3 ms·

Yea, when I get my own place that is easier for growing (we do a little now but not as much as I would like) I definitely want to grow my own ingredients for ho

by hfourm 9y ago

Yea, when I get my own place that is easier for growing (we do a little now but not as much as I would like) I definitely want to grow my own ingredients for hot sauces/salsas. Do you have any reading or anything you would recommend for getting into that type of thing? I was also interested in the viability of like an indoor greenhouse/hydroponics setup for growing chilis and things.

nathancahill 9y ago
Peppers do well in dry soil, it's not a myth that wet and rain makes peppers less spicy. Peppers also must be pollinated, so I think that's two counts against indoors/hydroponics. However, they thrive in the sun with little water, you can basically set them outside a window and forget about them.
- lightedman 9y ago
  Most peppers will pollinate themselves indoors with a good stiff breeze from a fan. Hydroponics growth and yield is nuts, though. In equivalent containers, a god hydro system wil produce an easy 4x what the soil setup will do. http://i.imgur.com/Axy5nl3.jpg http://i.imgur.com/Axy5nl3.jpg The soil tomato on the left is the mother. The hydro tomato on the right was 5 weeks old (cloned from the plant on the left) and already well over the side of the balcony railing, loaded with tomatoes. (Note the lid had to be tied down to prevent the tomato-heavy plant from pulling the lid off and tumbling to the ground below.)
  - nathancahill 9y ago
    Yeah, you definitely can't argue with hydroponics for yield. But if the goal is spicy hot peppers, I can't see it being the best approach. Good to know about using a strong fan for indoor pollination. Might have been the missing element last time I tried.
    - lightedman 9y ago
      If the goal is spicy hot peppers, you actually want more nitrogen in your fruiting cycle as nitrogen is in fact a key component of capsaicin. Do not reduce its levels. This is the big mistake everyone tends to make. Keep your hydro solution balanced (I run about 13-13-13 with 6.5 of the first 13 (N) being a readily-available nitrate.)
      - nathancahill 9y ago
        Good to know, appreciate the info for sure.
vhost- 9y ago
Grow using the double bucket method. They are easy to move around and don't take up a lot of space. That's what I do now and it's been fairly successful for peppers (super hots) and tomatoes each year.

by hfourm 9y ago

nathancahill 9y ago

Peppers do well in dry soil, it's not a myth that wet and rain makes peppers less spicy. Peppers also must be pollinated, so I think that's two counts against indoors/hydroponics. However, they thrive in the sun with little water, you can basically set them outside a window and forget about them.

lightedman 9y ago
Most peppers will pollinate themselves indoors with a good stiff breeze from a fan. Hydroponics growth and yield is nuts, though. In equivalent containers, a god hydro system wil produce an easy 4x what the soil setup will do. http://i.imgur.com/Axy5nl3.jpg http://i.imgur.com/Axy5nl3.jpg The soil tomato on the left is the mother. The hydro tomato on the right was 5 weeks old (cloned from the plant on the left) and already well over the side of the balcony railing, loaded with tomatoes. (Note the lid had to be tied down to prevent the tomato-heavy plant from pulling the lid off and tumbling to the ground below.)
- nathancahill 9y ago
  Yeah, you definitely can't argue with hydroponics for yield. But if the goal is spicy hot peppers, I can't see it being the best approach. Good to know about using a strong fan for indoor pollination. Might have been the missing element last time I tried.
  - lightedman 9y ago
    If the goal is spicy hot peppers, you actually want more nitrogen in your fruiting cycle as nitrogen is in fact a key component of capsaicin. Do not reduce its levels. This is the big mistake everyone tends to make. Keep your hydro solution balanced (I run about 13-13-13 with 6.5 of the first 13 (N) being a readily-available nitrate.)
    - nathancahill 9y ago
      Good to know, appreciate the info for sure.

vhost- 9y ago

Grow using the double bucket method. They are easy to move around and don't take up a lot of space. That's what I do now and it's been fairly successful for peppers (super hots) and tomatoes each year.