Hempy Buckets with Coco: They rock!

[SilverSurfer_OG]

Cool i like your hempy buckets. I have been messing with similar setups.

My only concern is roots arent supposed to like exposure to light. Doesnt seem to be causing you any probs but... maybe using green plastic soda bottles would be an improvement as plants dont absorb green spectrum... cause it is cool to see your roots and water level.

 

[Guest]

get some growbags and put the jugs in them. You can pull it off to check roots and water level...

 

[MoleMcHenry]

pimpjuice - Welcome! Have you tried hempy buckets yet?

Pharma Geddon - I haven't been so bold as to stop measuring PH of nutes and water I add to the buckets. But, I don't measure PH or PPM of runoff water since it gets used up so fast and I haven't had any problems yet. Cool description of how you make your solution, too! If I didn't have so many plants at different stages I would look into that.

SilverSurfer_OG and dasme - I've heard the same thing about roots many times too. I guess I just want to see the effect of light on roots in hempy buckets for myself. I'm kinda stubborn that way! And lazy. But if I have a huge algae bloom, I'll cover em.

 

[Pharma Geddon]

If I didn't have so many plants at different stages I would look into that.

An advantage to using the lucas formula is that they all get the same mix. Seedlings can take full strength nutes so that's what they get, 1 litre a day starting at 2 weeks from the seed getting wet, before that they are in peat pots (50/50 p/v mix) standing in a tray of water under the cmh. The flowering plants get 2 litres a day.

If I do start using clones I'll use another bucket to make a weaker mix.

 

[gdawg]

nice thread yo im a coco grower already and just switched from the 2 gall to 1 gall bags. i'm likin your method and may try some cuts that way in the next few weeks. and maybe and few out in the yard too but i will cover those buckets.

 

[QuietStorm]

Lookin great bro. I'm glad to watch your results!

 

[MoleMcHenry]

Hey friends, thanks for stopping by!

Pharma Geddon - Thanks for sharing your method. I don't specifically use the Lucas formula for feeding, but I do use GH Floranova Grow, which is supposed to be pretty close. Anyway, my understanding of the Lucas formula is that it's about making up specific proportions of GH micro to GH bloom nutes. I always thought plants at different stages of growth necessitated different strength nutes. Does the Lucas formula also include feeding plants at different stages the same PPM's?


gdawg - Thanks for the kind words. Hempy buckets with coco outside? That is going to ROCK. Make sure you post pics of them, in this thread or your own. I just want to see that shit.

QuietStorm - I'm really liking this grow so far. Hempy buckets are so much easier, quieter, and cheaper than DWC and other hydro methods. I liked DWC too, but the air pumps were loud (I grow in my apt bedroom) and expensive. And when I learned hempy buckets do not get root rot problems, I was sold. An added bonus: I can get those 1 gallon plastic jugs for free from my apt complex's recycling bins. Since I drink soy milk from paper cartons and have a water filter on my faucet, it's nice not having to buy groceries I really don't want just to get gardening supplies!

 

[Pharma Geddon]

Pharma Geddon - Thanks for sharing your method. I don't specifically use the Lucas formula for feeding, but I do use GH Floranova Grow, which is supposed to be pretty close. Anyway, my understanding of the Lucas formula is that it's about making up specific proportions of GH micro to GH bloom nutes. I always thought plants at different stages of growth necessitated different strength nutes. Does the Lucas formula also include feeding plants at different stages the same PPM's?

Yes, the same ppm/ec all the way through apart from young clones which is weaker. I have found that the 0/8/16 (millilitres per US gallon) needs a bit of adjustment depending on the grow system, as does the pH. For passive hydro I'm using EC 1.8. Haven't got round to side by side testing of different EC yet, need to get consistent yields per plant first for the tests to mean anything.

I suspect that plants could do with different regimes as they grow for ultimate yield but I'm not into squeezing out the last gram. I'd rather have an easy grow than be chained to them trying to get an extra 10% or more. 10 minutes a day to hand feed 20 plants and make up the new batch of nutes.

The lucas formula might not be the highest yielding but if so it isn't far behind the best and after a 2 month cure you wouldn't know that they hadn't been flushed before harvest.

btw It's the Flora Nova Bloom that is equivalent to the lucas formula.

 

[MoleMcHenry]

Hey Pharma - thanks for your detailed information! It's people like you who make ICMag the best place online to learn about growing marijuana.

 

[tngreen]

lookin great man! may use this method next grow but am wanting to try it with 100% coco, even in the bottom. any thoughts on why this shouldn't work great?

 

[MoleMcHenry]

TNgreen - I read somewhere, I think it was the hempy collective thread on rollitup, that coco doesn't like "wet feet" and would do better with perlite in the res. Since it's working great for me like that, I'm going to keep doing it. But I'd love to hear how your totally all coco way works. I'd love to be able to stop buying perlite. I can't wait to show people new pics of my Satori girls starting to flower in coco hempy buckets--they're really beautiful, and growing like crazy.

 

[pimpjuice]

pimpjuice - Welcome! Have you tried hempy buckets yet?

I've been growing in bato buckets (aka dutch pots) which are basically the same idea as the hempy buckets, they hold about 2.5 gallons of medium, they leave a small amount of water in the bottom of the pots when you water. I've been running those with rocks but haven't tried using coco in them. I'm planning switching from 9 batos per light to 1 20 gallon hempy bucket per light. I've been debating if I should double bucket them with the drain bulkheads on the outter bucket and drill holes on the inner bucket, but I think I'm just going to roll with single buckets, doesn't seem like enitrely clogging the drain hoses would be very likely. I ran coli's and perlite filled 4x8's for years and never clogged.

 

[MoleMcHenry]

Pimpjuice - Bato buckets sound like a nice way to grow, but a 20 gallon hempy bucket stuffed with clones? That sounds like a really easy, efficient, CHEAP way to get ebb and flow results without the cost or hassle when parts sometimes break. Please make sure to let me know when you get that started!

I've been thinking about stuffing my tent with 3 10-gallon rubbermaid/sterilite hempy tubs and doing a high density sog with em.

 

[MoleMcHenry]

Just a quick pic update on my coco hempy grow!






I've decided to try CNS-17 grow formula (that stuff is cheap!) and am gonna go get some tomorrow. Anyone have experience with it on coco?

 

[tngreen]

take a look at -VT-'s thread, he used CNS17 with coco a little while ago. forgot his conclusions since it was a little while ago but i think he got pretty good results with it. plants are looking awesome! i may give 100% coco buckets a try very soon.

 

[MoleMcHenry]

Thanks for the heads up about VT's post, TNGreen. I took a look at it and he got good results with the grow formula. I bought some CNS17 grow yesterday ($25 for a gallon!) and fed the girls with it. Soon I'll post results.

 

[SirSmokalot]

it looks to me like you are getting algae in your 2lt and poss 1 of the gal. you really should black them out to prevent problems or switch to green bottles as someone suggested earlier. sooner or later you will get it if not already. just lookin out dude. been there done that. if you have it repot.

never get algae with these. that coco in those also

 

[MoleMcHenry]

Thanks for the advice Sirsmokesalot (love the name btw!). What color is algae--green or brown? And more importantly, what kind of effect does algae have on a growing plant? Is it the same as root rot, which is a fungus?

 

[tngreen]

pretty sure algae is the green stuff. i noticed discoloring in your coke bottle as well, ill second Sirsmokesalot to lightproof it. just duct tape would work great.

 

[SirSmokalot]

pretty sure algae is the green stuff. i noticed discoloring in your coke bottle as well, ill second Sirsmokesalot to lightproof it. just duct tape would work great.

perfect solution.

mole,
algea is green, and it grows. if you really like the ability to see the roots grow yet still remain safe, green bottles are way to go. it can cause trouble for you , but not same as root rot, just unneccessary stress to the root zone, it can spread and eventually ruin the entire plant and def. effect yeild. i would repot plants in light proofed 2 lts or pot up a size to prevent it from getting worse. when plant is out of container, shake away the algea affected spots(gently of course), replant, and should hault it there. the perlite in the bottom helps alot with the DEAD SPOTS coco can give in a root ball, basically meaning that the medium alone, can possibly become compacted with time and watering and keep the root ball from developing to its full potential. if you are interested stop by my thread and check out some of my coco conclusions on the current page. i have studied coco for about 2 years and just trying it now, but i know all the fundamentals and understand all of the PRO and CON to the medium. if i can ever be of some help i am around bro. good luck and happy growing.
Sir