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| While looking for a hobby to do with the kids we decided to give indoor gardening a try. After 2 minutes of giving a bunch of 2 year olds a bag of dirt I quickly realized hydroponics sounds like a better way (hopefully less messy). After speaking with several people I am planning to start out with a static system and attempt to grow peppers and chilies. Other then knowing what i want the specifics of growing hydroponic peppers is slightly eluding me. (I know lots about robots very little about plants) Some of the currents questions i have are, what are the recommended brand and types of nutrients for peppers? what size containers are large enough, what is a respectable supplier for mail order supplies?
thank you all very much for your time. Hopefully i be be able to avoid being responsible for the genocide of the seedling currently growing in the basement.
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Follow-Up Postings:
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| Glad to hear your gonna give it a try. I think you made a good decision on the method as Static is easy and works well. I would suggest using Perlite as a Media, and just for advice I would suggest you not purchase the Miracle Grow brand as they actually add nutrients to it. The nutrients are high in Nitrogen, which peppers do not like. I would also suggest that you may consider growing Bell Peppers as they are easier than hot peppers, although peppers are easy to grow as you said. For nutrients, I would not buy a Grow / Bloom nutrient solution combo. Instead just buy Bloom. I use the General Hydroponics Flora Nova series, but have had good luck with other brands. This year I am growing several hot peppers in the Fox Farms (Organic) Bloom. They are doing pretty good, but I have to pay more attention to the PH of the solution than I would like to. There are several good suppliers online, but I buy all my stuff locally so I cannot make you a recommendation on that. Good luck. |
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- Posted by bobdolelikespeppers (My Page) on Wed, Feb 18, 09 at 17:08
| Mr. Pepper, Thank you for the info! I was perusing Menards today and they had 6in and 8in pots on sale. Which would be the more desirable size? Also on the static drip system what is the cheapest way to limit water flow, standard pvc gate valves or? thanks again! |
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| When you said static, I though you meant like a wick system. In the system I was talking about, you would put saucers under your container, and the Perlite would wick up the nutrients and water to your plants from the saucer. What you are describing is a drip system. You can buy a container pot drip kit at Lowes or Home Depot for about $35. You connect it to a 5/8" garden hose and turn the water valve on. It is up to you in how you do it, but either method works. If you want to try the static wick method, I would suggest buying 2 gallon buckets from Home Depot or Lowes and just using them unless you feel the need for a more "decor" look as it is cheaper. You can then drill holes in the bottom of the buckets and place them onto saucers or plastic containers or bowls or whatever you want. I realize this is less of a fun factor, but it works well, is simple, less to go wrong, and in-expensive. Some folks just buy one large tub (50 gallon) and fill it with Perlite. They then use the lid as the saucer. However if you feel you want something nicer looking, get a pot the size of a 2 - 3 gallon bucket. If you want the drip system, I would just buy the kit as it works nicely (done that myself in the past). It works off of the water pressure in your home. |
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I would suggest a waterfarm, you can find one anywhere from 50-70$ per unit. I am trying to get my growroom ready, Lights are only on for testing, This room is not vented yet and I'm just in the planning stages.  Another version of this method is to just get a 5 gallon bucket and fill a 10" net hydro pot with Hydroton expanded clay (leeca). then all you need to do is install the kit that GENERAL HYDROPONICS SELLS.
Unless you know a lot about plastic I suggest gettin the REAL unit for a few bucks more if you are going to eat anything. Some plastics can leech harmful poisons. FOOD GRADE HDPE would be best. |
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