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hydroponic Anyone growing chiles hydroponically?

En-gi-nerd

En-gi-nerd

Curious to see what others are doing. Recently been researching the topic of drought stress and heat levels. Specifically, does anyone intentionally alter watering schedule to maintain/increase heat?
 
depends on what you call hydroponic.
 
if you mean bubbly water or sprayed water then no.
 
i grow drain to waste, in inert mediums like peat lite or coco lite. when i have the cash my preferred medium by far is  rock wool = )
 
Hydroponically and aquaponics.  If you're concerned with drought then aquaponics is a great solution for it.
 
queequeg152 said:
 
i grow drain to waste, in inert mediums like peat lite or coco lite. when i have the cash my preferred medium by far is  rock wool = )
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I found rockwool cubes for about a dollar each. You really don't need that much for a plant to grow in, just enough to hold them in place. I'll send you a link when I find it.
 
I've been growing in rockwool (Hugo's) and top-watering daily with one short water cycle in the morning - this is a recirculating system. EC is 2.1-2.3 and pH is right around the 6.0 mark. Things seem to be growing well with this schedule.
 
My question arises because last time I grew hydro-peppers I had a batch of alleged scotch bonnets turn out with zero heat. It may have been that the seeds came from peppers that got cross-pollinated  in my garden the year before. However, I have also read that chilies that are really well fed/watered can produce less-hot fruit. The Chile Pepper Institute has a decent paper related to the topic available on their website: http://www.chilepepperinstitute.org/content/files/impact_of_drought_stress.pdf.
 
The gist of it is if you intentionally stress the plant in the fruiting stage you will increase capsaicin levels. I am curious if this goes the other way (not that I want it to) and if anyone else has experienced this. It seems as though the pepper should never be less hot then genetics dictate but my scotch bonnet experience makes me wonder.
 
En-gi-nerd said:
I've been growing in rockwool (Hugo's) and top-watering daily with one short water cycle in the morning - this is a recirculating system. EC is 2.1-2.3 and pH is right around the 6.0 mark. Things seem to be growing well with this schedule.
 
My question arises because last time I grew hydro-peppers I had a batch of alleged scotch bonnets turn out with zero heat. It may have been that the seeds came from peppers that got cross-pollinated  in my garden the year before. However, I have also read that chilies that are really well fed/watered can produce less-hot fruit. The Chile Pepper Institute has a decent paper related to the topic available on their website: http://www.chilepepperinstitute.org/content/files/impact_of_drought_stress.pdf.
 
The gist of it is if you intentionally stress the plant in the fruiting stage you will increase capsaicin levels. I am curious if this goes the other way (not that I want it to) and if anyone else has experienced this. It seems as though the pepper should never be less hot then genetics dictate but my scotch bonnet experience makes me wonder.
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You had bad seeds, trust me.
 
I did about a dozen plants in outdoor hydro a couple of years ago. All of the superhots were still scorching hot.
 
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afr0n0me said:
Milk jugs for me haha
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I saw your pictures - way to make the best of available resources! I'm a big fan of repurposing materials.

Juanitos and Jeff: I have a feeling you may be right about the seeds. Jalapeños and Serranos in the same system grew/tasted good although I cannot remember if the heat was appropriate.

Jeff: Those plants look good! I wish I had the basement space to grow 'em that big - I am trying to control the size of mine given my available lighting area. I topped them and have been pruning to encourage more new shoot growth. So far, so good.

Thanks for the feedback.
 
We modified one of those aerogardens to be higher the other day so we could accommodate my Sus Biberi plant, which was growing itself against the light and burning. I didn't want to trim it back because it is growing beautifully. I just took off the bottom leaves in the last few days and it is already sprouting new growth :) 
 
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ohh nice ! what do the root ball look like ? 
 
 
VirgilCane said:
We modified one of those aerogardens to be higher the other day so we could accommodate my Sus Biberi plant, which was growing itself against the light and burning. I didn't want to trim it back because it is growing beautifully. I just took off the bottom leaves in the last few days and it is already sprouting new growth :)
 
4c11556ee3607ec2dfda0bf2bfcaf374.jpg
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VirgilCane said:
We modified one of those aerogardens to be higher the other day so we could accommodate my Sus Biberi plant, which was growing itself against the light and burning. I didn't want to trim it back because it is growing beautifully. I just took off the bottom leaves in the last few days and it is already sprouting new growth :) 
 
4c11556ee3607ec2dfda0bf2bfcaf374.jpg
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I like it! Looks like you sleeved the existing light support with PVC - I imagine you spliced in some longer wires too? Costco has the LED Aerogarden on sale - I'm thinking of getting one for my desk. You sound happy with yours?
 
afr0n0me said:
ohh nice ! what do the root ball look like ? 
 
 
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Thanks! The roots are spread pretty well throughout the reservoir and wrapped around everything in there. It looks super healthy!
 
En-gi-nerd said:
I like it! Looks like you sleeved the existing light support with PVC - I imagine you spliced in some longer wires too? Costco has the LED Aerogarden on sale - I'm thinking of getting one for my desk. You sound happy with yours?
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That is right! I had some lamp light wiring left over from an existing project. Cut it to size, stripped the ends, cut the light wire for the aerogarden, spliced them, and ran it up the inside of the PVC piping. We drilled a large hole in the top back so you could string the wire through in case we need to take the PVC off. Also took 2 small screws and drilled them through the PVC and into the bit on the light that connects. 

I personally really like the aerogarden but I wish we got the bigger one..... the tri-pod model doesn't seem to allow all the plants to do well. I usually have one plant that chokes out all the others. Hence why you only see one plant and a measly bit of oregano growing! 
 
Thought I'd throw this up here; before and after shots. Transplanted seedlings into rockwool on 10/23/14 (top) and the lower image is from today (12/7). one transplant and a couple of cuttings as well. Obviously the tomatoes (left) have taken over!
 

 
 
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