The 2010 Chilli growing thread - it's scorching!

-Tauren- said:
cool, so you started pretty early then?

i was considering buying a heated propagator today from B&Q, but they wanted 11 quid off me. the standard ones were only 3 quid.

i dont know what im going to do with all the chilli's from my 5 plants :p other than sell them.
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Same here but Ive planted 13 :eek:. I cant bring myself to kill any of them, i wasn't expecting them all to grow if I'm honest.

I think I'll just have to give some plants away after Ive re-potted them.

Thanks for the tip NickK, I'll leave them until i can see the roots starting to show at the sides of the pod.
 
Lol 21! I had issues last year with just three nagas and a few Jalapenos! I gave away two jalapenos and a Naga last year. In the end I dumped the Jalapenos to concentrate on the Nagas.

I'm tempted to give them a boost tomorrow under the lamp as forecast is rain, rain and more rain..
 
I need a lamp (read: lamps, greenhouse, full on shed!) but I might end up slimming them down when they start to grow more. If they all grow, I have about 4 of some of them so might see if I can give away on here... postage might be fun though!

Couldn't have started without your tips though NickK so thanks for all the insight on here!
 
For lamps I just bought a couple of blue spectrum CFLs from ebay for about £12 for both. They are spiral shaped ones, 30W I think. They kick out a fair amount of light, can be run off a timer and don't get hot so you can put them really close to the plants.

+ 2 bulb fittings, a bit of flex and a plug. Sorted
 
not good.. i got home this evening (quickest time i could get in) and my compost in my pots looked rather dry, as in, it was going a lighter brown :( im worried i've killed my plants before they have even had chance to grow. damn. just given them a good helping of water to compensate.
 
monkeyspank said:
For lamps I just bought a couple of blue spectrum CFLs from ebay for about £12 for both. They are spiral shaped ones, 30W I think. They kick out a fair amount of light, can be run off a timer and don't get hot so you can put them really close to the plants.

+ 2 bulb fittings, a bit of flex and a plug. Sorted
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Hmmm...I might have to look into these as my plants are refusing to grow with the 0 sun we have been getting. I was under the impression lighting would cost a fortune to run but 30w sounds to good to be true.
 
No foil as it will make heat spots cos of the creases, what id do is make a reflector out of takeaway lids, u can get a 6 pack from asda for a quid so theres 6 lids to use, great reflector for a quid. ;)

With cfls u can have em about 3-4 inches to the tops of ur plants just stick ur hand under to see if it gets too warm to judge on distance.
 
Mark A said:
Hmmm...I might have to look into these as my plants are refusing to grow with the 0 sun we have been getting. I was under the impression lighting would cost a fortune to run but 30w sounds to good to be true.
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CFLs are amazingly cheap to run for how much light they kick out. Same tech as the 'energy saving' bulbs that you use (about 8w or 11w ones) in normal light fittings. When you think it's only going to me on at most 16 hours a day, it works out quite cheap.

I 'think' the blue spectrum ones are best for chilli plants. AKA daylight bulbs, SAD treatment bulbs etc
 
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dam i remeber the time at uni when this guy from malaysia tricked me, giving me some wierd fruit then told me to try this other one... it turned out to be a scotch bonnet, ive never felt such an explosion in my mouth! and i regular eat vindaloos, and naga currys! lol!

but anyway good luck people in your grows! dam i cant wait til i get my own place and then can join the chilli growing world!
 
I'm interested in these CFL bulbs, rubbish weather in Aberdeen just now! But I must be using the wrong terms on ebay to search for them, as their priced at about £30 or above, help please!
 
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/i.html?_nkw=..._dmpt=UK_Light_Bulbs&_odkw=cfl+100w&_osacat=0

They do get expensive as the watt is higher but the more u get the better ur plant will be, id go for 125w for about 20 quid and a e40 hanger for a few quid if you can if not nothing less than 50 true watt. Dont get them cheap 25w = 100w indecansit (sp) bulbs as there only for rooms not growing.

Somit like this would probably suit u for veg state
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/65w-Blue-Spec...arden_PlantsSeedsBulbs_JN?hash=item2eab0798b3

For flowering stage
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/65w-Red-Spect...arden_PlantsSeedsBulbs_JN?hash=item2c530dacc3

Or buy a dual spectrum one so dont need two.
http://www.basementlighting.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?page=1/PROD/ELC125
 
Gah, Ive just ordered a 45watt before i saw your post :(. I might send an email and see if they will upgrade my order if i paypal a few more £££ or use it as a very bright room light and get a 125w as well :cool::p.
 
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SkeeterUK said:
If its a true 45w grow light and not some 5w cfl = 45w or somit equivalent to normal bulbs then you probs be ok and get a okish grow out of it but just for one maybe 2 plants at a stretch.
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I have 13 on the go :eek:.

I think i might invest in a 125w as well then. The 45 should be OK while they're still small though?

Whats the difference between the SAD/ photography bulbs and the ones for growing? They both appear to be the same colour spectrum. I'm thinking the bulb could come in handy for indoor photography, used with a light box.
 
Not sure about photography bulbs sorry.

If there all clumped together and are tiny i.e seedlings no bigger than 3 inch max each then 45w should be fine for a few weeks. Tbh tho best if u can get the 125w one asap tho 13 plants will be pushing it if you dont get a reflector that can spread the light out to make full use out of it. Also the plants would need to be very close together.

Dont forget to maximise grow lights depending where you have your plants for example some box or somit its best to paint it matt white if possible so the light can reflect back on to your plants increasing the efficiency of your grow light otherwise your wasting a lot of light. And to avoid light leaks as the dark periods needs complete darkness for the roots to develop as intended.
 
One way to use the bulbs to minimise the electricity bill is to only use it when the day is grey or to extend the daylight hours. Both will mean moving the plant (assuming you don't want the light on your windowsill).

I found my nagas needed a good 8 hours of darkness during which they'd really put on a growing spurt. If I tried 24/7 lighting they didn't grow as well.
 
Kept saying I would put some pictures up so here they are.









I've been fairly please with the results so far, although the kit with the coconut pots hasn't really impressed me too much. Can anyone recommend me a liquid fertiliser at all?
 
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