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Operation Hot Pepper University FINAL Update

Hello all!
 
After doing a lot of research, planning, designing, and redesigning, I finally ended up with a pretty decent little setup to keep some of my plants going year round.  The total cost was right around $275.  Right now this setup produces 2,925 Lumens/Sq.ft., using a 250W HPS bulb and 2 CFLs.
 
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Setting up the stand
 
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Stand w/ lights off
 
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Stand w/lights on
 
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Plants under the lights (Jalapeno, Habanero, Serrano) 
 
 
I look forward to seeing how well this setup works and I'll be sure to post some pictures along the way.  If anyone has any questions feel free to post on here or just PM me.  Thanks for looking!
 
UPDATE11/30/13: I HAVE BEEN INFORMED BY THE RESIDENCE LIFE STAFF AT MY SCHOOL THAT I AM NOT ALLOWED TO GROW MY PEPPERS IN MY APARTMENT, I SAY OTHERWISE...SEE COMMENT BELOW FOR DETAILS!
 
FINAL UPDATE 2/9/14: IT APPEARS RESLIFE HAS WON THIS BATTLE...SEE COMMENT BELOW FOR DETAILS!
 
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Lookin good bud. If I was you Id lower the hps light about a foot or even 6" would work, since its only 250 Watts
Id also try to put some reflective mylar to reflect the light back at your plants. Lookin good though.:)
 
96strat said:
Also a small fan would be good. The roots like to be warm so maybe a heat sprout mat will help. They are water proof with controls.
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Hmm I never considered having to keep the roots warm, I'll have to look into that.  I do have a small fan in the setup, if you look on the left on the last 2 pictures there is a white one clipped to one of the rails.
 
megahot said:
Lookin good bud. If I was you Id lower the hps light about a foot or even 6" would work, since its only 250 Watts
Id also try to put some reflective mylar to reflect the light back at your plants. Lookin good though. :)
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Thanks!  I just have to figure out how to release the ratchets that hold the light up lol those things are on there tight!  As far as mylar goes I looked into it but figured I could always just go to the dollar store and pick up a roll or two of aluminum foil
 
sreinhard88 said:
Hmm I never considered having to keep the roots warm, I'll have to look into that.  I do have a small fan in the setup, if you look on the left on the last 2 pictures there is a white one clipped to one of the rails.
 

Thanks!  I just have to figure out how to release the ratchets that hold the light up lol those things are on there tight!  As far as mylar goes I looked into it but figured I could always just go to the dollar store and pick up a roll or two of aluminum foil
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mylar is much more reflective then al foil. When I did my first grow a member on the forum sugg3sted the same thing when I was using al foil. You can check Walmart to see if the have emergency blankets which are mylar. They are cheap too.
 
megahot said:
mylar is much more reflective then al foil. When I did my first grow a member on the forum sugg3sted the same thing when I was using al foil. You can check Walmart to see if the have emergency blankets which are mylar. They are cheap too.
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Ah I forgot about emrgency blankets, the only thing I had considered was a big roll of mylar at Home Depot for like $30 (plus I work at Lowes so Home Depot is kind of a last resort lol!)
 
It can be done...........easier with higher intensity lights though. But you can make it happen.
The two annuum varieties should fair out well. Narrower leaf plants let the light shine through the canopy. Those plants will get taller than the Hab....thats when you selective prune the tops . I've grown Habs under T8's.............lower lateral growing Scotch Bonnets also. The key is to keep the lighting as close to the plant tops as possible (depending on the setup.CFL, T12, 8, 5'S or HD )............Thai varieties grow quickly and are fail proof. Chili's ripen faster with the smaller fruit.
 
Good luck with the process....
 
Greg
 
Alright everyone here's the latest update; as mentioned in the title I am in a bit of a disagreement with the residnece life staff at school, but before I get into that there are some positive updates:
 
1) everything looks great now that I have the Mylar blanket in place,  I'll post pics at some point.
2) pepper production has continued steadily, allowing me to create delicious new sauces
3) the habenero finally started producing pods again
 
So here's the situation with residence life:
When I was originally planning my indoor setup and looking for equipment I had read over the housing guidlines that say what you can/can't have and what you can/can't do in the rooms.  According to what I read there was absolutely nothing against anything I am using in my setup.  My RA was aware of what I was doing and was completely approving of the idea.  Well over Thanksgiving break I receive a call saying my lights have been unplugged and that I am not allowed to have my "greenhouse" at college.  They claim it is a fire hazard yet it has been in operation for over a month with no problems at all.  Anyways now I have to have a meeting as soon as I return to explain to them the error of their ways and why I should be allowed to continue growing my peppers.  I mean let's face it, there are certainly worse things I could be growing in my dorm... stay tuned for updates. 
 
Alright everyone it's been quite awhile since my last update but sadly this should be my final update in this thread.  After a long and "heated" discussion with the ResLife staff at my college I was informed that even though there is nothing in the rules about having my setup I still couldn't have it because it was a "fire hazard" (not sure if they were referring to the lights or the peppers lol)...so the battle has been lost unfortunately.  For the time being my setup has been moved to my basement back home.  Due to the colder temps in my basement the plants have suffered a bit but at least they're still alive and productive.  Even though I couldn't have the lights in my apartment I just started a tray of  seeds just under a week ago.  Figure I can keep them there until it's time to bring them back home under the lights, I'll probably make a glog for this season tracking their progress...guess that's all for now...
 
Bummer to hear about the situation. But glad to hear you at least have a backup plan available, and are still moving forward! Best of luck!
 
Nick08* said:
Bummer to hear about the situation. But glad to hear you at least have a backup plan available, and are still moving forward! Best of luck!
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Thanks! I'm hoping this season is gonna be a great one, I'm really excited to see how things go with the seeds and all.
 
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