Beds vs Pots

[t33to]

I'm having troubles deciding whether my next run should be in pots or in beds.

I've just build a 4x8 bed and silly me, I didn't even think to calculate the costs of how much it would cost to fill it up with medium. It might be a bit out of my budget and I'm considering switching back to 3 gallon pots instead.

My goals are to be able to reuse the soil when I'm all done and to only have to feed water through out their cycle (the odd ECWT here and there as well)

Based upon your experiences, would you say it's worth it to spend the cash to get the soil bed going?

T

 

[TheyCallMeJJay]

Keep in mind what your growing. Cost should be the last concern. Go with your desire. Organic soil is an investment.

I'm having troubles deciding whether my next run should be in pots or in beds.

I've just build a 4x8 bed and silly me, I didn't even think to calculate the costs of how much it would cost to fill it up with medium. It might be a bit out of my budget and I'm considering switching back to 3 gallon pots instead.

My goals are to be able to reuse the soil when I'm all done and to only have to feed water through out their cycle (the odd ECWT here and there as well)

Based upon your experiences, would you say it's worth it to spend the cash to get the soil bed going?

T

 

[Iron_Lion]

 

[Hydro-Soil]

Your question should be...... "Do I have my shit dialed in enough for beds?"

Seriously. Beds have one major drawback.... plants don't like getting moved.

If you're mono-cropping and know your strain inside and out... you'll be able to just take cuts, throw it in and do your stuff... no need to do any plant shuffles or remove something that's having issues.

If you're running multiple strains or haven't quite got your setup the way it runs great for you... stick with buckets for now.

That and... man, beds are a LOT of medium if you're not re-using.

Stay Safe!

 

[TheyCallMeJJay]

That is a very good point to consider. Once theyre in theyre in.

 

[t33to]

Your question should be...... "Do I have my shit dialed in enough for beds?"

Seriously. Beds have one major drawback.... plants don't like getting moved.

If you're mono-cropping and know your strain inside and out... you'll be able to just take cuts, throw it in and do your stuff... no need to do any plant shuffles or remove something that's having issues.

If you're running multiple strains or haven't quite got your setup the way it runs great for you... stick with buckets for now.

That and... man, beds are a LOT of medium if you're not re-using.

Stay Safe!

I plan to reuse, that's why I built the beds.

I guess the plants only grow better in the beds if I'm totally dialed? Is that the general consensus here?

 

[cody2white]

beds are the shit. I love them and plan to do a lot of them. Instead of 5 buckets to water I water 1 bed.

Here's a good read from 08 enjoy

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=95376

 

[Bennyweed1]

Organic beds all the way and top feed. Keep the strains alike i.e. same mom and you will never regret it. Kelp, worm castings, and alflafa top fed. You can pull results that will blow your mind.

Dont forget the molasses every now and then, plus the lime, crab shell, oyster shell.... ext..mixed into the soil ...equilibrium
,you get the point

plants wont compete unless they differ...long rooted sativas, indicas...whatever. They co-exist

 

[drknockbootz]

Check out Jackmayoffer, Alien, obsoul33t, and grow master over at "The Farm" they have to best soil beds going that've seen online.

Also do a google search for growers by the name of three little birds "3lb" they used to do 18 gallon containers with either 2 to 3 plants per and had some of the sickest organic grow to date.

Another good thing about beds are cleanup. All you do is remove whats left of the plant......re ammend the soil in the bed and replant.

 

[t33to]

Organic beds all the way and top feed. Keep the strains alike i.e. same mom and you will never regret it. Kelp, worm castings, and alflafa top fed. You can pull results that will blow your mind.

Dont forget the molasses every now and then, plus the lime, crab shell, oyster shell.... ext..mixed into the soil ...equilibrium
,you get the point

plants wont compete unless they differ...long rooted sativas, indicas...whatever. They co-exist

What do u mean by top feed?

 

[xmobotx]

top dress nutes; scatter on top maybe mix w/ your mulch layer

beds are best for no-till plans; top dressing is a good way to replenish for additional cycles

 

[mad librettist]

when you feed a no-till plot/container, you are always thinking in the long term.


I need to look into this further, but it may be that good no till soil produces veggies/weed lower in nitrates.

 

[t33to]

when you feed a no-till plot/container, you are always thinking in the long term.


I need to look into this further, but it may be that good no till soil produces veggies/weed lower in nitrates.

I don't mind tilling soil at the end of the grow, I just want to be able to reuse it right away if possible. I was thinking about getting a living mulch layer started right away. But if I'm going to till it immediately when the grow is done, doesn't that disturb the whole top soil layer?

 

[mad librettist]

I don't mind tilling soil at the end of the grow, I just want to be able to reuse it right away if possible. I was thinking about getting a living mulch layer started right away. But if I'm going to till it immediately when the grow is done, doesn't that disturb the whole top soil layer?

put some composting worms in there and feed them. They will do all the tilling you need.

If you have a living mulch, leave it alone and sprinkle on some powdered worm food you can make for yourself by blending different "meals".

meals are ground up dry stuff. I am lazy so i use a product that comes in bags. it has kelp meal, bone meal, cocoa meal, a bit of dehydrated chicken shit, greensand, and some other stuff. I add powdered rock to that and a bit of fermented bran.

the dry top dressing is spread on top of the living mulch, then I spray down with water to rinse the leaves. Worms love that and will leave castings under your mulch, which goes deep when you water. The mulch should be thick enough that worms can work during the day.

You should have no drainage or soil collapse issues as long as you leave that living mulch in place. Avoid any high-nitrate dressing in large amounts (guano, chicken shit, other manures). Basically, listen to your living mulch. If your top dressings burn your mulch, it's too hot!


if your mulch dies off from lack of light, remember to replace it with dead mulch, and remember to re-seed it two weeks before harvest. You want the seeds to germinate in the presence of roots so they plug in right away.

 

[Weird]

beds are superior to containers but only when you MONO CROP

varying strains will compete for resources

same strain will use the extra root space gracefully

downside to beds is you cant separate plants and quarantine or treat them individually

 

[t33to]

put some composting worms in there and feed them. They will do all the tilling you need.

If you have a living mulch, leave it alone and sprinkle on some powdered worm food you can make for yourself by blending different "meals".

meals are ground up dry stuff. I am lazy so i use a product that comes in bags. it has kelp meal, bone meal, cocoa meal, a bit of dehydrated chicken shit, greensand, and some other stuff. I add powdered rock to that and a bit of fermented bran.

the dry top dressing is spread on top of the living mulch, then I spray down with water to rinse the leaves. Worms love that and will leave castings under your mulch, which goes deep when you water. The mulch should be thick enough that worms can work during the day.

You should have no drainage or soil collapse issues as long as you leave that living mulch in place. Avoid any high-nitrate dressing in large amounts (guano, chicken shit, other manures). Basically, listen to your living mulch. If your top dressings burn your mulch, it's too hot!


if your mulch dies off from lack of light, remember to replace it with dead mulch, and remember to re-seed it two weeks before harvest. You want the seeds to germinate in the presence of roots so they plug in right away.

Haha, I'm the guy kind of guy that would put a fluorescent tube light to keep my living mulch bumpin!

As always, your full of knowledge man. Thanks again.

 

[VerdantGreen]

as said, beds are great if you want to grow the same strain in there, or two that you know are of similar vigor/stretch

but if you are wanting to try new strains, grow from seed, mix it up a bit - then pots are more versatile and offer more control.

VG

 

[t33to]

as said, beds are great if you want to grow the same strain in there, or two that you know are of similar vigor/stretch

but if you are wanting to try new strains, grow from seed, mix it up a bit - then pots are more versatile and offer more control.

VG

Thanks VG. I'm actually going to be building multiple soil beds! That way I can multi-mono-crop ha!

 

[dr.penthotal]

Soil beds?!? GO for them! I've been passing last 5 years with my solid beds doing multiple harvest of multiple strains all the time and can't be more happy than this....
I completely agree that a mono crop would be ideal (as nearly as every indoor operation imho), but there's not too much to worry about.
Of course it may arise some disavantages, first and probably worst is that you cannot move your plants around once in. So you need to know your strain a little and try to spread them according to their real stretching ability and flowering time. I often plant only sexed plants from seeds and sometimes some grow larger and overwhelm some slow growers. This cause the little one not to get to 100% of her potential as she's not receving light more than roots challenge.
About competition of roots in soil I disagree with the thought of they "fight" each other. their competing should be intended more like a boost for roots to find nutrients farther as they meet some altready colonized medium. Roots between plants can 'talk' even as they share connections with any kind of roots around and they share also the same rizosphere, which is sensible to different inputs from every sourrounding living organism.
I think there's no difference between two clones or two different varieties planted close one another.
We always need to think how things work naturally in forest for example.
The concert of nature happens there in a multiple cycles of multiple organism all together in balance...
No mankind, no problems.
Soilbeds are triyng to replicate this as much as possible to work at best. The key is a large block of soil that can act more as a small organic garden/forest.
Versatility is a word I like. (tnx verdantgreen!)
Yes a room all filled with ground shall be nice, but think that you will need to move around sometimes and care of your plants. Think in advance, plan and plant.
Take care and trust soilbeds.

 

[mg75]

bigger root mass with the right strain and environment will give you a bigger yield. beds usually offer potentially more room for more roots. you rarely get root-bound plants in large soil beds. mono-crop in a bed is a must.
maintenance is harder with beds. especially if you don't have much room. if you trellis the bed... even harder. individual buckets is easier imo. beds do yield more... so you must make the decision.