Racks on Racks

[Mister_D]

The manifold is up high so gravity can do it's job (push water down and out the 1/4" lines without a pump). I have found it's easier to equalize the pressure to each plant site using gravity vs. a pump, but some adjustment is still needed (hence the 1/4" shut off valves at each plant site). You are correct that without the 1/4" shutoffs to adjust flow the lower plants would get a lot more water than the upper level plants. With them I'm able to adjust flow so that each plant gets the same amount of water.

 

[SmokinErb22]

Do you have any experience using "pressure compensating drippers?" Wondering if those work as advertised, and would effectively replace the need for the shut off valves?

Like these, for example: http://www.nehydro.com/raindrip-parts/drippers-2-gph-pressure-compensating-50-pack/

 

[DHF]

Do you have any experience using "pressure compensating drippers?" Wondering if those work as advertised, and would effectively replace the need for the shut off valves?

Like these, for example: http://www.nehydro.com/raindrip-parts/drippers-2-gph-pressure-compensating-50-pack/

Drippers of ANY sort runnin chem nutes thru em WITHOUT dripclean are an accident waitin to happen...

Guaranteed cloggage at some point in the game...bet on it...

Peace....DHF.......

 

[bobblehead]

That is so fuckin awesome.....Does it work with coco ?.....

Yes it definitely works with coco. I started using OGbiowar at the lake house while I was still in coco. That's how I got my feet wet with organics.

Teas and Cap`s foliar pack ?......No SM-90 or any type of pesticide sounds too good to be true Bobbles , but if it works it works........

It seems too good to be true I know, but its not. You just have to have faith.

Gawd.....We are old Mr D.....Still like the way SM-90 smells so ........anyways....

SM-90 does smell nice, and you guys are old as shit.

The more yas learn , the more yas earn .....Thanx for the input...How do yas put it to use INSTEAD of pesticides would be a most interesting and informative thread.......maybe there is one....

I`m gettin old and don`t hunt for shit much anymore , so if there`s a link to how to do this , it`d be greatly appreciated.....

The way to make microbes work for you INSTEAD of pesticides is by consistently applying them, howver you choose to do it. In coco with synthetic nutes, I would apply ogbiowar on a weekly basis In living soil, they don't need to be applied as frequently because the conditions are more conducive to their growth.

The microbes come suspended in talcum powder. The powder needs to be mixed with water, and can be applied directly to the soil as a drench, and you can brew the microbes in a tea with earth worm castings and alfalfa, to jump start their growth. I also just sprinkle the powder on my beds and water it in. There's really no wrong way, and its hard to mess up. Just don't use boiling water and you should be gtg.

Gonna grow me some PPK headies some of these days.....

Peace.....Freds...........

Even in the PPK I would use EWC/alfalfa/ogbiowar tea. Didn't whodare or someone run a RDWC with tea to prevent rot with rez temps constantly in the 80's? Mid 70's to low 80's are conducive for microbial growth, and if you introduce the good ones and give them a chance to flourish, the bad ones don't have anywhere to grow. Plants evolved with bacteria and fungi and formed mutualistic relationships. The microbes feed the plant, the plant feeds the microbes. Removing the microbes from the equation is taking a step back in plant evolution.

SM-90 100% lipids, and lipids are more difficult for the microbes to break down vs amino acids and carbohydrates. Since I'm focused on culturing microbes, I don't add SM-90. My wetting agents are yucca extract and quillaja.

http://ogbiowar.com/ is the place. Try it on your maters... You need to use the coupon code FARMER to get the discounted price. I bought 1 kilo foliar, 1 kilo root, and 8oz of nute pack. CAP sent me 3 kilos. Its already the best deal on the net for microbes. The customer service is just a bonus. I haven't had bug problem since I started using OGbiowar. It even kill gnats.

Do you have any experience using "pressure compensating drippers?" Wondering if those work as advertised, and would effectively replace the need for the shut off valves?

Like these, for example: http://www.nehydro.com/raindrip-parts/drippers-2-gph-pressure-compensating-50-pack/

Pressure compensating drippers won't compensate equally at different heights. Getting the pressure to each individual feed site is damn near impossible in vert sog. There is only good enough. If you have the time to dial in blumats with individual pots, that's the way to go. Otherwise wide troughs where plants can share runoff before the excess is drained away is the way to go. Then you just have to waste the extra to make sure every plant has been saturated...

I'll tell you what though... Ever since I began watering my plants based on what my tensiometer tells me, I've had much better results than I ever had with timers and coco. I'm ready to put my blumats back in play.

 

[SmokinErb22]

Thanks for the tip, man! Looks like I'm gonna be ordering some blumats with my next paycheck. Only a 2 level grow, 15" plants. Would hate to have to hand water all of 'em as frequently as they'll need. Larger containers, I don't mind but....

 

[Mister_D]

Do you have any experience using "pressure compensating drippers?" Wondering if those work as advertised, and would effectively replace the need for the shut off valves?

Like these, for example: http://www.nehydro.com/raindrip-parts/drippers-2-gph-pressure-compensating-50-pack/

Bobble is right, these don't work correctly in vert. However with ALOT of tweaking my latest feed design gives every plant a very similar amount of nutes each time. Downside is the timer/solenoid combos only turn on in 1 min increments. As a result I have more than the desired amount of runoff (not really an issue with the built in drains, but I hate waste). The main key here was eliminating the pump as gravity is a constant that can be adjusted for. It's not perfect, but it works pretty damn good .

 

[DHF]

.....

 

[otis33]

Even in the PPK I would use EWC/alfalfa/ogbiowar tea. Didn't whodare or someone run a RDWC with tea to prevent rot with rez temps constantly in the 80's? Mid 70's to low 80's are conducive for microbial growth, and if you introduce the good ones and give them a chance to flourish, the bad ones don't have anywhere to grow. Plants evolved with bacteria and fungi and formed mutualistic relationships. The microbes feed the plant, the plant feeds the microbes. Removing the microbes from the equation is taking a step back in plant evolution.

SM-90 100% lipids, and lipids are more difficult for the microbes to break down vs amino acids and carbohydrates. Since I'm focused on culturing microbes, I don't add SM-90. My wetting agents are yucca extract and quillaja.

http://ogbiowar.com/ is the place. Try it on your maters... You need to use the coupon code FARMER to get the discounted price. I bought 1 kilo foliar, 1 kilo root, and 8oz of nute pack. CAP sent me 3 kilos. Its already the best deal on the net for microbes. The customer service is just a bonus. I haven't had bug problem since I started using OGbiowar. It even kill gnats.





Pressure compensating drippers won't compensate equally at different heights. Getting the pressure to each individual feed site is damn near impossible in vert sog. There is only good enough. If you have the time to dial in blumats with individual pots, that's the way to go. Otherwise wide troughs where plants can share runoff before the excess is drained away is the way to go. Then you just have to waste the extra to make sure every plant has been saturated...

I'll tell you what though... Ever since I began watering my plants based on what my tensiometer tells me, I've had much better results than I ever had with timers and coco. I'm ready to put my blumats back in play.

get those blumats out bobbles, I want to see you kill it with them in an organic bed.

 

[otis33]

I can also vouch for the caps bennies, I hadn't seen a gnat since I started weekly tad and the plant love that shit...

 

[bobblehead]

Bobble is right, these don't work correctly in vert. However with ALOT of tweaking my latest feed design gives every plant a very similar amount of nutes each time. Downside is the timer/solenoid combos only turn on in 1 min increments. As a result I have more than the desired amount of runoff (not really an issue with the built in drains, but I hate waste). The main key here was eliminating the pump as gravity is a constant that can be adjusted for. It's not perfect, but it works pretty damn good .

Put a ball valve after the solenoid. The micro ball valves are a PITA, but allow for the most fine tuning.

 

[Mister_D]

Put a ball valve after the solenoid. The micro ball valves are a PITA, but allow for the most fine tuning.

Already tried this. If I ball valve the flexzilla it doesn't flow fast enough to fill the flexzilla so the upper plants end up not getting water/nutes. Micro valves with micro adjustments are the only way........ . Tedious, but once adjusted there is no need to touch them again.

 

[Ttystikk]

I quit using SM-90 and all pesticides, and switched to brewing teas of beneficial microbes. Bugs can be infected by bacteria, fungi, and viruses just like a human. OGBIOWAR foliar pack has everything you need to kill just about any bug.

Now the combination of high brix and competitive inhibition through beneficial microbes keeps my plants healthy. Things to consider if you ever have to submit your buds for lab testing. They can test for residual pesticides.

...and in Colorado, they DO.

MAD PROPS FOR CAP'S OGBiowar packs!
I am a completely satisfied customer!

This stuff is the shit for RDWC, that's what I run it in. I went say what else it does well for because I haven't personally run it any other way, but I've heard no one give anything but glowing reports.

Think about it this way; those pathogens have been evolving their attack and defense strategies for millions of years. So have the bennies. Us humans? A few decades, tops. Doesn't seem half as magical now, does it?

 

[Avinash.miles]

I've been using caps bennies aka OGBIOWAR on and off for about a year now, just got a kilo of the foliar, read on it that it can also be fed to roots and put into compost teas also....
good shit.

only thing that remotely bugs me is what i've heard about needing to maintain a 60% relative humidity in order for the foliar fed bennies to be most effective....
and it's dry as hell where im at.

OP, you still around; bigbufu?