coco+wick+gh flora nova=never dump run-off|pdg’s imaginary/enjoyable garden

[SKUNK420]

only optional/potentially advantageous addition to set-up would be to add small air stone, or other oxygenation to bottom 5 gallon bucket.

have ran several times w/out aeration, but from running dwc, suspect that air stone in root zone would only help plants.

tru. nice write up

 

[simple green]

Nice write up here...I'm always interested to see people's methods of feeding and keeping growing simple and not too time consuming

 

[*mistress*]

no ferts or water ever wasted...

 

[bicyclebenny]

Based on this infi, I'm trying this with 2L soda bottles and @ 3wks am utterly amazed!

 

[*mistress*]

 

[bicyclebenny]

in a good way, hope!

what are the 2l bottles residing in/wicking water from?

enjoy your garden!

I just cut 2 in half so the bottom of one is the reservoir.
I was gifted a Jack Herer that is in rockwool. I just stuck the rockwool in a 2L soda bottle bottom w/wick and set it in another 2L soda bottle bottom full of nute solution.
Then I made a few more based on that idea. Looking great.

 

[*mistress*]

 

[bicyclebenny]

For the 2L soda bottle, I found some shoelace material in the junk drawer that was about 1.5 (!) inches wide. From kid's stylish, I guess?, shoes. Worked awesome. I am also using regular shoelace material in some 24 oz bottles I'm testing. I agree that the soda bottles are not the best, for reasons you mentioned, but this exercise is just to get me accustomed to a different method than straight coco. I love coco, but want to test alternatives just because....

 

[*mistress*]

fat laces garden

 

[SoFreshnSOGreen]

For the 2L soda bottle, I found some shoelace material in the junk drawer that was about 1.5 (!) inches wide. From kid's stylish, I guess?, shoes. Worked awesome. I am also using regular shoelace material in some 24 oz bottles I'm testing. I agree that the soda bottles are not the best, for reasons you mentioned, but this exercise is just to get me accustomed to a different method than straight coco. I love coco, but want to test alternatives just because....

lol... awesome

much props for making it happen w/ what you have!

ultimate kiss [keeping it simple + sophsticated] method: literally gardening on a shoestring!

w/ fat laces, no less...

classic...

heh couldnt be said more true!
this is some real debate for me, i'd like to see some pix of various possibly ficticious gardens both/all of yall

 

[*mistress*]

 

[SoFreshnSOGreen]

member *mistress* dont post pics of imaginary garden. have lurked w/out pics through og, cw, and other incarnations.

the method was detailed w/ pics retrieved from net @ post 1 of this thread.

if have questions about methods, can post here in open internet forum. may have many answers. some w/ pics, some not.

descriptions provided should be visually stimulating. [imagination...] from here, method is so simple, only pics required to replicate, again, provided @ post 1 of this thread.

what is 'debate'?:smile:
enjoy your garden!

what method is going to be best for me; and I'm leaning towards some sort of hempy bucket or something like this - basically the idea is build assuming that everything that can go wrong will, then try to not kill the girls, then get better....

---edit---
and please dont mistake my enthusiasm for prickishness, i wasnt expecting you to turn over a years long rule just for me - i operate under similar rules to date; but some are perfectly happy doing so, and was just saying some of these various variations might be nice to see

 

[*mistress*]

what method is going to be best for me; and I'm leaning towards some sort of hempy bucket or something like this - basically the idea is build assuming that everything that can go wrong will, then try to not kill the girls, then get better....

---edit---
and please dont mistake my enthusiasm for prickishness, i wasnt expecting you to turn over a years long rule just for me - i operate under similar rules to date; but some are perfectly happy doing so, and was just saying some of these various variations might be nice to see

wick method adds 2 elements to the hempy bucket:
1) wick. to draw back in that run-off from the bucket. zero waste of water or nutes; and

2) 5g res bucket. permits a) flooding of media by watering over drain hole + b) ability to leave garden for @ least a week.

materials:

1. containers [4 + 5 gallon buckets are usualy free from bakeries]
2. media [coco+perlite/perlite+vermiculite/perlite/coco+lava rock]
3. nylon rope [shoestrings have been used w/ success...]
4. gh flora nova bloom [1 part nute stand-alone nute, buffers ph well]

dont need:

1. water pump
2. air pump
3. air stone
4. res chiller
5. feed hoses
6. return hoses
7. large reservoir
8. top-off reservoir

tech

drill hole(s) in 4 gallon bucket, @~2 inches from base.
run ~12-18 inch piece(s) of 1/2 inch nylon rope thru drainage hole(s).
when place media in 4g bucket, splay rope ends a) directly underneath root zone of transplant; and b) in bottom 2 inchs of 4g bucket.
insert 4g bucket into 5 gallon bucket. fits snugly; no need for a krusty-type spacer. square bucket just lodges inside of bigger circumference of 5g bucket.
now have portable res, which will hold ~2+ gallons of nutrient solution, w/ 4 g bucket inserted into 5 g.
also have fail-safe watering method. the wick will continuously draw water up into root-zone, and mini-res @ bottom 2" of 4g.
to saturate media, can simply pour water over drainage holes, submerging rope ends. this is flood+drain variation.
if dont have pump, use large turkey baster to suction out water.
in mid-late flower, plants will easily drink a gallon of water a day - or more. depends on cultivar.
simple process.

4g-in-5g buckets to be large+small enough to manuever around + will sustain trees.

gh fnb. feed every 1-3 watering. full strength...

zero waste. no water or nutes are ever dumped. every drop is either used, or evaporates.
method was developed for kiss: keep it simple + sophisticated.

 

[EllieGrows]

I'm absolutely entranced, this is beautiful.

 

[*mistress*]

I'm absolutely entranced, this is beautiful.

 

[SoFreshnSOGreen]

have ran many different methods. these include dwc, aeroponics, soil, compost, soilless mix, krusty (kbs) buckets, and hempy buckets.

the wick method adds 2 elements to the hempy bucket:1) wick. to draw back in that run-off from the bucket. zero waste of water or nutes; and 2) 5g res bucket. permits a) flooding of media by watering over drain hole + b) ability to leave garden for @ least a week. *mistress* didnt invented wick method, but ran other styles and found modification that is kiss.

dont see how a gardener could go wrong w/ coco and wicks. almost impossible to overwater, underwater, or over-feed w/ gh nutes @ cap full per gallon.

no ph meters needed. no ec/tds/ppm meters needed. dont even need ro water. just follow roapmap set forth in post 1...

all materials needed are:

1. containers [4 + 5 gallon buckets are usualy free from bakeries]
2. media [coco+perlite/perlite+vermiculite/perlite/coco+lava rock]
3. nylon rope [shoestrings have been used w/ success...]
4. gh flora nova bloom [1 part nute stand-alone nute, buffers ph well]

cant come up w/ a 5th need. but heres what you dont need:

1. water pump
2. air pump
3. air stone
4. res chiller
5. feed hoses
6. return hoses
7. large reservoir
8. top-off reservoir

as for the 'see[ing]' part... all of the 4 components are listed above.

drill hole(s) in 4 gallon bucket, @~2 inches from base.

run ~12-18 inch piece(s) of 1/2 inch nylon rope thru drainage hole(s).

when place media in 4g bucket, splay rope ends a) directly underneath root zone of transplant; and b) in bottom 2 inchs of 4g bucket.

insert 4g bucket into 5 gallon bucket. fits snugly; no need for a krusty-type spacer. square bucket just lodges inside of bigger circumference of 5g bucket.

now have portable res, which will hold ~2+ gallons of nutrient solution, w/ 4 g bucket inserted into 5 g.

also have fail-safe watering method. the wick will continuously draw water up into root-zone, and mini-res @ bottom 2" of 4g.

to saturate media, can simply pour water over drainage holes, submerging rope ends. this is flood+drain variation.

if dont have pump, use large turkey baster to suction out water.

in mid-late flower, plants will easily drink a gallon of water a day - or more. depends on strain.

any gardener interested should be able to acquire the materials listed in any locale, from any hardware/home improvement/general store. no need to post pics of this incredibly simple process.

if a poster/lurker/member is intrigued, will cost >20 pieces of gold to full set-up. buckets are not necessary; just found the 4g-in-5g buckets to be large+small enough to manuever around + will sustain trees.

while gh fnb is recommended, have used only molasses for entire grow. excellent results. have also used ubiquitous alaska fish5-1-1, and mor-bloom 0-10-10 formulas. available everywhere, effective.

just feed every 2d-3d watering. and dont try to do too much.

dialed in this method so could be reproducible globally, w/ little to no effort in raw material acquisition. also considered dual use of materials; no clear path to gardening noted (buckets, rope).

another + to method is zero [00:00] waste. no water or nutes are ever dumped. every drop is either used, or evaporates.

actually made effort not to include additional materials. could have easily cut up the 100 feet of soaker hose thats been sitting since krust_ bucket days (in imagination), and pulled out old reliable air pump; but chose to concentrate on plants and room environmentals as primary.

more concerned w/ diff, vapor pressure deficit and temp+light influences than machines keeping plant on life-support.

nothing will go wrong if just do less as possible, and plant will do its annual thing.

am dom-goddess... very skilled @ applying 'rules'...in a good way...

method was developed for kiss: keep it simple + sophisticated.

hope this helps. enjoy your garden!

I'm counting that if i set it up close to invulnerable as i can, yeah, let her do her thing ^^

HM i think i finally understand adding the water, so add it to the space between the 4 and 5 gallon bucket, add over the wick holes, till it holds steady at that level, indicating that its at the wick level inside AND outside of the bucket....

Looking around seems coco and perlite are very easy to find, so i'm adopting your entire solution.

1. containers [4 + 5 gallon buckets are usualy free from bakeries]
2. media [coco+perlite/perlite+vermiculite/perlite/coco+lava rock]
3. nylon rope [shoestrings have been used w/ success...]
4. gh flora nova bloom [1 part nute stand-alone nute, buffers ph well]

i mean really, look at that list - AWESOME lol, i just cant argue its complicated when i look at your recommendations [because its not!]

p.s. You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to *mistress* again. :<

 

[*mistress*]

 

[SoFreshnSOGreen]

you can rely totally on bottom feeding, though do occasionally top feed, around edges of 4 gal.

sludge, etc. will build up on rope and in 5 gal bucket. this is where the hydrogen peroxide comes in... oxidizes+adds enough oxygen to keep everything active, yet under control.

went super-no-waste, and re-fed ac drain water w/out ph'ing. plants just drank it... no ill effects @ harvest on fruit. so, in imagination, there is 0 waste.

a spray bottle w/ h202 is good to spray in mini-5-gal-res + on/in drain holes. periodically applied. iodine eliminates all unwanted organisms as well; used sparingly. *edit* option may be to use enzymes, beneficials, etc, if into 99% organic, instead of h202.

considered adding soaker hose to 5 gal, attch'd to air pump, but several fictitious runs in imagination has proven not needed. what is not needed is not included...

can measure water uptake via observing how much wick soaks up. usually keep water underneath drain hole(s) until mid-late flowering. this is when they will drink the water up. may be good to feed more water than nutes than would in other system. is all accumulated in mini-res. dont need to keep putting in electrical charges. this is just preference for >nutes though... conversely, do heavy foliar thru-out flower, where many seem to avoid foliar feeding altogether in flower. dont stop until wk 6 or so...

whether feed in between buckets, or into 4 gal, or both. usually tell when to water again by weight of buckets. can pull out 4 gal from 5 gal, to manually check, but weight is quick-check method.

will find own way to know when/what/what not not to feed. sometimes may let bucket get very dry. depends. some plants eat+drink differently. relatively easy to tailor ea diet, as ea plant has own res.

kitty-litter trays can also be used w/ 4 gal buckets, if will only keep shallow res. by mid-late fruiting, will see how much wick draws up though...

if add any additive to a nute mix, would consider a humic/fulvic acid. over 60 trace minerals, and acts as buffers, chelates and catalysts... any generic kind. seems to keep a non-dumped media+res balanced. only other input worth noting is molasses. threads elsewhere on that...

however, fnb alone, w/ tap water, a few buckets, and a piece of rope, can keep it as simple as possible. nothing else needed. good tomatoes in a few weeks...

hope this helps & hope methods contribute to enjoying your garden!

2. media [coco+perlite/perlite+vermiculite/perlite/coco+lava rock]

Mistress & Co. I need some clarification. I found perlite, but cannot find the coco anywhere. The perlite seems to be roughly quarter inch cubes, only type i could find. The vermiculite seems to be in 1-3mm sized bits. Is this acceptable? If i go with vermiculite do i need to change the feeding routine? I just cannot find anything but coco mulch at HD/LOWeS/etc.????

 

[*mistress*]

2. media [coco+perlite/perlite+vermiculite/perlite/coco+lava rock]

Mistress & Co. I need some clarification. I found perlite, but cannot find the coco anywhere. The perlite seems to be roughly quarter inch cubes, only type i could find. The vermiculite seems to be in 1-3mm sized bits. Is this acceptable? If i go with vermiculite do i need to change the feeding routine? I just cannot find anything but coco mulch at HD/LOWeS/etc.????

perlite+vermiculite will work as well. just mix @ 3:1-5:1 perlite to vermiculite, as detailed in hempy bucket threads... spread rope into media, extend rope into external run-off catch. end.

 

[*mistress*]

observations that may help gardeners considering/using this method...

*agitation of the buckets, by simply shaking/see-sawing-/rocking buckets, will release oxygen (make bubbles) in water/nutes residing in lower bucket.
*alternatively, have let some buckets go w/out any agitation...
*permit water/nutes to sit for couple days, agitate, then repeat. this lets oxy break down, and stimulates aerobic activities.
*flora nova bloom is very thick. will form sediment @ bottom of 4 gal + 5 gal bucket. feed-water-feed-water good. use all nutes already there before adding more.
*really only need to water and/or feed 1-2 per week. any more is too much. plant has double-res' to get moisture from. make plant froce roots to seek+capture h20/nutes.
*increase in water absorbtion generall occurs @ weeks 3-6 of flowering. be prepared to provide lots of h20 during this time, if hand watering.
*humic and/or fulvic acids are very effective @ being buffers, catalysts, and ph stabilizer. keeps everything in balance; contains over 60 trace nutes + facilitates exchange of electrical charges (cation exchange).
*letting top 1/3-1/2 of the media dry out is beneficial. top roots like air. top-dressing of perlite helps this process, also helps deter pests + insulates. this means can bottom-feed by simply pouring water/nutes up to drain hole level. this especially woeks well in totes, as the water accumulation is less than a 5 gal bucket.
*when feeding w/ water-only in the rotation, if decide to rotate, adding h202