The bennies will still colonize the roots... But not the perlite, b/c that's inorganic.
D
DaveTheNewbie
im not sure i have a "real" PPK as ive seen no evidence of wicking (like i did with coco). It feels more like an old fashioned top fed perlite system.
but
i had 3 clones all taken at the same time, all of the same quality (crap cause the mother was dying) in small coco pots
on the 14th i put 2 of the clones into the perlite PPK and the third into a larger pot of coco and hand watered
its now the 18th (4 days later) and this is the difference :
i suspect the major difference is the perlite clones have been watered warm water and thats increasing metabolism more than anything else.
but at least its working, far far better than coco handwatered
I keep wanting to dig up the perlite looking for roots, and its hard to restrain myself
but
i had 3 clones all taken at the same time, all of the same quality (crap cause the mother was dying) in small coco pots
on the 14th i put 2 of the clones into the perlite PPK and the third into a larger pot of coco and hand watered
its now the 18th (4 days later) and this is the difference :
i suspect the major difference is the perlite clones have been watered warm water and thats increasing metabolism more than anything else.
but at least its working, far far better than coco handwatered
I keep wanting to dig up the perlite looking for roots, and its hard to restrain myself
SecondAttempt
Active member
Looks good Dave... I may go perlite, show me how it's done.
D
DaveTheNewbie
D9 isnt a fan of perlite, people fear it floating.
I havent seen any evidence of floating yet, but im working with pulse not wave watering theory
its not reusable, but i dont give a shit right now after my issues with coco, then the mess around trying to get DE.
We will know in 12 weeks if its a winning idea tho ...
SecondAttempt
Active member
Are your tailpieces submerged? I'm surprised the Perlite hasn't floated out the tails... maybe it has and that's why you're not wicking? I want this to work for you.
D
DHF
Perlite can`t float up through more perlite SA.....physically impossible cuz there`s nowhere to go....
Perlite can float up outta coco mixes if flooded hard with multiple feeds per day in DTW setups , but as a rule it stays put as long as there`s no path for it to travel north....IOW....
Hempy buckets couldn't survive without the wicking process and have an overflow hole couple inches above the bottoms of the containers to hold the "rez" for the perlite to indeed wick up through the upper rootzone as the plants need the moisture/feed till next cycle......but......
Just cuz the bottom 2" of perlite sits in juice the duration of the plant`s life don`t mean that it floats up into the upper medium mass "above" the water/feed/overflow level.....
After washin my chunky/coarse perlite and before mixing with the coco , it became clear how easy the shit breaks down without bein gentle with it.......
The biggest , hardest , piece of washed and cleaned perlite can be squished flat between thumb and forefinger with little to no effort , so that`s why I suggested Dave renew supplies every run for efficiency and desired results since he has no more sources for better media........anyways.....
Here`s hopin the perlite works for yas Dave , and it is wicking as the plants need their juice , it`s just way more pourous and dries out faster , so get the covers on top to prevent excess evaporation and algae formation.......
Good luck ......Freds.....
.....
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D
DaveTheNewbie
ok well im back to weekly updates on sundays so here goes :
you can see the difference over just 5 days from when i put the clones in :
yes the tailpieces are submerged, and yes i packed them when i was filling the buckets. And yes im just going to buy more perlite every run. Its cheap, washes easily, and is easily available. And yes the algae has started, so im need to get onto that. I am going to replace the watering T's with feed rings at some point to get better water dispersion, and better DO as well. I will stick to the same volume of water so i dont make anything float (my biggest concern ATM)
But so far, im very happy with progress.
EDIT : i put the feed rings on
you can see the difference over just 5 days from when i put the clones in :
yes the tailpieces are submerged, and yes i packed them when i was filling the buckets. And yes im just going to buy more perlite every run. Its cheap, washes easily, and is easily available. And yes the algae has started, so im need to get onto that. I am going to replace the watering T's with feed rings at some point to get better water dispersion, and better DO as well. I will stick to the same volume of water so i dont make anything float (my biggest concern ATM)
But so far, im very happy with progress.
EDIT : i put the feed rings on
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You're welcome. Seriously though I'm happy to see the perlite is working well for you.
Seriously though I'm happy to see the perlite is working well for you.
I want some of those rings..
Really like your set up. .. Smooth & Clean ...
I dig how fast your ladies grow in your set up.. insane in the membrane ..
----- -----
Really like your set up. .. Smooth & Clean ...
I dig how fast your ladies grow in your set up.. insane in the membrane ..
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-----since you took the clones from a crappy ,dying mother plant,keep an eye out for hermies.i lost my fav plant that way.had the same taste look and vigor before the plant got sick but always had seeds.that was due to high heat and stress.one summer of too much heat lost my best strain.
D
DaveTheNewbie
You're welcome.
thanks bobbles, your legendaryness saved my ass again !
i really hope your wrong ....
I swear that i can see the plant growing in front of me. The difference in 24 hours is staggering. Ive never had growth like this in coco and blumats.
IM SOLD ON THE PPK
You're still a giant turd.
D
DaveTheNewbie
very tricky to get around here, but i like the idea of 2 strains alternating, so im working on it anyway
Got my fingers crossed for ya Dave.
D
DaveTheNewbie
hey bobbles : I was wondering :
when you clone into perlite, how do you transplant?
the perlite seems like it falls apart and sticks to anything and is just messy
i cant imagine it not all falling apart when you move the clone from the small pot to the big one.
when you clone into perlite, how do you transplant?
the perlite seems like it falls apart and sticks to anything and is just messy
i cant imagine it not all falling apart when you move the clone from the small pot to the big one.
You are correct about the perlite falling everywhere... The way to avoid this is to let the roots fill the cup. When I transplant, I put the stem between my middle fingers, so that the palm of my hand is covering the top of the cup. Then I turn the cup upside down, and squeeze gently on the bottom of the cup to loosen things up. When I pull the cup off, perlite will normally fall everywhere... So I transplant over a pot, so the perlite falls into a pot.
It ain't pretty... But it works.
I've never worked in perlite myself - really hate the stuff.
But couldn't you just stay really ahead of yourself and keep the clones in a solo cup/T5 "nursery" setup for a longer period of time. That way your clones are very much well rooted in the party cup and you've got enough root ball to keep everything pretty much together in a 16oz cylinder of perlite.
I like to do this anyways so that I've got a very nice well established hardened "clone" when going into my room, be it straight into a flower room with a bit more veg before the flip, or into a "dedicated" veg setup. I don't count these days as veg until it hits an actual big light.
But couldn't you just stay really ahead of yourself and keep the clones in a solo cup/T5 "nursery" setup for a longer period of time. That way your clones are very much well rooted in the party cup and you've got enough root ball to keep everything pretty much together in a 16oz cylinder of perlite.
I like to do this anyways so that I've got a very nice well established hardened "clone" when going into my room, be it straight into a flower room with a bit more veg before the flip, or into a "dedicated" veg setup. I don't count these days as veg until it hits an actual big light.
