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The Mad Librettist is scaling up

VerdantGreen

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thats just going by my cab - which would be about the same space as one of your modules. i use 4 x 3-4 gallons in that space and yield well.
 

mad librettist

Active member
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VG about how often do you have to water in an average temp week (not sweltering or freezing)?

I don't want to lounge in there with the plants, but I don't want to struggle to care for them either, because eventually you get tired and it all goes to shit. Last run in my micro cab I kinda gave up and the buds cured on the plant. It was just too much trouble to open the damn thing.

Next size down is 20 gals (20"x 14.5")
then 15 gals (18"x 14.5 tall)

then there is the 100 gallon version (38" x 20") - that would be just one pot, one looooong veg, but I do have a switchable HID and I would like to see a good veg under CMH....


hmmm.....
 

Scrappy4

senior member
Veteran
I built a box that I use to grow with in my garage. It is only 3x3 on the inside. I found that is all the distance I want to reach in under a scrog screen. But based on my design a friend has built a couple of 4x4 boxes with lazy susan (rated at 1000LB) on the floor, we mounted it under a circular peice of plywood, he gives up a little corner room for the ease of spinning his plants to him for trimming/watering. Works very well. BTW I can get over 1lb of dry bud on 4 plants in my 9sq ft box. With some more engineering I could come up with a modular screen, just divide up the circle into 4ths, 3rds or whatever.........scrappy
 

trichrider

Kiss My Ring
Veteran
i wasn't trying to dissuade you from using the bigger pots, just saying that with four five gal. buckets in my 120, vegged for 6 weeks, makes it very difficult to care for them. Add a screen on top of that and you need to be a contortionist to water and primp them. As for moving them around...out of the question.
I say 'go for it'! (as I imagine pots with 5 times the soil of mine), and the corresponding trees that they will support...
best to you.
 

resinryder

Rubbing my glands together
Veteran
Not trying to bust your balls or burst your bubble with this. Just something to consider before you start this process. You are going to be spending a lot of time waiting for the roots to fill those 25 gallon smart post. The vertical plant growth will be slow as the root system is growing and growing while they do their thing but because they have so much pot to fill they will not be a strong as they would if you transplanted from container to container. You are using peat which will become compact and is notorious for acidity problems, becoming sour, causing nute lock out problems. I've used peat in the past and absolutely hate the stuff. And you'll need to flush these pots out if you run into problems which is going to be a job in itself. For instance, if you have a problem you need to flush with 3 times as much water as you have pot size. You ready to flush with 75 gallons of ph'ed water when needed? To be honest, start out in smaller pots, transplant up as needed, this way you'll get proper veg growth and stronger root growth. To start them into 25 gallon pots directly, unless you've already up potted them from larger containers, ie-1 gal, 3 gal, 5 gal, 10 gal, 15, gal, etc, will quite honestly cause you a lot of wasted time waiting for plant growth to catch up with root growth. Just my 2 cent.
BTW, why peat when there are much better mediums available?
 
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mad librettist

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resinryder, according to your logic the slowest growth of all would occur outdoors. It's just not the case. Roots colonize and branches grow simultaneously and in proportion, not in succession.

peat- good point, which is why this morning I sourced some pine bark fines and the turf stuff. I'm going to do 2ndtry's mix or rather the mix from gardenweb he copied.

as for flushing, I'm not going to need to flush. I'm building living soil that will take care of itself with proper feeding. The plant will be in charge of nutrient availability. In all my grows, I have striven for zero runoff when I water. My plants yellow near the end like they should.

patience I have in spades though.
 

VerdantGreen

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guys some of you are mixing up scrog and modular scrog. modular means a separate screen is attached to each different pot so you can remove them from the tent and adjust the height of each screen. (providing you can lift the pot lol)

VG about how often do you have to water in an average temp week (not sweltering or freezing)?

I don't want to lounge in there with the plants, but I don't want to struggle to care for them either, because eventually you get tired and it all goes to shit. Last run in my micro cab I kinda gave up and the buds cured on the plant. It was just too much trouble to open the damn thing.

Next size down is 20 gals (20"x 14.5")
then 15 gals (18"x 14.5 tall)

then there is the 100 gallon version (38" x 20") - that would be just one pot, one looooong veg, but I do have a switchable HID and I would like to see a good veg under CMH....


hmmm.....

i would try 15 gallons first, maybe try both 15 and 20 with the same cut and see if there is any difference.
i have to water my 3-4 gallon pots every 2 days on average. i literally leave them for 48 hours at a time 3 times a week.
 
A

apep

Hey ml. Totally agree with you on the roots and stems growing in proportion. Notice how the plants explode after a transplant then kinda slow way down after a week or two(depending on the medium),thats how I judge when I need to transplant.
I also agree with resinryder about the progressive transplants, thats my style too. However I wonder about using smart pots because the roots dont grow to the sides they air prune so I imagine they would use all the avalible space, anyway cant wait to see. Im sure you will pull off some sick shit.
Flushing oh no. that was you if I remember correctly that got into a huge debate over this topic, lets just hope it doesnt come to that, lol.
 

resinryder

Rubbing my glands together
Veteran
resinryder, according to your logic the slowest growth of all would occur outdoors. It's just not the case. Roots colonize and branches grow simultaneously and in proportion, not in succession.


Not a problem man. You know what you're doing. Best of luck with your grow.
 
The lip wouldn't be a problem for modular dollies, carts, wheeled Cannasoil vehicles...whatever you want to call them, if you made some type of ramp on each side of the tent lip. The ramps could be removable, or not. Maybe a piece of quarter round? Quarter round may be too obtuse of an angle, depending on the weight, but a ramp should be easily doable. Modular scrog, imo, from following Verdant, is worth some thought and work, if it's needed to make it happen.
 

big ballin 88

Biology over Chemistry
Veteran
Hey ML, glad to see you finally ditched those CFL's for a 600w!

I think big pots is a great idea for your very reason. However i have found it very easy when using Blumat Jr's to undersize a plant's pot. It works for me since i only use small space. But in 2 gal Smart Pots i was able to get about 1oz per plant. This was from a 150w HPS and supplemented with a 150w CMH in the last 1.5 weeks.

Also Blumat Jr's allow you to go away without worrying about plants. I was gone for 7 days and was able to keep my whole grow veg and all going with just blumat jr's. You can use multiple ones for a bigger pot. Just need a larger reservoir for them. I'd probably aerate if i could.
 

VerdantGreen

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i would say one of the big strengths of modular is being able to move the plants around easily. so you dont want to give that up unless you really have to.

mad have you thought about 9 modules, with something like 5-10 gallon pots. less veg time.
do you plan to have separate veg space at all?

VG
 

mad librettist

Active member
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ty for the blumat lead, I only used plant nannies til now but those look nicer. I agree, and think they should be used all the time, not just for vacation.

VG I am debating the separate veg space. 9 modules? oh my, my head is spinning....

the thing with just a few big pots is they can accept bokashi straight while "resting", and it won't smell in the house.
 

big ballin 88

Biology over Chemistry
Veteran
Blumat Jr's should be used all the time in flower. In veg it doesnt really matter from what i've seen. I actually think their not that great for most of the veg since they put out more water than the plant takes in. Makes for a messy situation always...

In flower I've noticed a higher rate of growth from similar plants so its not very conclusive. With them i feel a plant transplants much easier also since they can draw water as they need it, depending upon res position. Its almost like a true form of organic-hydroponics. Just cant feed through them like active hydroponics. I'm considering running an experiment on an aerated res vs non-aerated.

Modular SCROG is the way to go. I'm heading in that direction since its worked for me in the past. I'm going with 2 gallon Smartpots in a 3x2 tent. This gives me roughly 8 plants total under 250w digital. You have the setup i want though, 600w and a 4x4. If i were you i'd go with 5-10 gal pots and veg shorter... I think the compromise for growing tree's is more situational such as someone limited to plant count. That would make the extra time worth it.
 

mad librettist

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The Mad Librettist is scaling up

ah then the blumat is inferior to the plant nanny, which only gives up water as the soil dries out. I use the plant nannies on "resting" soil, and it can take over a month to drain 2 liters.

ok now I am leaning - 4 x 15 gals smart pots

medium - pine bark and hopefully axis if I can find some.
 

MrFista

Active member
Veteran
Ask spurr re pine bark fines.

We had a week of light rains. Garden is BOOMING and today the sun is back. Must go tie tomatoes, forage flowers, scissor salad and bloat out on berries. Good luck with your treasure hunt.
 

mad librettist

Active member
Veteran
Today I got biotone, peat, some shrimp compost, and some top soil, all from fafard. I'm doing something like vg's soil, but I am using napa auto parts #8822 oil absorbent for drainage. I may add pumice, or poultry grit, not sure yet. Bark fines will probably have to wait until spring.

I ordered a 100 gallon smart pot to mix and keep soil in, and 6 15 gallon pots for the rotation.
 
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