I can’t believe the time has past so fast. The peppers are growing faster!
Don’t feel like reading? Well I’ve recorded a video of this weeks update:
This week I was able to top all the peppers. By cutting the very top of the branch, a technique known as topping, you encourage the pepper to back-bud and for the stem to thicken. In most times those back-buds will turn into new branches.
Here you can see some back budding on the Numex Twilight variety, that I topped several days ago. The new buds are still quite small and look almost like the first leaves the seedling grew.
Last week I was able to top the fastest growing plant, the Marbles variety. It’s easy to see how fast the peppers are growing; its got plenty of new leaves. Looking underneath the leaves you can see how new branches are forming and growing from the main stem.
Marbles Variety Pepper, 1 Week After Topping
Many of the varieties are starting to show their individual characteristics now. Some varieties have darker colored leaves than others, for example. Some leaves are also more rounded, whilst others are longer and more triangle shaped. This is most evident when viewed side by side:
Marbles and Starlight Pepper Leaf Comparison
Some of the peppers are much slower growing than others. The Bolivian Rainbow variety with its purple leaves is easily half the size of his siblings, if not smaller. You can see him in both the photo above and below:
I topped him about two days ago, and you can see very small back budding starting to form (the lighter green leaves).
Birds Eye Baby and Bonzi Seedlings That Just Germinated
Finally, I started some new seedlings of the varieties that didn’t seem to germinate last month. So far Birds Eye Baby, Bonzi and Chinese 5 Color pepper varieties have germinated. That makes 13 total varieties of peppers growing, including the larger jalapeños.
Most of the seedlings are growing well; I am no longer worried about them surviving. Only one seedling is still fighting for life; with only a single tiny miniature leaf.
Charapita Seedling Fighting For Life, Amongst the Algae Infested Rockwool
I have 10 seeds that are still alive; one seedling died and four seeds never sprouted.
The algae was still rampant, and in many cases had started to develop a slime. It had to be dealt with.
To combat the algae I have
Added diluted hydrogren peroxide H202 on the Rockwool and in the tank. Interestingly it fizzed and bubbled slightly on the Rockwool.
Sprinkled food grade diatomaceous earth powder on the Rockwool, as it discourages gnat flies and algae growth.
Week Three Bonchi Seedlings
The steps I have taken seem to have had an effect overnight; the next morning the gnats seemed to have disappeared from the grow room.
Marbles Seedling Before Topping
The Marbles variety seedling has grown a number of their first true leaves. Since it has several full grown leaves I am able to “top” the pepper. That’s when you cut off the top of the main stem to encourage the pepper plant to grow alternative branching and leaves.
Marbles Pepper Seedling, After Topping
Topping also encourages the trunk to thicken (and we want thick trunks with bonsai).
The Bolivian Rainbow pepper also surprised me this week with it’s leaves starting to turn purple!
Bolivian Rainbow Starting To Turn Purple
I’m excited to see this variety grow larger. Many of my peppers are similar looking when not fruiting, and the Bolivian Rainbow variety will give a nice variation to my collection.
Finally this week I replanted the pepper seeds that did not germinate initially:
One issue with growing bonsai’s in Kuwait is sourcing appropriate soil substrates. It’s easy to get normal potting soil, and even perlite, but anything specialty like bonsai requirements gets a bit harder to shop for… After frustrating shopping trip after trip, I gave up… I thought I would never be able to grow bonsai’s. Until my husband asked why not grow bonsais hydroponically?
If you read my blog a lot, you probably realise that I am a big fan of hydroponics. Do you over water or under water your plants a lot? Hydroponics is for you. Do you have issues with bugs and pests? Hydroponics can be good for you. Forgot to add fertiliser every few weeks? Hydroponics is easy! It is honestly easier growing in only water than it is growing plants in soil.
But can bonsai’s be even grown hydroponically? Many bonsai enthusiasts and professionals will balance the growth of leaves and foliage with that of roots. The Nebari or root flare is considered a vital aspect of bonsai growth, getting the base of the tree to match the appearance of the larger trees as much as possible.
Obviously when growing in net cups that becomes a problem; the plastic at the edge of the cup restricts the growth of the plant and forces it downwards. Could we solve that problem?
My first idea was to increase the width of the net cup. Net cups are most common in 2-3inch sizes (5-7.5cm). It is possible to purchase larger cups up to 6inches (15.3cm). However cups at that width also tend to be quite deep. Such a large feature of bonsai’s is that the root base is wide and shallow.
Could I modify a pre-bought net cup to be shallow? I started wandering if I could make my own net cups in some way. I also had the issue of how I would grow these plants long term. My black painted Sortera boxes weren’t that pretty to look at, and were somewhat large for single plants.
Ikea Sockerbit Bucket
Since I am growing quite a number of bonchi’s I want to make sure my pots match (OCD a little?). I have quite a number of Ikea Nypon pots, and they are quite easy to buy.
But the pot doesn’t include a lid that I could attach a net cup to.
Thankfully… my husband and I ordered a 3D printer recently! Basically all my problems solved. Okay so I agreed to order the expensive 3D printer since we have more use cases for it now… or did I ask for it…
Either way, I had to start designing a lid for the pot that could be printed. I had some Wishlist features already. I knew that I wanted:
A watering hole, as lifting the plant or lid on a regular basis was risky and annoying. This hole would also need a cover to block light from entering the pot.
As wide of a net cup as possible, whilst ideally keeping it somewhat shallow.
A net cup that was ideally attached to the lid, to prevent the plant from toppling over because of uneven weight.
An optional water level meter – since it won’t be so easy to look inside to see how high or low the water level is.
Mockup Hydroponic Bonsai Lid with Net Cup Design In Blender
Since I am familiar with the 3D program Blender, I immediately started mocking up a basic concept. The giant hole is where the net cup would be (not modelled). The stick/pole in the top right is the water level meter – most 3D printed materials will float, and I could always attach something like foam at the bottom for extra buoyancy. Finally we have the watering hole and it’s own cover.
I wanted the design to look like it was built specifically for this pot (which I guess it is). So I maximised the size of the net cup area by creating it in a C shape. I need space to water the plant, and thus a watering hole, of course. The water hole itself was rather tight, at only about 2cm wide. To increase that space I made it slightly oval shaped. Everything about this design was rounded shapes.
The problem with this design is it’s not very scalable. The Nypon pots are sold in 3 sizes – 12, 15 and 24cm. And what if I wanted to buy other pots? I didn’t want the tedious task of modelling the entire design over and over again. So I needed to learn Parametric Modelling, and a program that handles that well is Autodesk Fusion 360.
Design MK1 in Fusion 360
It’s far from finished, but here is my current mockup in Fusion 360. The benefit is that Fusion 360 can act entirely upon parameters. A user can input that their pot is 12cm in size, or alternatively say their pot is 24cm in size, and everything in the design will change and update appropriately.
At the end of last week’s post I mentioned how I had noticed some algae growing on my rock wool. This week saw the growth of algae, and mold, go rampant.
Mold and Algae Growing on Rock Wool
Whilst I have dealt with algae before, never have I had it this bad! Something has changed within my growing environment; I suspect that as the weather outside turns warmer, the plant room now reaches an overall warmer temperature. This could be a contributing factor.
Unfortunately it seems that some of my seeds did not germinate, and most likely will not. Chances are I will discard the algae infected rock wool cubes and do a big clean.
Another means of combatting mold and algae is to increase airflow. Currently I have clear caps on the cups to increase moisture levels (seeds germinate better in high humidity). I may begin to remove the caps overnight so that they have time to dry out and get airflow, and return the caps during the day when the lights are lit so not to dry out the seedlings too much.
Seedling Dying. Too much algae?
So far only one of my seedlings seem to be loosing the battle of life. It’s not too uncommon for seedlings to not survive, so I can’t be certain whether this is the cause of algae or not (it most likely is however). Initially the cotyledon leaves started to wilt, but it started to grow its first true leaves. However you can see that even those have begun to wilt as well.
Marbles Week 2 Bonchi Chilli Pepper Seedling
It’s not all bad news. Some of the seedlings are growing quite well despite the algae. The Marbles variety seedling has grown its first true leaves.
I have a total of 9 seedlings growing their first set of leaves. There are 3 seedlings that appear sick (like above). And finally there are 3 seeds that never sprouted.
Honestly if 9 of the seedlings survive and grow into trees, I will be happy.
A week has passed since I planted my chilli pepper seeds, and already there is growth! I have 10 out of 15 seeds showing life. Not bad, especially considering I was worried about the potential heat my seeds endured during shipping. Some seeds can take months to germinate as well, so there is time.
Week 1 Birds Eye Baby Chilli Pepper Seedling
I currently have 5 cotyledons, which are the plant’s first leaves.
There are 5 seeds showing rooting activity, though they have yet to develop their first cotyledons.
Unfortunately algae has managed to grow on my rock wool. The presence of algae suggests my materials were not fully sterilised. Sometimes this is avoidable, such as using bleach when cleaning the bucket and net cups. Sometimes its unavoidable, such as being introduced through your water supply. I’ve generally found that the algae doesn’t do any harm as its isolated to the rock wool and not the water inside my buckets, however I do suspect that if the seeds haven’t developed root by the time the algae takes over, they are unlikely to grow due to deprived oxygen.
My seeds finally got delivered! Of course that meant it was time to clear out my hydroponic grow room and plant lots of seeds. Chilli pepper seeds.
With some clever organising I was able to make space for 15 net cups. Since the Fatalii seed packets come with an average of 7 seeds per variety, I decided to try only germinating one seed at a time. The seeds I planted are:
There isn’t much to show right now, as I have just planted the seeds into their respective net cups. Even so, it can be helpful to know how fast or slow the seeds germinated. Fingers crossed within a few days, or weeks, I’ll get some growth showing.
It’s hard to grow bonsai’s in Kuwait. Not many stores sell semi-mature trees, especially a variety of species, or the materials needed. Also many tree varieties have specific needs that are difficult to meet in our climate.
Then I came across the practice of bonchi’s – growing bonsai’s out of alternative plants such as peppers. The greatest benefit is that pepper plants can grow incredibly fast; you can grow a complete bonsai from a seed within one to two years. After all, who wants to wait forty years or more for a bonsai plant to grow! Also, many pepper plants turned into Bonchi will still bear flowers and fruit- making them very pretty.
One of the leaders in the field of bonchi’s is Fatalii (buy his seeds here); he’s a Finish guy famous for cultivating many different varieties of peppers. He’s even grown his own unique varieties! I haven’t found a website or company that grows such a range of pepper species. It didn’t take me long to order several different varieties in order to start my own Bonchi plants. Some plants are mostly ornamental, though almost all will bear flowers and fruit that are edible.
All the pepper varieties I have ordered are considered ideal for making bonchis, and are classified as easy to grow indoors/in pots. These are the varieties that I have ordered:
Aji Jobito
Aji Jobito. Photo courtesy of Fatalii.
Fatalii describes it as a “very, very mild habanero relative has a great aroma! One of the best mild varieties there is. Perfect for people who want just the taste without the heat.”
Orange Mini Bell
Red Mini Bell Pepper, Photo courtesy of RareSeeds.com
Think of your local store bought bell pepper or capsicum, only miniature in size! It’s so cute! The variety I ordered predominately produces orange bell peppers. On the Scoville Heat Units scale, bell peppers score a 0 and are considered sweet.
Birds Eye Baby
Photo courtesy of Fatalii.
One of the first photographic examples of how a pepper can be turned into a bonchi – a photo that made Fatalii famous.
These peppers are considered hot, hitting around 30,000-50,000 SHU.
The leaves of this variety are rather small, so it’s a perfect option for anyone wishing to create the look of a bonsai tree.
Bolivian Rainbow
A couple more photos that made Fatalii famous, showing the beauty of a pepper plant being made into a Bonchi.
The Bolivian rainbow variety is often used for ornamental reasons – from the photos you can probably guess why. The peppers themselves are actually edible, with a SHU score of about 30,000-50,000. That’s 4 to 12 times hotter than your store bought jalapeño.
Bonzi
Bonzi Pepper Plant, Image Courtesy of Fatalii.
This species grows as a very small bush, so it is a perfect option for bonchi. The fruits tend to be quite small, and point upwards.
Cabaca Roxa
Cabaca Roxa Peppers, Image Courtesy of Fatalii
These are my second hottest variety of peppers; they are considered extremely hot at 50,000-100,000 SHU. That’s 4-20 times hotter than a store bought jalapeño!
Cabaca Roxa Peppers, Image Courtesy of Fatalii
The peppers look really gorgeous, typically looking like a cherry (rounded and bright red), and fruiting in small bunches.
Charapita
Charapita Peppers, Image Courtesy of Fatalii
These is probably my smallest pepper fruit variety, and I’m quite excited to see them grow! They are described as “candy looking”. The plant produces hundreds of pods, and is considered to be highly fruitful.
Chinese Five Color
Chinese 5 Color Pepper Fruit. Image Courtesy of Fatalii.
The Chinese Five Color pepper is another hot variety with a SHU of 30,000-50,000. However it is often grown as an ornamental due to its gorgeous colours. Just like the Bolivian Rainbow (above), this variety will bear fruit that ranges from purple, to yellow, to orange, and finally to a red.
Habanero, Orange and Pink Varieties
Habanero Pink
Habanero Orange
Habanero Pink & Orange Varieties (respectively). Images courtesy of Fatalii.
The habanero is one of those peppers everyone has heard of. But did you know they grow in different colours? And did you know that the different colours do not have the same heat levels?
The orange habanero has a heat level that you have come to expect from peppers – sitting at 100,000-350,000 SHU!
The pink habanero however… this pepper is perfect to carry around a party and to eat hole, impressing others at your ability to maintain perfect composure when eating something so hot. The pink habanero, despite its name, has very little spice what so ever! It’s closer to a spice level of a capsicum than it is to a jalapeño!
Italiano
Italiano Pepper, Image Courtesy of Fatalii.
The italiano pepper variety is suited to growing in small containers, making it a perfect option for Bonchi.
What attracted me to this variety is its fruit – the peppers are small and long, and grow in clusters that point upwards. Very pretty!
Jalapeno
The Jalapeño is the most common pepper that people buy at the stores fresh. We really enjoyed growing and eating our last plant (before I killed it to make room for other plants – oops I didn’t know I could make it a Bonchi then).
Marbles
Marbles Pepper Plants. Image Courtesy of Fatalii.
Another very pretty variety of peppers; just as the name suggests, these fruits look exactly like marbles. The fruit are quite small, only getting to be about 1/2″ in size (1.3cm)! It is an ornamental variety, but the fruit apparently still can be used in cooking.
Numex Twilight
Numex Twilight Peppers. Images courtesy of Fatalii.
This variety is another ornamental designed to catch your eyes. Just like several other varieties, the fruit will shift from purples to reds as it ripens.
Omnicolor
The Omnicolor Pepper Variety. Image Courtesy of Fatalii.
Apparently the omnicolor variety are very popular among pepper growers; its easy to grow, and has a unique taste that works great as dried flakes or powder.
Pimenta Caixo
Pimenta Caixo Peppers. Image courtesy of Fatalii.
This is another pepper that grows fruit in clusters. From the photos, it appears that this fruit doesn’t hang as much as other varieties, but rather forms closer to the branch stems.
These peppers are considered extremely hot with a SHU of 50,000-100,000.
Starfish
Starfish Pepper. Image courtesy of Fatalii.
This plant produces very uniquely shaped pepper fruits – they look quite like stars!
These peppers are medium hot at SHU 30,000 – 50,000.
Size of leaf on a Starfish Pepper. Image courtesy of Fatalii.
Unfortunately the leaf size of this pepper variety is quite large, so its not generally suited to Bonchi methods. It doesn’t mean we won’t try!
Trepadeira Werner
Trepadeira Werner Pepper. Image courtesy of Fatalii.
Another interesting looking fruit; the Trepadeira Werner peppers look very much like cherries!
These are considered mild peppers, with a SHU score of 1000-5000.
So which seeds will I be planting first?
I love that the Bolivian Rainbow has fruit that’s long, clusters, and points upwards. More importantly, I love the color variations. Because of this, it gets preference over the Birds Eye Baby and the Italiano.
The Marbles variety has gorgeous little round fruits, which are such a unique shape compared to most other varieties. Closely behind this variety is the Charapita, with the miniature yellow ball shaped fruits.
Since I’m not a huge fan of spicy food (yeah I know, I’m growing spicy peppers…) I will definitely be planting the Miniature Orange Bell, the Pink Habanero, the Aji Jobito and the Treeadeira Werners.
The Starfish variety was a personal preference of my husband, so I’ll definitely start growing soon.
Ikea Nypon Pot.
Coming up in a future post, I will talk about how I will convert my Ikea Nypon pots into hydroponic containers, suitable for growing a hydroponic bonsai or hydroponic Bonchi in.
Growing Jalapeño Peppers in Kratky Hydroponics, Week 8 Growth
When I first planted the Jalapeños they were probably the least exciting plant for me; they were my husband’s request. I’m not a huge fan of spicy-hot, and for me Jalapeños can fall into that category depending upon ripeness.
Having watched the plants grow the last two months has been really rewarding, and to see the fruits getting so large… I am now quite excited to harvest. Jalapeño poppers, anyone?
Jalapeño Pepper Fruit, Week 8 Growth in Kratky Hydroponics
The peppers are still a little bit small to be picked. But its amazing to see how much they have grown in one week! Imagine if humans grew this fast; have a baby and nearly two months later they are nearly adults…
Have you tried growing Jalapeño peppers hydroponically? I’d love to know how your peppers tasted. Let me know in the comments below.
It’s an exciting time in our household! We have babies! Jalapeño babies, that is.
Growing Jalapeño Peppers in Kratky Hydroponics, Week 7 Growth
Here is our primary Jalapeño plant; we have two plants but this guy here is definitely the largest. He is 15″ (40cm) tall from base to highest leaf. Typically Jalapeño plants will grow to be about twice that height, so my little guy is only a teenager. The plant is often called an annual, however if kept in ideal temperatures (not exposed to frost) they will keep growing and producing.
Jalapeño Pepper Flower, Grown in Kratky Hydroponics, Week 7 Growht
Over the last couple weeks our Jalapeño plants have been flowering. Since we are growing indoors with no bees or insects to pollinate, I have to do it myself. An old toothbrush head on the electric toothbrush really helps save the day; the vibration is just enough to get the pollen shaking loose.
Jalapeño Pepper Flower, Grown in Kratky Hydroponics, Week 7 Growht
As the flower gets older, it starts to wilt. But its what emerges from beneath the aged flower petals that’s the most exciting part:
Baby Jalapeño Pepper Fruit, Week 7 Growth in Kratky Hydroponics
I aided this guy by very gently removing the old petals; only a couple petals were left attached, and the fruit was mostly visible. You can see some of the left over pollen on the fruit. Each fruit appears to be about 1.5-2cm in size (0.5″ give or take).
Baby Jalapeño Pepper Fruit, Week 7 Growth in Kratky Hydroponics
We have multiple fruit starting to appear. I count four peppers so far, with several older flowers that are beginning to bulge. I don’t want to go disturbing the flowers yet in case I break them off, or ruin the chance for them to bear fruit.
Opps. The last time I shared an update on the Jalapeños was when they were four weeks old. I didn’t realise time was going by so fast and somehow I didn’t remember to write an update.
Well guess what: it flowered!
Growing Jalapeño Peppers in Kratky Hydroponics, Week 6 Growth
The very first flower opened today in fact. It’s so dainty looking; a stark contrast to the hot and spicy fruit that it’s going to produce.
Growing Jalapeño Peppers in Kratky Hydroponics, Week 6 Growth
There are plenty of other flowers growing on each of the branches, most at that point of about-to-open. Give them a day or two and the whole plant will be flowering, and in need of pollination. Domestic varieties of Jalapeños are self-pollinating, but they benefit from the electric toothbrush method.
Growing Jalapeño Peppers in Kratky Hydroponics, Week 6 Growth
I’m surprised at how small the plants are to be honest. They can grow to be 30in (or 76cm) tall, yet my plants are both around only half that.
My husband is very excited about the jalapeños growing, and his excitement is catching; I am looking forward to making some yummy meals like Jalapeño poppers!
