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The Official Hempy Bucket Thread

bobman

Member
yes, as zendo stated, a grower named red spegetti(spell check) does a stadium hempy its in the vert section. i think its 20 plants in an 8x8 tent with only 3 sides. its a good thread.

A couple of other things.

The dollar store is great for hempy buckets. I can get a 1 gallon, 1.5 gallon or a 2.5 gallon bucket for a dollar here.

do you guys keep the media wet or let it really dry out? I grow in straight perlite and I am amazed how long a can go between watering especially when the plants or clones are potted up and the roots have not grown into the container. I can go 6-7 days between waterings for the first 2-4 weeks while the roots are growing into the container. would i get faster growth keeping the plants more wet? I also noticed I can hold off on feeding until i see a little yellowing and control their growth in veg a little.
 

bobman

Member
I am having an issue maybe you guys can help me with. One thing hempy has taught me is that a plant flowering is not as tolerant as a plant in veg and show problems while the same plant in veg will not.

Right now I have 20 plants going into there 19th day of flower. I just gave them there third watering since they have been in flower. Each time it has been the lucas formula at 8/16. Almost every plant has one big fan leaf that is almost completely yellow and may have a few dark or brown spots. The rest of the plant looks perfect. For the first 2 feeding I used half ro water and half tap. yesterdays feeding was all tap. My ph meter is all fucked up but I think I have been feeding around 6.1-6.3 ph. It looks like a nitrogen issue but I am not sure. My only concern is that I have about 6 more weeks of flower and I am not sure how fast this is going to progress, which I am sure its going to do. Anyone have this problem or have a suggestion? I am in straight perlite as well.
 
bobman: i use a modified lucas formula to delay the natural yellowing of the fan leaves you described a bit...

using GH liquid nutes - micro/bloom

veg - 16/8 (reverse lucas)

1 or 2 week transition - 12/12 (becomes clearer as your familiarity with the strain increases)

flower - 8/16
 

sideshow1

Member
I read the first 33 pages then the last 10. Its nice to see that there are still some people around from 60 pages ago.

I am about to switch my soil plant to hempy, but I am doing micro and have to keep the plant under 3 feet tall. What is a good size bucket for this. I have followed the 1gal=1foot rule in soil, but I know it isnt the same for hempy.
 

yesum

Well-known member
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Are there hempy pots without holes or where you have little to no drain off? Also, I am using 1 gallon pots filled with ffof and perlite. I want larger yields and faster growth, will hempy or straight perlite give me that?
Nutrients that are simple would be helpful as well.
 

Ty_Kaycha

Member
Really? cause I saw hempy and a few others that had 6 foot trees in 2.5-3gallon buckets.

Hempy & others get the trees, because they allow them to veg long enough so the plants get huge. It's a smart thing to do if you live in a State that limits ones plant numbers.

You mentioned you were wanted to stay under 3ft, so I'm assuming you're flipping when the plant is about a ft tall. So that will keep the height in check - at worse you might need to top once.

But you still want to give the roots plenty of room to grow. Of course you could always go smaller, but depending on the strain - the roots might completely fill the bucket.

If you don't want to go with 2.6-3gal buckets, then go with 1 gal. The plants will still grow, but will they reach their full potential - maybe but why risk it.

In the end its your choice - you asked for advice. It's been given. If you don't like, do what you want, but why waste people's time if you're just going to argue. If you already have your mind made up - then ask people what they think about your idea. Don't ask for open advice like you did. You asked about 3gal buckets & staying under 3ft - you got your answer - it's possible to do.

If your question is really what's the smallest size you can use - well hell that's a different story. Some people use 64 & 32 oz plastic cups.
 

sideshow1

Member
Hempy & others get the trees, because they allow them to veg long enough so the plants get huge. It's a smart thing to do if you live in a State that limits ones plant numbers.

You mentioned you were wanted to stay under 3ft, so I'm assuming you're flipping when the plant is about a ft tall. So that will keep the height in check - at worse you might need to top once.

But you still want to give the roots plenty of room to grow. Of course you could always go smaller, but depending on the strain - the roots might completely fill the bucket.

If you don't want to go with 2.6-3gal buckets, then go with 1 gal. The plants will still grow, but will they reach their full potential - maybe but why risk it.

In the end its your choice - you asked for advice. It's been given. If you don't like, do what you want, but why waste people's time if you're just going to argue. If you already have your mind made up - then ask people what they think about your idea. Don't ask for open advice like you did. You asked about 3gal buckets & staying under 3ft - you got your answer - it's possible to do.

If your question is really what's the smallest size you can use - well hell that's a different story. Some people use 64 & 32 oz plastic cups.

Seems like the second half of this post you got a little defensive. I wasn't trying to argue. I appreciate your response.

This is my first grow and I am going to switch from soil to hempy. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't going to outgrow my space. I have read a ton about people using 2.5-5 gallon buckets and getting massive plants, that was my main reason for asking about scaling.

I was surprised not argumentative. I am sorry if it came off that way. I am interested in gaining as much knowledge as possible and continuing to improve daily.

My intention is to flip at about 10 inches. That was about the only idea I have as of yet. I have a beach pale that will hold about 10 cups which is just under 3/4 of a gallon. I may just go pick up a mop bucket and get the 2-3 gallons. But like I mentioned before, I cant afford to get above 3ft.

Thanks for the reply and again I am sorry if my message came off with different intentions.
 

Ty_Kaycha

Member
Well I posted after the start of a crappy morning. I might of come off a bit harsh. But anyway, enough of that...

Maybe I'm just a little confused about what you're asking & trying to do. From what you're stating you want to control the height by using a small bucket of sorts so the plant's roots are stunted. Correct?

Personally I think having the plants as healthy as possible is more important, so I would go with a larger bucket but flip early. But it all really matters on the strain...

What strain are you growing and have you grown it before?
How many days does it run for?
How tall does it get in soil?
Was the soil runs in the same room you are going to run the hempy's?
What are you planning for your soil-less mixture?
 

Gebr'el

Member
imho....its really about your start height like you mentioned. i have co op'd a grow with 5 1 gal hempys in a space 2' d x 3' w x 3' h and none of the plants out grew the space (started @ 10").....mind you nah we had to raise dem lights like every day lol. also this is strain dependent, where as some might double in the stretch and some might quadruple. so it really depends on your knowledge of the strains your about to grow. so it will take a couple of grows to fully understand your system.
almost forgot.....another factor with your height issues would be your lighting; red spectrum lighting plants stretch more and blue to full spectrum, plants stretch alot less.
i know i might have confused the issue a lil and sorry if i did but knowing these factors will increase your success. btw in that 5 hempy grow we easily pulled over an ounce each bucket. one cola on one of em was more than 18" long and i could just barely touch my middle finger to my thumb when "squeezin" it and this was our first experiment with the hempy. this was with 150 w hps(red) x 2 60 w cfls 6500k(blue) and 4 23 w cfl 5500k(blue).....so this was kinda full spectrum.
peace n luv
all da best
grow safe
 

messn'n'gommin'

ember
Veteran
Are there hempy pots without holes or where you have little to no drain off? Also, I am using 1 gallon pots filled with ffof and perlite. I want larger yields and faster growth, will hempy or straight perlite give me that?
Nutrients that are simple would be helpful as well.

Hempy's aren't really classified by the medium it uses. Instead, it is considered a passive hydroponic system. The old style of a passive system used to (and still does) consist of a standard flower pot with a rope (or similar) threaded through the hole in the bottom for wicking the nutrient solution from the external spill tray/drip pan "reservoir" and into the medium. The pot was placed on a support (usually 2-3 bricks or similar) and the solution was poured directly into the tray...and that was Hempy's innovation! He eliminated the wick and moved the hole to the side creating the reservoir inside the pot. Without the hole, I, personally, wouldn't consider it a Hempy Bucket. I have seen growers who have used anything from small individual trays for each pot to kiddy pools to catch any run-off. But, after a few times of watering, you will learn about how much is to much and that will cut down or even eliminate any excess.

As to larger yields, the only real difference (all things being equal) between soil and hydro is you will have to veg longer in soil to get the same harvested dry weight. Hydro typically has quicker growth so you can save a large amount of time between grows.

I suppose I should study up a bit more (lol...ok!...so a lot more) on formula's to use for nutes, but, I use Lucas's formula of 8ml of FNB per gallon of water and add 5ml of cal-mag, then adjusted to a pH of 5.8. Full strength, start to finish. But, that is just for the plants I have been growing. After that...it is more a matter of what any particular plant or variety wants than any set formula.

hth
 

sideshow1

Member
Everything is making more sense. I guess I wasn't thinking completely. I knew hempy was hydro. And I know you can get large plants in different sized hydro containers so I dont know why I didnt put the two together

Ty, I am growing Bubba Kush under 150w HPS. I have never grown it before. I was planning on switching the lights at 10".

I will start with a larger bucket as to let the roots develop and try to use LST and the timing to keep the plant in the space I need.

I am using perlite and vermiculite as a medium. 4:1 respectively.
 

mikeross

Member
Purple kush on the right, bubba on the left....

picture.php


I also have some bubbas in 6x6 rockwool cubes and the hempy's are about 10% larger. I did a hydroton rez with a 75/25 mix of perlite/coco. I am happy with the growth thus far but not happy with the mix. I need to water every day now or the res goes completely dry. These are going to be transplanted into 5gal containers and I am gonna change the mix to 50/50, perlite/coco. Have to hand water every day takes the joy out of these hempys lol. I am hoping to water maybe twice a week to start and maybe once ever second day when they get bigger.

Do you guys think a 50/50 mix is what I am looking for in regards to achieving my watering schedule goals? Should I mix in more coco then 50%?

How do you guys running these coca cola bottle hempys getting them out of the container when you transplant. I gotta assume I am gonna have to cut the bottles up to get the plants out. Gotta find a better solution for the next round.
 

dubwise

in the thick of it
Veteran
@mikecross- I use 12oz. stadium cups for my starts, and once they're ready to go to their new finishing containers (either 2gal or 5gal) we will #1 make sure the plant has not been recently fed-#2 slowly dump the medium into the new bucket and gently remove the plant (from the bottom of the cup) and ease them into their new home. The lower you plant the plant in the container, the faster the roots will get to the resevoir, subsequently, the lower in the container you plant the plant, the less root space you leave available. While using our 5gal buckets, we plant the plant about half way into the container and then back fill with medium. You don't have to cut the bottoms out of the containers, the roots will come out much easier if you allow them to dry a little bit before the transfer. Good luck!
 

mikeross

Member
thanks for the tips... all make sense, gonna incorporate them for sure for the 2nd round transplant.

I gotta go reread this thread again to prepare for the 5gal grow. I quickly breezed through it the first time I read it. I know I missed a lot of great observations and tips.

thanks again:tiphat:
 

Ty_Kaycha

Member
...I gotta go reread this thread again to prepare for the 5gal grow. I quickly breezed through it the first time I read it. I know I missed a lot of great observations and tips....:

Great thing about Hempy's - easy to learn. You got the basics down, now for your own fine tuning. Each of us do it just a little different. Takes a couple of grows but you're doing great.
 

Bonavendura

Member
Repot for flowering ??

Repot for flowering ??

Hello icmagers ,
I am trying to catch up the thread but it is almost 100 pages (i am happy for this)
I am building my new grow room and i switch from RDWC that i was running to 10lt strait perlite Hempy's.

I have space issues and i need your help here.
I veg in 1*1 meters(3*3 foot) under 400 MH
and flower under 1200 hps in 2*1 meters with 18 - 10lt hempy's

i need smaller containers and one transplant due to veg room size
how easy and how stress free is transplanting perlite hempy's ?

Any how too's?
 

Japanfreakier

Active member
Veteran
I've done it with not much problem, just popped it out like you would in soil. No shock in my case but the plants were in veg.
 

Bonavendura

Member
i am reading page 14 now and hempy says that the plant's will suffer a bit....i cannot avoid it due to space limits.
I think that i will veg i 5 lt containers for 4-5 weeks and repot and flower in 10lt
 

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