Hi all.
I am pretty new to the forum style of learning, but have decided to check it out due to my recent completion of a master's thesis on this type of education. From what I have seen so far it looks like I am in good hands.
I recently completed a horticulture master's program at a respectable university and have also been experimenting with indoor gardening for a few years. With a wealth of information at my fingertips everyday, I still must say that I depend much on peoples opinions and personal experiences, as plants have such unique and variable characteristics.
I am currently running a coco coir (more finely ground)/bag system with some pretty high wattage hps/mh lights. I have found much success with this system and also found that this is much more forgiving and easier to work with than my previous rockwool drip system.
I would like to start out by posing a question for some advice on my personal system. I use 1 gal. bags that are circular and taller than they are wide filled with the granular coco. They sit on a table that drains to a reservoir that I have just been using for waste with hand watering. I have all the pumps, timers, etc. for a drip system, but was wondering if anyone has done it with a medium that holds water as much as coco? For example, should I allow the medium to almost fully dry before I run the system, or keep it more moist? If I do it the first way, I'm not seeing as high of a percentage of runoff back into my reservoir and I would think there may be more salts washing into it or something? I have only worked with this system with rockwool before where I had it running at least a couple times a day...seems like that would keep the coco way too wet ya know?
Anyway, i'm excited to be on here and consider myself a pacifistical fighter for the good cause
I hope to share much knowledge and gain lots of practical experiences!
I am pretty new to the forum style of learning, but have decided to check it out due to my recent completion of a master's thesis on this type of education. From what I have seen so far it looks like I am in good hands.
I recently completed a horticulture master's program at a respectable university and have also been experimenting with indoor gardening for a few years. With a wealth of information at my fingertips everyday, I still must say that I depend much on peoples opinions and personal experiences, as plants have such unique and variable characteristics.
I am currently running a coco coir (more finely ground)/bag system with some pretty high wattage hps/mh lights. I have found much success with this system and also found that this is much more forgiving and easier to work with than my previous rockwool drip system.
I would like to start out by posing a question for some advice on my personal system. I use 1 gal. bags that are circular and taller than they are wide filled with the granular coco. They sit on a table that drains to a reservoir that I have just been using for waste with hand watering. I have all the pumps, timers, etc. for a drip system, but was wondering if anyone has done it with a medium that holds water as much as coco? For example, should I allow the medium to almost fully dry before I run the system, or keep it more moist? If I do it the first way, I'm not seeing as high of a percentage of runoff back into my reservoir and I would think there may be more salts washing into it or something? I have only worked with this system with rockwool before where I had it running at least a couple times a day...seems like that would keep the coco way too wet ya know?
Anyway, i'm excited to be on here and consider myself a pacifistical fighter for the good cause
I hope to share much knowledge and gain lots of practical experiences!
