Hydroponics

I haven't quit on my hydroponic plants, in fact my pepper plant has more peppers on it than any pepper plant I've ever grown and another thing I've noticed is the peppers seem hotter grown by the hydroponic system than in the garden. This plant was grown from some seeds I had laying around so I just threw them in some dirt to see if they would germinate and grow. My best guess is they are Peter Peppers but something happened to the peter part of them, its like they havn't been circumcised yet. I put this plant in the hydroponic bucket in the middle of Sept.when it was about 10 inches tall and when it started getting as big as I wanted it in the hydroponic system I added blooming fertilizer to it to make it start blooming and it went crazy with blooms. 

                               This plant is loaded with peppers and still is getting blooms.

 

 

 This is my light setup I threw together. I've had these lights setting out in the garage for a few months thinking I would build a frame for the lights but hell no I waited till the night that its going to freeze to

throw something together to hook the lights up with. It ain't fancy but it will work until I can figure out where my plants will live for the winter and then make a plan on the light set up. I'll probably go with an 8 bulb T5 system instead of this setup.

 8 bulb T5 system

One thing I like about this 5 gallon bucket set up is the ease of taking indoors in the really cold weather unhook two hoses and take the bucket in and then bring the pump in and hook the two hoses up plug it in and your good to go.

 See that pitiful looking plant in the black bucket That is a tomato plant that has been through hell and back a couple of times. I had 2 big tomato plants in my 18 gallon totes and this limb broke off when I was messing with the damn plant showing it to someone so I stick it in this five gallon hydroponic bucket. This tomato plant started growing and looking great. Then we had some high winds come through blowing like hell, I looked out side and this dang plant was laying out in the yard naked as a jay bird and I think to myself that ain't right so I go put and have a look at it and its broke smooth off at the base. I go and get the roots and stub of this plant out of the 5 gallon bucket it was in and replant it. When you replant these plants they look like hell for about a week until their root system starts kicking in and then they start growing and looking great again,that is what happened to this one, it started looking good again and our first really cold front came through and the weather guys tell me its not going to freeze that night so I just let stay outside. We had a flight to do the next morning so I'm out the door at around 5:30 that morning and what the hell is that on my wind shield, I believe that's a real nice thick coat of ice, them lying bastards I get home and the tips of that poor ole tomato plant are brown, they got frost bitten and looks pretty bad. Just for the heck of it I'm leaving it the bucket and see what happens.