i just know abt the pH it should range between 5.5 to 7 with 6.5 being ideal.
but we need a good source to know about the ppm for diff plants. I will let u know if i passed by any info.

i just read on another forum that capsicum should be 6.0-6.5pH and 1260-1540PPM. not sure if this is correct or not so im looking for feedback.

i download guidelines from galuku.net regarding feeding program for various plants.

if your system is run-to-waste, or even if not, why not try downloading their pdf files.

@ kuyaig
Have they got a feeding program for hot peppers?
I couldn't find it so far and I doubt they have any.

Nota bene: DO NOT confuse formulas or programs for Bell Peppers with those of HOT peppers. Often the rather high feeding rates "recommended" for BELL PEPPERS are wrongly transferred to different hot pepper varieties. What may be Ok here for some, will not be for others. Also, I've seen "pepper formulas" with as much as 300 ppm of Nitrogen, which is simply absurd. Last but not least: do not necessarily trust any manufacturers recommendations for nutrient strength,- even though they can be considered as an authority, they will not very likely recommend any sufficient or economic program. ;-)

I grew small sweet peppers last year. my nutrients generally ran along the lines of about 500-600ppm.
My pH ran about6.0-6.5
Lucas recommendations don't seem bad, though my known calcium was only 100 ppm, but then I use well water, so there may be some in it too.
My reservoir was about 30L (approx 8 gallons) and I genrally only had to top it off once or twice between changes every 2-3 weeks. 2 weeks being the goal, 3 often being reality.

Don't worry about the calcium difference here grizzman, in most cases some will anyway be provided by tap or well, source water (as you mentioned). The calcium content (in my example) is provided by, respectively is a result of the use of calcium nitrate anyway. That much isn't actually needed. All depends on the components/composition that is used to provide N in the formula. But then again the Ca content plays for the PH. In case it's only 100-120, that should be fine too.

Also true what you said about the reality of the actual frequency of the nutrient changes ;-)
I guess that some people will never know how long nutrients can actually last, because they go too much by the book and never try to extend.

Btw: your 500-600 ppm (assuming your conversion is 500 for 1mS/cm) may be a bit week for Jalapeños though. Those could use somewhat more I guess, especially when they grow fast, big and are loaded. If I remember well your peppers (in those "summer NFTs") were of a smaller kind, didn't grow that huge actually and didn't carry tons either. Compared with what is possible with 'Jalas' I mean, so no offense intended.

@lucas,

i don't think they have. i have tried searching from their site but to no avail.

i have one of those ecostick dipstick things with the LEDs on them which have readings for 'ppm ec x 700' and 'cf' and 'ec' and 'ppm ec x 500'.

what is the difference between 'ec x 700' and 'ec x 500'?
im guessing that the ec data i see everywhere is based on 'ec x 700'?

what kind of make do you have? 'ec x 700' and 'ec x 500' are the conversion factors some manufacturers use to convert from ec to ppm. ppm data should specify what conversion was used since it's not standardised. hopefully this chart will provide clarification:

pepperot,

i have one of those cheapies from china that cost me like $30. it says CF ECOstick Nutrient Meter on it.

actually it looks exactly like this...

@ chinamon,

Best is to stick with EC, unless you know what conversion rate was used with (measured or total recommended) ppm. If you want to use the concentrations I gave in mS/cm for EC, simply use the EC scale on your meter and forget about the rest.

And most importantly: do not confuse ppm content of single elements as shown before in that formula with total ppm (as a result of a measurement). They have not much in common. Or more precisely: the total of the elemental ppm in a formula differs between 10 and 15 % when converting EC mS/cm to 500 ppm conversion rate.

It's confusing I know - and to avoid any misinterpretation, stick with EC and mS/cm for measuring your nutrient concentration, and with ppm for the elemental content of N,P,K, Ca, Mg etc.

Do not fall for any tables and graphs, that show total concentration in ppm of various plants (without specifying ppm conversion rate). They simply make no sense and actually should be banned from the net.

lucas,

well im going to go by the numbers found on http://www.gthydro.com/vegetables.html which says capsicum is 18-22cF so im going to use cF on my dipstick.

urbangardenfarmer,

to attach an image you use the img tag used in html. for example
just remove the % symbol (i had to insert it there so you can see the actual code) and replace the URL with the URL of your choice.

chinamon, you will notice that 18-22cf equals 1.8-2.2 EC. the two scales have a 10 factor difference.
Also, to post html code (without it executing) enclose it in tag. remember to close it too!

hmm let me try that tag
{{gwi:1000116}}

wow very nice. thanks!

Sorry here's the chart I tried to post earlier:

{{gwi:1000117}}

Your system looks nice. What are the walls made of and/or how did you waterproof it?
I'm not sure why the image didn't show?!?

Thanks grizzman. The walls and grow bed are made of plywood with a sheet of rubber/fiberglass material for waterproofing. I bought it at home depot for $32 per sheet(4'x8'). I think it's used as a shower board or for commercial bathroom walls. I sealed the cracks with a waterproof silicon(cross your fingers). The first grow bed I built for under $100. The pepper grow bed(4'x7')with reservoir cost about $200. That's a pretty good deal compared to the alternative. You can check out the build of my first grow bed at this link. It gives you a better look at the materials used.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to build a 3'x6' Grow Bed

That's cool. I was gonna ask about the youtube video. Pretty much what I expected from your parts picture.
FRP stands for fiber reinforced plastic.
I think you method of presenting might work better on the instructables website though. I was getting a bit of lag between each picture loading on youtube.
That's very similar to how I'm going to grow mine. only real difference is:
I make my frames 30"X48" (easier to get to the middle)and I use 1x4's vs 2x4's and 4x4's
I used cedar picket-fence planks for the bottom and sides
I'm gonna waterproof it with a 6mil plastic liner.
I'm planning on getting started this weekend. I'll try to take some pictures as I go along.

I have been growing Hot Peppers Hyrdoponically for about 5 years now. I still do not consider myself an expert. I have however been very successfull at growing all of the Hot Pepper varieties that I have tried.

What I do know is that Hot Pepper Plants do not like Nitrogen, and they seem to do well with an EC of about .75 at adulthood.

I start my plants out with .20 EC, and then each two weeks or so bump them up about .05 EC.

I would agree with the posts about not listening to high EC or PPM levels in regards to Peppers as most are for Bell Peppers, which can take 2X the EC of Hot Peppers.

I target a PH of 6.0. In early growing stages the PH of my Nutirent Solution goes up naturally over time. When the plant gets older, the opposite happens, and PH goes down.

So in the early stages I set up my Solution really weak at about .20 and the PH at 5.8. Since I know its going to go up, I get more time before I need to adjust the solution.

Regardless of where my EC is, every 5 days min, I change my solution. This seems to make a big difference when the plants are in the early stages versus waiting a week or so.

I only use the 3-Part BLOOM Nutrient Solution. I never use GROW as it has too much Nitrogen.

Also, when the plants are flowing and fruting heavily, the plants will use up 5-gallons of Nutrient Mix at .75 EC.

Very interesting technique mrpepper - but unconventional indeed.
Can you explain how you manage (what toolset you use) to increase your EC by only .05 mS/cm (EC) each two weeks (if that is what you meant)?
I am growing most peppers in about 3 months from seed to harvest, that would mean a total increase of 0.25 only ;-)

I believe that there is a multitude of distinct (sometimes uncommon) strategies that actually work. In fact many work, because plants are very adaptable . But if all these different approaches are just interchangeable as in "any of them may work, as it works for me", why not choose the simplest, easiest and most economic of them?

I do not agree on the following: "Hot Pepper Plants do not like Nitrogen".
Every plant likes and needs nitrogen, so do peppers (bell, wild or semi domesticated) as well. But in case you feed nitrogen in excess, they may have too much vegetative growth, will tend to be week in stems, bloom late, drop blossoms or pods, or get even prone to fungus and parasites. In a later stage they even need some more for fruit building (depending on pod size). Btw: a study about Jalapeño pepepers has even shown, that Nitrogen content of a nutrient solution is relevant for the pungency of the pods!

I have some trouble recognizing the logic behind this: "every 5 days min, I change my solution. This seems to make a big difference when the plants are in the early stages versus waiting a week or so."
It might be related to your PH. Because if you change the nutrients, your PH will be reset as well. Correcting the PH, instead of changing the nutrients that early would be the more conventional and certainly more economic way to proceed. UNLESS you only use a very small quantity, - in later case, this strategy obviously makes sense and isn't a uncommon thing at all.
But if you use a decent quantity of nutrient at an early stage, plants (peppers or else) do not actually draw much nutrients from that stock- hence I don't see what a more frequent nutrient replacement in an early growth stage may actually change or improve to the better.

As for growing seedlings in 0.2 mS/cm, it's unconventional as well from my perspective. Simply because most waters used for hydroponics have already got 0.2-0.4 mS/cm if not more. Allthough the concentration to use with seedlings is actually controversial and still a kinda disputed matter. Here also, very different strategies seem to work if you believe what people regularly report or recommend on several forums (or websites). As for my personal experience with peppers (or any other plants), anything under 0.5 mS/cm always delays both, shot- and root growth. But what may be true in Paris, may not be the case in Sevastopol ;-)

The water you use for growing seedlings is essential and has to be the key factor with four your strategy anyway. The very distinct water quality (with a multitude of mineral content and concentration) that is used by various folks is clearly underestimated with hydroponics and mostly when it turns around germination and seedlings.

Cheers and good hunt for more rare peppers ;-)
Lucas

Here's the nutrient conversion chart:

What's the average life span for an indoor pepper plant?

@urbangardenfarmer
"What's the average life span for an indoor pepper plant?
I guess there is no such thing as an "AVERAGE" LIFESPAN". As you can have them for years if partially held outdoors (or not)!
I know of people who hibernate their hot pepper plants for 1,2 or more years by cutting them back and holding them at a cool place. I don't need that as I am located in the tropics.

The actual life span also depends on the kind, the robustness etc. Capsicum Frutescens for example can get very old and grow very huge - but it mostly depends on your own skills to keep them healthy and strong over time.

Never heard about Bonchis? These are "bonsai chili" plants that are treated and cultivated like other bonsai trees and can last for many for years.

In many cases (in moderate climate) though, it's just one season which often is between 5 and 9 month from seed to casualty. ;-)

lucas formulas; I think, you put entirely too much thought behind what I wrote.

If you use BLOOM formula, in the early growth stages, changing the solution often helps the plant.

Starting low .20 EC, then upping the solution goes in hand with many things. The PH is something that is checked and changed 2 times a day if needed. I start my plants in Hydro, I do not transplant, so it takes me about 4 months from birth to death. Sometimes I get over 6 months out of a plant before I start over on that plant.

My water from the tap is .05. Upping it to .20 means I am only adding .15 EC.

Thanks lucas. Do you have a website or link to see some pics of your hydroponic systems? I would love to see what your working with over there in the tropics :~)

Right, I guess I owe you some pics. But not too many because it would be off topic wouldn't it? ;-)
But I'll anyway put these in the context: Here you can see various hot peppers together under PH 6.1-6.4 random fluctuation. The EC is 1.6-1.8 and because of the reservoir with only 60 Liter, some 8-10 Liter need to be replaced daily. The hygienic conditions are rather poor and far from sterile, I let microorganism, algae and stuff some room here.

The concept here (with one of numerous setups I run) is low tech, low maintenance, small setup and huge plants and good harvest on smallest room. Partially shady but good lateral and indirect light.

Varieties in this setup are from left: local C. Frutescens called Kee Noo, then Coração de Galinha that comes as C. baccatum var. pendulum (Brazil), Bodé Roxa, a even more rare semi-domesticated C. chinense jacquin., and finally some Tepin. PS: last picture with flower is the indeed very rare, actually beautiful but hot like hell Bodé Roxa ;-)

Enjoy ;-)

Nice! Man those are some small peppers. They should be called fire balls:~)I like all the different, rare varieties. I just ordered some bird peppers from Africa. My brother was over there for a couple years and he said they were incredibly tasty and hot.

I know this is an old thread but I have started my first homemade hydroponic this year and I have used the lucas formula, up to now the reults are excellent. The plants have grown very large and are now flowering like mad, however they seem to be sticking at the flowering stage and not going to fruit.
lucas_formulas please could you tell me if you change the nutrient formula at the flower stage.