Blisters 2016 LED Coco grow

Back for yet another year! I've had two modestly successful grows with coco so far. I'm hoping to build on the knowledge gained and have an improved season (weather permitting) this year. At this point I've limited myself to a few basic peppers. I've got

- Red Bhut - paper towel/baggie started Dec. 24th
- Yellow Bhut - paper towel/baggie started Dec. 24th
- Reaper - paper towel/baggie started Dec. 24th - though this one dried out while I was away and I'm not sure if the seeds are still viable
- MoA Bonnet - yet to be started

The paper towel and baggie method seems to be the most successful way for me to get seeds going so far. I've had very little success with rockwool. I still have some nutrients left over from previous years grow and will use it before buying anything new. I have three nutrient brands on hand:

- Canna Coco A and B
- General Hydroponics Flora Grow and Bloom
- CNS17 Grow and Bloom

All three nutrients are simple to use. Of them all I'd say I've had the most success with GH Flora series. Simple to use, affordable and it's available just about everywhere. This may be the nutrient I start the season with because it's so easy to measure and mix.

The Yellow Bhut's were the first to sprout this year. I had to remove the helmet head on all of these, but things worked out ok.



Once big enough, the seedlings went into coco filled plastic shot glasses. I drilled holes in the bottom, filled with coco and pushed a small hole in the coco with the end of a paint brush. After dropping the seedling in, I give them a good watering with plain water and placed them back under the heat dome to keep them warm at night and help reduce the transplant shock.



I've got a few red jolokia's that have shot out a tap root, but I'm going to wait a bit before putting them into coco.

Neil

 

[Blister]

Another small update to my grow. I tend to check the bottom of the pots for roots when I water my plants. When I see a large amount of roots popping out, I pull the plant to see what it's doing. This is a Red Jolokia in a 4" pot that I had pulled today.
 

 

 
 

 
At this rate I'll be out of room long before I get to plant out time. The good news is that the plants should have a fantastic root ball established by the time they are able to go outside. I'm planning on trying a few fabric pots and see how they perform this year.
 
Thanks for reading. 
 
Neil

 

[az1000]

Nice roots.

 

[Blister]

I'm always surprised at the amount of roots you get with coco. There's almost no room for them so they start growing right to the top. I've actually had them poke out the top of the coco and then turn back down. I'm even starting to see a few buds.

Neil

 

[Trevox]

Thanks for sharing how you grow, I'm actually trying out your method of using sifted coco in my grow this time. I already had a bottle of Floranova bloom, which seems to be exactly like lucas formula, and I'm aiming for 500 ppm. Gonna try h3ads adjusted formula next time for sure! Those root balls are crazy. How long time is it between waterings?

 

[Blister]

Thanks for sharing how you grow, I'm actually trying out your method of using sifted coco in my grow this time. I already had a bottle of Floranova bloom, which seems to be exactly like lucas formula, and I'm aiming for 500 ppm. Gonna try h3ads adjusted formula next time for sure! Those root balls are crazy. How long time is it between waterings?

No problem Trevox. Glad you were able to get something out of my ramblings. I'm always impressed with the root ball and how quickly the plant grows in coco.

Up to this point I've been watering when the pots would weigh half the weight of a freshly watered plant. You get a feel for it after picking up the pots enough. But given how large the root ball is in relation to the pot right now, I'll start watering every day, if not twice a day.

How is the Lucas formula working out for you?

Thanks for reading.

Neil

 

[juanitos]

   dayum bro them roots   

 

[Trevox]

No problem Trevox. Glad you were able to get something out of my ramblings. I'm always impressed with the root ball and how quickly the plant grows in coco.

Up to this point I've been watering when the pots would weigh half the weight of a freshly watered plant. You get a feel for it after picking up the pots enough. But given how large the root ball is in relation to the pot right now, I'll start watering every day, if not twice a day.

How is the Lucas formula working out for you?

Thanks for reading.

Neil

It's working very well with my CGN21500, but the Dorset naga's leaves are a little bit curly. I'm not sure if it's due to environmental factors or nutrient concentration, but overall lucas formula works great in both my dwc and coco grows. I love the simplicity of having only one bottle to work with too.

 

[Blister]

It's working very well with my CGN21500, but the Dorset naga's leaves are a little bit curly. I'm not sure if it's due to environmental factors or nutrient concentration, but overall lucas formula works great in both my dwc and coco grows. I love the simplicity of having only one bottle to work with too.

How are they curling? Tips down, whole leaf cupping upwards? Any pictures?

I like the simplicity of the formulas too. It keeps me from screwing everything up! The Flora series also just seems to work.

Neil

 

[Devv]

Very nice Neil!
 
I wish mine were that far along.
 
Just keep doing what you're doing.
 
And good luck this season!

 

[Blister]

Very nice Neil!
 
I wish mine were that far along.
 
Just keep doing what you're doing.
 
And good luck this season!

Thanks Scott! Things have really been moving along here. It's an abnormally warm winter this time around. All of our snow was gone about mid-way through last month. It usually lasts until the begining of April. If our winter is any indicator of our summer, it should be a hot one! That said it would be like a cooler Texas summer for you southern folk!

Small update:

After seeing the Red Bhut the other day, I decided to pot it up.



I've also decided to pull and pot up my Carolina Reaper. The roots were really poking out the bottom and I can see why...



I'm also planning on potting up my MoA's and a Yellow Bhut. I need to cut my grow back a bit and select just the best plants. Here's to hoping that I can get them large enough to take advantage of the larger fabric pots I bought last year.

Thanks for reading.

Neil

 

[Trevox]

How are they curling? Tips down, whole leaf cupping upwards? Any pictures?

I like the simplicity of the formulas too. It keeps me from screwing everything up! The Flora series also just seems to work.

Neil

I don't wanna post pics all over your glog, but here is one pic showing the issue.
I wonder if it's maybe heat stress or light related. You mentioned you had crumbled leaves when you over fertilized, does this look similar?

 

[Blister]

Huh. I've never come across that in my grows before Trevox. From a quick search on the internet there appear to be a number of supposed causes. Too much heat from the lights being too close (usually with MH or HPS bulbs), and iron deficiency or a magnesium deficiency. I wasn't able to find much of a solid answer to it though. Could also be a calcium issue.

Update time once again. Not much has changed since the last update, just potted up a few plants. I'm in the process of selecting the plants that I want to keep for the year and will give the rest away or cull them.

I potted up an MoA a few days ago. The MoA is an absolute must for me. Both my wife and I love jerk pork and chicken in the smoker. So good!



Also potted up another Yellow Bhut. Like the MoA's Bhut's are a must for me. We do an abnormal amount of wings here and just can't get enough of the bhut heat and flavor. I usually grow Red Jolokia's, but this year I've added some Yellows to see how they are.



A better shot of the rootball on the yellow bhut:



I also put another Reaper into a 6" Square pot. Not a staple of the pepper patch for me, but it is tasty and offers a lot of heat.



Closer shot of the rootball.



Thanks for reading.

Neil

 

[Devv]

Dang Neil, those trees sure have some roots!
 
It's been warmer here too, has me worried that the temps will beat the fruit setting. We heat as much as we can with wood and hardly used any this winter...

 

[millworkman]

Amazing roots

 

[Comptine]

Do you try to wriggle any of the roots free or do you normally just put them in like that when you pot them up? 

 

[Blister]

Do you try to wriggle any of the roots free or do you normally just put them in like that when you pot them up? 

I just pot them up. I have thought about trimming them a touch, but they've always just done so well that I haven't bothered.

Neil

 

[grispa72]

Awesome roots and plants, of course! I'm very interesting in this alternative way to grow peppers!
Congrats!

Paolo

 

[Blister]

Awesome roots and plants, of course! I'm very interesting in this alternative way to grow peppers!
Congrats!

Paolo

There's not a lot of information on peppers in coco coir. I have done other glogs in the past. I try to document everything fairly well in the hopes that it provides a bit of help to others.

Neil

 

[Blister]

Dang Neil, those trees sure have some roots!
 
It's been warmer here too, has me worried that the temps will beat the fruit setting. We heat as much as we can with wood and hardly used any this winter...

Amazing roots

Thanks guys. I stopped by the hydro store today and picked up some more Flora Bloom and a brick of coco. The guy asked me if I liked the stuff. I showed him some pictures as I was telling him about H3AD's formula. His eye's bugged out as he said "HOLY SHIT!"

I love how easy the formual is and how well coco works when you simplify everything.

Neil

 

[Trident chilli]

Great roots Neil ... start of a great season