Okay well as some of you have probably seen, I started a thread about the heat of a pepper in different growing conditions and it sort of changed into a thread about the possibility of stressing a plant to increase production and potency in a hydroponic environment. So this is going to be an experiment to see the effects of DWC stressing of a plant as compared to a plant that is not stressed.
For this experiment, I have decided to keep some form of control. The pepper selected is the TS Moruga. The seeds are from the same pod and have been put to germinate at the same time. I will be selecting two seedlings that pop up within 2 days of each other or less if possible.
These 2 seedlings will be put into 2 identical black buckets with identical 6 inch net pot lids. The pots will be filled with the same amount of plant-it expanded clay and the 2 plants will spend their growth period both being fed the same amount of botanicare pure blend pro grow nutrients and water.
They will both be under the same light which I have yet to decide upon and the two DWC's will be oxygenated with the same 2 port air pump using identical air stones. It is noted that PH, TDS and EC will be monitored and kept identical throughout the growth of these 2 plants.
Now the fun will begin after this. During the bloom phase of the plants life, when I switch botanicare pure blend pro bloom, I will choose one of the DWC's to start adding advanced nutrients bud factor x in addition to the bloom nutrients. Bud factor x has chemicals in it that trigger defense mechanisms in plants to cause extra oil buildup in fruit. In addition to bud factor x, i will also raise the EC on that DWC to make it harder for the plant to uptake water as a higher EC affects the transfer potential between the water and the roots.
Now all this working according to plan, I hope to notice a physical difference between the 2 plants in hopefully yield quantity and health status. I will also supply a pod from each plant to willing members as well as performing a taste test myself to see if there is any difference in flavour and heat between the pods from the two plants. This will be a survey performed after the grow season which should help shed light on the best way to grow chili's in hydroponic setups to provide maximum yield and or best quality pods
Wish me luck and expect pictures of the germination setup soon and also lots of pictures along the way during this experiment.
For this experiment, I have decided to keep some form of control. The pepper selected is the TS Moruga. The seeds are from the same pod and have been put to germinate at the same time. I will be selecting two seedlings that pop up within 2 days of each other or less if possible.
These 2 seedlings will be put into 2 identical black buckets with identical 6 inch net pot lids. The pots will be filled with the same amount of plant-it expanded clay and the 2 plants will spend their growth period both being fed the same amount of botanicare pure blend pro grow nutrients and water.
They will both be under the same light which I have yet to decide upon and the two DWC's will be oxygenated with the same 2 port air pump using identical air stones. It is noted that PH, TDS and EC will be monitored and kept identical throughout the growth of these 2 plants.
Now the fun will begin after this. During the bloom phase of the plants life, when I switch botanicare pure blend pro bloom, I will choose one of the DWC's to start adding advanced nutrients bud factor x in addition to the bloom nutrients. Bud factor x has chemicals in it that trigger defense mechanisms in plants to cause extra oil buildup in fruit. In addition to bud factor x, i will also raise the EC on that DWC to make it harder for the plant to uptake water as a higher EC affects the transfer potential between the water and the roots.
Now all this working according to plan, I hope to notice a physical difference between the 2 plants in hopefully yield quantity and health status. I will also supply a pod from each plant to willing members as well as performing a taste test myself to see if there is any difference in flavour and heat between the pods from the two plants. This will be a survey performed after the grow season which should help shed light on the best way to grow chili's in hydroponic setups to provide maximum yield and or best quality pods
Wish me luck and expect pictures of the germination setup soon and also lots of pictures along the way during this experiment.