper heads:
  • Gold Cayenne
  • Orange Thai
  • Fresno
  • Jamaican Hot Chocolate
  • Chocolate Scotch Bonnet
  • PDN x Bhut
  • Red Savina
  • Tepin x Lemon Drop
  • Yellow Fatali
  • Chocolate Habanero
  • Sweet Rocoto
  • Chocolate Brain Strain
The company also threw in some free tomato seeds for a purchase over $20, so I got some Red Rose Tomatoes growing as well. I live in an apartment, and we have no way to keep plants outside. Thankfully we have a large sun room that gets both east and southern sun through large windows, and for a time it was my main spot for the peppers before the cloudy days set in. This is what the setup looks like at the present moment.
 
Let's talk soil composition - I have one part potting soil mix, one part coco peat, and almost a part vermiculite. Threw out the old mixture for various reasons. Right now I am rolling with an organic seed starting mix instead.
 
Fertilizer - I use a mixture of two parts bone meal, one part potash, and one part urea (though I've only fertilized today, the 27th).
 
Lighting - I have two 85W fluorescent bulbs lighting them from 6AM to 10PM, but after being advised this might not be enough light I ordered two 105W fluorescent bulbs. In the future I am thinking of experimenting with LEDs, namely the 10W dual ones I can find for a reasonable price on Amazon. 400W HPS bulb, purchased from our very own PexPeppers.
 
Here are the peppers in question:
 
Rocotillo
Bhut Jolokia
Red Thick Cayenne
Caribbean Red
Cajun Belle
Red Rose Tomato
 
When I first planted I put two seeds in each cup, but then after a week or so I decided to add a third cup with a single seed in the middle. I've been tracking germination processes and the like, and placed it all on this handy Google Docs spreadsheet anyone can view. As you can see, for the majority I planted them on October 7 and the first germinated and sprouted on the 13th.
 
So, let's look at our problem plants shall we? Here are some closeups of the offenders:
 
Rocotillo Closeup: This is the saddest of them all, the leaves small and curled up, very dark green / almost brown.
Bhut Jolokia Closeup: Small leaves, brown spots on them as you can tell.
Cayenne Closeup: Some variety in shape here - one droops down and the other springs up. The stunted one I had to shed some kind of cap off.
Caribbean Red Closeup: Not much going on here, they look pretty healthy to me although small for being the first ones to sprout.
Cajun Belle Closeup: Again, some browning on the edges of the leaves like the Bhut Jolokia.
Tomato Closeup: Stems are long, but have stunted, and the leaves not as full as before.
 
So far this has been my routine with watering the plants: water once every two or three days, checking for soil dampness as needed (sometimes I can go three days before they need water, other times only two). 
 
If you guys have any tips or advice for getting these sad puppies off the ground I would be very thankful - I am not super knowledgeable even though I feel as though I have done my homework. There is a ton, and I mean a ton, of conflicting information about growing peppers (indoors or outdoors), but I know everyone has their own successes and failures and know what works best for them. Ray from the Praxxus channel on YouTube has been a huge inspiration in getting starting with growing because of his friendly Mr. Rogers attitude and great advice. 
 
Let me know what you guys think, and I hope to keep cataloging this experience for a long, long time. If you'd like to see the entire album here it is!
 
Click to expand...
I think that there may be a couple of things going on here. How far away are your lights? I'm thinking they may be too close. The 85W lights that you have right now are plenty enough for the plants at this stage. It also looks like there may be too much fertilizer.
 Welcome to THP by the way. :)
 
well it seems to me you want to build yourself a little grow room. I would start with the following (welcome by the way)
 
Buy a grow tent (cheap and easy)
http://htgsupply.com/nProduct-HTG--400w-2x4-Soil-Grow-Tent-Kit
 
or
Build a grow room:
 
http://htgsupply.com/Product-Digital-Greenhouse-%20600w-HPS-Grow-Light(choose a good grow light)
http://htgsupply.com/Category-Reflective-Mylar(reflect the light back to the plants, the walls dont need light)
http://htgsupply.com/Category-Seed-Starter-Kits(if you want to start a LOT of seeds at once)
http://htgsupply.com/Category-Timers(get yourself a light timer)
 
Going a little more advanced.
 
Learn Hydroponics: https://www.pexpeppers.com/hydroponics-and-chili-peppers-part-1/
Clone your peppers: http://htgsupply.com/Category-Cloning-Systems
 
do your cups have drain holes in the bottom?
 
the tomato is definately Etiolated so this is probably true for all your plants that they are not getting good light. lots of the cfl light is radiated out the sides since you have no reflector or enclosed space. The lights actually look too close which is why it might be burning a couple. Its better to have an even spread of light than moving them too close and creating hot spots.

Otherwise they look just fine. your plants are barely even babies. haven't even sprouted their first true leaves. The cotys are useless after a month so don't worry about them.

right now:
poke a couple holes in cup bottoms if you haven't already
make sure lights aren't too close, i prefer 12-18" away
make a simple reflector for the cfls DIY cheap
 
future:
consider getting one large HID (cmh,lec,mh,hps) lamp instead of cfls, leds (canopy penetration) if you want to flower multiple large plants indoors
consider getting an enclosure like a grow tent pex suggested or building one with sheets of expanded styrene @ lowes/depot 
definitely get an oscillating fan
 
juanitos said:
do your cups have drain holes in the bottom?
 
the tomato is definately Etiolated so this is probably true for all your plants that they are not getting good light.
Click to expand...
 
There are drain holes at the bottom of the cups. I've moved them back to the windows and the new grow lights should be here tomorrow - hopefully it helps!
 
megahot said:
Welcome to Thp. Glad you are enjoying your new hobby! If you need seeds or any advice pls feel free to ask.Good luck with your grows .
Click to expand...
 
Haha I suppose this whole post is a request for advice! Thank you for the welcome. :)
 
There are two things I notice about your current set up. First off I recommend covering the inside of your grow container with mylar or an emergency blanket at Walmart for a buck or two. Doing this will add reflection of light to your plants. Second off and even more important is to use a small fan on a low speed. Doing this will make your seedlings stronger and will decrease the risk of diseases such as dampening off and fungal infections. Good luck with your grow! 
 
megahot said:
There are two things I notice about your current set up. First off I recommend covering the inside of your grow container with mylar or an emergency blanket at Walmart for a buck or two. Doing this will add reflection of light to your plants. Second off and even more important is to use a small fan on a low speed. Doing this will make your seedlings stronger and will decrease the risk of diseases such as dampening off and fungal infections. Good luck with your grow! 
Click to expand...
 
I've moved the peppers back to the windowsill in the sun room coupled with the grow lights over them. I have an overhead fan running at high speed in the room to keep the air moving. I'm afraid if I cover the peppers they won't get the natural sun through the windows. I'll post a picture of the new setup when I get back.
 
Here's the new setup (albeit at night, in a south-facing window).
 
XPa0MsM.jpg

 
One of our Caribbean Reds sprouted as well! Hooray!
 
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