Chillies - growing and overwintering 2017

[Small pumpkin]

S/P any photos yet..

Soon Ms-T ......

[jacks10]

I think they need potting up before the roots get any more entwined. You'll be surprised how quickly they grow once they're in individual pots.

Going to hunt for some pots in shed amongst the summer furniture. Job for the weekend

[burnie]

I see green shoots in the propagator , chillies are sprouting

[Scoot]

I've pricked out some guindillas, sweet peppers and razzamatazz peppers from the propagator and popped them into their own modules over the last few days.

I noticed an orange jalapeno pushing up today in the propagator too.

[Philthy]

Tuesday evening I transferred Espelette, Paper Lantern, Joe's Long, and now both Trinidad strains (Green + Scorpion), from the propagator to my 'nursery' (a platform consisting of extended sill and reflective sides in front of the window of the spare bedroom). The sill now measures roughly 60cm front to back.
I've put the seedlings near to the back rather than close to the glass. This should enable a more stable temperature as the young plants won't get as cold at night pressed up against the window, or dry out so quickly during the day. The reflective surfaces and gentle rotating of the pots should minimise lean. And the low ambient temperature means they'll still grow, but slowly. This is fine, it means no legginess as the natural light isn't as strong as it could be.
In the absence of fluorescent bulbs (for now), I find this method best suits the setup and time of year. Come April those plants will grow more in a fortnight than the previous two months..

[Chris11]

Have done most of my sowing now, so waiting to see what else germinates. I've had another 4 varieties pop up over the last few days, as well as losing another seedling, my Bulgarian Carrot, probably due to lack of light and warmth.

With cold temperatures and no additional lighting, I'm only getting slow growth at this stage. Updated grow list of surviving varieties so far:

Barancio
Burkina Yellow
Cayenne
Cheyenne F1
Congo Trinidad Yellow
Joe's Long Cayenne
Numex Sandia
Numex Twilight x Cayenne F2
Orange Habanero
Piccante Calabrese
Scotch Bonnet MoA Yellow
Serrano
Space HJ10 Afterglow
Thai Orange Large

[Mitzi]

No Bahamian Goat?

[Chris11]

No Bahamian Goat?

Haven't sown any yet, they're going in soon as part of my likely final sowing for the year

[Sappidis]

Just woke up my overwintered chillies, good to see they've all made it! Here is a scotch bonnet that's started to grow. The other is an Aji lemon which looks very similar.

You can't see it in the picture but the shoots are all the way down the stem, should bush out quite likely.

[jackarmy]

Weetabix ?

[Philthy]

Ok despite my post of a couple of days ago, I have now however decided to take the plunge and get some lights... Impatience wins the day!

So.. I want to utilise my whole growing space (platform), which covers an area of 122cm x 58cm.
I have no desire to modify the platform, the room itself is fairly small, and there is no option to use an alternative location (Deano would understand that I'm sure ), so the space would be unsuitable for anything that kicks out a lot of heat in it's running.

Given that, I'm mainly looking at T5 lights, and LEDs, but a CFL light is a consideration also as research tells me they're most effective in areas of 1m x 1m or less (my area is 0.7m sq).

T5 units are a popular choice on this forum and elsewhere, and I can see why.
They're simple to setup and use (just off a standard segmented timer I'm guessing), economical, and give off next to no heat. And as an added bonus if I were to get one the 120cm (4') x 4 tube unit would fit my space literally like a glove!

There are some good offers around at the moment for Full Spectrum LED units:
MarsHydro range look to be getting consistantly good reviews. I'm thinking 150-200w of output would be sufficient for my needs. Bit more pricey initially but I'm sure it'd pay for itself down the line with it's longevity and efficiency.

Couple of factors that I'm wondering about though; with the T5 light (and as several of you guys have demonstrated with pictures), the unit is intended to sit very low over the plants, with only a few centimeters of clearance.. but as no plant will grow at exactly the same rate as it's neighbour, in practice some will be further from the light than others as time goes on - does that matter?
One source reckoned if placed too high above the canopy plants are at risk of getting leggy as they strain to reach the light - that kind of limits what you can grow under a T5, different types of plants I mean.. and what is too high?

On the other hand the LED unit I looked at has a manufacturer's recommended height of 45 - 60cm (other sources stated 15 - 30cm, and 25 - 40cm, quite a range whichever way you look at it).

I don't know what the recommended height for a CFL light is, other than that it is suitable for hanging at a low height (could be or should be)?

One other thing, would it matter that my grow area has the window one side i.e. would I be better blocking that off or would a secondary light source make no difference to the effectiveness of a grow light?

So.. this is where I'm at. Any advice much appreciated, ta

[the big lebowski]

hi philthy, i use 125 whatt cfl lamp and the main reason i use them is they are cheap to buy and cheap to run ,i havent ever used the t5`s so i couldnt give a fair comparison ,you can get the lights quiet close to the plants as they give off little heat ,i`ll try and put some photos up this weekend for you to see ,cheers

[Small pumpkin]

There are some good offers around at the moment for Full Spectrum LED units:
MarsHydro range look to be getting consistantly good reviews. I'm thinking 150-200w of output would be sufficient for my needs. Bit more pricey initially but I'm sure it'd pay for itself down the line with it's longevity and efficiency.

Morning Philthy. I've got one of the marshydro, I think it's brilliant. It doesn't get to hot with its built in fan, and would easily cover your growing space. It's a like on the conspicuous side bright pink! but my chillies are very happy and I don't have a problem living in Area 51!

[Deano's "Diggin It"]

Ya see Pilth, I have varying degrees on grow lights!

I opted for the T5's as they come as one complete unit and as you say are so easy to set up and run on vertually no heat output.

With regards to having to lower them closer to the plants for optimum results, and as you say, no one single plant will grow or behave exactly like any other, get that, so my thinking behind this is the "Grow Box", "Grow Tent" "Grow Cupboard" being either pure matt white painted out on all surfaces, or "Mypexed Out" giving optimum reflection of light in all directions allowing the lights to be hired somewhat, well thats my thinking.

Oh! And regards to the window sil thing, that being your main point of discussion, have very similar ideas in mind, and like yourself am unsure weather having natural light too would actually help! Still working on that one!

[johnjohn]

Morning Philthy. I've got one of the marshydro, I think it's brilliant. It doesn't get to hot with its built in fan, and would easily cover your growing space. It's a like on the conspicuous side bright pink! but my chillies are very happy and I don't have a problem living in Area 51!

Ya see Pilth, I have varying degrees on grow lights!

... so my thinking behind this is the "Grow Box", "Grow Tent" "Grow Cupboard" being either pure matt white painted out on all surfaces, or "Mypexed Out" giving optimum reflection of light in all directions allowing the lights to be hired somewhat, well thats my thinking.

My Mum bought me one of these for Christmas
Secret Jardin DP90 Dark Propagation Cuttings Grow Tent 90X60X90cm Hydroponics | eBay

And the kids got me this
1000W LED Grow Light Full Spectrum Hydro for Plants Veg and Flower Fruit Indoor | eBay

The grow tent keeps out that bright bright light but also keeps every thing contained and can literally be placed anywhere so Mr's JJ doesn't complain about stuff being in the house.

I've got 2 large propagators in the tent at the moment as I only started my chilli's the other day so obviously the light isn't in use just yet.