Indoor Gardening – Spice it Up

I’d be remiss if I didn’t preface this article with some sort of warning label. Let’s go with “BEWARE: Growing peppers, of any type, may be highly addictive.” Between their versatility in the kitchen and what seems like an almost limitless number of varieties to explore, the obsession with hot (and not-so-hot) peppers is hard to avoid. You don’t have to look far to find a pepper for just about any taste. Seed companies like Bentley Seed Co., tend to stay well stocked with staple varieties like California Wonder Bells, Sweet Bananas and Early Jalapenos, while groups like Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds tend to stock more exotic fare such as Trinidad Scorpions, Habanada Sweet Peppers and Buena Mulatas.

Because they tend to remain fairly compact and prefer temperatures that are easy to maintain in your home or grow tent (65°F and 80°F), peppers happen to be wellsuited for indoor gardening. Even a windowsill in your office is enough space to grow a small pepper plant. As indeterminate plants, they’ll continue producing new peppers for as long as they’re healthy and vigorous. Another alluring feature is that, regardless of the variety you choose, they generally have the same environmental needs, one exception being that hotter peppers can tolerate hotter temperatures (even in excess of 90°F).

While the light from a southfacing window may technically be enough to keep them alive, peppers prefer a much higher degree of light-intensity that includes, or is skewed towards, the red (3000 Kelvin) end of the color spectrum. To help your plants reach their maximum potential, supplement the sunlight with artificial lighting from LEDs, T5 fluorescents or high intensity discharge lights. Avoid bulbs or lights that are specific to the cooler, blue (6400K) end of the color spectrum, as they won’t have quite enough of the color temperatures necessary for fruiting.

Peppers also offer flexibility when growing alongside other types of plants because they’re dayneutral and produce flowers and fruit regardless of the number of consecutive “nighttime” hours. As long as they receive 12 to 20 hours of light per day (4 to 12 hours of dark), your peppers should continue to thrive. For example, if you’re growing lettuce that will bolt and begin producing seeds when it has more than 12 hours of light per day, you can grow your peppers under that same 12 hours of light and they’ll still produce – although likely at a slower rate than if they received 20 hours of light.

Regardless of your preferred growing methodology, peppers are a natural fit and are conducive to both soil and hydroponic (soil-less) mediums. The key is maintaining proper rates of fertilization depending on the stage of growth. Peppers require a fairly even macronutrient mix of Nitrogen, Potassium and Phosphorus during their early, leafy, vegetative stage. Once they begin to produce flowers, they’ll require significantly less Nitrogen and become more dependent on Phosphorous and Potassium. In fact, too much Nitrogen during this period can reduce the plant’s ability to produce flowers and fruit.

If you’re looking to get started growing peppers indoors, a small ebb and flow hydroponic system (also known as “fill and drain”) would be a fun and efficient way to grow a few different varieties simultaneously without creating much more work than growing a single plant in soil. The principal of ebb and flow is that plant roots are suspended in a nutrient-less medium such as rockwool or clay pebbles/ LECA (light expanded clay aggregate) and exposed to a nutrient/ water mix periodically by flooding the root-area. The use of a pump and timer automates the process, leaving the grower’s focus on ensuring the nutrient solution being fed to the plants contains the proper pH and level of fertilizer commensurate with the current stage of growth.

To build a basic system for three plants, you’ll need a reservoir (bucket, tote or tank) that holds at least five gallons, a small water pump, black poly tubing, an outlet timer,

an ebb and flow fitting kit, three plastic pots with drain holes at the bottom, clay pebbles and a plastic flood tray that’s approximately 2’ x 4’ with sides at least 6” tall.

Place the reservoir on the ground and fill it with your water/nutrient mix. Rest the plastic flood tray on a flat surface above the reservoir. Be sure the stand or shelf it’s sitting on can support its full weight when filled with water and plants. Attach the ebb and flow fitting kit to the flood tray. These kits usually contain two components, a fitting used to fill the tray and a fitting used to drain it. Submerge the water pump in the reservoir, connecting it to the bottom of the “fill” fitting on the flood tray using black poly tubing. Run black poly tubing down from the bottom of the “drain” fitting to the reservoir so that the open end sets just above water level.

Fill each of the plastic pots with clay pebbles and place them in the empty flood tray. Plug in the outlet timer and set it to be in the “on” position for fifteen minutes every two hours. Now, plug the water pump into the outlet timer and your ebb and flow hydroponic system is operational! The water/nutrient mix from your reservoir will fill the flood tray every two hours, saturating the clay pebbles for fifteen minutes before draining back into the reservoir. The last step is to gently nestle rooted seedlings or cuttings of your favorite pepper varieties into each of the pots. I’d recommend starting your plants in rockwool cubes to minimize debris that may end up in your water from other types of rooting media.

Continue monitoring the reservoir level and nutrient mix throughout the life of the plant, emptying and cleaning the reservoir once every two weeks so algae, bacteria and fungus don’t form. A common one-part liquid nutrient to consider when starting out is the FloraNova series from General Hydroponics. Following the dosing recommendations on the product, mix FloraNova Grow into your reservoir until the first flowers appear, then switch to using FloraNova Bloom which will promote fruiting.

Peppers only begin to form when flowers are pollinated, but fortunately, each flower contains everything necessary to pollinate itself. A gentle breeze from a fan or open window is more than enough to achieve pollination. If you want to increase the number of peppers produced on each plant, it never hurts to get the pollen moving by lightly tapping each flower.

Once you see the first pepper ripen, don’t be shy to pick it and enjoy! Rest assured, many more will be following in hot pursuit.

Buena Mulata Hot Pepper

JASON MISPAGEL Indoor Gardener

Jason Mispagel is the co-owner and operator of Year-Round Garden, a grower’s supply center serving both home and commercial customers since 2016. To contact Jason, call 816-216-6917 or jason@year-roundgarden.com.