Howdy.
All of us experience a cold day every now and then, but odds are it's colder here in Fargo, ND. The 47th parallel wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for our flat prairie land that allows the wind to run wild. Our summers are great for plants, but it goes by fast. Most of my growing experience is strictly indoor and this year I have dared to go outside. It was very enjoyable and I can't wait to do it again. That being said, I'd like to share my experiences this year. You'll see that I love my gadgets just as much as the plants.
The start... Yellow Thai Chili, Datil Pepper, Takanotsume, Hawk's Claw, Fish pepper, Serrano, and Golden Habanero.
The environment a plant lives in is of the utmost importance and growing indoors allows one to control it. Foremost plants love light and even HID lights don't compare to the power of our sun which is why I start my young plants under a 600w HPS dimmed to 360w. This subjects them to lots of radiation which is why I use a humidifier and a soilless medium that is constantly wet. I use a product called Turface for numerous reasons as my medium. I have a fan at the top of my reflective tent that is operated by a temperature controller as seen at the canopy height of the seedlings.
If I'm not using the humidifier, I am more careful with the placement of the HID lamp. The Turface easily transplants as a solid mass to hydroton. Please don't mind the occasional tomato and other plants.
The hydroponic methodology I use is ebb and flow; also known as flood and drain. Every 2 hours a pump moves water up into the table where it stays for about 10 minutes. There is an overflow to control the height at which plants receive water. The water is pumped and flows back down the same tube; in and out of the pump. This works with most aquarium pump designs. This system allows for plants to be easily moved which is critical to my efforts. I check the pH level of the solution once a week or two while monitoring the EC level of the nutrient solution every day or every other. Maintaining a stable EC negates the need to monitor pH more frequently. I aim to provide 1.0 EC of nutrients at all stages of growth.
The plants were moved outside from their 4x4 table to a 4x6 midway through May. The biggest difference between the hydroponic system indoors and outside was having to correct to the pH level after rainfall. That and dealing with the plants being deranged from the wind.
http://i.imgur.com/c0DmFoq.jpg
As of a week ago I relocated the lot to my garage and as of this morning it was 50F and 35% RH in there which isn't acceptable. To remedy this I have created a frame out of bamboo and wrapped it in 3.5 clear poly plastic. Two 1000w MH lamps at present have the inside at ~80F. I snuck my humidifier under the plastic on one end to raise the humidity levels when needed. I have seen a lot of crazy things from hydroponic grower on the internet, but never have I witnessed anyone attempting this. I'm utilizing the greenhouse principle indoors. I could purchase additional grow tents, but this setup is only for the rest of this year. A grow tent plus a ventilated hood reflector would easily run over $500 while the bamboo and plastic with zip ties was less than $15.
Both lights are operational for 18 to 24 hours a day to trick the plant into believing it's spring again. In the near future I will run one lamp for 6 hours and then the other for additional 6... followed by 12 hours of darkness. This is to facilitate fruiting and to conserve energy. After I can pull one more harvest off these plants I will solely focus on over-wintering them. The garage is unheated and only time will tell how everything will hold up when it's -45 to -60 outside with windchill. I'll bring them inside the house if absolutely necessary. Until them, I am enjoying this challenge. Thanks for reading. I will provide updates when there is progress or when I'm at mercy of the weather.
All of us experience a cold day every now and then, but odds are it's colder here in Fargo, ND. The 47th parallel wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for our flat prairie land that allows the wind to run wild. Our summers are great for plants, but it goes by fast. Most of my growing experience is strictly indoor and this year I have dared to go outside. It was very enjoyable and I can't wait to do it again. That being said, I'd like to share my experiences this year. You'll see that I love my gadgets just as much as the plants.
The start... Yellow Thai Chili, Datil Pepper, Takanotsume, Hawk's Claw, Fish pepper, Serrano, and Golden Habanero.
The environment a plant lives in is of the utmost importance and growing indoors allows one to control it. Foremost plants love light and even HID lights don't compare to the power of our sun which is why I start my young plants under a 600w HPS dimmed to 360w. This subjects them to lots of radiation which is why I use a humidifier and a soilless medium that is constantly wet. I use a product called Turface for numerous reasons as my medium. I have a fan at the top of my reflective tent that is operated by a temperature controller as seen at the canopy height of the seedlings.
If I'm not using the humidifier, I am more careful with the placement of the HID lamp. The Turface easily transplants as a solid mass to hydroton. Please don't mind the occasional tomato and other plants.
The hydroponic methodology I use is ebb and flow; also known as flood and drain. Every 2 hours a pump moves water up into the table where it stays for about 10 minutes. There is an overflow to control the height at which plants receive water. The water is pumped and flows back down the same tube; in and out of the pump. This works with most aquarium pump designs. This system allows for plants to be easily moved which is critical to my efforts. I check the pH level of the solution once a week or two while monitoring the EC level of the nutrient solution every day or every other. Maintaining a stable EC negates the need to monitor pH more frequently. I aim to provide 1.0 EC of nutrients at all stages of growth.
The plants were moved outside from their 4x4 table to a 4x6 midway through May. The biggest difference between the hydroponic system indoors and outside was having to correct to the pH level after rainfall. That and dealing with the plants being deranged from the wind.
http://i.imgur.com/c0DmFoq.jpg
As of a week ago I relocated the lot to my garage and as of this morning it was 50F and 35% RH in there which isn't acceptable. To remedy this I have created a frame out of bamboo and wrapped it in 3.5 clear poly plastic. Two 1000w MH lamps at present have the inside at ~80F. I snuck my humidifier under the plastic on one end to raise the humidity levels when needed. I have seen a lot of crazy things from hydroponic grower on the internet, but never have I witnessed anyone attempting this. I'm utilizing the greenhouse principle indoors. I could purchase additional grow tents, but this setup is only for the rest of this year. A grow tent plus a ventilated hood reflector would easily run over $500 while the bamboo and plastic with zip ties was less than $15.
Both lights are operational for 18 to 24 hours a day to trick the plant into believing it's spring again. In the near future I will run one lamp for 6 hours and then the other for additional 6... followed by 12 hours of darkness. This is to facilitate fruiting and to conserve energy. After I can pull one more harvest off these plants I will solely focus on over-wintering them. The garage is unheated and only time will tell how everything will hold up when it's -45 to -60 outside with windchill. I'll bring them inside the house if absolutely necessary. Until them, I am enjoying this challenge. Thanks for reading. I will provide updates when there is progress or when I'm at mercy of the weather.
