Pepper Tub 2010 Bell and Jalapeno
Hydroponic Pepper Tub for 2010
The Hydroponics System
The Pepper Tub hydroponics system is constructed with two 10-gallon storage tubs. The bottom is the nutrient reservoir and the top holds the grow media and plants. Nutrients are pumped continuously throughout daylight hours and allowed to drain through the media to the bottom of the tub. Any nutrients not absorbed by the media or plants drains back into the reservoir.
The Pepper Plants
In the front there are two jalapeno pepper plants and in the back two bell pepper plants. This looks to be the limit assuming you allow them to get nearly 5 feet tall.
The plants were started indoors sometime in march. They grew vegetation well however flowers kept dropping off. A few started peppers but would only make it a few days. This was mainly due to low temperatures. I was not able to move the plants outdoors until about mid-May.
This is when the outdoor temperatures stayed above 60F through the night and once the plants were placed outdoors nearly every blossom started a pepper. So much so that I began removing flowers each day leaving only about one blossom for each group of leaves.
Why Use Hydroponics?
Have you ever purchased fruit or vegetables from a farmer’s market or a roadside vender? Each year my small town has their farmer’s market and a couple sells blue berries by the pint and quart. Each Friday I try to make it up there to purchase a quart even thought they cost about $1 more than at the store.
Why? Because the taste is so superior to store blueberries to this day I cannot believe it. To be honest I do not know the specifics of how the blueberries from the store are grown but I have tried several brands from several different stores and the outcome is always a disappointment. I am pretty sure though that one or all of these options, chemical pesticides, hormones, long travel times, and pre-ripened picking is involved.
This quality issue is not limited to blueberries. Do out of season tomatoes taste the same as a fresh tomato from the garden? Not to me.
Hydroponics can open a whole set of doors when it comes to having fresh and nutritious foods.
To get nutritious, large fruits, and large yields from a plant you need to provide the plant with the perfect regimen of water, nutrients, and environment. No other system gives you more control over all of these than Hydroponics, especially when done indoors. Temperature can be adjusted, the make up of the air, the nutrients can be completely replaced at a moments notice, lighting can be changed and adjusted, and on.
The Advantages
- Can be grown indoors.
- Larger yields per square foot than dirt gardening.
- If designed correctly will use much less water.
- Easily organic as soilless and/or indoor gardening prevents many pests.
- Can be grown out of season.