Hydroponic Pepper: Day 40

August 14, 2017 | Article Topics: , ,

It’s been a pretty busy Summer thus far, what with the outdoor peppers and life in general. As a result, this update, which actually started back in late July, took a bit of time to get rolling. A good deal has happened with the hydroponic project since ramping it up forty days ago. Namely, I’ve reduced the number of plants to just a singular Aji Limon — this was in part due to a couple not making it and an outdoor Tequila Sunrise that seems be a green bell pepper.

As you’ll see in the following paragraphs and images, I’ve transferred my remaining pepper plant to a much larger container. I’ll be employing the non-circulating Kratky method for this plant. There was a bit of a slow start after the jump to the new set up, but once things got going and the plant topped, things have really taken off.

Preparing for hydroponic transfer

The first step, taken back in late July, was to get the new reservoir set up. I had an old GNC protein container laying around that easily holds two gallons of water which is serving nicely housing the solution. The water was balanced using PH Down and General Hydroponic’s Flora Series used to set a standard nutrient base — I’ll amp things up a bit in the next week or so to induce further growth.

I had originally planned on transferring the Tequila Sunrise to the bigger container, but when I noticed that the outdoor plant grown from the same seed stock was developing into your standard green bell pepper, I scrapped that plan quickly. Below you can see the Aji Limon in it’s new home.

Preparing for hydroponic transfer

I set up the newly transferred plant with the lighting still 4-6 inches away to promote growth. And in order to avoid algae growth in the white reservoir container, I shrouded it with a barber’s bib that I had from a recently purchased Wahl clipper set — it’s working wonders so far.

Preparing for hydroponic transfer

This next photo is about 12 days after transfer and shows decent growth over that time as the plant took a spell to get accustomed to the hydroponic solution. The seedling never really showed signs of distress, but did take a few days to figure out what to do.

Preparing for hydroponic transfer

The root system of the little plant has been doing quite well. I check it periodically to make sure everything looks as it should. This photo was taken a couple of weeks ago and the amount of root structure has since doubled.

Preparing for hydroponic transfer

About the same time that I took the above photo of the root system, I made the decision to top the plan in an effort to spur on further growth. And man, I’ve got to say it’s done wonders for this Aji Limon. The plant, as you can see by the final photo below, is nice and bushy with a tremendous amount of leaf and side-shoot growth.

Preparing for hydroponic transfer

All in all, the project has been going better than I expected as this is my first venture into hydroponic gardening. I’m hoping everything continues this well over the next few months and I can enjoy fresh peppers when it’s snowing outside.