shopping Items needed to grow peppers indoors this winter

[Jabski]

Hello all you The Hot Pepper members,
 
     I want to grow about 4 to 6 plants this winter inside my house and get high yields since I eat a lot of hot peppers.  I think it will be really nice to be able to eat fresh ones along with my dried pods.  I think the list below will be a nice start for a grow tent setup.  Do any of you know of great places to get these items at a low price since this is just a great hobby and funds aren't always over flowing my bank account.
 
1.)  Grow tent,  I think a 6 ft by 6ft by ? high will let me have 9 plants at 2 sq ft each or 4 at 3 sq ft each.  Does this sound reasonable?
 
2.)  HPS light, I'm interested in a 600 watt power level.  Is this enough light to grow a large amount of pods?
 
3.)  2 oscillating fans to blow air on the plants and give them stem strength.
 
4.)  What size exhaust fan to bring in fresh home air?  And does this air need to be vented outside after the carbon dioxide is eaten by the plants?
 
5.)  I am thinking of grow these in 7 gallon plastic pots filled with ProMix BX. Does that sound good for what I'm trying to do?
 
6.)  Since ProMix BX isn't really soil but a soil less mix should I use a hydroponic fertilizer?  I'm thinking Dyna-Gro Foilage pro to get the plant started then moving over to the Bloom fertilizer for the fruiting part.
 
7.)  A temp & humidity monitor to see what that is every time I check on the peppers.
 
8.)  A moisture meter so I don't over water the plants.
 
9.)  A pH meter so I don't give them the wrong pH'ed fertilizer solution.
 
10.)  Spray-n-Grow since I already have it for my outdoor peppers
 
11.)  bamboo stakes or a pepper cage to hold up my pod filled plants
 
Is there anything I'm forgetting?
 
Thank you very much!!
 

 

[juanitos]

1. yes 2sft each is good, might be hard to get around to the ones in the back if they get big and you don't trim them
2. yea thats good, 1000w is even better ofc (especially when they get 3ft + you might need more light..)
3. yup
4. well you'll need enough to keep the light cool as well, and bring in new air, i think the tent makers specify something good
5. yes that sounds good, plants can get 6-7ft tall in 7 gallons if you wanted smaller you could go 3 or 5 gallon
6. yes that will work great, you probably also need calcium supplement like calmag
7. yup
8. no, the pots should have drain holese, can just stick your finger in the soil to feel the moisture lol
9. promix shoudl buffer the ph in a good range, you dont need to test the fertilizer solution ph, so no
10. ok?
11. you can tie the plants up using string to the ceiling if its strong enough (probably not in a tent, Peppers are pretty strong by themselves and dont always need support (depending on variety)
 
You might want to research hydroponic or dutch bucket setup instead of the soilmix

 

[Devil Created Pods]

honestly i think people over do it. people straight up grow indoors for winter with T5HO flourescents. thats what im doing this year im upgrading from my T8s i used last year. everyone tells me they have great results and u can get a package deal for the fixture and bulbs for say $125. for a 4ft fixture

 

[KevinH]

1 600watt wont spread out enough. I would run 2 4 foot 8 T5HO lights. HPS bulbs don't last and put out a ton of heat. I have had a plant under one all summer and i am getting flower's should be getting pods real soon. My lil Bro has a 4x4 tent and a 7gal pot has a large foot print. But You should be able to fit them in the size you want no problem. When you do this I want to see you do a Glog, as when I move to a bigger place next summer I will go with this size tent to grow peppers and veggie's all year.

 

[PrimeTime]

I like horticulturesource.com not the best website but all other aspects of dealing with them has been really good.

 

[Gotrox]

8 tube 4' T5 and 4 root spa's.
It's what I have, and my 4 plants over run the light footprint.
 
No tent. It's nice to have plants "eating": your CO2 and giving oxygen.
 
The setup you suggest is for "cash crops"
 
You won't get 6 or 9 plants in 7 gal containers without a couple 600 or 1KW MH/HPS, 4 4tube t5's or more, inside a reflective grow tent, and you SOG them.
 
Then you will need ventilation and temp. controlls.

 

[Jabski]

1. yes 2sft each is good, might be hard to get around to the ones in the back if they get big and you don't trim them
2. yea thats good, 1000w is even better ofc (especially when they get 3ft + you might need more light..) Sorry but what does ofc mean?
3. yup
4. well you'll need enough to keep the light cool as well, and bring in new air, i think the tent makers specify something good
5. yes that sounds good, plants can get 6-7ft tall in 7 gallons if you wanted smaller you could go 3 or 5 gallon I think I need smaller ones for sure.
6. yes that will work great, you probably also need calcium supplement like calmag
7. yup
8. no, the pots should have drain holese, can just stick your finger in the soil to feel the moisture lol
9. promix shoudl buffer the ph in a good range, you dont need to test the fertilizer solution ph, so no
10. ok?
11. you can tie the plants up using string to the ceiling if its strong enough (probably not in a tent, Peppers are pretty strong by themselves and dont always need support (depending on variety)
 
You might want to research hydroponic or dutch bucket setup instead of the soilmix  For some reason that seems to intense at the moment but I will look into it, Thank you!

honestly i think people over do it. people straight up grow indoors for winter with T5HO flourescents. thats what im doing this year im upgrading from my T8s i used last year. everyone tells me they have great results and u can get a package deal for the fixture and bulbs for say $125. for a 4ft fixture

Thank you, I will look into them.  Is that what your going to use?

1 600watt wont spread out enough. I would run 2 4 foot 8 T5HO lights. HPS bulbs don't last and put out a ton of heat. I have had a plant under one all summer and i am getting flower's should be getting pods real soon. My lil Bro has a 4x4 tent and a 7gal pot has a large foot print. But You should be able to fit them in the size you want no problem. When you do this I want to see you do a Glog, as when I move to a bigger place next summer I will go with this size tent to grow peppers and veggie's all year.

That looks like it might be the way to go.  They put out way less heat too   Thank you.

I like horticulturesource.com not the best website but all other aspects of dealing with them has been really good.

I'm going to check that out right after I'm done here, Thank you

8 tube 4' T5 and 4 root spa's.
It's what I have, and my 4 plants over run the light footprint.
 
No tent. It's nice to have plants "eating": your CO2 and giving oxygen.
 
The setup you suggest is for "cash crops"
 
You won't get 6 or 9 plants in 7 gal containers without a couple 600 or 1KW MH/HPS, 4 4tube t5's or more, inside a reflective grow tent, and you SOG them.
 
Then you will need ventilation and temp. controlls.
 
I'm going to check out those root spa's soon.  "cash crops" haha, I consider my hot peppers cash crops because of all the money I would spend if I didn't grow them and all the great health benefis they have given me.
 
I see my plans can get way out of budget really fast if I don't watch my wallet and just think of how to grow lots and lots of peppers.

 

[John1234]

Ventilation is hard to judge until you decide what size tent and type/set up of light you're going with, barebulb, hooded/cooltube, etc.
 
MH/CMH > HPS
 
Fluorescents are great if you SCROG and don't let the canopy grow past 12".
 
I'd check out a site where they grow in tents/artificial environments almost exclusively... not to say there isn't good experience and advice here, but 95+% use indoor growing for plant starting, not going full term. Little issues turn in to big problems over the long term. There are a few solid ones though, sp33d is firing up a tent right now.
 
If you do try a dope forum, save yourself some time and avoid Grasscity or RollitUp. IC is decent, though there's a lot of dicks. Probably why I go there...

 

[Gotrox]

Easy to SOG (SCROG, if training) if you don't try supercropping.
Top early and often, Chicken wire looks to work well for SCROGGING, better with the bushier varieties, (Aji Pineapple is a monster).
Top 3 times before forking and you should get 8 to 16 tops.
 
I would go 24-36 instead of 12---personal preference. Larger fruits.
 
We are going for fruits, right?
 
Not sure what I would do with 8-16 pepper colas.
 
Currently doing a Sea of Green, using the pepper branches interleaved as supports.
 
When these go in the ground next spring, I am planning to build a frame and SCROG the next batch.

 

[1968dart]

Two 4 ft 8 bulb T5ho lights and a rack$600 should be able to grow 8 plants to fruit and cost $290 a year for hydro on a 16 hr light cycle. That's what I have on the go for my budget. I plan on getting 16 plants all cropped and ready for outside next spring for a huge head start the bringing my favourites back in for the winter again.

 

[Jabski]

Ventilation is hard to judge until you decide what size tent and type/set up of light you're going with, barebulb, hooded/cooltube, etc.
 
MH/CMH > HPS
 
Fluorescents are great if you SCROG and don't let the canopy grow past 12".
 
I'd check out a site where they grow in tents/artificial environments almost exclusively... not to say there isn't good experience and advice here, but 95+% use indoor growing for plant starting, not going full term. Little issues turn in to big problems over the long term. There are a few solid ones though, sp33d is firing up a tent right now.
 
If you do try a dope forum, save yourself some time and avoid Grasscity or RollitUp. IC is decent, though there's a lot of dicks. Probably why I go there...

Thank you!  I'll look on here for this SCROG stuff.  Is that an indoor way of growing peppers?  I don't know if I want to go to a dope forum?  I would think that they know how to grow very well since it is a really expensive product that they are growing  .

Two 4 ft 8 bulb T5ho lights and a rack$600 should be able to grow 8 plants to fruit and cost $290 a year for hydro on a 16 hr light cycle. That's what I have on the go for my budget. I plan on getting 16 plants all cropped and ready for outside next spring for a huge head start the bringing my favourites back in for the winter again.

Thanks for that idea.  I am now thinking I want short plants, smaller pots and the T5's.
 
So I would keep the lights on for 16 hours a day.  I think that is about what you get in sun in June here in Pennsylvania.  So that is the pepper peak producing light time?
 
Thank You!