Hello all. I'm a new grower, have planted a few Bird's Eye chilies in a hydroponic system. I live in Indonesia, am currently building a greenhouse. I plan to fill the greenhouse with hydroponic plants, one of which will definitively be chilies. Bird's Eye/Thai/Rawit chilies are the most popular here, but I'm thinking of trying out a few super hot varieties. Anyhow, I have some leaves that are looking a bit... strange, and am wondering if anyone can tell me what is going on.
System
I set up an outdoor drip irrigation system, recirculating. I'm using a combination of broken bricks and volcanic stone for media, with just a bit of zeolite thrown in. Essentially, I filled the buckets with larger media (2-4cm) surrounding a core (4cm) of smaller media (3mm). I do have an aeration system, which is not in use.
Fertalizer
I don't know anything about the AB mix... other than that they sold it at the local (and highly recommended) fertilizer shop.
Environment
Well... lots of problems here. The plants are outside, under the eaves of a 4 meter asbestos roof (read: not much direct sunlight). It is the rainy season, which means I have cloud cover for most of every day. When it rains, some water gets into the system (a small amount, but enough to wet the media from the top).
Feeding
Hmmm... I actually told my staff living on the site that he could have the chilies (which are essentially planted in front of his temporary accommodation). I figure it's good for everyone; we both get to learn a bit from experience, I have a higher chance of retaining my staff, he gets the chilies, which he will sell, I don't have to actually pay him to assemble the system and take care of it. The catch is, he is of the opinion that the plants only need water/food once a day, in the evening. I am not sure, but feel like this is not enough. I tend to think that, at the least, the plants need an infusion of oxygen rich liquid more often once a day.
Anyhow, here are some pics of the setup and the plants. Please note the strange leaf, and if possible let me know what the problem is. Four out of the ten plants have this same problem.
Thanks for reading all this, if you did.
Glen
System
I set up an outdoor drip irrigation system, recirculating. I'm using a combination of broken bricks and volcanic stone for media, with just a bit of zeolite thrown in. Essentially, I filled the buckets with larger media (2-4cm) surrounding a core (4cm) of smaller media (3mm). I do have an aeration system, which is not in use.
Fertalizer
I don't know anything about the AB mix... other than that they sold it at the local (and highly recommended) fertilizer shop.
Environment
Well... lots of problems here. The plants are outside, under the eaves of a 4 meter asbestos roof (read: not much direct sunlight). It is the rainy season, which means I have cloud cover for most of every day. When it rains, some water gets into the system (a small amount, but enough to wet the media from the top).
Feeding
Hmmm... I actually told my staff living on the site that he could have the chilies (which are essentially planted in front of his temporary accommodation). I figure it's good for everyone; we both get to learn a bit from experience, I have a higher chance of retaining my staff, he gets the chilies, which he will sell, I don't have to actually pay him to assemble the system and take care of it. The catch is, he is of the opinion that the plants only need water/food once a day, in the evening. I am not sure, but feel like this is not enough. I tend to think that, at the least, the plants need an infusion of oxygen rich liquid more often once a day.
Anyhow, here are some pics of the setup and the plants. Please note the strange leaf, and if possible let me know what the problem is. Four out of the ten plants have this same problem.
Thanks for reading all this, if you did.
Glen
