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Yaargh!'s first steps. New here and to growing peppers

Yaargh!

Yaargh!

Hey all, been reading some topics on the forum and decided to register and try my hand at growing some hot peppers.

I'll post some pictures tomorrow, most likely. I decided to try out growing in soil (pots) as well as utilizing the DWC method of hydroponics. So far, I have only a serrano, jalapeño and a cayenne in the DWC system. In soil, I have a habanero and a struggling/small Bhut Jolokia.

Plants I am still waiting to germinate are hot cherry, scotch bonnet and hot banana peppers.

From reading the forum posts I would certainly like to expand in variety. After checking out some sites, I am looking to pick up some trinidad scorpion seeds as well fatalii and paper lanterns.

Constructive criticism will be greatly appreciated once I post pictures, explain what I am doing and asking questions from all of you.

Take care.
 
and Welcome to the forum, Yaargh!

Lots of great folks to help you here. Looking forward to some pics.
Salsalady
 
Welcome to the forum from Washington. There are MANY knowledgable people here and a wealth of growing info in the threads. This is my first year as well and I'm having a blast. Best of luck in your growing season this year.
 
Thanks for the hellos.

I'm at work and cannot post pictures but I guess I can describe what I've got as far as a set up goes.

For the DWC system, it's just the basic requirements. A Rubbermaid tote with 6 holes cut for 3.75 net cups, an air pump with air stone and a 250w HPS light source. I am using the General Hydroponic 3 part Flora nutrient system and might use additives like a sugar/carb supplement once I switch to the bloom part and see how it works out.

For soil I have a local Potting soil that includes worm casting, compost mix, fish, etc. And I probably went over kill but I purchased an organic liquid fertilizer from Foxfarm.

I've made a few mistakes and tried two types of germination assistants. Jiffy pellets which have worked out pretty well and the Sure To Grow "grow cubes." I don't know what is wrong with the STG grow cubes but it's a mixed bag of failure and almost survived. Personally, I feel that the grow cubes don't offer enough "give" for a sprouting seedling. However, the "Hail" for filling in the net pots have done exactly as advertised and I cannot point out anything negative.

Other mistakes have been putting a seedling under the HPS light. Never seen a plant shrivel up and die so quick. After that experience I bought some florescent shop lights and have begun using that as a light source for seedlings.

Just last night I had searched the forum on pinching buds to keep the growth steady. My plants in the DWC system have started growing buds and they're maybe only 5-7 inches tall. I hope that by pinching they will concentrate in gaining some height.
 
Quick question. On average, I want to try to keep my plants under a 3-4 feet max. in height. I live in a high rise apartment so containers are my only option. What size pot would be best to limit the the height closest to my goal?

Also, is it possible to put T5 florescent tubes in a fixture that came with T12? Or is the connection/wattage going to be an issue?
 
Yaargh! said:
Quick question. On average, I want to try to keep my plants under 3-4 feet in height. I live in a high rise apartment so containers are my only option. What size pot would be best to limit the the height closest to my goal?
Click to expand...

You can always just chop the tops to keep them the height you want. Otherwise I think it may depend on the kind of pepper, some tend to grow taller than others.
 
Keep forgetting I can always trim.

So should a 1gal pot for a final home be enough?

I was thinking about growing tomatoes/tomatilloes as well and was instructed by the employee of a nursery that a 5 gal pot should be a min. standard for a mature tomato plant. So I'm wondering, for the roots, if a 2.5 or 3 gal pot would be acceptable for the majority of the peppers?
 
Yaargh! said:
Also, is it possible to put T5 florescent tubes in a fixture that came with T12? Or is the connection/wattage going to be an issue?
Click to expand...

No, T5 uses a different fixture.

Yaargh! said:
So I'm wondering, for the roots, if a 2.5 or 3 gal pot would be acceptable for the majority of the peppers?
Click to expand...

They can be grown in a 3 gallon pot, just be prepared to water them more often once they reach maturity.
 
Ok, I promised some pictures.

I first placed the peppers in the DWC tote on March 29th.
Emptying%20out%20Cam%20049.JPG

Here is the growth as of April 12th
Peppers%20002.JPG

8 days later on the 20th.
Peppers%20028.JPG

And here is today.
Peppers%20035.JPG
 
Here's a close up of the stem's

1st the jalapeño
_MG_2960.JPG

2nd the Cayenne
_MG_2963.JPG


The purplish-ness of the stems is normal I assume?
 
ARGGHHH Scrog the wenches!!!!! Oops, sorry about that got a little carried away there.

Yep, purple is no problem at all. Welcome to the site and the wonderful world of face melting. Glad to have you aboard.
 
patrick said:
ARGGHHH Scrog the wenches!!!!! Oops, sorry about that got a little carried away there.

Yep, purple is no problem at all. Welcome to the site and the wonderful world of face melting. Glad to have you aboard.
Click to expand...

Cool Cool, wasn't sure. Other than a spider plant and a potato in 2nd grade I've never grown a plant. Finding this site certainly has opened my eyes beyond that of the basic super market Habanero. I've browsed the web and spotted some sellers that have been discussed on this forum and will be looking to try out some other varieties including some super-hots.
 
Growing certain peppers to 4 feet is actually IMO a lot harder then you would think, specially in containers, but certain people here know how to do it very well
 
Straticus said:
Growing certain peppers to 4 feet is actually IMO a lot harder then you would think, specially in containers, but certain people here know how to do it very well
Click to expand...

When I say 3-4 ft max. height surely I'm being optimistic. I don't want my plants to grow too high as I have limited space on my balcony and in apartment for the peppers. I guess, what I am really asking is to find out what container sizes in gallons offer certain growth limitations in height. Like say a 1gal will primarily limit a plant to grow at a max of 2ft in height? And of course, trimming is also an option but I don't know if trimming and root growth play off each other and how.
 
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