indoor growing indoors tips please

[canuckheat]

Hi I mentioned before that I plan to start seeds indoors this winter due to canadas short growing season for peppers. I may even try to keep a few plants from my current crop going through the year. So here's what I have so far.
2 48" 4 bulb t5 lights totaling 210 watts. I plan to start with one then add the second if my plants need the added light. This will be set up in our basement which remained fairly warm last winter around 60f or so. (Warm for a canadian anyway)

Now here are the questions. What are my best options for growing indoors? Regular potting soil, hydroponics ( I have no idea how this works and it sounds expensive), soiless(I assume that hydroponic), or peat, compost, perlite etc?

I read the soil thread so I see the recipes and what not. But am unclear on what will work best but remain cost efficient. We will also have a fish tank that I plan to use soiled water from as a form of fertilizer during water changes be it every 2 weeks or once a month.

Thanks I'm advance, loving this forum so far, lots of great answers here.

 

[hydromike]

Hydroponics can be expensive if you want multiple plants. It's not that difficult to learn how to grow hydroponically, but personally, I think growing in soil is a smart option for a beginner. There will be plenty of years for exploration of hydroponics.

You can make your own soil, or make it easy on yourself and purchase pre-made soil. I personally like growing organically with soil and use FoxFarm Ocean Forest and FoxFarm Happy Frog soils, which are top of the line (might not be available in Canada?). They run anywhere from $12 per 1.5/2cuft bags, all the way to $25+ per bag. It just depends on where you live. Miracle grow is OK for growing peppers and is relatively cheap... That would be an easy option.

 

[canuckheat]

Thanks that's currently what I'm using well the ferts anyway I'm using a light miracle grow potting soil as well but would like to try and go organic if possible
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah3zrGRmx80&feature=youtube_gdata_player

If I went hydro which I most likely won't just yet would something like this work? It looks very cheap and seems to do the job.
By organic I mean natural ferts amd possibly home mixed soils

 

[hydromike]

Thanks that's currently what I'm using well the ferts anyway I'm using a light miracle grow potting soil as well but would like to try and go organic if possible
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah3zrGRmx80&feature=youtube_gdata_player

If I went hydro which I most likely won't just yet would something like this work? It looks very cheap and seems to do the job.
By organic I mean natural ferts amd possibly home mixed soils

Yes that would be a DWC or Deep Water Culture system. Its very cheap if you have the drill or saw to make the holes with. You just need the tote, netty cups, an air stone and tubing. You will also need nutrients formulated specifically for hydroponics, a pH testing kit (general hydroponics sells dropper testers for cheap) and some pH up/down (GH also sells this for cheap too). Those are the essentials.

Home mixed soils are a good route to go from what I hear since they cost less and take out the need to ship heavy material over sometimes thousands of miles, but I have no real expertise in making soils. You would likely need to mix the soil (compost?) with lots of perlite and peat moss, or you could use coco coir in replacement for the peat moss which is a good option as it keeps the long-term packing of soil to a minimum compared with using the peat moss which over time becomes compact, an undersirable outcome. If you do buy perlite, be sure not to purchase the miracle grow perlite as it contains synthetic miracle grow nutrients as an additive!

Organic makes me feel so much better than synthetic growing. The plants look healthier to me and it is so much harder to over-fertilize.

 

[canuckheat]

After reading more into dwc its very tantalizing lol. Seems easy provided you have the right nutrient mix but is its in fact organic?

 

[hydromike]

Besides the pH up/down potentially being synthetic (you could however sub the pH down for lemon juice), if you used organic nutrients I cannot see any reason why not!