Seeds are truly magical. They are organic logic bombs, containing everything a plant needs to grow and reproduce.  Although a large part of indoor plant propagation focuses on cloning, another part includes growing plants from seeds. And this is where indoor gardening takes on a nice spin, because a grower can cultivate plants that are as unique as the parent plants.

Seeds can be germinated in many different substrates. Each medium has particular qualities that will ether enable or hinder adequate germination and growth, and so growers must familiarize themselves with their medium of choice in order to ensure high germination and seedling success rates. Although many choose to germinate seeds in potting soil, I find most to be too nutrient rich and/or too dense for seedlings. The medium of choice for seedling propagation must be light, porous, inert (or with a low nutrient content), and must provide a root zone with a well-balanced air-to-water ratio.

Coco coir – Coco coir is my favorite substrate when growing from seed. Roots seem to go crazy in coco! It can be used to germinate seeds in small planters, trays, or cups. Coir provides a good air-to-water ratio and is less likely to waterlog than peat based potting soils. I would, however, shake off any excess water from planters or cells before planting seeds in coco.

Rockwool cubes – Rock wool cubes provide an excellent foundation for growers who plan to grow their plants in rock wool blocks or slabs. They are also widely used for plants that will later be transplanted in media such as LECA (clay pebbles), coco chips, or silica rocks. It is a neutral substrate (pH 7), so requires pre-buffering in water with a pH of 5.5 before use. Rock wool cubes need to be presoaked and the excess water expelled, either by shaking off the cubes or by placing several of them in a mesh bag and gently swinging. Cubes must feel light yet moist. This moisture ratio should be maintained until a plant germinates and its roots crowd the cube. The cube’s hole can be widened using a variety of ‘dibbers’, make sure whatever you use is clean and sharp (toothpick, nail, pen etc).

Peat-based plugs and polyethylene-based “rooter” cubes (Rapid Rooter / Sure to Grow cubes) – Suitable for soil, soilless, and hydroponic culture, they each retain quite a bit of water. The peat-based plugs and Sure to Grow cubes should be presoaked and their excess water gently squeezed out until the plugs are moist, but not soaking wet. Their holes can be widened with some light scissor work.

Peat/coir pellets (Jiffy pellets) – These are compressed disks of peat or coir that expand when soaked in water. Encased in a net sheath, each disk expands to form a small cylindrical plug in which a seed can be planted. After presoaking, a plug should be lightly squeezed until water ceases to run out. The peat or coir in a plug is loose, so it’s possible to make a hole, plant a seed and fill the hole back in. These are great for soil or coco growers, are very easy to use and ‘beginner friendly’.

Steady Gro and Oasis cubes – These two substrates are similar in structure: spongy and brittle. Oasis, however, are usually preferred for plants that will be grown in soil later. Both must be presoaked lightly, as shaking off the excess water will result in the inevitable breaking of the whole sheet, so treat gently and be light on the watering. “Light yet moist” is the key.

Soilless mixes (perlite / peat and perlite / vermiculite) – These mixes, typically at a 50-50 ratio, are excellent for germinating seeds and raising seedlings, because they are porous, retain water, provide good root zone aeration, and are inert. Watch the pH of peat-based soilless mixes, though, for they can sometimes be too acidic.

Paper towel – I like this method because it enables me to germinate the seeds first and then transfer them onto any of the starter grow media previously mentioned. It prevents having to throw away a cube in which a dud seed rotted (thus contaminating the cube and rendering it useless for propagation). When seeds are germinated in paper towel, their progress can be checked with minimal disturbance and either sterile or selectively-inoculated conditions can be maintained with ease. Paper towel is, by design, quite absorbent. Make sure excess water is drained before germinating your seeds.

Handling seeds

Seeds should be stored in a cool, dry area, preferably in a sealed environment. Many growers prefer to either refrigerate or freeze their seeds in order to preserve them until they decide to use them. Once you decide to germinate plants from seed, make sure the seeds are viable by inspecting them individually. Check for dried up, cracked, discolored, diseased or deformed seeds and discard them. If your seed packet looks moldy, discard it!

Presoaking

Many seeds have such a hard outer shell that they may benefit from presoaking in either plain, filtered water or a mild solution containing humates, B-1 vitamin, or kelp (which is rich in naturally-occurring growth hormones). Seed starting formulations or additives containing these three basic ingredients are easy to find in your local grow store and can be used to make a presoak solution. Soaking times vary depending on the thickness of a pericarp, or outer shell, and may last from a few minutes to a few days. Over-soaking can lead to macerated and rotted seeds. An alternative to presoaking the individual seeds is to simply add the seed-starting additive to the water used to soak the medium where the seeds will germinate.

Scarifying

Some seeds need to undergo scarifying. This can be achieved by two methods, depending on the plant’s habit: erosion of the pericarp or refrigeration. Erosion simulates the passing of a seed through an animal’s gut, where the digestive enzymes soften a pericarp enough for a seed to be able to germinate. Refrigerating seeds for a specific period of time simulates winter, which in many species is necessary for the seed to germinate. Check the Internet—most land-grant universities offer websites full of detailed information on the grow habits and proper cultivation techniques of almost every plant you can imagine. With a little digging, you will be able to determine which varieties benefit from which scarifying method.

Planting depth

Plant your seeds as deep as the seed is long. For example, if your seeds are 5 mm long, plant them 5 mm deep. When germinating in cubes or plugs, make sure that the hole is of adequate depth. A dibber can be used to make planting holes in loose or soilless substrate.

Orientation

Some seeds need to be planted upright because the taproot emerges from the bottom of the seed; others need to be planted sideways because the radicle (emerging tap root) tends to do a twist and a turn before it begins to grow in a downward habit. When planting larger, flat seeds like pumpkin and squash, it’s best to plant them on their thin side rather than flat side down. This helps to avoid water or wet growing media collecting on the seed surface. When in doubt, I plant my seeds on their narrow side at a 45⁰ angle. Works like a charm.

Lighting

Most seeds require no light to germinate. A plant’s light intensity requirements at this early stage are not that high, so putting a high intensity discharge (HID) lamp over your newly sprouted newborns is not a good idea. T-5 fluorescent lamps are excellent for seed propagation; one or two per seedling tray should suffice. LED lights are still in their infancy, so I cannot comment or recommend their suitability for propagation. Always wait until the plants pass the seedling stage and begin true vegetative growth before placing them under HIDs.

Nutrition

Seedlings require no food! Nature has invested them with cotyledons (baby leaves) rich in carbohydrates, hormones, and amino acids. It’s good practice to refrain from adding nutrients to your seedlings’ water until at least the appearance of the first set of true leaves. Once a first leaf pair begins to grow, a plant enters the seedling stage. As the weeks go by, increase your nutrient concentration gradually, starting with one fourth (¼) the recommended strength at the beginning of the seedling stage, not going beyond 375 ppm (0.5 NaCl scale), and using good filtered water. Increase the concentration by an additional ¼ every 2–4 weeks, depending on the length of your plant’s vegetative period. In indoor gardening we tend to do things rather quickly, so a ¼ increase in nutrient strength every 2 weeks will provide most indoor growers with an acceptable vegetative time frame, which will produce plants that are mature enough for reproduction, but compact enough to manage indoors.

Beneficial biology

Many people are recommending the introduction of a broad range of beneficial microbes into their propagation substrates. Some even recommend sprinkling seeds and clone tips in powdered inoculants or soaking them in microbial teas. My personal experience with this practice has been mixed, with some failures in seed germination and cloning. Then it dawned on me that I was introducing too many of these organisms, with their broad spectrum of activity, too early in the game. The seedling stage is not the time to put plants into overdrive—they simply are too young. Compost Tea’s and other microbial inoculants may be used during germination, but there are so many products on the market, that you have to be sure to use a high-quality, effective one that has been prepared correctly.  Tea extracts used for propagation should be substantially diluted and applied only once before transplantation. Wait until your plants have established root zones in the late stages of propagation, or in the early vegetative stages, before bombarding a substrate with beneficial biology. There are some specific microbial products that can help with seedling germination and propagation; just be aware that it’s not black and white when it comes to beneficial biology and propagation.

Temperature

Every seed species has an optimal temperature range for germination. Land-Grant university websites are a good source for information regarding your seed’s optimal germination temperature range. A seedling tray heat mat and a thermostat will ensure that your seedlings bask in the warmth of mild, bottom heat. Ensuring even temperatures increases homogenous germination and can help prevent root borne diseases. It also maintains optimal metabolism and enzymatic function at the root zone, which promotes overall plant growth.

Moisture

What is the easiest way to kill a seedling? By overwatering it! Excess moisture in the root zone accounts for most seed and seedling failures. An easy way to determine if your seedlings need watering is to fill a planter of the same size as your seedlings’ with the same mixture of substrate. Irrigate and shake off excess water. Compare the weight of the “control” container with your seedlings’. If your seedling container feels less than half the weight of the control planter, you should irrigate. If you want to get technical, you could use a scale to weigh your planters and irrigate once you notice that the seedlings’ planter weighs 75% less than the control planter. It’s better than sticking your finger and disturbing newly-formed anchor roots. This method can also be used with seedlings grown in cubes and plugs.

Relative humidity and propagators

Seedlings need a high relative humidity in order to thrive. Cold drafts, in particular, can shock or even kill days-old seedlings surprisingly quickly. However, too much humidity may aid the growth of opportunistic pathogens that can destroy your younglings even before they peek out of their shell. Covering your seedling tray with a propagating dome is a good way to prevent abrupt changes in temperature and humidity. Once seeds have germinated and established, the dome can be raised or vented, gradually over a few days. This will get the seedlings acclimatized to drier air; it’s a process known as ‘hardening-off’, which prepares them for the vegetative growth stage.

Do-it-yourself mini propagator

Put one or a few seeded planters (or cubes) in a zip-top, clear plastic bag. Make sure the bag is large enough to allow some room for air. Do not vacuum-seal it; rather, have it hold some air before closing and put it in your propagation area under fluorescent lights. Check the bag daily and tap-off any excess moisture that may form inside the bag. Once the seeds begin to germinate, begin opening the bag gradually as explained previously.

From seedling to early vegetative

Defining the line between the seedling and vegetative stage is a bone of contention among growers. Let us simplify things: observe your seedlings. A few clues will tell you when your plant is ready. Many plant species begin their vegetative period once the first set of true leaves is fully developed and a second node begins to open. The stem’s girth and rigidity will also increase. Yet the definitive sign of entering the vegetative stage is the aging of the cotyledons (or “baby leaves”). Once a plant has used up the food packets contained in the cotyledons, it is ready to feed from outside sources. The seedling has then grown to a young vegetative plant, and it is ready for you to initiate a nutrient feeding program until the root mass is large enough to transplant into soil or a soilless mix.

Step-by-step seed germination using the paper towel method

1. Gather your materials. You will need: a plastic tray with lid (I’m using a Chinese takeout container), paper towel, seeds, & water.
2. Soak your seeds.
3. Fold paper towel pieces and place in the plastic tray. Moisten the paper towel with water. Do not overwater the paper towel! Use a fine-mist nozzle spray bottle, if possible, to thoroughly moisten all sides of the paper towel sheets. Drain off excess water.
4. Gently place the pre-soaked seeds onto the paper towel. Try not to touch the paper towel, so it stays supple & well-saturated. Make inventory of the kinds of seeds you used, note their location on the sheets, & the date you began germinating them. This will save you a lot of headaches trying to identify which is what & will enable you to track how many days your seeds have been germinating.
5. Gently cover the paper towel. Notice that some seeds may germinate better placed on the paper, uncovered.
6. Cover your tray with an airtight lid, as moisture retention is crucial for proper germination. Place your tray under a gentle heat source. Wait for seeds to germinate.
7. Check your seedlings daily, but only once a day: you want to maintain the seed environment as clean as possible, so always wash your hands before opening the lid. Keep in mind that seed germination times vary according to plant species.
8. When the first root (usually called the “taproot” or radicle) begins to emerge from the seed, it is time to transplant the seedling into its starter environment. If the radicle has stuck or pierced through the paper towel, carefully cut the paper around it with clean, sharp scissors, taking great care not to cut the radicle. Transplant to your starting medium; the paper towel will degrade.
9. Lay out your rooted seedlings under a light source of moderate intensity, such as tubular or compact fluorescent lamps. Try using a nursery tray with an air-pruning, raised wire screen. Ensuring good air circulation helps prevent root rot & enhances rooting.

Words: Eliab Lozada

What are Aphids?

Aphids (aka plant lice) are soft- bodied, pear-shaped insects that feast on your plants. Outdoors they are most prevalent during the spring and summer seasons. Aphids are common garden pests – the green variety is the most well-known, although they can also take pink, brown, yellow and black forms. In all, there are over 200 species of aphids. Some varieties are quite specific to certain plant groups, whereas most are not that fussy and will munch on a wide variety of different plants. Aphids are capable of asexual reproduction and can spawn throughout most of the year, sometimes producing nearly 100 young per aphid in the course of just one week! Indoor growers need to be especially wary of aphids. If you don’t spot them early, a relatively small intrusion will soon turn into a massive infestation unless you act quickly.

What’s the Damage?

Aphids injure your plants by puncturing plant stems and stalks with their skylets – powerful suction devices built into their mouths. Their goal is to find some plant sap which, once located, they suck mercilessly, gorging themselves at the plant’s expense. Prolonged aphid attacks will considerably weaken your plants. Common telltale signs of aphid damage include curled, discolored, and deformed leaves. Also, keep an eye out for “sooty mold” which is caused by mold colonies feeding off the sticky waste the aphids leave behind after their feeding frenzy. If all that isn’t enough, aphids can also spread incurable plant diseases. In short, aphids SUCK big time!

October 23

The wind began gusting with enough force to knock down my outdoor tomato plants. In order to save them, I had to continually move them in and out until the gusting ceased. It didn’t take long until the task of moving 40+ pots from the front yard into my two-bedroom apartment became onerous and inconvenient. Confronted with a living room and kitchen full of plants, I had no other place to put them than right in front of the door to my indoor garden. There (and everywhere in the house), my outdoor plants were spared from the 50-mile/ hour winds outside. I left them there for just over an hour. The strong winds passed so I proceeded to return all the plants outdoors. Little did I know that this would be the dumbest, most destructive thing I had ever perpetrated on my beloved tomato plants.

October 24

I woke up and began my regular morning watering of my outdoor plants. During this activity it’s not uncommon for me to spot the occasional caterpillar or earwig enjoying its breakfast, but today was different. Instead, I stumbled upon a family of aphids nesting on my tomato leaves. Temperatures had begun to hang in the 50s and 60s, and I was expecting the usual aphid wave that comes in the fall. So when I saw the little critters, I thought “well, the wave is here. I’ll start squishing aphids and wipe them out with some neem oil. No big deal.” And so I focused my attentions on pest control for my outdoor plants. And it worked! In less than two days’ time, my tomatoes appeared to be completely pest-free. Fortune, it seems, is not without a sense of irony.

October 28

Today was reservoir change day, always a logistically challenging endeavor considering how little room I have to move around in. First step is to empty my indoor garden of plants so that I stand a chance of reaching the ebb and flow table positioned against the far wall of my walk-in grow closet. As I moved and inspected the plants from the mid-section of the room I began to notice some light green bumps on the leaves of my sweet banana peppers. I got up close and saw these shiny, six-legged little critters standing on the leaves, their antennae bent towards their backs, gross-looking, and engaging in some serious sap-sucking. APHIDS! And if experience told me anything I knew that there were probably plenty more to be found. Sure enough, my heart sank when I discovered that all of the pepper plants on my ebb and flow table were populated with aphid “families.” Everything from my Dorset Nagas, my Ajíes Dulce and Caballeros, my Bhut Jolokias, and (oh, noooo!), some pimento plants that came from seeds saved by my late Grandmother – everything was covered in aphids! Panic eventually gave way to pragmatism. The remainder of the day was mostly taken up with bug-squishing and a frenzy of neem spraying. The reservoir change was postponed for another day or two. I had more pressing matters to attend to!

October 31

(photo courtesy of Flagstaffotos)

I woke up determined to get that reservoir change out of the way. I ventured into the bowels of my indoor garden and began to remove the plants from the tray as before. This revealed just how badly infested my plants were: colonies of aphids had pitched tents all over the plants’ leaves, stems and shoots. All of the lower leaves were suddenly looking really crappy: some had begun to show brown spots and the spotting looked like it was creeping upwards toward the plant canopy. Now I had a disease to identify on top of my aphid problem! It was not long before I identified the leaf spotting to be Anthracnose, a viral plant disease (for which there is no cure), which is often carried by aphids. That’s when the seriousness of the matter really struck home. My beautiful pepper plants were screwed. Even if I were to effectively eradicate what was now a full-blown plague of aphids, I’d still be left with sick plants! I’d screwed up royally by breaking that one important rule: Never bring outdoor plants into your indoor garden! If you absolutely have to, make sure they first undergo a lengthy quarantine period!

The plants had to be destroyed. Man, I was gutted. It didn’t matter so much that my Nagas were in the midst of setting fruit or that my pimentos had a special significance — all my infected plants had to be killed. So I took my camera and snapped a few shots of the unwanted guests and, without making too much of a stir, began to hack and bag branches until only the plants’ stems were left. All the containers were dumped – substrate n’ all – into a reinforced garbage bag. All infected plant matter was then doublebagged and immediately thrown in the dump outside. The reservoir was emptied and bleached thoroughly. The rest of the plants in my indoor garden were thoroughly inspected. Some contained one or two aphids, and were cleared of all visible pests and removed from the indoor garden. I sprayed a 10% bleach solution on the walls, floor and ceiling. All equipment inspected and sterilized. An hour of sparing an outdoor plant from wind damage had already compromised my whole indoor grow. This time I would leave nothing to chance.

After my indoor garden was cleaned, I re-checked all the plants and decided to just do away with any seedlings that showed signs of aphids or anthracnose. It would not be worth the time, effort and money to raise a plant that was doomed from the start. The rest of the plants were sprayed with neem oil in order to slow down the life cycle of any aphid youngling I could not catch. Inspections were performed daily until the problem was under control; I scheduled neem oil treatments every 3rd day, but this ended up being performed every other day due to the resurgence of young aphid colonies. Some leaves were beginning to appear rather leathery – probably because of the excess spraying of neem oil. At the end of that week I discovered some aphids nesting on the young shoots of my baobab tree. No other aphid affront had been this cheeky. I don’t mind admitting that the sight of more aphids at this point tipped me over the edge. It was time to call in the big guns.

November 2

I marched to my local hydro shop and made a beeline for the pest control aisle. There I picked up the largest can of pyrethrin-based spray. The store owner seemed surprised to see me buy a can of bug spray because I am a neem-type guy, so I let him in on the battle that was taking place in my indoor garden. He assured me that I had done all I could and that the bug spray would definitely take care of the problem. Once back home, I inspected all the plants and manually killed as many aphids as I could spot – only a handful at this point. This was good news as it indicated to me that the bulk of the infestation had been eradicated by disposing of the infected plants. Now my task was to prevent a re-infestation. In order to achieve this I had to do more than merely reduce their numbers: they needed to be obliterated!

The pyrethrin spray was applied after the lights went out, using short bursts and kept 1-2 ft away from the plants. This would ensure a more ample, gentler coverage while still delivering the pyrethrins to any potential pests. I sprayed my plants once again during mid-week and decided to wait a few more days and re-evaluate its effectiveness. My concerns about burning the plants dissipated throughout the upcoming week, as none of my plants showed signs of contact burn. Not only that, but I was seeing fewer & fewer aphids around the area, and my baobab tree exhibited none by the end of the week. Having seen good results from the pyrethrum spray, I decided to incorporate it into my pest control program. From then on, I would be lightly (but thoroughly) spraying my plants on a weekly basis.

Lessons Learned

There are lessons to be learned and relearned from our mistakes. My first mistake was the breaking of this most-important rule: Never bring outdoor plants into your indoor garden without first undergoing a quarantine period. You can also say that I screwed up by not destroying the pepper plants immediately after finding the first aphids indoors. But then again, no signs of Anthracnose were initially observed. I should have erred on the side of caution and assumed that where there are aphids, diseases follow. My third mistake was over-applying neem oil. Neem did not burn my plants, but it certainly turned my leaves hard and leathery (and I do not know if that is a good thing for their tiny, delicate stomata). However, all in all, I think I was lucky to have been able to control it by using pyrethrin; otherwise, all my plants would’ve been for the trash!

Moment of silence for Eliab’s loss. Now … got an aphid-assaulting tip or horror story you care to share? Post it below!

I putzed around with Jolokias last year & got hooked on them. I started a few plants indoors & eventually moved them outdoors during the outdoor grow season. The results were acceptable for a first-time grow, but I’m already anticipating better yields on my future runs.

More information on growing Jolokias can be found at http://www.thehottestpepper.com/how-to-grow-bhut-jolokia-seeds.html and at http://garden.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Bhut_Jolokia_Seeds. Or you can just read this blog & find out how I did it.

This is how it was done…

Bhut Jolokia: Germination & Vegetative Period

01-30-09: a Jolokia seedling thrives. The seeds are really finicky: too much moisture rots them very easily. Yet, once that first radicle appears, it thrives rather nicely.

Bhut Jolokia pepper holds the 2008 Guinness record as the world's hottest pepper, @ an estimate 1,500,000 Scoville heat units. Basically, you'd need 1,500,000 drops of water to neutralize the heat of a single drop of pepper extract. Can't hardly wait for harvest! Grown with organic tea, in coco coir.

This one ended as a donation to my local hydro shop. It proved incredibly proliferous. Its fruit was regarded by all who tried it as the hottest thing they had ever had the misfortune of trying. Some smart growers asked for sample peppers, surely to harvest their seeds as well. Its high productivity & lack of a timely re-vegging program left it aesthetically inappropriate for the shop's showroom & now sits on a table in the warehouse, under some distant fluorescents, a shadow of its former self but refusing to give up.

Bhut Jolokia: Preflowering

Bhut Jolokia in the foreground.

Bhut jolokia setting fruit. After the initial fruit drop that some Capsicum Chinensis exhibit, the jolokias are beginning to adapt. A tiny pepper has already set; this can only mean one thing: from now on, there will never be enough witch hazel at home.

Bhut Jolokia: Flowering, Fruit Set & Ripening

First (and only) pepper to set. Climactic conditions in my grow room were quite chaotic back then.

Look at that thing swelling up! Notice the Chile Piquin bush in the background, laden with set fruit.

The pepper begins to take its characteristic horn shape.

First signs of ripening.

Red, gold & green. Irie.

Hmmm... not bad, 45 days from set to ripe. The trick is to get them to flower AND set fruit. Its next bloom ought to bear more peppers.

MOTHERF***ER! Uh, sorry. I just tasted Bhut Jolokia for the first time. It was hotter than anything I’ve ever tasted (except perhaps Chinese mustard). It was great! A true rush. Problem was, that I tried washing it off my hands with olive oil & then soap; it didn’t come off. It got onto my right temple, my right brow &, eventually, down into my right eye. That was NOT fun @ all. As a matter of fact, it was freakin’ infuriating! The heat felt like my face had been scraped by a cheese grater soaked in lemon juice. That bad. Those were the longest 15 minutes of my life! Oh, it also got under my right thumbnail. Two hours later, it still feels like someone pulled my nailbed with a pair of pliers. This devil only yielded 5 seeds; they will be preserved for sowing.

…so I did what any sensible person would do: I pickled it! I added some ají caballeros, some chile piquines, cut the jolokia up into 4 long slices & voila! Up it goes on to my pickled peppers collection.

Bhut Jolokia: Outdoors

The Bhut Jolokia plant has been moved outdoors to make more room indoors for more seedlings & young plants. It has been trimmed down as far as safely possible.

There. Nice & ripe. A third green Jolokia was also harvested; it ripened in 3 days.

Three pickled Jolokias & some caballeros & jalapenos. This one was sent to my good friend Clay.

Four Bhut jolokia peppers setting.

...& then there were seven ! Five more have set on another branch & new flowers bloom daily.

Six Bhut jolokias from my outdoor plant. There was a 7th pepper on this branch but a neighborhood kitten knocked it down while pouncing at it. We had cat curry for dinner, later on that evening, hee hee heeeee!!!

Grown in coconut coir & perlite, these Jolokias are fed a tandem regimen of General Hydroponics’ Maxi Series base nutrients (+ Floralicious Plus), Alaska Fish Emulsion, Indonesian bat guano (& other guanos & molasses in an actively-aerated microbial tea solution), & foliar feedings at dusk, using Spray-N-Grow & Bill’s Perfect Fertilizer. Absofreakinglute pest control achieved using a mixture of neem & coriander oils. Extra chi (for increased resistance to extremes in temperature & strengthening of the plant’s cell walls) achieved by the regular addition of PyroSol pyrophyllitic clay to the nutrient solution, high in silicates & micronutrients. The microbes in the guano tea & fish emulsion take care of breaking down whatever salt residues are left behind, thus making them more easily-assimilated by the root zone. In the end, all hydroponic salts are used up, leaving little-to-no root zone exudates. The result? Well, some of the finest peppers I’ve ever grown!

A fusion reactor was used to enable photosynthesis & climate control (the sun!).

Four more Jolokias.

...& just when things were looking good, disaster strikes. Some wicked gusts of wind knocked a few of these peppers off the plant. I decided to wait a few more days. The winds intensified & more peppers continued to fall. Yet in 3-days' time, all those peppers that had fallen off began to change color from green to orange to red. A few days later, I decided to pickle them.

This is what the flames of hell look like when you slice them in half.

Bhut Jolokia were pickled in 1/2 vinegar, 1/2 water. A pinch of sugar, salt & a few peppercorns were added as well. It sits untouched. So it shall remain.

Bhut Jolokia Peppers in an Ebb & Flow Hydroponic System

Botanicare's Microgarden set up & ready to rock!

Here we’ll grow some aji dulce, purple bellpeppers, dorset nagas & bhut jolokia. That is, until I run out of space; those suckers tend to get big & tall. Under the tank we have some of Botanicare’s top products: the CNS-17 line & Liquid Karma. Substrate is composed of Bitanicare’s silica rocks & Ready-Grow soilless mix (which is coir-based). A weekly neem & coriander oil spray keeps the foliage lookin’ purty!

Flood cycle.

These are the same plants seen on the first picture stamped 08-05-09. The Microgarden ebb & flow system initially housed 8 plants. But they ran out of space in a little over 4 weeks. Five plants were left in; they are quickly running out of space & have entered their preflowering stage. They will soon be transfered to the larger ebb & flow table, under a 400w HPS lamp.

Two young Bhut Jolokia plants now rest on the lid of the Microgarden, after 10 ass-kicking days of root-exploding flood & drain cycles. They nobly yielded their spot in the tray to other younglings. The Jolokias have exhibited rapid, proliferous growth despite being irrigated less often than their in-cycle counterparts.

Aphids on Chile Pepper Plants

Aphids have nested on the leaves of these pepper plants. Neem oil decimated their numbers, but did not eliminate them completely. The one thing that neem oil did do is turn my leaves leathery from all that frequent spraying. It took a few sprays of pyrethrin-based aerosol to kil them all.

Aphids carry many diseases, among them the anthracnose blight virus (characterized by the leaf spotting shown on several leaves of this picture). Once infected, the plant cannot recover from it. Ever.

All of these plants ended up in the garbage: my Bhut Jolokia, Dorset Naga, Sweet Banana pepper, Cayenne, Grandma’s Pimento, Aji Dulce, Orange Sun bellpepper & a Chile Piquin bush. Lessons learned.

More aphids.

...& yet some more. I. HATE. APHIDS. i hate them i hate them i hate them!!!

The Future

These two young Bhut Jolokia are approximately 8 weeks old. Their stem has begun to bifurcate, lateral growth has begun, & it is full of tiny inflorescences (which will most likely fall off during the next few months of growth). Fruit-setting is anticipated for the end of Feb 2010.

Days-old pepper seedlings of all kinds get their photons. Among them, many Bhut Jolokia seedlings will star in next year’s venture. Growing Bhut Jolokia is addictive; I cannot imagine my grow room ever not having one or two of these plants growing in it!

Want to read more blog posts from master grower Eliab? We’ve got ‘em!

Please note: blog posts are the opinions of independent growers, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Urban Garden Magazine or its affiliates. Do you have your own ideas on how to grow Bhut Jolokia? Share below!

GROWER BASIC DATA

What’s the starting pH, EC and source of your water?
pH: 6.5; EC: 215μS. After additives: pH: 6.3; EC: 343μS (@ a testing temp of 75.4°F).

What’s your normal cloning method? How many days does it usually take for your clones to root?
Cut with sterile scalpel at a 90-degree angle near a node, then dip in Rootech rooting gel. Place in a rockwool or Rapid Rooter plug. 10-12 days.

What were the min/max temperatures of your cloning environment?
Min: 70°F; max: 82°F, but this was brought down by floating a 2-liter soda bottle full of ice. Then corrected to 68-76°F.

Which cloning product(s) did you use? Did you use any other nutrients/additives in the cloning process?
EZ-Clone rooting gel (included with the system), Dyna-Gro’s K-L-N & PyroSol.

FEEDBACK

Did the EZ-CLONE root cuttings quicker? If so, how much quicker?
About the same as conventional “rockwool & cloche” method (5-12 days, depending on plant species).

Was the EZ-CLONE easy to set up and use?
Yes!

Were the instructions adequate? Anything you’d add?
Yes. A cloning guide was also available at the manufacturer’s website.

Did the cuttings go limp in the EZ-CLONE? Any observations over the first few hours?
Limpness on some species but didn’t last more than 35 mins after being placed in the EZ-Clone. Stem & leaf turgor promptly returned.

How vigorous (or otherwise) was the root development? Did the roots look healthy? Airy? Nice and white? How prolific were they?
More prolific than what you could initially expect from a rockwool plug; I’ve counted 30-40 root sprouts on a clone.

What did you transfer the clones into? Soil/hydro? What sort of system? Media?
First to 2” tray cells, then to 3” starters & finally to 5 1/2” pots. Botanicare’s Microgarden system with mixed coir, perlite, kenaf chaff (3:1:1) & a dash of fortified reptile sand (3 tbs/coir brick).

What base nutrients did you use to grow the clone on?
GH Maxi Grow for the first 10 days after transplant, then General Organics Bio Thrive Bloom, Bio Root, Bio Weed, & Bio Marine.

What lighting did you use (for rooting and for early veg)?
A 42-W full-spectrum CFL.

Did the clones take easily to their new veg environment? Any signs of transplant shock?
Yes, they did. No signs of transplant shock whatsoever.

How do the regular cuttings compare with the EZ-CLONE cuttings in veg?
EZ-Clone cuttings exhibited vertical growth before the regular cuttings. Initial growth observed 36 hours post-transplant.

Did you take any steps to harden the cuttings up? If so, what?
I removed the cuttings as soon as I saw them develop 2-3” root heads along the cut stem and put them in the medium.

SUMMARY

What do you think of the EZ-CLONE’s build quality? Is it built to last?
Top-of-the-line. It’s built to last.

What maintenance did the clones require inside the EZ-CLONE?
Temp control was difficult to maintain. The solution tends to heat up past the 82°F quite easily, which will bring problems to the rooting zone.

Do you think the EZ-CLONE is good value for money?
Absolutely, it’s good value. It rocks!

ELIAB RATES THE EZ-CLONE: 85%

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To read Eliab’s blog posts, click here.

FEEDBACK

Was the system easy to set up and install?
Yes.

Do you think the operating instructions are clear for all levels of grower?
Yes. What could represent a challenge for the novice (e.g. plumbing fittings) is already pre-assembled.

What growth media did you use?
I used what was included: Ready-Gro mix and silica stones.

What plants did you grow in the system?
Purple bells, Bhut Jolokia, Dorset Naga, & Aji Dulce.

How often were they dripped/flooded?
Flooded every 3.5 hours for 30 minutes, 4 times per light cycle.

Did you use natural light or artificial?
Artificial, under compact fluorescents totaling 7,450 lumens at canopy level.

Were the growth rates satisfactory?
More than satisfactory: it surpassed all my expectations!

Did the system become overcrowded?
Yes, it did, in only 15 days after seedlings were transferred to the system. But that’s a good thing: it translates to rapid, no B.S. growth!

Was it an easy system to maintain? pH, nutrient changes, etc?
Yes. CNS-17, the nutrient sample included, is an excellent hydroponic nutrient & very pH-stable.

SUMMARY

Any tweaks you would suggest to the design?
No, these guys thought of everything! For a system its size, it is one tough pony!

How was the harvest?
I have never tasted more flavorful, redder & fleshy Aji Dulce peppers than those that went into my saucepan today.

Would you use it to grow again?
Are you kidding? This baby’s staying with me for as long as I grow indoors!

Did you use the supplied nutrients with the system? If so, what did you think?
Yes; CNS-17 is awesome. Too bad my local shop does not carry it!

What do you think the ideal application is for this system?
Early veg/rooting cloning (by growing in smaller, shallower planters, removing 2 of the 3 drain extensions & decreasing watering frequency), and for late veg/pre-flowering. Smaller plants like herbs & some orchids may be grown to maturity.

ELIAB RATES THE MICROGARDEN: 100%

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Germination

Day 18

Day 20

Day 27

Vegetative Growth

Day 60

Day 150: This shot was taken approximately two weeks post-1st harvest.

Day 195

Day 199: Culantro leaves were harvested. I left the three youngest leaves on each plant to encourage re-vegging.

Day 211: Twelve days post-harvest, the plants are off to a good re-vegging.

Day 221

Day 224

Day 227: 271 culantro leaves were harvested from this tray; it is its 4th harvest! It filled up the bowl & yielded ~2 cups of fresh, fragrant culantro. A few leaves were left on each plant to ensure fast re-growth. It only took exactly 4 weeks for this yield! One tray is enough to keep our family needs met all year round.

Day 240

Day 250

Day 264

Day 264

Day 281

Day 281

Day 281

Day 349

Day 349

Outdoor

These culantro seedlings were transplanted to a pot re-vegging two orange bellpepper plants. Outdoor temperatures were in the mid-50s for the first month. Despite the less-than optimal conditions, the seedlings thrived.

36 days after being transplanted, the culantro seedlings are on their way to a good, healthy start outdoors.

70 days have passed since transplant outdoors. Direct sunlight, albeit only for 4 hours a day, has hindered growth & the longer days of summer have triggered inflorescence. These plants never really grew to their full potential.

A Bad Idea

Cell trays filled with grow medium are a bad idea for growing culantro.

The roots never took off, fungus gnats took residence in the space between the tray & the inserts, & the poor seedlings rotted because of excess humidity.

Fungus gnats continued to mercilessly attack these 50- & 72-cell trays.

Despite the seedlings' best attempts to recover, they succumbed after braving so many unfavorable conditions.

Upcoming Projects

I  have culantro seeds germinating in small flats filled with coir/perlite & I also have seedlings growing out of Rapid Rooter cubes. Seeds will also be started in a 200-plug Grodan rockwool sheet and grown hydroponically. The new year seems promising!

Day 1:

My seedling arrived on November 16, 2008, and I got to the task of rooting it & preparing it for vegetative growth. The banana cutting was placed into a 6″ square planter, in a small core of coir & perlite (3:1), surrounded by LECA (lightweight expanded clay aggregate, or clay pellets). The planter was then submerged into a second square plastic container (the kind used to pack potato salad); it would sit into this container, which would be half-full of a mild nutrient solution (GH’s MaxiGro @ 1/4 tsp/gal, increased by 1/4 tsp every two weeks for a maximum nutrient strength of up to 1 tsp/gal ). An air stone was placed underneath the planter, effectively aerating the nutrient solution and aiding its dispersal through the maze of clay pebbles, up to the cutting’s delicate root system. It was placed under a 42-w compact fluorescent lamp, on a 18-6 photoperiod. Its initial rate of growth was simply amazing!

Banana cutting: day 2

Banana cutting: day 4

Banana cutting: day 10

Banana cutting: day 43

Banana cutting: day 63

Banana cutting: day 105

Banana cutting: day 148

Day 48: banana plant leaf

Day 48: banana plant trunk

Banana cutting: day 154

Day 154: first pup & Dwarf Cavendish, in deep water culture and continuous drip ring.

Day 164: Look at that leaf touching the ceiling. It hasn't even unfurled & it's already out of room. I am really at a loss here, because it's not even time for it to begin its flowering cycle yet, & that's when it will really start to shoot upwards! Dwarf banana my ass!

Day 165: The top 5 inches had to be "amputated". Bushmaster was added & nutrients cut back to 2/3. It continued to grow until it reached the ceiling again. Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance.

Banana cutting: day 165

Banana cutting: day 167

Day 185: After being "bushmastered" & moved to a shadier location, leaf growth time has decreased by 50%; now it takes 2 weeks per leaf. The bottom leaves have stayed on longer than usual & are beginning to discolor.

These suckers would grow into individual trees if I could just divide them, but the roots are too packed-in to do it safely. Having no space to grow roots of their own, these pups are destined to perish unless I get any new ideas. Fat chance.

Root-bound! The banana tree's rhizosphere already encompasses 5 gallons' worth of space! It is still difficult to tell what is tisue necrosis & what is liquid seaweed residue.

Day 189: After my banana tree became root-bound, I knew I had to take it out of its 5-gallon bucket. In order to do so, first I had to cut the net pot lid.

Upon close inspection of the net pot, I discovered that the roots had already torn through the net pot & it had a fissure on both sides that ran all the way down to its base. The only thing keeping it from collapsing was the lid I had just cut.

Root damage was kept minimal by not attempting to remove the already-cracked net pot. The two roots that came off were diseased at the base & that's why they snapped off during the lid cutting. It was with these EMT shears that I was able to cut through the thick plastic lid. Can you believe that those shears are 19 years old? & still cutting like the 1st day I got'em!

Voila! The tree was transplanted into a 10-gallon pot which contains a mixture of 33% coco coir, 33% Premier starter pro-mix, 33% perlite & 1% wishful thinking. Three bamboo stakes were added to wedge the net pot in place & (hopefully) serve as support while the roots find their way around the pot once more.

Day 197: Nine days post-transplant & the mistress is lookin' good. (whew!)

Day 205: Thank God for Velcro! The mistress was beginning to tip toward one side. These velcro straps came in so handy! A big "thank you" to Chris @ Garden Indoors of Pennsylvania (www.gardenindoorsllc.com) for contributing to the cause with great product selection & unparalleled insight on all things horticultural.

Banana cutting: day 212

Banana cutting: day 305 & healthy!

During the past two years, I have been keeping track of my gardening experiences, be it indoors or out. Some of these experiences are still ongoing, as I have a few perennial trees growing indoors. Yup. Indoors. My living room looks like a Rainforest Cafe, but with real trees. But the main area that I am using as a “grow room” is an L-shaped pantry closet near my kitchen. In there I grow peppers, herbs, young fruit trees, and, on occasion, flowers and vining plants (which I have momentarily stopped growing due to space issues). Anything is fair game when it comes to growing–I have temperate-zone plants growing next to tropical ones, and they all seem to do fine. Some may say that indoor gardening is a fine-tuned ballet, and I agree. But in my grow room the Chacha & the Waltz get equal play time.

I am also using different grow methods with my plants–some are grown in ebb & flow tables, others in drip buckets, & yet others are hand-fed. Hydroponic, organic, & mixed nutrients have all found a place in my arsenal, which by now occupies about half the space in my kitchen cabinets, but since I am in charge of the galley, no one challenges the mess sergeant. I have been brave enough (or stupid enough) to go fully-organic on my ebb & flow systems, but have found the bio-sludge hard to keep up with. Yet I have had my best results by alternating between high-quality, salt-based hydroponic nutrients & organic ones. Coco coir is my substrate of choice, although I also use rockwool, LECA, lava rocks, & silica stones. Because space & heat are an issue in my closet, I use a 400w HPS lamp on one side of the grow room & a DIY rack containing 7 compact fluorescent lamps on another area of the closet. For CO2 supplementing I use a biokinetic CO2 Generating System (AKA the good ol’ gallon of water with sugar & yeast). It is biokinetic ’cause I have to shake it up frequently to get those bursts of CO2 released into the grow area. Pest control had, in the past, been achieved by using a mixture of neem & coriander oils (as both soil drench & foliar spray), but a recent & persistent aphid infestation required the use of aerosolized pyrethrins. My grow room climate is kept in check by a nifty gadget called the Intelliclimate grow room climate controller, thanks to the guys from Urban Garden Magazine & American Hydroponics. But the toughest part of the whole affair is done by the plants themselves; after all, they are the ones germinating, thriving, vegetating, flowering, setting fruit & ripening. Me? I’m just their caretaker, and I suspect that no nutrient program or method alone can yield good results on their own without diligent plant husbandry. And that’s what I do: plant husbandry. So, stick around until I can find a way to upload all the pictures I have in store for you; you might like one or two of them. And feel free to reply to my ideas & experiences, for it is through critique & the sharing of  new information that knowledge is broadened.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

नमस्ते

GROWER BASIC DATA

What base nutrients did you use while testing this product?
GH Maxi Series

Do you grow indoors, outdoors, or in a greenhouse?
Indoors and outdoors

What type of growth media (if any) do you use to root your cuttings / start your seedlings?
Grodan mini rockwool cubes & sure to grow starter cubes

What were the typical min and max temperatures in propagation, veg and flower?
68-degrees F (20-degrees C) min.
79-degrees F (26-degrees C) max.

What is your water source? (E.g. tap, rainwater, RO-machine)
Tap, filtered

What is the pH of your water? (With no nutrients or additives added)
6.5

What is the EC of your water (with no nutrients or additives added)
215 µs

What cloning product do you normally use (if any)? Gel or powder?
Rootech cloning gel

Do you use a cloning machine? Can you briefly describe your cloning method?
No machine. I clone by making a 45-degree incision along the 4th node of a shoot, trim and place in rockwool; they are raised on grid stools and placed over a heating mat.

FEEDBACK

How long did it take for your cuttings to root? Was this normal?
5 days, as usual

Was the rooting more or less vigorous / the same?
More vigorous

Did you observe an increase in vigor in your plants in early veg stage?
Yes

Did you notice an increase in root mass compared to untreated cuttings / seedlings?
Yes

SUMMARY

Was the product easy to use? Are the manufacturer’s instructions clear and accurate?
Yes

As root mass is proportional to yield, do you think that this product made a difference to the final yield?
During the 3rd week of rooting, the Roots Excelurator group took the lead. The cuttings showed a significant advantage in root growth and development over their control group counterparts.

Based on your experiences, do you have any hints and tips on getting the most out of this product?
Follow instructions to the letter! Check your cuttings daily. No aeration when using (lowers pH); best used if hand-fed.

Would you use this product again? Your 250ml sample would cost around US $77 in a store. Is it good value for money?
It sounds expensive, but if you use it judiciously and as directed, it lasts!

ELIAB RATES ROOTS EXCELURATOR: 90%

For additional grow reports on this product, click here.

GROWER BASIC DATA

What base nutrients did you use while testing this product?
GH Maxi series

Do you grow indoors, outdoors, or in a greenhouse?
Indoors and outdoors

What type of system do you use to grow your plants? (E.g. flood and drain table)
Hand-fed

What type of growth media (if any) do you use to grow your plants?
Rooted in Grodan starter cubes, transplanted to coir & perlite (3:1)

What was the typical minimum temperature?
68-degrees F (20-degrees C)

What was the typical maximum temperature?
79-degrees F (26-degrees C)

What is your water source? (E.g. tap, rainwater, RO-machine)
Tap, filtered

What is the pH of your water? (With no nutrients or additives added)
6.5

What is the EC of your water? (With no nutrients or additives added)
215 µs

FEEDBACK

Did you notice any increased fluctuations in pH while testing this product?
Slight pH increase: 6.3 (initial) to 6.5 (after 6 hours)

Did you use additional amounts of pH down to stabilize your nutrient pH while using this product?
No

Did you observe an increase in vigor for plants treated with Floralicious Plus?
Yes

Was there a noticeable difference the in the flavor and aroma of flowers on plants treated with Floralicious Plus?
Yes

Did you observe an increase in flower and fruit size and overall yield for plants treated with Floralicious Plus?
Yes

Did plants treated with Floralicious Plus seem to take up more water and nutrients?
Yes

SUMMARY

Are the manufacturer’s instructions clear and accurate?
Yes

Do you think this product represents good value for money?
Yes

Based on your experiences, do you have any hints and tips on getting the most out of this product?
Most effective when used after 2nd week of vegetative period

Would you use this product again?
Definitely

ELIAB RATES FLORALICIOUS PLUS: 95%

For additional grow reports on this product, click here.