Something wicked this way comes

[delta9nxs]

3. this one is just to show the pulse ring in action. this keeps the stem dry.

5. the 1500 gal volume tank again. wood and pond liner. much less expensive than plastic and can be built in place to fit any space. the two trash cans you see on top are mixing containers for individual nutrients before they are drained into the big tank. this guarantees that all nutrients are in solution before entering the tank.

6. still cloning almost perfect rooted clones that actually put on significant mass in 10 days while rooting.

7. this shows a just transplanted clone. notice the 3 little feeder lines projecting into the round container in the middle of the pot. this is a regular gallon jug that we cut both the top and bottom off of. we leave it place for about a week then just slip/vibrate it off over the plant. we developed this as an alternative to the blue container system that is featured in this thread somewhere. now that we can legally increase veg plant count back to where we were in oct of last year we are using the intermediate blue container system again so we don't eat up as much valuable real estate in these already crowded rooms.

8. shows one that we just removed the pot/sleeve from. this promotes more even root growth laterally.

 

[delta9nxs]

so, here we are, almost 2 years after starting this thread.

we have learned that feeding the plants using the principle of mass balance as described on the first page works just fine using input only. ph has never risen above about 6.3 and solution strength stays stable with no radical swings. 18 months of plant after plant with no change outs. there is no other system in existence that has this kind of stability. set it and forget it.

we did end up supplying the smaller vegging plants from a separate reservoir so that we could feed them a higher nitrogen diet than the larger plants.

all the flowering plants and the larger vegging plants are supplied from their own re-circulating reservoir.

but both systems are fed from the same strength volume tank. the large wooden one featured above.

this solution is mixed at around 900 ppm at the .5 conversion yet runs about 1050-1150 ppm in the flower and large veg system and the same feed runs about 850 ppm in the small plant veg system. a classic demonstration of selective uptake.

in the last 5 years here in oregon there have been many outdoor and greenhouse grows done using this system in nearly 100f heat. there is no other re-circulating closed loop irrigation system in existence that can do that without using chillers.

the ppk system as shown here with this iteration of plumbing is ideal for large facilities. it scales up or down to adjust to any space. i could plumb a walmart with this stuff and it would flow without giant pumps or large diameter pvc lines. no valves to balance flow to each individual site.

it is inexpensive to build and uses no exotic hardware. all homedepot, lowes, and farm store stuff that is universally available almost everywhere.

fast to build and easy to operate needing minimum personnel thereby saving on labor expenses.

we have had no pump failures in all this time. no leaks. no mechanical failures of any equipment in two years of continuous operation.

we don't need expensive nutrient dosing or control equipment.

it doesn't take an experienced hydroponic operator to run it. i can teach someone to operate it without them needing to understand a bunch of theory first.

there is minimum waste of water and nutrients as occurs in drain to waste schemes. this is becoming a big deal in drought prone areas and many states are implementing laws to restrict nutrient dumping if they don't already have them.

we are running the entire facility in a perpetual fashion with plants in and out of flower every week. yet no bugs other than a few fungus gnats that we eliminated. you are not supposed to be able to do this. yet here we are!

growing plants in this fashion, this large, is a response to plant count limitations. for you oregonians and others with severe plant count restrictions this is a two card facility. allowed 12 in flower. but as you can see there are 18 positions in the flower room. this is only possible because we are running perpetual and at any given time there is an open position or two and/or at least 6 plants that haven't reached the legal definition of a "mature flowering plant" in that the buds do not exceed 2 cm in diameter until the end of stretch.

in a larger commercial operation i would flower more plants with less veg time in any given space to maximize canopy and therefore yield over time.

i can't thank everyone who has tried this enough! your inputs have been invaluable and have helped to validate the device. you have all been my guinea pigs, willing or not, and i hope you have all benefited from my effort to design a highly redundant, easy to use yet high yielding device for whatever your use of this remarkable plant is. in my opinion it's all medical because just managing the stress of daily life is highly beneficial over the long term. stress is the real killer in our society. if everyone managed their own stress level better there would be less disease and much less violence.

we've come a long way since this device was introduced on september 22, 2009 and have folks using this system all over the world. it also grows food very well and would work great in third world, drought stricken places with poor or no usable soil. the system can be built to use no electricity by hooking up the sub-irrigation and allowing it to feed continuously plus a little hand watering the tops once or twice a day to keep the medium from accumulating salts.

so, with this last post on this thread, i will move on to another phase of life, over and out for now, but i'll be back!

d9

 

[Snook]

cu around sooner or later..



9/23/2009 was your first post in the 'passive plant killer' thread, I converted shortly after that, thank you..


And ImaginaryFriend has appeared.. he been away for a while. High brother.

I always thought IM was you too.

 

[gmanwho]

Great posts!! .

Sorry if i missed it, What did you end up running for the feed pump timing on/off? 24hr or lights on only?

thank you for taking the time to post all that...

 

[bloyd]

it also grows food very well and would work great in third world, drought stricken places with poor or no usable soil. the system can be built to use no electricity by hooking up the sub-irrigation and allowing it to feed continuously plus a little hand watering the tops once or twice a day to keep the medium from accumulating salts. to that end i have submitted the design to the u.n. for use in their effort to teach people how to grow their own food

d9

Your looking vibrant d9!

I've always believed that ppks could help to end world hunger. Endless gratitude. Ppk 4 life.

 

[McKush]

Thanks for all the posts and conversation D9! take care brother

 

[delta9nxs]

Great posts!! .

Sorry if i missed it, What did you end up running for the feed pump timing on/off? 24hr or lights on only?

thank you for taking the time to post all that...

we are using 15 seconds every 3 hours for the flowering and large veggers and 15 seconds every 2 hours for the small plants.

everyone should time for the elapsed time it takes to first see solution coming out of the drain holes in the bottom of the pot. you lift a container up slightly and insert 2 2x2's or something between the plant container and the plant reservoir below it and fire the pump and observe how long it takes to first see liquid coming out of the holes. that's all you need. i get it in 15 seconds but others may vary because of differences in media and pot size.

 

[delta9nxs]

cu around sooner or later..



9/23/2009 was your first post in the 'passive plant killer' thread, I converted shortly after that, thank you..


And ImaginaryFriend has appeared.. he been away for a while. High brother.

I always thought IM was you too.

wow snook, you really know how to insult someone!

 

[delta9nxs]

Your looking vibrant d9!

I've always believed that ppks could help to end world hunger. Endless gratitude. Ppk 4 life.

thank you, bro! you have been a great contributor to this effort!

 

[delta9nxs]

Thanks for all the posts and conversation D9! take care brother

you're most welcome! you take care of yourself too!

 

[SierraPadre]

A great contribution in many ways. This is Village Green from several years ago. I finally had the joy of testing your contraption for the best indoor plants. Glad to see you still progressing. Take care!

 

[Itsmychoice]

This thread is one of the greatest on here. Be proud and thanks!

 

[Dronefreak]

Couple Questions for the PPK experts

Couple Questions for the PPK experts

First of all thanks to D9 for this incredible thread!

I recently setup the small veg tote using the 2.5 quart buckets and 50/50 turface & coarse perlite. The system is running 600 PPM (500 scale) and 5.9 PH. I am not running Jack's yet as I have a few gallons of Cleangrow Veg to use up first.

With this setup I am getting slower growth (compared to my rockwool grows) than expected and notice I am getting purpling stems and some leaf tip burn on a few of the leaves. My watering schedule is 30 seconds every 2 hours.

So for the experts...
Does anything stand out that I am doing wrong?
Also do any of you use enzymes or beneficials (hydroguard) in the PPK?

Thanks!

 

[Snook]

You dont mention the lighting set up, the size of the pump, or how old your vegging plants are but I'd say first youre watering too often.

I found that automating vegging plants is, for me, a PITA. Not that it cant be done but I water once a day and will occasionally let them go limp from watering once every 2 days. Once over watered (and youre using Perlite too) they are drowning in too much watering for, usually a less strong light. Second shit can the other nutes and get the jacks/cal.. unless your clones are moms, I'd cut back to 400 PPMs while vegging.

 

[Earlmarne]

First of all thanks to D9 for this incredible thread!

I recently setup the small veg tote using the 2.5 quart buckets and 50/50 turface & coarse perlite. The system is running 600 PPM (500 scale) and 5.9 PH. I am not running Jack's yet as I have a few gallons of Cleangrow Veg to use up first.

With this setup I am getting slower growth (compared to my rockwool grows) than expected and notice I am getting purpling stems and some leaf tip burn on a few of the leaves. My watering schedule is 30 seconds every 2 hours.

So for the experts...
Does anything stand out that I am doing wrong?
Also do any of you use enzymes or beneficials (hydroguard) in the PPK?

Thanks!

I run pondzyme in my tubs.
I also cycle my tub plants every 15 min. Been working great for me for a couple cycles. Actually dont even use the 7 g ppk in veg anymore.

 

[Dronefreak]

Snook
Lighting is 315w CMH over 6 freshly rooted clones. Pump is couple hundred gallon per hour but using the drip manifold to run 1/4 hose to each of the plants then using tees to get 4 drip spots per plant. I verified the 30 second pump timing gets flow through each of the tailpieces.

Are you watering once per day with turface/perlite?


Earlmarne
I am using the small veg setup that D9 shows in the thread. It uses 2.5 QUART buckets. Are you saying you water your young veg plants 4 times per hour? I'm currently at once every 2 hours.

 

[Snook]

Snook
Lighting is 315w CMH over 6 freshly rooted clones. Pump is couple hundred gallon per hour but using the drip manifold to run 1/4 hose to each of the plants then using tees to get 4 drip spots per plant. I verified the 30 second pump timing gets flow through each of the tailpieces.

Are you watering once per day with turface/perlite?


Earlmarne
I am using the small veg setup that D9 shows in the thread. It uses 2.5 QUART buckets. Are you saying you water your young veg plants 4 times per hour? I'm currently at once every 2 hours.

Sorry, I run a separate germ/early veg/mom box using 4 bulb T5 lights and then move them to the bloom tent where they undergo 2-3 weeks of veg under a single 315w CMH all in straight Turface.
Early veg (in box) get the hand feeding (of Nova bloom) once a day until they go into the bloom tent where they get 600ppm Jacks/C once a day for the first 1-3 weeks of veg before going to 2, 315w CMHs' for bloom.

I've not grown fond of the perlite mix xcept for in the tail piece.

There are many way to skin a cat.

 

[Dronefreak]

I think the next step is to make the switch to Jacks/Calc Nit.

For Veg I would want a 1 to 1 ration by weight of the Jack's to Calcium Nitrate correct?

And Bloom would be 1 to 0.66 ratio jack's to calc nit?

 

[bloyd]

Dronefreak what are your temps and humidity? Crucial for optimal ppk growth. For veg you mix equal parts by volume. i.e. 8 tablespoons each in 55 gallon. Bloom is 1/.66 by weight.

 

[Dronefreak]

Bloyd
Environment is controlled with mini split, dehumidifier and C02 controller.

Temps are 80 to 83
Humidity is 60 to 75
C02 is at 1200

I am going to drain the reservoir and switch to Jack's tomorrow.