First time hydro, with problems

Mildfruit

Mildfruit

Hi THP 
 
I'm having issues with my hydro grow. Most of my plants have set fruit (a lot), however my lemon drop (fitting name to my issue :( ) is dropping its pods, before they mature. I'm not talking about flower drop, as this almost never happen in my tent. But we are talking big pods, some have been on the plant for more than a month. 
 
Next problem is my Thunder Mountain Longhorn. Great plant with lots and lots of peppers. Some of them are unfortunately getting really soft before maturity, what causes this? 
 
Im using a feeding schedule 1:1:1 from flora hydroponics. With a ppm of around 150 (drain to waste). 
 
I know I have not been totally consistent in my watering schedules, something I have changed with pump and timers. Could this be the issue? or should I get some cal mag? 
:pray:
 
Maybe instead of a timer you might want to use a moisture detector to keep the soil evenly moist. Peppers like moist soil, but if it's too wet it's not good for them.
 
Additionally, how exposed to sun are they? The softness can be over exposure to the sun. In addition, look for small wholes in your peppers. Small holes in addition to falling peppers maybe the work of bugs.
 
How about pics of the plants?  That might tell a tale.
.
Just generally speaking...  It sounds right off the bat like you're overwatering.  First fruit drop, then leaves, if that's the case.  But we should see.
 
Flowers falling just means the plant (as a whole) isn't ready to set fruits.  
 
One thing I'd look at is what is your actual N-P-K.  Also, 150ppm seems extremely low for fully mature plants.  I had a 4 year old DWC (Deep Water Culture) Choco Moruga x Choco 7 Pot Douglah x Chco Naga.  At fully maturity which was about 4.5 feet tall and about the same wide, I was feeding it around 1100-1300ppm.  That was the only way to keep the flowers coming and the fruits setting.
 
You have any pics of your setup?
 
Here is a old pic of that plant:
 
 

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dlsolo said:
Also, 150ppm seems extremely low for fully mature plants.
Click to expand...
 
But he did say drain to waste, which will be significantly lower than any res based nute solution.  However, I don't know what the feeding schedule or rate is for those nutrients, so you still may be correct.
 
Thanks for the quick replys
Im currently on the phone and Ill provide the topic with pics tomorrow, so it will be easier to diagnose the problem :)

One correction, I wrote the ppm was 150, and that is incorrect. Its usually around 6-900ppm, and plants look happy, except for the two in question:).

@dlsolo as I wrote, its not flower drop, but whole fruit drops :)
@Brochachoshs They may get too much sun from my quantum board 260w.

Ill post pics of the setup tomorrow with focus on the two plants! I appreciate the help :D
 
Mildfruit said:
Thanks for the quick replys
Im currently on the phone and Ill provide the topic with pics tomorrow, so it will be easier to diagnose the problem :)

One correction, I wrote the ppm was 150, and that is incorrect. Its usually around 6-900ppm, and plants look happy, except for the two in question:).

@dlsolo as I wrote, its not flower drop, but whole fruit drops :)
@Brochachoshs They may get too much sun from my quantum board 260w.

Ill post pics of the setup tomorrow with focus on the two plants! I appreciate the help :D
Click to expand...
 
Flower drop, fruit drop, they are very similar.  Several factors contribute to this issue. 
 
1) Nutes deficiency (either lack or too low for fruiting)
2) Plant is too immature to carry fruit
3) Possible lack of calcium (could be due to #1).
4) Excessive heat.  If you could take some pics of the fruits that fell and pics of their steams, that could help diagnose if heat is the issue.
5) Watering routine... over-watering and under-watering can cause issues with fruit dropping.
 
Where are you growing your plants?  In a grow tent?  What are your ambient temperatures through out the day (and night)?  How close are the lights to your plants?  Do you have a PAR meter to measure how much light your plants are getting?
 
I'm a HUGE fan of hydro growing and have been working on practices that work, don't work, or just don't fit what I'm growing...  
 
Here to help where I can...
 
Also, are you growing indoors or outdoors? I realized you're from Denmark, and maybe your plants are just too cold (if you're growing outdoors)
 
https://imgur.com/a/uxjEltF
 
First photo is of the Thunder Mountain Longhorn, which is turning awfully soft before full maturity. 
2' is an overview of the system 
3' is the top of the plants near the lamp. 
4' is the pod dropped today :/ 
5' is a better picture of the plants in question with the close relationship with the lamp :). 
 
To answer the questions before: 
 
@BrochachosHS 
The plants are grown indoor. But surprisingly the weather in Denmark has been for the past few weeks remarkably hot 20-25 degrees celcius ( 68-77fahrenheit). I suspect this may have increased the temperature in the tent as well. 
 
@Dlsolo
My termometer says the temperature is fluctating between 17 degrees celcius (62fah) to 33 (91fah). AND that it measured at the bottom of the tent. So it could be way hotter between the canopy and the lamp. I have a fan running, but currently not more than a few times a day, maybe this should be increased, and lamp hight as well? 
 
Could this all be temperature related? I hope my pictures and info will provide the answers needed for you to help me :) 
 
Did you mean that you are giving the plants 1ml micro, 1ml grow, and 1ml bloom for your nutrient schedule?

Did you measure the ppm? Are you using tap water or reverse osmosis water?

Neil
 
Blister said:
Did you mean that you are giving the plants 1ml micro, 1ml grow, and 1ml bloom for your nutrient schedule?

Did you measure the ppm? Are you using tap water or reverse osmosis water?

Neil
Click to expand...
 
I meant that the ratio is 1:1:1. I did measure the ppm, which is today 960 ppm. Normally in the 600-900 range. The reason I wrote 150 is my conductivity meter measures 150 x 10 units. which equals 1.5milisiemens = 960 ppm, if my calculation is correct that is :).  Im using tap water as for now 
 
EDIT: So I use 4ml of each (grow, bloom and micro) pr. gallon for this particular grow. :) 
 
dlsolo said:
 
Flower drop, fruit drop, they are very similar.  Several factors contribute to this issue. 
 
1) Nutes deficiency (either lack or too low for fruiting)
2) Plant is too immature to carry fruit
3) Possible lack of calcium (could be due to #1).
4) Excessive heat.  If you could take some pics of the fruits that fell and pics of their steams, that could help diagnose if heat is the issue.
5) Watering routine... over-watering and under-watering can cause issues with fruit dropping.
 
Where are you growing your plants?  In a grow tent?  What are your ambient temperatures through out the day (and night)?  How close are the lights to your plants?  Do you have a PAR meter to measure how much light your plants are getting?
 
I'm a HUGE fan of hydro growing and have been working on practices that work, don't work, or just don't fit what I'm growing...  
 
Here to help where I can...
Click to expand...
 
I have raised the light in my tent, and made improvements to my fan (better airflow). Do you think this will fix the problem?
Pics and nute schedual is 2 post above :) 
 
Flower\fruit  drop probable causes:
 
1. Day temp too high >95F
2. Night temp too low <65F or too high >85F
3. Too much nitrogen fertilizer
4. Too much water
5. Low light levels (reduces fertility).
6. Very low humidity (reduces fertility)
7. Poor air circulation (air circulation contributes to pollination).
8. Lack of pollinating insects.
9. Size of pot
10. Too much mineral in feedwater.
11. Too much grower attention/anxiety.
 
 
I think my main problem is temperature getting too hot. 
So here are my fix: 
 
I have mounted an air intake in the tent, and I just ordered an oscillating fan to put inside the tent. Hopefully this will bring temperature down (funny to have this problem with LED lights). If this does not improve the problem I will take a look at the watering/nutrient schedule. 
 
Thanks to all for responding with tips and ideas for my grow. Hopefully this fixes the issues :D 
 
Mildfruit said:
I think my main problem is temperature getting too hot. 
So here are my fix: 
 
I have mounted an air intake in the tent, and I just ordered an oscillating fan to put inside the tent. Hopefully this will bring temperature down (funny to have this problem with LED lights). If this does not improve the problem I will take a look at the watering/nutrient schedule. 
 
Thanks to all for responding with tips and ideas for my grow. Hopefully this fixes the issues :D
Click to expand...
 
So it's been awhile, how are things improving?  Or are they?  Curious.
 
dlsolo said:
 
So it's been awhile, how are things improving?  Or are they?  Curious.
Click to expand...
 
Well its hard to tell. My lemon drop still drops a few pods a week. But it seems to have slowed down a bit. My other pepper still have peppers with end rot. 
However I believe the damage is reversible for next generation of pods. So my hopes are up, as they create lots of new pods :).
 
I also received cal mag today. Which I hope can improve things aswell. I live in a place with very hard water (3-400 ppm) so my next step if Cal mag dosen't improve things, is to get a reverse osmosis equipment. Thanks for taking interest in my project :D 
 
Yeah, all of my hydro water is RO/DI water.  0ppm at the beginning of mixing in nutes.  Hard water isn't a bad thing, but it does make achieving your target ppm a bit more "complicated".  Not sure what resources you have available or RO/DI equipment.  Just to let you know, I built mine piece by piece, from Bulk Reef Supply a very long time ago.  Now, their prices for kits are much more market competitive and ready to go out of the box.  Shop around and you may find something that meets your growing needs at a reasonable price.
 
The CalMag should give you an upper hand on the blossom rot.  Also, don't forget about Epsom salt, simple and effective.  Think about that after you run out of CalMag.  No need to have them both at this point.
 
If you haven't thought about it, start a glog about your progress.  I think other hydro growers (like myself) would definitely take interest.
 
Hardwater can confuse things. I initially tried using GH nutes and Coco with my tap water before I knew what the water ppm breakdown actually was. I had yellowing leaves, leaf drop and stunted plants. I added a bit of magnesium to no avail. Then I tried calmag. Nothing changed. Then I switched to RO water with just a basic nute profile and it all turned around. Turns out that there's ALOT of different dissolved solids in my 500 ppm tap water. I can only suspect that whatever was in my water was either locking out or causing an imbalance in my nute solution. Adding more calmag only increased the imbalance.

Give the nutes a shot, but I'd probably try simplifying things first by using clean water.

Neil
 
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