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Homemade Vertical POTRACKS 6kw

LokiBC

New member
Yeah, I haven't seen Koots around for awhile. Just thought he might poke his head in from time to time.

I take good care not to allow the pots to dry out, so that's definitely not a problem. As to warmer root zones leading to explosive growth - I gotta disagree. In my nearly three decades of indoor growing, the opposite of what you claim about the warmer root zones has been the rule (unless by "warmer" you mean "not freezing", in which case I agree). Generally speaking I've found that plants will thrive when the root zone is kept cool (not cold, but several degrees below the ambient air temp, at least). Warmer root zones tend to to allow pathogens to thrive and multiply, and oxygen levels are reduced. In my experience, cooler root zones make for happier plants.

But what I'm actually referring to here is not just warmer root zones. The black pots exposed directly to the lights in a vertical system actually get very warm. Regardless what the real optimum is for root zone temps, hot is no good no how. So like I said, I'll be tacking up some b/w poly to deflect the heat somewhat, but I'd like to know what's causing all the hermaphrodites and I'd hoped Koots or someone else here has had a similar problem that they managed to fix somehow.

Anybody?
 
D

DHF

What I meant by warmer rootzones was in the 68-70 degree range , not lower as in tapwater that`s in the mid 50`s.....

You didn`t mention how you were feeding as in from a temp controlled rez and handwatering per se.......

And yeah....If your smaller containers are heatin up above 70 but you`re still not allowing em to dry out between feeds , then the only logical explanation for all the herms is as I said above.....heat stress on the rootzone from using too small of a container.....

You hangin pandafilm I suppose would be helpful for reflection , but controlling ambient temps inside the grow area would seem paramount in importance to stop yer prob and cease the environmental stress causing your hermie situation IME.......

I always liked larger containers in my vertical setups for insulation of the rootzones bein so close to the bare bulbs....

Been growin inside and out for well over 30 yrs here too Bro......Just tryin ta help........Good luck.....

Peace....DHF.........
 

kjz71521

Member
im learning more and more about vertical growing and I tell you, you guys give some great inspiration.. thankx for the pic journals... great ideas..
 

DirtDoctor

Member
Here's my version of the sexy octagon :) It's got some key differences...

1) Wheels! how nice is that?

2) Each shelf is the size of a regular 10x20 tray, so water's not spillin all over the place. (2 3-gallon pots per tray)

3) There's no need to have the shelves tilted, the plants take care of that just fine by themselves.



:D
 

derbstep

New member
Time to build

Time to build

I am trying to imitate you but have no carpentry skills. I asked for help from a friend and they said it would time to build but didn't give any definite answers. How long did this take you to build? Are you still using the same design today or have you upgraded it? How much did it cost to build one octagon? Any type of instructions on how you built this would be super helpful. Thanks!!!
 

DirtDoctor

Member
Yeah, the sides are 10" wide. I didn't use 1x10"s, I used plywood, painted both sides with white mildew resistant bathroom paint, then cut my pieces to size.

:D
 

soil margin

Active member
Veteran
Wow Dirtdoctor. I wish I hadn't seen that pic you posted. Now I feel so pathetic about my vert growing abilities. I'l just stick to outdoors I think.

Like the concept though, very simple and efficient as well.
 
B

BasementGrower

sick setup.. I would of put some plastic.. or something of the sort to water proof the wood.. I had a wood shelving grow that ended up startin to mold.. had to get rid of the grow completely just as a precaution .. but man was I pissed I didn't water proof it.
 
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