This is a sweet spot size for one large plant or a few smaller ones. It is much improved over the standard 24″ x 24″ x 48″ tents, offering a few inches of width on each side, and over a foot extra height. This extra head room allows for taller plants, and grow light and ventilation ducting.
In this one, I’m using the Mars Hydro SP150 grow light to grow some Chocolate Rocotos.
The Viparspectra XS1500 is the newest iteration of their quantum board grow lights for 2020. The light dimmable with max wattage at 150 watts. It has a mixed spectrum of 3000K, 5000K, 660nm red, and 730nm IR. It is attached to a full aluminum heat seat. It is similar to the Pro series, P1500 grow light they came out with, in early 2020 but has upgraded Samsung LM301B diodes and an HLG series Meanwell driver.
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Mars Hydro sent me their SP150 grow light for review. This pulls 129 watts and fits great in a 2 x 2 grow tent. I have mine set up over some germinating Chocolate Rocoto seeds. I’ll post videos of the progress.
Here’s a video showing the unboxing, power test, and set up in the 27″ x 27″ x 63″ grow tent, which they also sent me.
This is an unboxing and power test of the Viparspectra 2020 Pro Series p1000 led grow light. This light has a mixed spectrum of 3500K, 6500K, 660nm red, and has a variable dimming switch, which I like. This is the first in a series of new quantum board offerings from Viparspectra. This will replace my HLG-100, which only has 3000K. The mixed spectrum on the Viparspectra should be better for plants from seedling, veg, and flower/fruiting.
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This video shows how to change nutrients on large Kratky systems. The same principles apply though, to small Kratky systems. My Bih Jolokia in the 45-gallon trash gan was starting to show some nutrient deficiencies. The solution had dropped down by 2/3 the original volume and pH and dropped to 4.1. I replaced with fresh nutrients keeping the same level as before.
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Greenjoy recently sent me their hydroponic indoor grow box for review. I’ve published two videos, one of the initial unboxing and setup, and the other after 30 days of use. The videos are below. You can find more information about the product here, but as of this writing, it is currently unavailable.
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I’ve been testing the Sansi 100-watt, 10,000 lumens LED floodlight for growing peppers. This light isn’t designed for use as a grow light but does work really well as one. It is designed to be a utility light. Sansi sent me the one I am testing, for free to review.
For my test, I am using it to overwinter a 3-year-old Khang Starr Lemon StarrBurst pepper plant. As you can see from the videos below, it has exceeded my expectations and is actually producing fruit.
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I’m growing a Malagueta x Khang Starr White Thai under the Sansi LED floodlight. Both the parent plants were grown under this light also. I’ve been using this light for almost a year now. Although it isn’t marketed as a grow light, it actually does a great job for both vegetative growth and fruiting. I’m also using it over two Kratky grown peppers, a ‘pepper in a can’ and some succulent plants. I noticed they have a newer one that is twice the size and power. I might try it out in the near future.
Note: Sansi sent me this light for free to evaluate.
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I want to see if restricting the root size to a reasonable area will encourage early fruiting, or if the plant will stay in extended veg mode. Last year I grew two plants in a 27-gallon tote, and they took forever to fruit, and the yield, although good, was not great. There were a lot of green pods on them at the very end of the season when it was turning cold. So eventually they would have produced more.
This year I’m using the same 27-gallon tote, but with one plant, and that is in a 5-gallon bucket insert. The bucket has small holes at the bottom and larger ones at the top (for air flow). The idea is, the roots will mostly be confined to the smaller container, while still having access to all the nutrients in the large tote. Andrew Higgenbottom did a similar experiment but used a much smaller inner container. I’m hoping the 5-gallon size will mitigate the issues he ran into. This isn’t a perfect experiment, as I’m not growing the same kind of plant side by side as a control, but I’m just comparing against what I saw last season. Last year I grew a StarrRacha Bonnet and a KhangSta Red in the same tote , both were in the extended veg mode most of the season. This year, in the root restricted setup, I’m growing what is supposed to be a KhangSta Red but is producing yellow pods. It’s from the same seed stock that Khang sent me, but I think it’s either crossed or just a yellow mutation of KhangSta Red since it’s still a little unstable.
I’m using Dyna-Gro 7-9-5 at just over 1 tsp/gallon, with ppm around 500. The tote has a float valve already installed, and I can hook up a reservoir later when needed to maintain a static nutrient level.
5-gal bucket with holesKhangSta Yellow plantBucket inserted into tote
