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hydroponic Best indoor varieties for small hydroponic setup

C

Couloirman

Hey guys-- I'm new here!
 
I got in on a kickstarter a while back for something called the Countercrop which is a small self contained hydroponic grow system and was wondering if you thought it's large enough to try to grow hot peppers in, and if so what varieties might do best in a system like this without too much plant height or root space? I guess I'd be looking for peppers with the highest ratio of pepper yield to plant height/root size to be most economical with the limited space. I'm afraid the unit just might not be tall enough to be worth trying to get some peppers growing. I like sweet, and spicy peppers so would be willing to try almost anything in there.
 
Think I could get away with growing Shishito? Habanero? Ghost? Scorpion? If you were me, what varieties would you try in a setup like this?
 
Thanks for any help you can give-- super excited to try an grow some peppers!
 
 
(PS: I'm not affiliated with Countercrop in any way-- I just wanna grow some peppers!)
 
 
EDIT: Also, if you know of any good plant stores that sell live plants near Providence RI (I want to grow a few on my porch this spring) I am all ears. I have called a bunch and no one sells live hot pepper plants around here.
 
From the pics it looks like you only get about 10-12" of space between the light and medium. Can the light raise up any more? 
 
I do NOT know too many varieties, but I have had plenty of experience with Habaneros being pretty small/stout plants in general. Not all of course. And you can play with pruning to get the shape you want. Just thought I would throw that out there.

My shishito pepper plants are pretty dainty also. Far less heat than a hab, but tasty when bbq'd in bacon wrapping :)

PS: do not buy any seeds from Amazon or Ebay, only buy from a reputable place. You an search these forums for good companies. That is if you are going to start from seed.
 
RI? sorry, no. But down here in So California, I can drive to and buy from three places all within a half hour :) (sorry to rub it in)
 
you can keep many peppers small with trimming but i think the smaller upright varieties considered ornamentals would be best.
 
like medusa
medusa%20pepper.jpg

 
or aurora 
 
or masquerade 
IMG_0105.jpg
 
I bought Scorpion seeds from Amazon and ended up with, I think a carribean red hab... Not the worst possible outcome, but still not what I bought.
 
Welcome! I can send you the following:

Black Prince
Coral reef
Christmas baby
Pequin
Tepin wild

All are small growing but hot peppers!

Pm me an address if interested.
 
My favorite ornamental is Explosive ember currently but medusa is nice too. From the looks of it you are out of luck for growing chilli in that thingy. might start planting some basil xD
 
If you're looking for a compact-growing Capsicum chinense with a fair bit of heat, my research suggests 'White Bullet' Habanero, or Peruvian White Habanero. I believe one friend reported the Peruvian White Hab as tasting somewhat bitter.

A wild chinense, the Cumari do Para (listed as "cumari du para" in one of Nigel Carter's reviews), grows short and shrubby, with small, very hot, and quite sweet fruit.
Disadvantage: from seed, they apparently take longer than domesticated peppers to start bearing fruit. I don't know how much longer.

As other folks will mention, peppers can be dwarfed... but most superhots -- most being fairly large plants -- take more persuasion when being grown as a dwarf or 'bonsai' plant. Google pictures of white habs -- even the Yucatan White Hab is fairly compact (and very hot -- moreso than most habs, averages a bit less than Red Savinas... flavor somewhat bland, according to Neil Smith of the Hippy Seed Co.).

I'm guessing that most C. baccatum, frutescens and pubescens species are bad choices for this setup, but you're still left with a pretty wide selection of chinense and annuum strains to try.

Another issue is the light spectra -- flavor quality might be influenced by how much of the light is in the blue spectrum (Search the 'Grow Tech' forum on this).
 
Tepins might be an okay choice. They are very small leaved, and grow somewhat sparse. With trimming, you could probably get a few nice little bushes, but they would require a ton of trimming on a fairly regular basis. Juanitos gave some nice options too, but the peppers are not likely to be the most delicious.
 
 
ErolDude said:
My favorite ornamental is Explosive ember currently but medusa is nice too. From the looks of it you are out of luck for growing chilli in that thingy. might start planting some basil xD
Click to expand...
 
On the other hand, I mostly agree with ErolDude that the unit looks like it is more designed for Herbs. It might be difficult or impossible to bring peppers to fruit without some sort of lighting supplement. The reservoir does not look incredibly large either, which means you may have higher fluctuations of PH and nutrient levels when the plants pick up. Herbs and lettuces are light feeders, and may be a better option.
 
Please note, I'm not trying to dissuade you from growing peppers, I'm just stating that the unit might not be ideal for that particular application.
 
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