I have been growing different types of peppers since 2009 when I volunteered to help with some flooding issues in the island nation of Kiribati. I lived in northern Illinois about an hour west of Chicago and had no knowledge of gardening. I purchased six topsey turvey planters and hung them along a string over my backyard. I tried several species of peppers, tomatoes, and watermellon. After I moved, I kept the tomato plant for years inside my house where it consumed 1 to 3 gallons of water/nutrient per day and covered a wall. It captured a large window leaving the room dark and I had to add an airlift nutrient system and plant lights as more than half of the plant was outside the space of the window.
So, I added mini-peppers. Then I developed autonomous pepper planters and within about six months, I had a constant supply of mini peppers that I could harvest seconds prior to cooking. The tomato plant was pretty much perpetual as well with few days per week that I could not pick ripe and fresh. We gave Seymour away when we moved and it produced enough tomatoes in a summer outside to fill a pickup truck at final harvest.
At the new place, I constructed 3 farms with one inside, one in-ground outside, and one vertical hydro outside. My theory is that the nutrient tank was heated by the sun and warm nutrient kept the plants going in the cold. I also had broccoli and tomatoes with bell, Santa Fe, and tsien tsien peppers. The plants in the outside hydrofarm were still going strong until thanksgiving when my wife died and I moved to Iowa. The inside farm survived six months until a cat ate the nutrient tube and I could not get back to Illinois to replace. I am not sure how far into December the outside vertical farm survived.
So, I added mini-peppers. Then I developed autonomous pepper planters and within about six months, I had a constant supply of mini peppers that I could harvest seconds prior to cooking. The tomato plant was pretty much perpetual as well with few days per week that I could not pick ripe and fresh. We gave Seymour away when we moved and it produced enough tomatoes in a summer outside to fill a pickup truck at final harvest.
At the new place, I constructed 3 farms with one inside, one in-ground outside, and one vertical hydro outside. My theory is that the nutrient tank was heated by the sun and warm nutrient kept the plants going in the cold. I also had broccoli and tomatoes with bell, Santa Fe, and tsien tsien peppers. The plants in the outside hydrofarm were still going strong until thanksgiving when my wife died and I moved to Iowa. The inside farm survived six months until a cat ate the nutrient tube and I could not get back to Illinois to replace. I am not sure how far into December the outside vertical farm survived.
