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BudBuddha
Guest
Thanks guys. :)
It vaped up pretty good too. GP. ;)
I water once or twice a week, depending, just keep an eye on the dirt, stick a finger in there every once in a while to make sure it is damp. There is only about 3 quarts of dirt in each pot so they do get dry faster than the big pots do, but the results make it a worthwhile thing to do. :)
It vaped up pretty good too. GP. ;)
I water once or twice a week, depending, just keep an eye on the dirt, stick a finger in there every once in a while to make sure it is damp. There is only about 3 quarts of dirt in each pot so they do get dry faster than the big pots do, but the results make it a worthwhile thing to do. :)
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BudBuddha
Guest
I let them veg for about 2 weeks after they were rooted and in dirt. The tallest plant was about 8 inches then. I then switched out the 250 W MH for the 250 W HPS (I use a digital ballast so I can do that) and flipped them. 60 days later I chopped them. I got 9 & 1/2 ounces of clean dry AK 47 bud from this run. It is worth doing, I have 16 Madonna in there right now. Those should finish in about 2 weeks or so.
Since it took about 2 weeks to get all of the cuts well rooted, and 2 weeks in veg to get them all healthy and up to 8 inches tall, then 2 months in flower, overall they took 3 months to go from cuttings to chopped and in the drying cabinet. :)
Since it took about 2 weeks to get all of the cuts well rooted, and 2 weeks in veg to get them all healthy and up to 8 inches tall, then 2 months in flower, overall they took 3 months to go from cuttings to chopped and in the drying cabinet. :)
str8dank
New member
that looks really cool GREAT idea! how even does the water dispense?
seems like it would dispense more evenly if it pressurized some first by reducing the size of each port going to each pot to say like 1/8". i can just see it pouring out of just one side or twice as much from one side if it's not perfectly level and i think if the ports were smaller that may reduce that issue as gravity does not play as much of a role in the dispensing and pressure does the work.
seems like it would dispense more evenly if it pressurized some first by reducing the size of each port going to each pot to say like 1/8". i can just see it pouring out of just one side or twice as much from one side if it's not perfectly level and i think if the ports were smaller that may reduce that issue as gravity does not play as much of a role in the dispensing and pressure does the work.
str8dank
New member
that looks really cool GREAT idea! how even does the water dispense?
if it does not dispense equally to each pot it seems like it would dispense more evenly if it pressurized some first by reducing the size of each port going to each pot to say like 1/8". i can just see it pouring out of just one side or twice as much from one side if it's not perfectly level and i think if the ports were smaller that may reduce that issue as gravity does not play as much of a role in the dispensing and pressure does the work. if you have that problem maybe as simple as adding end caps to each port that you drilled a lil hole into.
if it does not dispense equally to each pot it seems like it would dispense more evenly if it pressurized some first by reducing the size of each port going to each pot to say like 1/8". i can just see it pouring out of just one side or twice as much from one side if it's not perfectly level and i think if the ports were smaller that may reduce that issue as gravity does not play as much of a role in the dispensing and pressure does the work. if you have that problem maybe as simple as adding end caps to each port that you drilled a lil hole into.
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BudBuddha
Guest
I lay the pipe setup on the edge of a table and push it around until it is straight. That is why I don't glue it together, so I can move the pipes around so they work right before I put the plants in.
When it is all straight, I set the whole thing up with a piece of wood under the front end to make the water flow downhill toward the far end, which is capped. I stick a small piece of modeling clay (plasticine) under the front end on top of the piece of wood and push the pipe down on the clay until it is set firm. I then pour some water through the setup to see how it flows out. If it comes out of one side more than the other, I push the setup around so that the water flows out more evenly.
I accept that some plants will get a little less water through the top of the soil and will have to take up a little more through the pot bottom, that is why the bottom tray has to be water tight and level - all of the plants sit in a bit of water every time I water, so they can take up through the bottom what they didn't get through the top. This is why I stated right off the bat that you need to use pots with good drain holes in the bottom.
It works. You have to mess around with it a little to get it right the first time, but after that it just works. Hope that helps. :)
When it is all straight, I set the whole thing up with a piece of wood under the front end to make the water flow downhill toward the far end, which is capped. I stick a small piece of modeling clay (plasticine) under the front end on top of the piece of wood and push the pipe down on the clay until it is set firm. I then pour some water through the setup to see how it flows out. If it comes out of one side more than the other, I push the setup around so that the water flows out more evenly.
I accept that some plants will get a little less water through the top of the soil and will have to take up a little more through the pot bottom, that is why the bottom tray has to be water tight and level - all of the plants sit in a bit of water every time I water, so they can take up through the bottom what they didn't get through the top. This is why I stated right off the bat that you need to use pots with good drain holes in the bottom.
It works. You have to mess around with it a little to get it right the first time, but after that it just works. Hope that helps. :)
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Dirtbucket
Guest
Very cool watering system! Looks as if it makes watering in tight set-ups a little easier.
My only concern would be with the plants sitting in and soaking up the runoff....Always been told to get rid of runoff, i.e drain to waste.
Then again, I remember seeing an article in HT where SOG growers used a large, level table to bottom feed without too many issues. I think the key was using an enzyme product.
My only concern would be with the plants sitting in and soaking up the runoff....Always been told to get rid of runoff, i.e drain to waste.
Then again, I remember seeing an article in HT where SOG growers used a large, level table to bottom feed without too many issues. I think the key was using an enzyme product.
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BudBuddha
Guest
In my experience the plants sitting in the runoff is not a problem, all of my cabinets have a bottom tray that the pots sit in to catch the runoff. I don't use an enzyme or anything else as there is no need.
Think about how plants grow in the wild - they put their roots down as close to the water table as they can. Yeah, if the plant sits in water up to the trunk bottom the trunk will rot and the roots will drown and die, but if the bottom roots hit water they allow the plant to uptake as much as it needs without damage. Consider those of us who run hydro - those plants roots are in water all of the time and they do just fine.
I used a water cloner for years to root cuttings without any problems either, though the aero is faster and more effective.
The key here is simplicity, the proof of this systems efficiency is what you see after 3 months - 9 & 1/2 ounces of AK 47 bud from a 250 W HID cabinet. If it didn't work I wouldn't use it. :) If it needed to be more complicated I would say so and tell you what else is needed, but I don't need to as this is all there is to it.
This irrigation system - though you have to mess around with it to get it set up right initially - is cheap, easy and reliable. Nothing else really need to be added to it unless you want to make it more complicated and expensive, but that is another thread. ;)
Think about how plants grow in the wild - they put their roots down as close to the water table as they can. Yeah, if the plant sits in water up to the trunk bottom the trunk will rot and the roots will drown and die, but if the bottom roots hit water they allow the plant to uptake as much as it needs without damage. Consider those of us who run hydro - those plants roots are in water all of the time and they do just fine.
I used a water cloner for years to root cuttings without any problems either, though the aero is faster and more effective.
The key here is simplicity, the proof of this systems efficiency is what you see after 3 months - 9 & 1/2 ounces of AK 47 bud from a 250 W HID cabinet. If it didn't work I wouldn't use it. :) If it needed to be more complicated I would say so and tell you what else is needed, but I don't need to as this is all there is to it.
This irrigation system - though you have to mess around with it to get it set up right initially - is cheap, easy and reliable. Nothing else really need to be added to it unless you want to make it more complicated and expensive, but that is another thread. ;)
