The Fluorescent Grow Challange...

[mjdiamond83]

This might be something to look at too. It's a 2 pack of 105W (6500K) CFL's for $25 with free shipping (on sale from $59). I didn't see this when I bought my bulb, but it looks like a really good deal. It doesn't list the lumen output, but a similar 105W bulb on Amazon claimed 6800 lumens, so I'm guessing its going to be somewhere in that range. There's also another seller on Amazon (Kaezi) that has 85W 5500K bulbs that claim 4800 lumens for $14.99. Limo studio has a 4 pack of 105W 6500K bulbs for $50 too. It seems like amazon has lots of solid deals on CFL's.


http://www.amazon.com/LimoStudio-Regular-Medium-Compact-Fluorescent/dp/B0058KJNYQ/ref=pd_cp_p_2

 

[gitguymertin]

Hey guys, sorry I missed the last update and this update is probably late. I have been dealing with a passing in the family and have had no time to post an update.

Good news is I have flowers on my plants now! I didn't have much time to take any picutres as I was rushing to leave for the keys but here is one that I did take

 

[S.S.Tupperware]

Lookin goot everyone... Merry Christmas to all... just stopped by the house to feed the cats and water peppers... have 6 or so open flowers... I'll get a pic when I get back... cameras at the condo...

 

[IndyHot]

I've been out of town last few days and got back to some very sickly looking pepper plants. I have a lot of leave curling, edema (as mentioned in early post), leaves falling off, etc. I was curious and took one out of the net pot and was surprised to see how root bound it was. Although the plant is little it had one of the most solid root balls I've ever seen! The air pruning definitely worked and it appears they simply ran out of room to grow (being neglected while i was out of town didn't help either). Had i known the roots were so developed I would've potted them up a couple weeks ago (yes, hindsight is 20/20). Anyways, since we're nearing the end of this challenge and I'm starting to get things in order for next year I'm not planning on potting these up. If my plants are still alive and looking decent on the last day I'll post some pictures, but with the problems I've had recently i'll reserve the bragging rights for SS, gitguy, or whoever that hasn't had as many issues. Regardless of how things turn out I've learned a lot the last couple months. I would like to thank everyone again for including me in this challenge (and OneFowl for the seeds) it's been fun and a great learning experience!

Oh, if you're wondering here's what that first flower I posted looks like now...

If the plants hang in there I still might end up with some of these peppers. Happy Growing!

Indy

 

[mjdiamond83]

The plant under the CFL is loaded with buds. With about 10 days left to go for this challenge, I'm hoping I'll at least have some flowers opening before the 60 days are up.

Indy: Congrats on getting your first pod! Hopefully you can keep that plant alive for another 10 days. I'm eager to see what kind of peppers these end up as, since I'm going to give 2 of these plants to my girlfriend's mom this week, and she's more into sweet and mildly hot peppers. I'm guessing these might be Masquerade peppers (or maybe Sangria or Numex Twilight) from the purplish color of the bud stems and shape of that pod.

Masquerade Pepper (pic is from Dave's Garden)

 

[onefowl1]

Well mine are rebounding from being nibbled on.

This next one was the one that just a few weeks back was nibbled down to the stem base.

The last pic is of the roots in the hydro pots.

 

[salsalady]

[sub]great looking plants and I'm loving the diversity of growing mediums. [/sub]


[sub]I hope you guys will keep it going after the 60 days so we can see the chiles! [/sub]

 

[Pepper-Guru]

Looking good in here guys! Pretty plants!

 

[ta2edfreak]

No idea when we were supposed to post but since I missed the last couple and it is the last day of the year, I thought I would post. Nowhere near SS and GGM but I do have flowers starting (and edema) and obviously my light is too close... Oh well, at least I should get peppers off these eventually. By the way, I hope they arent twilight as I just bought and started some seeds :-)

Happy new year all.

 

[S.S.Tupperware]

Happy new year all... Just got back from the condo, no puter acess there. So I am posting pics for 2 updates. The first pic is right around X-mas...

taken on the 27th...
loads of flowers on them all, even the 2 I did not plant up for the challenge... but there less than half the size.
The next shots are from today, the first.

I have podage on all 4 of them,small, but pods none the less... after the 60 days i will be purging my magic grow box, clean her out... a quick disinfectant and it's time to start seed for next year. It's still damn near summer here, my peppers out side are doing great... I am still pickin loads of pods, and there still producing.
Caught some nice pompano for a great dinner with the family, even made it out with the metal detector a few times...

I really believe these air pots make a difference over the outer containers... I have a dozen or so I will put some in next year before they head out to the yard.
Kirk out...

 

[mjdiamond83]

Happy New Years Everyone. I gave two of my challenge plants away the other day. The challenge plant under the CFL is doing great. It's much larger and more dense than the Trinidad Scorpion it is next to. I'm still waiting for some flowers to open up. The other challenge plant, while not really leggy definitely reaches more and doesn't grow as dense under the T8 fixture. This challenge has been a fun and learning experience. Thanks for the seeds onefowl1! I'm going to keep these plants going after the 60 days are up and do some periodic photo updates.

 

[onefowl1]

Okay while not the challenge plants I am getting pods under florescent lighting during this grow with my Manzano peppers.

 

[IndyHot]

I've been able to keep this plant going, but no ripe peppers. Not quite going to get there in 60 days so thought I'd go ahead and post this most recent picture. Other plants (ones that survived the holidays) only have a bunch of flowers, but very few pods.

So now that challenge is all but over... what type of plants are these?

Indy

 

[S.S.Tupperware]

It's over? Guess i better get up some pics then...

 

[AlabamaJack]

I have been watching this thread "from afar" and have not read all the posts....

what kind of data is supposed to come out of this experiment?

 

[Eephus Man]

[quote name='IndyHot' timestamp='1325732]

So now that challenge is all but over... what type of plants are these?

[/quote]

I'm no pro, but based on the clustering, I'm thinking some kind of ornamental?

 

[frosty]

I think AJ has a point. Can people take a picture of their best plant and give the specifics of their
Lights,
Medium,
Nutes,
Cycles,
distances
Lessons adjustments.
At a minimum I think the lights need to be shared

Failures and weak plants are just as important as successes and should be shared also. I also think updates in a month or two would be good. It is one thing to have a plant that gives a few pods in 2 months. It is another thing two have a mature plant that produces ripe pods. No one has debated that Flouros can support plants in the beginning it is that you can have year round that is yet to be seen.

For me that is the main point; proof of concept.

(EDIT)
I want to add that this is not a criticism of this thread. I really like the idea and hope it doesn't end now. Really, this thread was fun.

 

[Eephus Man]

I think AJ has a point. Can people take a picture of their best plant and give the specifics of their
Lights,
Medium,
Nutes,
Cycles,
distances
Lessons adjustments.
At a minimum I think the lights need to be shared

Failures and weak plants are just as important as successes and should be shared also. I also think updates in a month or two would be good. It is one thing to have a plant that gives a few pods in 2 months. It is another thing two have a mature plant that produces ripe pods. No one has debated that Flouros can support plants in the beginning it is that you can have year round that is yet to be seen.

For me that is the main point; proof of concept.

frosty,

I think if you go back, look at who has the most growth now, and then go back to the beginning and read the thread, you may be pleasantly surprised at the information you'll find. If those that have the largest plants would like to summarize, then that would be most generous of them, but at the very least they have detailed their setups already.

 

[frosty]

EM could you share what you have learned?

 

[ralfsnell]

I posted this back on page 13; got no response. I agree with Frosty, I am not sure what we can glean from this 2 month experience.
If Daily Light Integral was not calculated, at least light levels at a given distance(s) would have been nice.

Is there some way to pin a list of the grow setups for each participant, i.e., lighting, HO's vs standard, hydro, etc., to the start of this thread; as a kind of legend? That way, for example, if one is considering CFL's with Hydro, one could scroll through for that participant's posts.

Also, has anyone attempted to determine their DLI for their fluorescent configuration or grow area?

It would seem this information would be an aid for those of us following along, as a comparison to our own fluorescent setups and for future considerations.

I think AJ has a point. Can people take a picture of their best plant and give the specifics of their
Lights,
Medium,
Nutes,
Cycles,
distances
Lessons adjustments.
At a minimum I think the lights need to be shared

Failures and weak plants are just as important as successes and should be shared also. I also think updates in a month or two would be good. It is one thing to have a plant that gives a few pods in 2 months. It is another thing two have a mature plant that produces ripe pods. No one has debated that Flouros can support plants in the beginning it is that you can have year round that is yet to be seen.

For me that is the main point; proof of concept.