hydroponics for peppers

[Stevetoad]

Im thinking of setting up a hydroponic system for growing peppers. does anyone know if peppers will respond well to a controled set up like this? im trying to maximize the heat. so im looking for a way to get them to produce the maximum amount of capsaicin. i hear that stressing the plant can cause this effect too. i have a bird eye pepper that was half eaten by a gopher and the peppers are way hotter than normal so it seems to be true. any info would be great on hydroponic growing or soil growing that works for you. right now im growing maruga scorpions, 4 kinds of ghosts, butch T, naga vipers, 7pot, black cobra,bird eye, and a few hybrids.

(p.s i have no interest in growing anything except peppers. it seems that as soon as you say hydroponics everyone assumes your growing one type of plant.)

[MattyB]

; o

[rprimbs]

I would think that the simple "Dutch bucket" method would be the way to go.

But it still seems like a lot of work.

I am seriously considering trying a hydroponic setup to grow strawberries. Because of the problems that strawberries have with fungus in the soil. It seems like the only potting mix they will tolerate is an "acid loving" one. And even then they need more fertilizer. But the setups do look a little expensive... If I do one I will probably try an a-frame.

[rprimbs]

Or I might try a simpler setup like this one.

[rprimbs]

Sorry I forgot to add that it is generally believed that a hotter growing environment will give hotter peppers, while a cooler growing environment will give fuller flavored peppers.

[Stevetoad]

Maybe ill make a small greenhouse then. It's hot as hell in santee though.

[SanDimas]

Steve,

Have you checked other website forums?

There is a hydroponics chat room as well.

You must have to be a real strawberry or pepper afficionado

to spend that much money and trouble setting up hydroponics.

Cheers.

[rprimbs]

  On 7/29/2013 at 1:44 AM, SanDimas said:

Steve,

Have you checked other website forums?

There is a hydroponics chat room as well.

You must have to be a real strawberry or pepper afficionado

to spend that much money and trouble setting up hydroponics.

Cheers.

You definitely don't do it to save money on strawberries. I think that it's basically something that a garden nut does because it is "cool"!

[Stevetoad]

  On 7/29/2013 at 2:12 AM, rprimbs said:

  On 7/29/2013 at 1:44 AM, SanDimas said:

Steve,

Have you checked other website forums?

There is a hydroponics chat room as well.

You must have to be a real strawberry or pepper afficionado

to spend that much money and trouble setting up hydroponics.

Cheers.

You definitely don't do it to save money on strawberries. I think that it's basically something that a garden nut does because it is "cool"!

Agreed. The peppers I grow you can't find for sale so I have to grow them. My buddy works at a hydro shop so he will give me a deal. He showed me how to build my own set up too but the lights are crazy expensive so I might try it outdoors first.

[rprimbs]

  On 7/29/2013 at 3:52 AM, Stevetoad said:

  On 7/29/2013 at 2:12 AM, rprimbs said:

  On 7/29/2013 at 1:44 AM, SanDimas said:

Steve,

Have you checked other website forums?

There is a hydroponics chat room as well.

You must have to be a real strawberry or pepper afficionado

to spend that much money and trouble setting up hydroponics.

Cheers.

You definitely don't do it to save money on strawberries. I think that it's basically something that a garden nut does because it is "cool"!

Agreed. The peppers I grow you can't find for sale so I have to grow them. My buddy works at a hydro shop so he will give me a deal. He showed me how to build my own set up too but the lights are crazy expensive so I might try it outdoors first.

I'd be careful about growing anything indoors under lights. I know a guy who wasn't growing anything illegal -- but got raided anyway. I thought it was pretty funny, but he sure didn't. He was pretty ticked off..

[Stevetoad]

  On 7/29/2013 at 4:10 AM, rprimbs said:

  On 7/29/2013 at 3:52 AM, Stevetoad said:

  On 7/29/2013 at 2:12 AM, rprimbs said:

  On 7/29/2013 at 1:44 AM, SanDimas said:

Steve,

Have you checked other website forums?

There is a hydroponics chat room as well.

You must have to be a real strawberry or pepper afficionado

to spend that much money and trouble setting up hydroponics.

Cheers.

You definitely don't do it to save money on strawberries. I think that it's basically something that a garden nut does because it is "cool"!

Agreed. The peppers I grow you can't find for sale so I have to grow them. My buddy works at a hydro shop so he will give me a deal. He showed me how to build my own set up too but the lights are crazy expensive so I might try it outdoors first.

I'd be careful about growing anything indoors under lights. I know a guy who wasn't growing anything illegal -- but got raided anyway. I thought it was pretty funny, but he sure didn't. He was pretty ticked off..

Haha. I can imagine if I got raided. "No drugs sarg! He's just a geek"

[cycadjungle]

Hot peppers will grow just fine using hydroponics, but hydroponics are used to make plants grow fast and grow a lot more vegetables in the same amount of area. Using a system like this, however, may be detrimental on trying to grow them a certain way to make them hotter.

One of the main ways to make your pepeprs hotter, is to withold just enough water so that the leaves droop just a bit, but not enough that you drop flowers or lower production. If your trying for world record heat, you would want to grow the plant to be big first, start a pile of peppers on the plant, and once they are set, withold the water then, just for that one batch of peppers that would currently be on that plant. Its a little hard to do this using a hydroponic set up.

Other ways you CAN do, is like someone else just said. The hottest peppers I produce each year are the ones I pick in late July and late August. The hotter it is outside (to a point), the hotter the peppers. I make pepper powder that I keep and use all year. The stuff I save for myself always comes from the August peppers and I make that last until the next August. If you have a greenhouse or temporary greenhouse, you can keep the temps up for a longer period of time as opposed to just waiting for ambient weather temps.

Oh yea, afer posting I just saw what you wrote above, who says you can't buy superhots?

http://seriouslyhotpeppers.com/FreshPeppers.html

Tom

[Stevetoad]

  On 7/29/2013 at 7:48 PM, cycadjungle said:

Hot peppers will grow just fine using hydroponics, but hydroponics are used to make plants grow fast and grow a lot more vegetables in the same amount of area. Using a system like this, however, may be detrimental on trying to grow them a certain way to make them hotter.

One of the main ways to make your pepeprs hotter, is to withold just enough water so that the leaves droop just a bit, but not enough that you drop flowers or lower production. If your trying for world record heat, you would want to grow the plant to be big first, start a pile of peppers on the plant, and once they are set, withold the water then, just for that one batch of peppers that would currently be on that plant. Its a little hard to do this using a hydroponic set up.

Other ways you CAN do, is like someone else just said. The hottest peppers I produce each year are the ones I pick in late July and late August. The hotter it is outside (to a point), the hotter the peppers. I make pepper powder that I keep and use all year. The stuff I save for myself always comes from the August peppers and I make that last until the next August. If you have a greenhouse or temporary greenhouse, you can keep the temps up for a longer period of time as opposed to just waiting for ambient weather temps.

Oh yea, afer posting I just saw what you wrote above, who says you can't buy superhots?

http://seriouslyhotpeppers.com/FreshPeppers.html

Tom

thanks for the info Tom. i think ill take your advice and keep them in soil and withhold water. i know you can order them online but im always a bit skeptical.

[Stevetoad]

Here are my next batch of yellow ghosts. It's been hot so I hope they turn out good.

[Funkthulhu]

  On 7/29/2013 at 9:18 PM, Stevetoad said:

Here are my next batch of yellow ghosts. It's been hot so I hope they turn out good.image.jpg

Those look dangerous just hanging on the vine. . . I could guess from the name, but what do they look like when they're completely ripe?

[cycadjungle]

What you want is someone that picks the peppers when the order comes in and down't let them sit around wating to be ordered. Priority mail does just fine. I've sent plentyof boxes to Washington, Oregon, and California and the pepeprs aren't getting mushy or anything. Buying a mixed box is good because you get to try a bunch of different kinds without having to spend a pile of money, and that way, you get to try them all and see what you like the best. Then grow what you like instead of waiting 4 months just to find that you don't like the peppers. For those late in the season up north, you can also buy plants that are already close to flowering size and will get fresh peppers about 2 months after you set your first flower.

[KennyRE317]

I've grown using a hydroponic and an aquaponic system and as long as you have a smaller "farm" it's not that expensive to run since you don't need that many lights. building the setup to hold all your plants isn't that hard as long as you grasp the concept but figuring out which system works best for you is going to require the most research.