Most hydroponic nutrients are going to be acidic so they'll be bringing the pH down by themselves.

To get your solution into the ideal pH range for hydroponics (5.5 - 6.5 pH although preferably somewhere between 5.8 - 6.2 pH) you will normally only need to use pH down.

Mixing up pH up might save you a few $ but it could also be unsafe and as well as that you'll have way more pH up than you'll ever need. Imo it's unsafe to mix these chemicals yourself and you won't be using much pH up anyway so just buy a small bottle of it.

pH down is either going to be phosphoric acid or sulfuric acid suspended in water. The pH down I use is 85% phosphoric acid in water which is the same percentage you'll get if you buy phosphoric acid by itself.

The 85% phosphoric acid is VERY strong and you'll need to be very careful with it, it will burn skin or even wood if you spill it.

85% phosphoric acid is also very potent. I usually need 5-10 drops (Somewhere around 0.1 ml - 0.2ml ) to get from 6.9 pH to 6.0 pH.

 

I'd highly recommend buying some hydroponic nutrients instead of miracle grow. A bag of General Hydroponics MaxiBloom will last you a long time. 7 grams mixed into 1 gallon of water will give a gallon of full strength nutrients which has a high enough EC/ppm even for a fully grown plant. I suggest taking a look at this article, taking note of the MaxiBloom reccomendations.

Your plant would at this stage only need 1/4 to 1/2 strength nutes (1/2 at most).

When I was using 7 grams of MaxiBloom to 1 gallon of water and leaving it over night the gallon would go to 5.8 pH overnight by itself, the MaxiBloom has a buffer into it.

The best way to mix it up is to get a small bottle, add the 7 grams of powder then add some very hot (but not boiling water) and then shake it until the powder is dissolved. After that, pour the small bottle of nutrients/water into a gallon jug and then add 1 gallon (3.785 litres) of water.


Sorry for the long post, lol, I'm quite passionate about this topic.

So last year I got a couple T5 lamps and brought in my hab plant (along with a few others) to overwinter. I later acquired more lights so I could start seed, which I love, but there are lots of options. You might also want a heat mat or a space heater and a fan to circulate the air, maybe some liquid nutrients to amend the soil with, but the light is the big issue. Pepper plants are not photoperiodic, but do need some darkness to rest and grow, I found 16 hours on/8 hours off was a good amount for them to flourish. If you down-pot, make sure they don't get too rootbound as this might result in dropping leaves.

That said, I don't recommend overwintering in general and won't be doing it again. Production on non-ornamental/dwarf pepper plants indoors can be tough and I ended up bringing in fungus gnats as well as aphids which needed isolation and treatment and it turned into a whole ordeal. I finally got the plants clean and doing well and then it mysteriously dropped all the leaves and died (probably too rootbound, or root rot). Instead I'd recommend you save some seed and start new plants indoors, in sterile soil, or even better, hydroponically. The seedlings I started indoors got so big by spring that they are now outperfoming the few plants that did successfully survive the overwintering.

Check out this person's LED hydro reaper. Just an idea; taking seed from your most mature habanero pod and starting it in rockwool to grow a new plant, indoors, free from bugs and such, might make for a more pleasant experience! Look into kratky hydroponics for a simple way to get started.

Sorry for the unsolicited advice, but I had a bad experience overwintering and hopefully this helps.

Purchasing just the chip components can be a hassle as you need to buy a power supply, heatsink, and solder them. It can make for a fun DIY project though. I recommend pre-built COB lights like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F24HFDF/

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You can save money by purchasing lights that aren't specifically marketed for plants. They work similarly, as all LEDs are full spectrum. Just pay attention to the K rating - 6500k is optimal for veg growth, and has more blue wavelengths. Personally, these are what I'm using. One light can grow multiple plants: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KFUZ1VC/

A 2-pack of 100W LED floodlights is $56 and combined will work just as well as a $100 grow light... (This is forbidden knowledge)

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Masterblend is fine and can be subbed out for Maxibloom. They're both designed for maximum flowering, which cannabis and tomato growers love. They aren't geared for the veg stage of pepper growth, which is why I add 1/4 tsp of calcium nitrate and 1/8 tsp Epsom salts per gallon of solution. This covers the nutrients that Masterblend lacks, so your plants will definitely love you for it.

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Good luck, fellow hydro grower!

Putting them outside right away can be bad for a few reasons. They’re delicate and sensitive to intense light, changes in temperature, gusting wind, and predators. They do not have the strength or root systems in place yet to recover from any environmental stress. Unless you get very lucky with weather and the cosmos are aligned juuuust right, you might be in for a rough time. Getting leggy is definitely a possibility with them being inside and not having a grow light, but you can always bury the stems pretty deeply when you transplant them and are ready to put them out. Your window isnt ideal, but it’s probably still a better bet at this time. You can also find a pretty cheap grow light option if you have $ 15 to spare. Here’s an entry level fixture for a nice CFL grow bulb. It’s $10 on amazon prime with free shipping. You can also find these at the hardware store, or a discount store like big lots (I got em for 5-8$ there)

https://www.amazon.com/Woods-0169-8-5-Inch-Reflector-150-Watt/dp/B009ONXWC2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1523460361&sr=8-3&keywords=Clip+shop+light&dpID=41EfPZ5XphL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

Simple CFL grow bulbs in the 6500K “daylight” spectrum. 4 pack of bulbs for $15. You can look around for cheaper ones, but just try to find the highest wattage equivalent you can, at 6500K spectrum.

https://www.amazon.com/Philips-433557-100-watt-Equivalent-Bright/dp/B00M6SR1JM/ref=sr_1_4?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1523460444&sr=1-4&keywords=CFL+6500k&dpID=41aqLa5KpiL&preST=_SX342_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

The best pepper book out there right now is Peppers of the Americas. It's seriously amazing. Recipes, extensive history, gallery of different peppers, some growing stuff. It's incredible and the photos are stunning.

I also read Amal Naj's book "Peppers," which was really good, and "Along the Pepper Trails" or something like that. Just starting that one now and it's pretty good so far.

The other book you can get is the Pepper Encyclopedia by Dave DeWitt

how many plants? full mature plants or babies for transplanting? Budget?

HLG quantum boards great. https://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Board-Grow-Bloom-4000K/dp/B076QDKVDZ is good for like 1 full size plant or a few smaller ones, or a few trays of seedlings.

But if you want to get a big boy you can get a 1000W Double ended HPS. https://www.amazon.com/VIVOSUN-Ultrahigh-Reflectivity-3-Mode-Adjust-Reflector/dp/B07MYQFMHW that will light up your whole shed and heat it lol. good for like 4+ big plants or lots of smaller ones or lots of trays of seedlings.

As far as soil. I love Fox Farm Ocean Forrest. A little bit more pricey but the plants love it.

My lighting setup is:

Jump Start 2' T5 Grow Light System (Stand, Fixture & Tube)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0006856EQ

The light setup linked above has the stand and a decent light combined into one. It's a nice easy light setup and it worked for me last year.

I have done a lot of indoor growing both of chilis and of cannabis (and some tropical plants). I’d be interested in seeing pictures of the plants and links to your tent and light to give more specific advice.

Generally, if the plants for in the tent then I wouldn’t advise pruning before moving. You’ll already lose flowers from moving, if you prune them move you’ll probably lose all the flowers and that’s going to make you very sad.

Depending on the light, it might put out enough heat to keep your temps up. Some of the light’s electrical inefficiency is radiated as heat, although with LEDs that amount is relatively low. A heat mat can help warm the soil slightly but isn’t very useful at warming the air.

However, your light will probably be underpowered for this sized tent. Looking at the Mars 300 stats it lists 0.94A at 120v, which means a total 112.8 watts power draw including cooling fan and driver inefficiency. Mars Hydro also doesn’t use the highest quality LEDs, so they won’t even be putting out optimal amounts of photosynthetic light for the limited power being used. That’s not a lot of light for more than one chili, especially if they’re going to be fruiting.

I know you’re using this as a stopgap until they can get back outside, but it wouldn’t take much to really get the most out of this small investment.

I would recommend adding another grow light, preferably one with more than 2 wavelengths of color. When I started out I was using the Viparspectra 300 (basically the same as a mars hydro but with more wavelengths of light). They are cheap and come in a variety of sizes. Here’s their 450 which has an actual draw of around 200w VIPARSPECTRA UL Certified Reflector-Series 450W LED Grow Light Full Spectrum for Indoor Plants Veg and Flower, Has Daisy Chain Function https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015FLSOCE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_xe-BDb1GRVNQA

Then get yourself a couple of fans to keep air moving so you don’t get mold, and maybe look at a small heater for those colder days and nights.

If you have some pictures of your plants please post a link

I'm using this light https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015FLSOCE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I've only been using the VEG option on the light. I went on vacation for 6 days. But I switched the lights to Bloom only before I left. Everything pretty much exploded!! Even my lemon tree popped up and looks good. I just finished topping pretty much everything a few minutes ago. I'm pretty stoked to see the growth.

I have this light: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KZQCQTS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have 5 plants under it that are all doing great. It's covering a 3'x4' area with reflective insulation foam on 3 sides with one 4' side open for easy access (much cheaper than a tent, about $12) and hung about 48" from the floor. None of the plants are too leggy and all are fruiting so it is more than sufficient for an area that size. It isn't fancy; no multiple wavelength settings and doesn't even have an on/off switch. But it is BRIGHT and the plants like it so it's a thumbs up from me.

None of these are super hots so please don't beat me. I came here for pretty much all my pepper growing advice so I figure I'll "give back" by posting my "crop" so far. I'll post everything including today's update in this post and reply to this for future updates unless you'd rather me go ahead and space it out.

These were started from seeds on April 1st. A mixture of normal "hots"(pablano, jalapeno, cayenne, etc) and sweet peppers. here they are on 4/19/2016 right before I thinned them out to 1 seedling per pod.

On 5/2/2016 I transplanted them to solo cups. I kept them indoors for a bit longer before hardening off but I did it rather quickly due to not being able to get them adequate light indoors.

This was taken on 6/6/2016, which was about 1-2 days before I transplanted them to their forever homes.

Here they are today (7/5/2016) which is just a few days shy of 1 month since transplant. I know the spacing/pot size isn't the best but this is my first year attempting growing more than 1 pepper and I am honestly not looking to grow a huge amount of peppers. The ones in the container are planted in a "square foot gardening" approach with each having a 1ft space. The other ones (I have 5 in total) are in 3 gallon pots. Soil mixture in an approximate "mel's mix" and I currently just switched over to maxibloom as my fertilizer. Currently still cutting off buds as I'd like them to get a bit bigger before allowing them to produce(October is first frost so hopefully still have time).

Again, I'm really new to this so I'm all ears to any suggestions, comments, and advice (outside of the spacing, I know they need more than that lol).

Although I haven't bought from these guys this package is kinda a nice bundle of basic starter stuff. I would probably just get the seeds from other vendors at better prices. Another one to consider is [White Hot Peppers] (https://www.whitehotpeppers.com/). Good prices, cheep shipping, and a few mystery freebies tossed in.

You can get some good LED or compact CLF lights for around 75 bucks that will cover 2"x2" space to grow a few plants.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001UV6P9I/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mars-300W-LED-Grow-Light-Full-Spectrum-Hydro-Veg-Flower-Indoor-Plant-Lamp-140W-/291666162702?hash=item43e8a8740e:g:hgQAAOSwMVdYIpHw

I am just getting into the hobby so I don't have any real results, but I posted the same question here a few weeks ago and was recommended this: https://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Board-Grow-Bloom-4000K/dp/B076QDKVDZ?ref_=bl_dp_s_web_18674157011

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I ordered it and like it so far. Very bright, lightweight (I am holding it in place with only a few zip ties), and doesn't get too hot. They also make a bigger one if you're going to have a lot of plants: https://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Board-Grow-Bloom-3000K/dp/B07C59J8L2?ref_=bl_dp_s_web_18674157011

Here is where I bought the reapers from. I actually bought chocolate scorpion and 7 pot yellow seeds from puckerbutt and planted them a few days ago. Pepperlover seems like a great site, so after I see these seeds grow a bit more I will place my next order there. Thank you so much for your help!

You can try bone meal, but the only way to tell if there is a nutrient deficiency is to test the soil. I used this kit and it was pretty simple.
As for pests, there are plenty of sprays available. Regardless of which one you choose, the important part is to be consistent and don't stop when you first see an improvement. There are still eggs that will hatch and start the whole process over again.

That is not a good enough light for growing peppers.

http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-FLCDG125D-Fluorowing-Compact-Fluorescent/dp/B001UV6P9I/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1382155587&sr=8-4&keywords=Grow+light

That would be fine for a plant or two


Pretty much any pepper will gor indoors. Try and avoid thick walled or huge peppers like bells though. Those need a lot of energy to grow. You'll have better lick with smaller pods.

No idea if it's the best, but I just purchased this last weekend after seeing a few recommendations for it in my internet travels.

Peppers of the Americas: The Remarkable Capsicums That Forever Changed Flavor: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0399578927

Are there any you own that you would recommend?

I bought this one recently. No timer, but works great. Good reviews and price.

Presto 06300 Dehydro Electric Food Dehydrator

I use a food processor for flakes, but bought this grinder from Amazon recently for fine grind and it works great for small batches, https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B001C2GWTI/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_N2SwDbYJZF553

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00P7U259C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The reviews are meh, but it looks like customer service does a good job replacing faulty heat mats free of charge to people.

I like the various ones from Taotronics. This one is the latest one they've put out, and is full spectrum, but still a grow light, so it's pink with some ability to see true color instead of just purple.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0748D2SMB/

You're going to be hard pressed to find something you won't need to hang. Don't over think it though, hanging a light is super simple.

I use these tied to a shelving unit. http://www.amazon.com/Grow-Light-Hangers-Adjustable-Hydroponics/dp/B00GJKHY6S

I use a couple lights similar to this one. http://www.amazon.com/Agrobrite-4-Tube-Fixture-Included-Fluorescent/dp/B002JQBQZQ/ref=sr_1_24?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1457030668&sr=1-24&keywords=grow+light

The only reason I went with "grow lights" was mainly due to their size, I have a pretty narrow tent. Otherwise I'd just go piece together something from the hardware store.

These were our set up last year and it worked great.

Going to order the same ones and have double the grow set up this year:

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One of these: $79.99

Roleadro LED Grow Light, Galaxyhydro Series 300W Indoor Plant Grow Lights Full Spectrum with UV&IR for Veg and Flower

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PH1MQV8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Two of these: $69.99

Roleadro Upgrade and Newly Developed LED Grow Light Full Spectrum 2nd Generation Series 300w Plants Light

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HI3AFYM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I bought this one a few years ago and it's still going strong. You could fit 16 cups on it

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P7U259C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_OWEJAbTXMH5TE

If you dont already have one, grab a dehydrator for ~$40 to make some great red pepper flakes!

I went with this light. It is made my the horticulture lighting group. That being said peppers won't grow a lot of peppers indoors so if you have a balcony or something it could be useful to put them outside in the months it won't freeze. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076QDKVDZ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Looks like the ‘300W’ Galaxy Hydro

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PH1MQV8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_KhY2Bb1PGKYJ7

My grow tent

My light

The light is on a 12/12 cycle, veg only. I have two fans: one that circulates air constantly, and another that periodically replaces the air in the tent with fresh air.

It depends on where you live. I live in the south and the humidity levels here makes air drying peppers impossible -- I've tried it and they spoil long before they dry out. If you live in the southwest, though, you can probably get away with doing this.

I use an inexpensive Presto dehydrator. It works well.

This one I believe VIVOSUN Durable Waterproof Seedling Heat Mat Warm Hydroponic Heating Pad 10" x 20.75" MET Standard https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P7U259C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_G2iGAbNX4088J

VIVOSUN 48"x24"x60" and 2 x Roleadro 300w LED Grow Light Full Spectrum Light Fixture

I am doing more of a DWC setup. The tubs are 15 Gal with 2 x airstones and the 5Gal buckets get 1 airstone each.

Could try some MaxiBloom

I use this...
https://www.amazon.com/Presto-06300-Dehydro-Electric-Dehydrator/dp/B008H2OELY/ref=sr_1_4?crid=YXDXDY2ZH3A4&keywords=dehydrator&qid=1556020750&s=gateway&sprefix=dehy%2Caps%2C224&sr=8-4

Hydrofarm FLT24 2-ft/ 4-Tube T5 Commercial System with Bulbs
http://amzn.com/B002JQBQZQ

T5 EnviroGro 4Ft 4 Tube Fixture w/Bulbs-FLT44
http://amzn.com/B005H1C7NA

Depends what spectrum you buy ( seedlings, veg, flower etc. )
I use full spectrum for seedlings and my adult plants and they all grow like mad. I have 3 of these - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PH1MQV8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1