Lucas/Krusty

burnie

burnie

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Anybody still runnin` DWC buckets . Wanna` get my feet wet , but wanna` start off small and easy . And from what I`ve read and understand buckets are a good first step to hydroponics . Thoughts ?
peace
 
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if you have bucks, i use GH waterfarms, you can use as many or few as you want. there are tek posts here to build your own too. funny, i am going to go to dirt next grow. hydro is alot of work, just saying. good luck my friend. :guitar:
 
That`s what I see from a lot of hydro growers .....it`s a lot of work . That`s why I was askin` about the buckets . Seems they`re the easiest way to go . May just stick to my Pro mix and root pouches and mosta` Dorjes organic soil mix . . All I hafta` do is check on `em every other day . Very seldom need any ferts , and I don`t hafta` ph `em daily . So OK , talk me into or out of buckets .
peace
 
burnie, check out skitty's buckets, he's got that system dialed in right...I'm old school pro mix myself, happy with it as it's very forgiving and gives me an opportunity to slack a little...
 
Since you want opinions, my opinion is the best way to garden right now indoors with cannabis is probably small coco/maybe some added perlite pots, undersized than what you might think to use, watered multiple times per day...

Is this better than DWC? Maybe for a couple reasons: coco=antifungal, less problems to go wrong than DWC...

When this run finishes, Ill be switching my large coco/perlite pots, to smaller ones that need watered 3x or more per day...

Im no indoor garden expert by any means but i see the most people killing it with this system, and thats where Ive always seen the most explosive growth- coco watered multiple times per day--- only when you set the plant up to use it tho, if you don't train the roots in you can still overwater coco....
 
I used to grow solely hydroponically, I am a fan of ebb and flow or flood and drain as some call it. For medium I love Hydroton now I think they are called hydro corals? Flood and drain is great flood that thing for 10 minutes three times during lights on I prefer 1 gallon square pots so close they are touching each other rooted clones get put in vegged for 2 days and flipped this is true sea of green style growing anything that grows away from the stem gets nipped. I usually leave four to six nodes, always remember when growing hydroponically to top off the water as the water level disapates the nutrient strength gets stronger....
 
I just grow old style dirt and nutes and chit :thumright:
 
Pa , speaking of growing frugally , you ever get the Blumat auto waterers hooked up ?
peace
 
Melon, you seen many people hit 3+ with that system? Ive only seen and heard people hit 3+ with coco top drip; you seem pretty sure, how come so adament thats the best?
 
Hydro's simple once you figure it out. My setup is totally DIY. It's a 4x8' table with 2x6" walls, that is lined with 6 mil poly. It's SOG, so I have 72 2" holes in the cover for net pots. The net pots are filled with pea gravel. The table sits over a plywood box, that's also lined with 6 mil poly, that is my reservoir (100+ gallons) There's a little water pump in the bottom that pumps nutes 24/7 to each end of the table, and the drain is in the middle along one side (the other side is too close to a wall to access.
I mix my nutes before loading with clones, and only top off with water for the entire crop.

I recycle the gravel & net pots. The only thing I have to haul away are the roots & stems....

I'd like to try the Krustys sometime for growing stretchy Sativas. I'll have to read up on them.
 
Are temps in the buckets/roots an issue?
How often do you change nutes? Adjust ph?


Hydro can be WAY easier, fwiw.

I finally got a pump and lines ran, it's as easy as filling a trash can once a week. Keep the notes low(er) and you're golden
(DTW coco, h&g)
 
Last edited:
Gonejah said:
Are temps in the buckets/roots an issue?
How often do you change nutes? Adjust ph?


Hydro can be WAY easier, fwiw.

I finally got a pump and lines ran, it's as easy as filling a trash can once a week. Keep the notes low(er) and you're golden
(DTW coco, h&g)
Click to expand...


Gonejah,
Not sure if you were askin' me, but I'm the only one that posted recently.

I don't use buckets. All the plants are in tiny 2" net pots (shot glass size) and the net pots slip into 2" holes in a sheet of "shower board" (thin fiberglass board that comes in 4x8' sheets, used for bathtub & shower walls in economy homes. Lowes $30) I cut it into 4 24x48" pieces that are easy to manage. Each one has 16 holes drilled in it for the net pots. The shower board is supported by a simple plastic platform, that is a section of plastic picket fence laid flat inside the table. (Lowes too).

I never have to change the nutes. The res is over 100 gallons + the table holds another 40-50 gallons. The pH is very stable because the volume is large. My well water is perfect, so I don't need to adjust my pH.

Temps are never an issue. I run air stones in the resevoirs & the tables, but it's not absolutely necessary since the water is peeing through spray bars (1/2" cpvc drilled with little holes along the 48" ends.) and draining back into the reservoir 24/7.

Besides the high labor of cloning & planting a SOG crop I really like it. I veg to 8", which usually takes about 2 weeks, to finish at 24-28". It's good for mono cropping. But any strains that finish around the same time & height will work together.

I use generic hydro nutes from an ag supply store, that I mix to approximate the Lucas formula. $50 worth lasts for 2-3 years, running 2 4x8' tables. It's just a base + a bloom mix + calcium nitrate + Epsom salt.
 
To answer Bernie's original question about DWC. Yes, it's as simple as hydro gets and it works fine. It's a good way to try hydro. I recommend as large a container as you have room for, since it's easier to keep the nute concentration & pH more stable.

I keep a DWC set up to keep as a back up for my Moms. I keep most of them in 1 gallon pots of ProMix, but like to keep a back up or two in a DWC tote with 1/2 strength nutes (about 500-600 ppm). I'm amazed at how carefree it is to keep going, I'll go months without even checking the nutes. I just watch the leaves to make sure they look reasonably healthy.
 
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