Thanks -VT- you have inspired me to use botanicare coco...

Im interested in bottom feeding, though not 100% sure it's "best" for coco.
I would like to build a self-watering tub, like an earthbox or autopot tub style, but I have concerns about pre-harvest flushing.

If I were to water from the bottom and add nutes every other fill, or every third fill would this be an improved feeding schedule?

What are your thoughts on passive bottom feeding adding 1/3 perlite?

Knna! Thanks for the input. What is "NS" did you mean NZ as in Nitrazyme <sp?

Did you flush for the last 2 weeks? Was the flush from the bottom too?

So, if I feed full strength, I sould space out feeding will plain water, but if I use lower solution, i can feed everytime... Good, good.

[-VT-]

1st of all, I'd listen to anything knna has to post...he knows his stuff
And he's helped me understand some things around here....that was some great advice sounds like.

I'd worry about root rot in extreme heat....but that's just me...

I'd contact boncarver_OG....if he does not chime in, as he has experience with that and just about everything else....he's experimented in coco a bunch....check his posts/threads also

johnny chimpo and others have experience with autopots....

A big inspiration for me was Jinxie, a member who deleted his handle and left the site. He was the first I saw post on bottom feeding....By the way.....Jinxie laid down a few posts in the stickied coco growers thread...do a search for him in the thread and filter his posts, you'll learn a lot....

He's Suby now.....moderating in the organic soil forum....could always shoot the guy a PM, I suppose....I never did.... 'cause he was not here, lol....so I just studied his posts over and over and still refer back to them....his posts have had a large impact on me

Thanks -VT-! Do you know what this "NS" that knna speaks of is?

[pumpkin2006]

Yup, I ebb n' flow coco in 10" square pots on a root mat with hydroton between pots, flood 2x a day (could do 1x) and have 0 problems with it.

[-VT-]

I hope folks reading this understand the differences between "passive bottom feeding" , which is a capillary function...as opposed to a flood/drain, i.e ebb & flow...

For handwaterers, we can fill up a drain saucer and the coir will soak the shit up....I tried that once on a mid size plant...actually by accident cause I didn't empty the drain saucer after watering Anyways the coir sucked it back up

Hydro "bottom feeding" and the soil application are not the same....

The key is not to overfert....pure coco would be more suitable (IMO) for a passive bottom feed, capillary, wick....whatever you wanna call it...

I have noticed that the size of the plant makes a huge difference in watering times for coco so if they where all in the same table, so if you have different strains or sized plants this may not be a good idea as they would needed to be flooded at different times. I'm just using pbp + bcuss coco an experiment .

[-VT-]

Good observation, slips....but that's easily handled with either a gravity float for topping off, or a larger container for larger plants.....and a larger reservoir under the pot (i.e. a bigger drain tray)...or sitting a plant container inside a rubbermaid...elevating the levels to accomodate consumption....

With low RH% this could burn plants.....the key is not to overfert

Surprised Johnny Chimpo hasn't chimed in, as he has a few grows with autopots under his belt...I'll look for the thread he posted in and link it here if I can find it and remember, etc....

Lol....I was just thinking about the waterbowls/foodbowls for pets while we're out of town...gravity....simple though

Originally Posted by -VT-

I hope folks reading this understand the differences between "passive bottom feeding" , which is a capillary function...as opposed to a flood/drain, i.e ebb & flow...

yes. It's the "passive bottome feeding" info that Im after. Like the autopots.

Originally Posted by -VT-

For handwaterers, we can fill up a drain saucer and the coir will soak the shit up....I tried that once on a mid size plant...actually by accident cause I didn't empty the drain saucer after watering Anyways the coir sucked it back up

Would salt build up too quickly if you let the run-off get sucked back into the coir? I thought that the reason for run-off is to get some exess out. Am I wrong?

[Johnny Chimpo]

Good to see you VT

Alright I'm here I have some experience with the Autopot. I will answer any questions I can. The D-39 SCROG link in my sig is a good representation of the autopot. If you do a search on ICmag for Autopot I have posted plenty of info about them...one thread was "whats the deal with these Autopots" by Cheetos...some misinformation in the beginning of the thread from a few people.

I personally use them because I can't always tend to my plants because of my schedule and the simplicity.

I use 60/40 coco/perlite. One thing I find very important is to keep the reservoir oxygenated with a powerhead or airstone or the solution will get stale. I use a modified lucas formula for coco from GratefulH3ad. I also am using a tiny air stone in the bottom of the Autopot this run just cause it couldn't hurt and the air pump had two outlets. I use a 1/2" feed line from the reservoir with the 1/4" feed lines coming off of that to the Autopots. I have a shutoff valve on the outside of the reservoir going into a 1/2" inline filter and a shutoff valve before each Autopot. I purchased everything from Futuregarden except the 1/4" shutoff valves which came from BGHydro. I use Botanicares Coir block but I don't remember where I got it.




Here are a couple pics of some plants done in the Autopot.

Two D-39 Day 31 Flower in one Autopot





D-39 Day 58





Strawberry Diesel Day 40




Checkout the link in my sig for some more info...I usually flush with pH balance water the last couple weeks. I'm thinking about picking up some Smartgardens for veg from Futuregarden...same principle as the Autopot but would work great for veg IMO.

JC

Edit: Here are a couple links

whats the deal with these autopots?


The last post in this thread explains how they work with pics...the info is from Futuregardens website.

Need ideas for automated watering system