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. Pods on! Pods on! I've noticed a few pods forming on my MOA and yellow Jolokia. Although I thought I had started a tad early, it looks like it may have been right on time. We're currently sitting at 24c in APRIL. We're about 10c higher than normal for this time of the year. My plants have been out soaking up the sun long before my actual plant out date around May 20th. They're going to have fantastic roots and upers by the time they're ready to go outside.

On to the pictures. MOA pods

Yellow Jolokias

If the summer is anything like this spring we're in for a great pepper growing season.

Thanks for reading.

Neil

 

[Devv]

I'm all for it!
 
Rock on!

 

[stickman]

Another small update. Pods on! Pods on! I've noticed a few pods forming on my MOA and yellow Jolokia. Although I thought I had started a tad early, it looks like it may have been right on time. We're currently sitting at 24c in APRIL. We're about 10c higher than normal for this time of the year. My plants have been out soaking up the sun long before my actual plant out date around May 20th. They're going to have fantastic roots and upers by the time they're ready to go outside.

If the summer is anything like this spring we're in for a great pepper growing season.

Thanks for reading.

Neil

 
Very cool Neil...and they ain't babies either! Rock on!

 

[Blister]

Thanks for the kind words Scott and Rick! Things have been progressing nicely. I've just potted up my reaper and have cut my grow back to 6 plants.

Anywho on to the pics...

The obligatory root ball shot.

In the new home. A 3 gallon root pouch

And here's how 6 plants look in my spare bathtub now

They just keep growing and growing. Good thing summer is on its way. I'm running out of room and I've given away all that I want to.

Neil

 

[PepperAaron]

Man, those roots look insane! I am a bit confused though, I was under the impression a root ball is something that you should try to prevent. Could you share info on that please.

 

[stickman]

Y'know... looking back through your posts, it seems like your coco coir / liquid nutes system works a lot like an aerogarden, but a whole lot cheaper...  and my God, look at the results! A six-cell aerogarden would cost between $80 and $100 US. How much did your Blackstar LED panel cost? Also... are you still bottom-watering the root pouches?

 

[dragonsfire]

Great looking bush

 

[Blister]

Great looking bush

 

Thanks! Hoping to get them out into the sun soon. I'm running out of space.

Y'know... looking back through your posts, it seems like your coco coir / liquid nutes system works a lot like an aerogarden, but a whole lot cheaper...  and my God, look at the results! A six-cell aerogarden would cost between $80 and $100 US. How much did your Blackstar LED panel cost? Also... are you still bottom-watering the root pouches?

 

Thanks Rick.

I just looked up the invoice on the Blackstar LED. It was $355.95 CAN back in 2013 so t's certainly more than standard Aerogardens. The Blackstar is quite a bit more powerful than the Aerogardens too though at 180W vs 30W. My whole intent was just to get some decent starts before plant out, but things have worked so well that I'm way ahead of the game at this point. I even have some pods on my yellow Jolokia and MoA. I've got a mystery plant that's setting flowers and hopefully pods too. I'd like to see what it is sooner rather than later. Fingers crossed it's a Bhutlah, but I suspect it's a yellow Jolokia.

Up to this point I've really only top watered my plants. There was a few times where I went away for 4 days and set the plants in a tray partially filled with nutrient. The nutrient was all gone by the time I got home. When I'm home I top water and make sure to give my plants enough to ensure good run off. I also only water when the pot is half the weight of a freshly watered plant. In the summer heat this can mean watering 2-3 times a day.

Man, those roots look insane! I am a bit confused though, I was under the impression a root ball is something that you should try to prevent. Could you share info on that please.

I know right! I've been growing in coco for 3 years now and I'm still impressed by the root ball. I assume that when you say root ball you are referring to a plant becoming root bound. If that's the case then your impression is correct and for the most part you want to avoid having your plants get root bound when you're growing in soil. In my case I'm doing a soiless grow by using coco coir and feeding hydroponic nutrients with every watering so it's far less of an issue. The plants get what they need because I'm providing what they need rather than relying on the soil to provide nutrients.

From what I've read, fabric pots are supposed to prevent your plants from becoming root bound because the root grows through the fabric then get's air pruned. So instead of a long root that wraps around the pot you end up with a main root that grows to the edge, get's air pruned on the end, but develops a lot of side roots. A lot of the 420 folks swear by them, so I guess I'll just have to wait and see how they work for my situation.

Neil

 

[PepperAaron]

Root bound is what I was referring to, I never knew root bound wasnt an issue if you're feeding hydroponic nutes. Does that simply mean all of the nutrients come from the fertilizer? In the past I messed around with different soils for my media. This year I am using pro mix bx, I believe it is a soilless media. Would this mean being root bound would be no issue as long as I keep my dynagro foliage pro applications on the regular?

 

[Blister]

Root bound is what I was referring to, I never knew root bound wasnt an issue if you're feeding hydroponic nutes. Does that simply mean all of the nutrients come from the fertilizer? In the past I messed around with different soils for my media. This year I am using pro mix bx, I believe it is a soilless media. Would this mean being root bound would be no issue as long as I keep my dynagro foliage pro applications on the regular?

Yes all the nutrients are coming from the fertilizer so it's LESS of an issue. I say that because assume that you could reach a point where you would be root bound when growing in coco and the roots completely fill all the space in the bucket. I just haven't experienced it yet.

On the other hand I guess you could also tailor your nutrient regime to focus on flower and fruit rather than roots and vegetative growth. Maybe someone with more hydro knowledge could chime in on this.

Update time

I did manage to get one more Jolokia into a 3g root pouch.

Root ball

Sifted coco ready for a plant

In its new home

Canopy

One more plant to go and I'm done sifting coco for the season. Thanks for reading.

Neil

 

[Devv]

Your methods impress me, obviously what you're doing is working. The end product surely shows the result!
 
Keep on doing what you're doing, you just leave me in the dust!

 

[Ohjay]

I must say I love your root balls.
They look amazing and so incredibly healthy!
Makes me wanna try it next season on a couple of plants, just to see if I can even get half of what you're getting.

 

[Blister]

Thanks for the kind words guys. Things seem to keep rolling on with the grow this year. My last plant - a mystery plant at that - has been put into a root pouch. No more sifting coco for me this season!

I wanted to make sure they all got put into their final homes before I left for a few weeks. I like to try and prevent any mishaps when I'm gone and make things as simple as possible for my wife. Basically all she's got to do now is water every few days or so.

Ohjay,

Coco is really quite simple as long as you follow some basic principles like I've attempted to outline in this and previous years glogs.

Neil

 

[Blister]

Another small update. I've been away for more than a week and my wife had been caring for the plants. She sent me these pics a few days ago.

In the tub for the night. I'm down to 6 plants in total.

Jolokia - I'm not sure if it's a Red or yellow though. I have both but didn't label them.

MoA's putting on pods

They sure change when you're away. Looking forward to seeing how they've grown by the time I get back.

Neil

 

[Hybrid Mode 01]

    WOW! It looks like you've cracked the code for growing in a short season climate. Is it possible for pepper plants to look healthier than that? 
     I hope your weather cooperates and you get a bumper crop off of those beauties!

 

[Blister]

    WOW! It looks like you've cracked the code for growing in a short season climate. Is it possible for pepper plants to look healthier than that? 
     I hope your weather cooperates and you get a bumper crop off of those beauties!

Thanks hm01. Coco seems to working out great for my situation. I'm still a little nervous of the fabric pots, but all my eggs are in that basket this year. I'm hoping that the summer is a long hot one!

Neil

 

[Bhuter]

I'm absolutely astonished! Your plants look dynamite! If only I had your green thumb. Great color and they're so lush. You've got this down to a science. I think I might look into an LED next year, but I know I won't get anywhere near your results. Great job!

-Adam

 

[Devv]

woot! very nice!

 

[Blister]

Thanks guys. I think it's a combination of the LED light plus the coco and nutrient system I have them on that's really getting the results. It just seems to work.

Neil

 

[Trevox]

Looking good! How many PPMs do you feed them with when they flower and grow pods?