indoor Question About Indoor Growing

stickyfingers111

stickyfingers111

This year I started all my peppers indoors under a grow light. Once it got warm enough, I moved half of them outside but kept the other half indoors. I have tried to set up optimal conditions inside, but the peppers outside are almost twice as big as the indoor grown peppers and they appear more healthy too. All watering and feeding has been the same for both groups of plants. So, what is it about being outside that works better than my indoor farm?
 
I know sunlight is awesome, but I've got a couple of good quality LED lights that stay on 14 hours a day inside. There is also
airflow to worry about. I have 2 fans always on, one of which is oscillating, and the other blows over the tops of the plants. So I'd say they get better airflow inside than outside. Temperature stays around 78 in the day and 69 at night inside my grow room. It does get hotter outside.
 
Just curious what some of you guys think is the main difference between inside and outside that could cause such a different result. The plants on the left have been outside for awhile.
 
 
 
 
 

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Plants tend to like a temperature differential between daytime and night time temps.  Also, fluctuations in light intensity.
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However, indoor plants also don't harden off, and have the potential grow explosively in that condition.
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Indoor container grows much more slowly than indoor hydro.  Hydro plants can have every parameter optimally controlled.  With soilless mixes, the mix is the limiting factor.  It's much easier to access nutrients in a free solution of ideal pH, vs in a solid substrate, whose biggest drawback, is the reduced oxygen in the root zone. 
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With plants outside, the argument is that nature knows best.  Outdoor soil growing is easily the most forgiving medium, provided that it's any degree of grow-able.
 
solid7 said:
Plants tend to like a temperature differential between daytime and night time temps.  Also, fluctuations in light intensity.
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However, indoor plants also don't harden off, and have the potential grow explosively in that condition.
.
Indoor container grows much more slowly than indoor hydro.  Hydro plants can have every parameter optimally controlled.  With soilless mixes, the mix is the limiting factor.  It's much easier to access nutrients in a free solution of ideal pH, vs in a solid substrate, whose biggest drawback, is the reduced oxygen in the root zone. 
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With plants outside, the argument is that nature knows best.  Outdoor soil growing is easily the most forgiving medium, provided that it's any degree of grow-able.
Click to expand...
 
I have been wanting to get into hydro growing. Can you "transplant" a soil grown plant into a hydro setup by washing away all the soil? Or would I need to start with new plants?
 
stickyfingers111 said:
 
I have been wanting to get into hydro growing. Can you "transplant" a soil grown plant into a hydro setup by washing away all the soil? Or would I need to start with new plants?
Click to expand...
 
You can absolutely switch back and forth either way.  I mean, you'll get some decline and rebound, but yeah, it's easily do-able.
 
solid7 said:
 
You can absolutely switch back and forth either way.  I mean, you'll get some decline and rebound, but yeah, it's easily do-able.
Click to expand...
 
That's Awesome! Would you recommend a single reservoir with multiple plants in it, or individual buckets for each plant?
 
I can't make that recommendation, because I don't know your grow room.  But I will tell you this...  Do your homework before making the investment.  It's expensive to get started, and takes some patience and a whole lot of learning, at first.  Once you figure it out, it's easy as pie, but it's hard work in the lead up.
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My advice to you, would be to create a thread, and ask for specific advice, based on specific criteria.  Post your grow room, what you have, what you want to do, etc.
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AND... most importantly... listen to people HERE, not the ones at the grow shop.  No matter what they try to tell/sell you, ask a real grower, first. ;)
 
solid7 said:
I can't make that recommendation, because I don't know your grow room.  But I will tell you this...  Do your homework before making the investment.  It's expensive to get started, and takes some patience and a whole lot of learning, at first.  Once you figure it out, it's easy as pie, but it's hard work in the lead up.
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My advice to you, would be to create a thread, and ask for specific advice, based on specific criteria.  Post your grow room, what you have, what you want to do, etc.
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AND... most importantly... listen to people HERE, not the ones at the grow shop.  No matter what they try to tell/sell you, ask a real grower, first. ;)
Click to expand...
 
Thanks solid7, I will do some research and see what all it takes investment wise. If it seems right for me, I will definitely be making a thread. Year round pods has always been my goal. 
 
stickyfingers111 said:
I have been wanting to get into hydro growing. Can you "transplant" a soil grown plant into a hydro setup by washing away all the soil? Or would I need to start with new plants?
Click to expand...
 
Before getting your feet wet (Pardon the pun!) I would consider investigating which "system" will best suit you and your location as there are a number of choices:
 
Wick Systems.
Deep Water Culture (DWC)
Nutrient Film Technique (NFT).
Ebb and Flow (Flood and Drain)
Aeroponics.
Drip Systems.
 
Along with discussing these, this link, EPIC GARDENING - Hydroponic Systems, has info on DIY builds to keep costs down noting your current eight plant grow. I used a DWC for one plant and it worked great. One last thing, there are addition costs for nutes - meters - pH adjustments - etc.
 
Good luck!
 
The_NorthEast_ChileMan said:
 
Before getting your feet wet (Pardon the pun!) I would consider investigating which "system" will best suit you and your location as there are a number of choices:
 
Wick Systems.
Deep Water Culture (DWC)
Nutrient Film Technique (NFT).
Ebb and Flow (Flood and Drain)
Aeroponics.
Drip Systems.
Click to expand...
 
I would also add Recirculating Deep Water Culture (RDWC) and Drain to Waste (DTW) as other possibilities on that list to explore, based on your actual requirements. 
 
solid7 said:
 
I would also add Recirculating Deep Water Culture (RDWC) and Drain to Waste (DTW) as other possibilities on that list to explore, based on your actual requirements. 
Click to expand...
aaaaaannnnnnnnnddddddddd...............KRATKY.
The simplest, least expensive hydro out there.
 
skullbiker said:
aaaaaannnnnnnnnddddddddd...............KRATKY.
The simplest, least expensive hydro out there.
Click to expand...
 
Hahaha...  There you are.
 
Honestly forgot about it.  You never told me what's up with your Florida plan.  Come on, man, don't hold back. In this case, I want to be wrong. ;)
 
Thanks for all the links guys! Good info and a lot to think about. Im leaning towards deep water culture. Also worried about algae. Cleaning the system once a week seems like it could be one heck of an ordeal!
 
stickyfingers111 said:
Thanks for all the links guys! Good info and a lot to think about. Im leaning towards deep water culture. Also worried about algae. Cleaning the system once a week seems like it could be one heck of an ordeal!
Click to expand...
 
That's why I always liked the RDWC.  One central reservoir feeding all the satellites, instead of cleaning individual reservoirs.  I built my own with one big tank and multiple buckets. 
 
solid7 said:
 
That's why I always liked the RDWC.  One central reservoir feeding all the satellites, instead of cleaning individual reservoirs.  I built my own with one big tank and multiple buckets. 
Click to expand...
 
So with the RDWC setup, you only have to clean the reservoir, and not all the satellites that the plants are in? 
 
They are all connected.  Yes, you have flush them all, but you can do it with fresh water from the main reservoir.  And, if you're clever, you'll put the reservoir next to a sink and drain, to make it even easier.
 
stickyfingers111 said:
Thanks for all the links guys! Good info and a lot to think about. Im leaning towards deep water culture. Also worried about algae. Cleaning the system once a week seems like it could be one heck of an ordeal!
Click to expand...
 
Where/which system discusses algae and weekly cleaning? I did a 1 plant DWC  and didn't have this issue?
 
The_NorthEast_ChileMan said:
 
Where/which system discusses algae and weekly cleaning? I did a 1 plant DWC  and didn't have this issue?
Click to expand...
 
I didn't read about the algae. I work at a place that grows food hydroponically in re-purposed shipping containers. After a 3 week growth cycle, there is always a substantial amount of algae in the trays when the plants are harvested. 
 
stickyfingers111 said:
 
I didn't read about the algae. I work at a place that grows food hydroponically in re-purposed shipping containers. After a 3 week growth cycle, there is always a substantial amount of algae in the trays when the plants are harvested. 
Click to expand...
 
There certainly can be.  I'm a very conservative grower.  I tend to mix my solution to the lower end of the EC range.   Commercial growers push the upper end.  For things that make fruit (as opposed to vegetables - roots, leaves, etc) you really don't need to lean so hard on nutrients.  Grow shops have us conditioned to believe that "more is better"- but then they are the benefactors of that advice.  Plus, I actually thing that - from my own experience - food grown in a heavy nute solution, just doesn't taste as good.  Often, it even tastes a bit metallic, for me.
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If you find that you have an algae issue, you have to deal with it, no matter what system you're talking about.  When I ran my systems, I rarely had issues, unless the temp got too far above ideal in the reservoir.  Stay within parameters, and you can easily go through an entire grow with no issues. 
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I can't stress enough that to really do hydro well, you need a reservoir chiller of some sort.  68 degrees is the optimal solution temperature.  If you can hold that, your growth will be unbelievable.  You can dose the nutes right at the middle of the range, and get fantastic yields.  
 
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