Next to My Chair

Been thinking about it.. pretty sure I'm growing peppers because I'm bored.  Like, deeply, existentially bored.  Plus, a little harmless pain never hurt anybody, right?  Hell, it's probably even good for you.  We'll see if those are good enough reasons, I guess.  I bought me some "Scotch Bonnet Orange" seeds from Amazon before I found you fine folk, lurked around here for a while, then planted them anyway along with other, infinitely less suspect seeds I ordered from far flung places around the globe(!) as recommended by the very venerable Vendor Vault.  I've got them growing here by my chair.  I sit here and read. (The wall to my right as I took this picture is lined with bookshelves I'm slowing filling as I try to forget the world each afternoon.  Mostly scifi the last few years.)  It would be distracting to have a big boxy tent looming over me, so I've just got them sitting there on a cardboard box.  I hope to replace the box with a little table here soon.

 
 
My rig consists of something like a quarter of the full Amazon Indoor Garden of Tomorrow-orrow-orrow-orrow ®.  This LED light I got is something else, man.  It's REALLY bright!  Paper towel germination, used a few Jiffy pellets, stuck some seeds straight in some old Miracle Grow I had, kept them in the Jiffy box there until they sprouted.  I'm glad to be rid of that Jiffy dome now; it was a pain in the ass.  Ahh.. let's see.. I'm mixing CNS17 Grow into RO/DI water, testing and adjusting up with GH pH kit, pouring it over my little darlings there in about 3:1 coco:perlite.  Just culled and potted up today to 3.5 inches.  All seems to be going well except for some slight canoeing of leaves, which I'm ready to blame on the 24% humidity (We wake up half mummified in the winter.  I know - grow tent.) and a few early spills on my rug.  Trying to keep it simple and not drive myself crazier futzing with dozens of parameters here, so I'm not going to sweat it unless things turn worse.  I'm not!  Worry verges on religion with me, so this will either be therapeutic or turn out to have been a bad idea.. 
Any and all comments or criticisms are very welcome and I thank you all most warmly for having me and schooling me and reading my noodlings! 

 

[DWB]

Probably an inconsequential update but I went back and checked my files and notes about my yellow spots.
 
I only saw this on newer leaves that got the most direct afternoon sun. I also found leaves that were only spotted on the portion sticking out from underneath the protection of spotted leaves. The leaves that got direct morning sun were just fine. This is a July 2016 picture of a scorpion that still lives. I don't recall seeing the spots on my plants ever since but maybe I didn't notice because it all turned out to be a non-event.
 
Maybe it will become an event for me this year because for the first time ever, I'll be growing peppers in absolute full sun with zero shade. Thanks for jogging my memory UncleEc.
 

 

[Uncle Eckley]

That does look a lot like what I'm seeing.  Thanks for digging up the photo!

 

[Uncle Eckley]

Twilights are canoeier today.  I just watered the one in the center last night, but the one next door's doing it, too.  New leaves on the secondary branches are also now curling up at the sides, wasn't so last night.
 
Recent changes:
Switched to tap water a couple days ago wondering if the ro/di water is too bare, but the tap water is pretty hard, so not sure about that change.. 
Ambient humidity is up to 32%. 
This jug of solution's pH measures closer to 6 than 6.5. 
Used less than the directed 15mL of fertilizer goo this time, maybe 10 - 12mL. 
Oscillating fan's been going since Friday evening.
 
None of these except the fan should be affecting the Twilight left of center, though, since it hasn't been watered yet from this jug.  This is really bugging me.

 

[DWB]

How many hours of light per day?

 

[Uncle Eckley]

Sixteen.  How far should I cut it back, do you think?  I raised it another inch and a half this morning.

 

[DWB]

I don't think that's a problem. Altitude of the light should be good too if it's like it was when you started the thread. That looked like a couple feet. If still nothing is getting hot, I guess I'd quit feeding them a while.

 

[Uncle Eckley]

If still nothing is getting hot, I guess I'd quit feeding them a while.

 
k, thanks.  Will try that, report back.

 

[Walchit]

I think ro water can cause calcium deficiency. Google calcium deficiency and see if thats what it looks like

 

[DWB]

Nice catch Walchit. I missed that part. I don't know that ro water is gonna "cause" anything but it damn sure isn't gonna provide anything either. Ours is always below 10 ppm. No minerals there.

 

[Uncle Eckley]

I think ro water can cause calcium deficiency. Google calcium deficiency and see if thats what it looks like

 
Many of those look very much like what I've got happening, too.  I thought the calcium content of the fert I'm using would set me up, but those photos look enough like my own gnarliness to shatter that assumption.  So.. should I dose those affected?  Rely on the switch to tap water, wait for improvement?  I'm a little worried about how hard this tap water is.  We don't need hairspray here.

 

[Uncle Eckley]

Found this. 
 https://luv2garden.com/hydroponic_calcium.html
All this dicking with the humidity.   
How much humidity do I want ideally, anyway?
 
I have noticed a white powderiness at the drain holes in the bottom of my pots.  As I've been using ro/di water, should it be fertilizer residue?  Mold or fungus?  I'll see if I can get a picture..
 
This is actually a very healthy-looking DouglahTX.  What's this?  

 

[Walchit]

That's a good article. I really don't have much advice. I had curled leaves last year. And I've seen a coue trying to do it this year. It pissed me off if you wanna know the truth lol

 

[Walchit]

And that looks kinda like mold to me... Hard tellin

 

[Uncle Eckley]

And that looks kinda like mold to me... Hard tellin

 
Well that can't be good..  What do you do for that?  Peroxide?

 

[Walchit]

Maybe try letting them dry more between watering, the consensus seems to be that overwatering causes causes calcium uptake issues, I know TrentL killed some mold by dumping peroxide in his pots. It just turns to oxygen and water.

Depending on what type of fungi it is it may not even be a problem. In hoping someone more knowledgeable than me will have some advise for you

 

[Uncle Eckley]

Found something else.     Edema?
 

 

[CaneDog]

Those are Intumescences. Similar to and often called edema, but not technically the same.  Seems to happen where UV light is reduced, so indoors versus outdoors. Believed to also be related to issues of water transmission.

 

[CaneDog]

You're situation looks frustrating and it's hard to source these types of problems. The first things I'd consider are that you may have too much heat/intensity from the lights at the top of the plants.  That could cause canoeing and also the minor interveinal chlorosis. Might try lifting the light a little or taking temps at the top of the plants to see how warm they are. Another thing that could be at play is inconsistent watering as it's hard to water optimally in smaller containers.  Are you giving them a deep watering until they drain out the bottom of the pot at least periodically?  Once they root into a pot that will help give them more consistent moisture and also flush salts out that could build up and create lock against nutrient uptake.  The reaper looks in rough shape. I'd pop it out of it's pot to get a look at the roots and the condition of the soil to see what's up.
 
Just my 2 cents.  Maybe it gives you an idea or two.  No fun having these types of issues that don't have easy cures.
 

 

[Uncle Eckley]

Thanks, CaneDog.
 
I've raised the light a couple times lately, but the tops of the plants were never very warm.  Playing an IR thermometer against the upper leaves has never given a reading as high as 80° and the back of my hand has never disagreed.
 
It's hard for me to say how much I've been watering, except that I've cut back a lot the past few days.  I've taken to checking for moisture in the medium at the drain holes rather than hefting the pots for an indication as to when I should water.  My aim has been to wet the pot through, though I haven't let much run out the bottoms when I do water for fear of too much water (and fertilizer) reaching other pots that may not need it via the tray.
 
My reading suggests moisture and calcium problems often go hand in hand.  Some of it makes me want to try flushing affected plants, but my crystalline shame makes me think twice about that..  I've also wondered a lot lately whether I'm using too much or too little fertilizer.  It's been easy enough to follow the directions on the bottle, but I saw something on the website about reducing fertilizer strength by 50-57% for DWC..  So.. is my solution too strong in the vodka bottles?  Not DWC, exactly, but seems closer to that to me than coco and perlite in little pots..
 
What bothers me most is having begun to second guess what little I thought I'd learned.  I thought I was keeping it pretty simple with a neutral, well-draining medium, a single complete fertilizer (the thinking done for me, I'd hoped), mixed into the plainest water available, and a plug-n-play light.  It sure feels like these problems have come about as a direct result of my not knowing what the hell I'm doing.  That's an awful lot to type to have it amount to tautology, lol.  I suppose the only good cure for paralysis is sitting still.  What say I do like this for the next few days - keep the horizontal fan on 'em, ignore the humidity, quit futzing with the light, and continue watering very sparingly with the slightly reduced nutrient solution?  Fighting the urge to flail, here..

 

[CaneDog]

Sure, I wouldn't do any big second guessing in your spot. You've got some great looking plants in your grow and I think this is mostly just fine-tuning stuff and waiting and watching what happens. Some varieties and plants are more finicky than others.  Just figured I'd throw a few ideas out there for you to consider and hopefully it gets better!