[bigstevo]

Yeah I plan to drip feed to waste, and plan on feeding 5 times per day when in full flower.

S

[bigstevo]

So am I correct in thinking that if I use bigger pots and the roots dont completely fill the pots then the only issue is wasting some nutes? or will they not grow as big or as vigorous for some reason I am missing?

[Arminius]

DHF posted something somewhere that better explained it. But I think it has something to do with the juice that is not being used by the plants causing uneven moisture levels, in turn skewing your feed regularity.
The bottom line is, only use enough medium for your rootball, for the desired size of plant. That info will only come with repeated runs with the same strain. Smart pots are good for knowing when your rootball has filled the container. If at the end of stretch, I don't see roots being air pruned, then I know I need more veg time, or a smaller container.

[bigstevo]

Thanks dude I will have a search on the forum for the post you referred to.

[Treetroit City]

Here is how I set my coco pots up. 1/4" tubing coming from a pvc manifold, ala pico, then to a 1/4"T(hidden in pic by plant stem), a couple two inch pieces of 1/4" tubing with 1/4" elbows pointed down into the coco.

These are 2 gallon root pots



I at first tried it with just the T on the end of the 1/4" tubing but found it sprayed over the edge of the pot. That is why I went further to point the stream down.

I use roots excellurator from H&G and it will fill a pot with roots in no time. These are on day 4 of 12/12. Love that stubble. These are being fed three times a day for about 30 seconds. Also feed a tea once a week made with homemade ecw, homemade compost and molasses.

[Arminius]

Good luck with the search lol... It was likely in one of the trafficked vert threads. Maybe he will chime in here...

[Ichabod Crane]

The problem with to big of a pot is uneven moisture in your pot. The dry areas shrink and cause voids this is where the water will travel through as it has less resistant. Because it travels here it tends to flow out of the pot to quickly. This causes the wet areas to become stagnant and you end up with nutrient imbalances and root rot as it does not get the flush it needs. With roots through out the pot your plant does not dry out unevenly because it takes the nutes from just one area.

As Icky explained above with too large a container OR too fast a feed flow , what happens is some of the rootzone will develop compaction and form "dry" pockets that juice `ll never get to and go around with the DTW process.......and.....

Residual salt buildup will form a crust around those dry pockets with time and guaranteed cause imbalances and lockouts at some point in the game.......that said.....

I like Third Coast`s loopfield manifold ala "Pico" with tophat grommets , tees and elbows to spread juice flow , but again.......

What`s really most important is the force/speed of the juice flow when the pump kicks on and why ?.......

Too much pressure/flow and those pockets form and gravity rules with the juice runnin straight through the containers and roots only benefiting from "partial" feed .......

Instead of a slow steady stream that soaks the entire rootmass and prevents compaction in the rootzone while keeping the integrity of the medium mix intact and fully oxygenated with every feed sequence before the timed feed shuts off.......

My manifolds were patterned exactly after Pico`s tutorial but with risers and control valves on every upper level to control flow and pressure to each individual plantsite ftw in my vertical racks , but .......

I ran 1/4" driptubing hooked to basket stakes so when the pumps kicked on it hit the basket stakes and spread a 360 degree swath of juice away from the main stem but made sure that all medium was gradually and definitely soaked before the pumps kicked off.......so.....

Many ways ta skin a mule , but slow and steady wins the race.....and....make sure all feedlines are "exactly" the same length regardless of where they are in relation to the plants to ensure equal flow and pressure to each plantsite.....

Good luck....DHF...........

[Treetroit City]

Have yet to try a basket stake or any other dripper. I've thought 360 degree shrubblers cause I like the fact that they're adjustable



I'm getting pretty good results with what I'm using but never to old to learn new tricks.

Maybe next run I'll hook up the shrubblers.

[skull and roses]

What I don't get about the flow rate is hand watering. I'm ready to automate mine and I have always hand watered with a wand hooked to a pump and hose. Obviously that comes out fast and furious, it drenches everything. There doesn't seem to be a problem with flow and compaction with hand watering. So I'm confused on the spoken problems with the automated system as to how it relates to hand watering.