lighting Question about light for chile plants in grow tent

[Brendon Douglah]

Hey everyone,
 
I have a few 7 pot Jonah and Katie plants growing in a grow tent in my basement. I am using one Electric Sky 180 V2 Wideband LED grow light. The light is presently about 18 inches from the canopy. The LED is very powerful and provides more than enough light, so I usually keep it at about 75%strength.
 
The plants I am growing were overwintered since November and have been under the new LED light for about 2-3 weeks now. They have new vegetative growth and seem to be very happy.
 
I did notice however that some of the upper leaves have thin white edges and a few of the leaves have slightly curled as well. There are all dark green in color however. I thought that perhaps the leaves were getting too much light (the light is set at too high of a level). My hourly schedule is 16 on, 8 off.
 
My question is, what is the ideal light amount need for chile plants in the vegetative and flowering stages? I am thinking about getting a light meter so that I can set the LED light to the optimal strength and also to reduce this possible light burn that may be happening.
 
Does anybody have any advice and experience on this? I would love to hear.
 
 
 
 

 

 

[Acprkit]

How hot is it getting under the grow light? You could cycle on and off more often to reduce the temp.

Dark green leaves can indicate too much light. Maybe try dialing back to a 14/10 schedule.


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[willard3]

3000 luimens per square foot of plant canopy will bring a chile to fruit.
 
This should be posted in Grow Tech where: Discuss lights, heaters, irrigation systems, greenhouses, and DIY solutions. Show off your inventions!

 

[Max Nihil]

My hourly schedule is 16 on, 8 off.
 
My question is, what is the ideal light amount need for chile plants in the vegetative and flowering stages?

In terms of light schedule Capsicum is not known to be affected by a dark period and it can thrive without a dark period at all. I keep a low power LED on 24/7 for young seedlings.

I currently use a 5/3 5/3 5/3 light/dark period with my own indoor grow for a total of 15 hours light and 9 hours dark.

This helps me keep temps lower than if I did a 15/9 light/dark schedule but I am not aware of any advantage to the schedule itself when it comes to the biology of Capsicum.

One thing I forgot to mention is that the idea of vegetative growth as a stage distinct from flowering is not applicable to Capsicum in general. It mostly just applies to growing Cannabis.

 

[dragonsfire]

one thing I learned a week ago is that UV light is essential, I have seeds that sprouted and basically barely moved in three weeks, biggest one was 1/2", once I turned on the UV lights two days later they started to grow, grew an inch in a couple days.
20/24 cycle. basement location.

 

[TraumaER]

One thing I forgot to mention is that the idea of vegetative growth as a stage distinct from flowering is not applicable to Capsicum in general. It mostly just applies to growing Cannabis.

@Max Nihil Can you explain that a bit? I was actually looking around the forum for what ratio to have my VIPARSPECTRA 1200W at once I get germination. I had ok luck last year, but if I should have the dials (veg and bloom) at the same percentage for the best chance that'd be good to know . In my internet searches all references to veg and bloom ratios led to cannabis forums which your statement might explain why. Thanks in advance.

 

[solid7]

@Max Nihil Can you explain that a bit? I was actually looking around the forum for what ratio to have my VIPARSPECTRA 1200W at once I get germination. I had ok luck last year, but if I should have the dials (veg and bloom) at the same percentage for the best chance that'd be good to know . In my internet searches all references to veg and bloom ratios led to cannabis forums which your statement might explain why. Thanks in advance.

It means that "veg" and "bloom" literally don't apply to any plant is capable of, and desire to be, everbearing. When you do a "bloom", you are inducing an artificial death cycle. You try to replicate the conditions that are present in the end of lifecycle for a plant - or any organism, really. The idea being, that the organism is at the end of its life, when it's fulfilled its biological mandate. And if it hasn't, you give it a kick in the ass, to remind it what it's meant for.

The idea of a "bloom" cycle, is to draw down nitrogen, and simulate the changing of the seasons. In nature, when temps get cooler, this has an effect on pH, and nutrient uptake. The less nitrogen going into the system, the closer a plant is to its seasonal demise, by the natural mechanism. This induces the blooming stage, with no need to continue optimal growth. Also, in nature, nitrogen is seasonally less available, due to any number of other factors.

For capsicum, there is no need to change nutrients, either. For a plant that is everbearing, slow steady dosing of the same nutrients, throughout the lifecycle, is sufficient. For a plant that is seasonally harvested/culled, there is still no need to lay on "bloom" nutrients at the end. Potassium - the "bloom" nutrient - is stored in the plant tissue throughout its entire life, and the major stores are only drawn upon when they are actually needed.

Cannabis growers have a lot of weird ideas, that they tribally use to pollute every other facet of growing. Peppers start producing when they are ready, and not a moment before. Once that starts, there's no stopping it, aside from changing environmental factors. There just isn't a "veg" and "bloom" stage, for the informed grower. So the point here, is that you turn your lights on to a value that works, give your peppers an amount of nutrient that works, and then let 'em crank. Unless you're growing commercially, and need to derive a profit margin from your growth parameters, there is literally zero need to be nerdy about it.

 

[TraumaER]

@solid7 That's some great info. I totally saw the "bloom" phase as the period of time when it was flowering/fruting. Not an "end of life" period. So since I'm not a super nerd about this (yet). As a baseline would it be a safe assumption to leave the veg and bloom dials at the same level? or maybe bloom a little less?

 

[solid7]

@solid7 That's some great info. I totally saw the "bloom" phase as the period of time when it was flowering/fruting. Not an "end of life" period. So since I'm not a super nerd about this (yet). As a baseline would it be a safe assumption to leave the veg and bloom dials at the same level? or maybe bloom a little less?

In general, for just getting your grow on, set your dials to whatever produces roughly 6500K of color temp. If you want to nerd out, get yourself a PAR meter, and start looking to optimize the amount of light that reaches specific levels of the plant. I don't know what that is. But there is an optimal amount of light, at a given height, for a given temperature, for a given pH, etc, etc, etc, etc.

I'm not super convinced that color temperature matters a whole lot. Maybe for the visible display of the plant - i.e., what your eyes see. But light intensity does definitely matter. Changing the spectrum and visible wavelength, may alter measurable intensity. I'm not a light expert, so I can't say, for certain. And along with that, goes proper pruning and thinning. If you want maximum production, and you don't have a lighting source that changes, so as to hit a plant from all angles during the day (like the sun does), then you may want to consider flat topping your plants, and removing unproductive lower branches (which also increases airflow), for more even light distribution, and better penetration. Or getting multiple lights, and beaming them at your plants vertically, rather than horizontally.

To call a phase a "bloom" phase, means that you are specifically trying to control when it happens. Obviously, with cannabis, this is very specific. With peppers, we just want the plant to do well, all the time, and keep bringing forth a bounty. Unless, as previously stated, you are commercial and NEED to control the timing. (maybe you have a seasonal market, or want to turn over your plant stock) So as a rule of thumb, if you aren't going to cull the plant, or time your production, don't "veg" and "bloom".

Summary, for the sake of my verbosity - Your lights aren't going to make or break, provided the intensity is sufficient. Worry more about temp, humidity, airflow, and not overwatering.