Hi, I'm a first time grower just getting started in a 5 gal smart pot. For my next cycle I want to build a 20-30 gallon sub irrigated planter with a no till living soil system. Has anyone tried this? And if so, any pointer or tips.
I want to have worms and all and am wondering if any additional care needs to go into a sip with LOS
https://preview.redd.it/6lbaesmiy4381.jpg?width=3120&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c9e614dc3f61bfbd5b71e6be1b3510164a2c14fe
My current setup involves a 5-gallon bucket on top (with light and fans), and a 5-gallon bucket on bottom that has been converted into a sub-irrigated planter. I have used this arrangement with soil, but the pictures show the first grow I have completed with coco coir (to allow for more effective control of nutrition). After about six weeks in the bucket setup -- by which time the plant has pretty much outgrown a bucket -- I transfer the bottom bucket (i.e., the planter) into a 2x2x4 tent.
First grow yielded 4 quarts of nicely trimmed thick buds in 13 weeks. This setup will enable me to harvest as often as every six weeks year 'round.
The sub-irrigated planter allows me to water every 3 days or so, with no risk of overwatering. The plant receives optimal hydration, and with coco I can quickly and effectively adjust nutrition. I plant the sprouted seed directly in the planter, so there is no transplant shock. The growth is dramatic, and the final size of my first grow was just about perfect for my tent.
The images show 1. on left, the bucket/planter setup, and on the right, plant ready for harvest; 2. same with bucket removed to show young plant underway; 3. close up view of sub-irrigated planter, showing drain hole (bottom right), larger aeration holes, edge of inner liner, rim and irrigation tube; 4. the components of the planter -- front left, the bucket; back left, weed barrier cloth; front center, reservoir barrier made from inner portion of bucket lid (3 inch center hole for wick, 1 1/8 inch hole near edge for irrigation tube, 1/4 inch holes elsewhere for drainage; back center, bucket rim with center removed and holes drilled around edge to connect wires for LST; front right, PVC irrigation tube 23 inches long with slant cut on one end; back right, coco coir and 7 3-inch mesh pots; 5. step one, place six 3-inch mesh cups upside around inside of bucket; 6. step two, place reservoir barrier on top of mesh cups; 7. step 3, line bucket with weed barrier cloth and place 3-inch mesh cup down in center to act as wick; 8. step 4, cut slit for irrigation tube and insert tube through weed barrier into the reservoir below, attach lid and remove excess cloth; 9. step 5, fill bucket with grow medium to an inch or two from the rim.
This is not an original setup, but one that I have cobbled together from various sources and altere
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Trying to find the best and most economical auto watering setup and seems like simple DIY wicking SIPs should be able to achieve the same thing without the added complication of finding the exact right height for your reservoir. Does anybody have experience with both setups that could chime in on pros/cons?
Hi all! I'm having some issues with my seedlings. I've seen them chronically
dying by dumping off. Tried several things and yet I have no luck. Below the
details about what I did the last time.
Environment variables:
indoor DIY tent, 3 feet tall, 1.5 * 2 feet base with panda plastic
Lights 100 watts burple CoB full spectrum DIY light
Light regime 18/6 light dark cycle
soil: bagged soil with peat, perlite dolomite lime and compost (Santa planta indoor mix for the people south here)
Avg temperature is 21 degrees celcius, RH 40-50%
Images:
https://postimg.cc/gallery/gXMmpzS
Procedures:
Germination
12 hours soak, then paper towel ovni method over the mobile router (winter here). Got 2 cms of white root and then put them into soil.
Soil preparation
I hydrated the soil with 10% water volume.
Used 3 solo cups filled to the half so hydrated with roughly 50 water mililiters.
Potted the soil, dig a small hole and planted the germinated seeds. Then I sprayed the top layer.
Used a SIP tek called NoobWB (https://forum.grasscity.com/threads/noobwannbs-self-wicking-smartpot-ghetto-setup.1151159/) and a soda bottle SIP for the seeds (https://www.yout
ube.com/watch?v=7qBVC5fRTX0).
For the NoobWB SIP, I filled a tray with 2 inches of vermi/perlite (what I got around) added water and put two solo cups (with 4 bottom slices to allow soil moisture).
The second one, I added water to the resrvoir and let it be.
First impresions and questiosn:
- slow root development and very slow leaves growth. They took 3 days to come out and when they did, 3 days later only one (1 milimiter) pair of true leaves appeared. 2 days
later they died. - Water is really moisted. I thought that the top layer was going to be kind of dry but maybe the pots were too small? IS there any volume relationship between reservoir and
pot? - Should have I used a dome the first days?
- I havent corrected PH. I will test today and check what is happening with my water.
I wanted to ask you general advices regarding SIPs and seedlings and general good practices for seedlings.
My understanding is that for this type of fertilizer to actually work it takes time for it to break down anyway so I might not have messed up too bad. And without a lot of moisture the fertilizer will take even longer to break down, right? So am I wrong in thinking that I should be ok as long as I dont water from above, or maybe only do so once every week and a half to 2 weeks to delay the release of the nutrients? Or did I fry the plants already and it just hasn't begun to show yet?
Random bag seeds, in 5 gallon organic soil, day 24ish veg
So the top about 4 inches of my soil stays fairly dry and gets cooler and more damp after that. I dont see the point of mixing in fertilizers on the top of the soil because it will be getting virtually no water and so I dont feel like it'll be broken down or activated and delivered to the roots below. But I've been told to avoid hydro nutes in soil grows because the salt build up is too risky. So then how do I feed my plants when the time comes?
Since SIPs hold water long-term, does the water become “funky”? Just wondering how the water sitting below the soil doesn’t grow unwanted bacteria, etc.
Between Home Depot, Amazon, and our local garden center we spent a bit over $700 on everything. It was way more than I had hoped, but these planters should last for many years and hopefully give us lots of fresh food!
https://i.redd.it/2g2vmpiw28231.jpg
Hi all! I'm having some issues with my seedlings. I've seen them chronically
dying by dumping off. Tried several things and yet I have no luck. Below the
details about what I did the last time.
Environment variables:
indoor DIY tent, 3 feet tall, 1.5 * 2 feet base with panda plastic
Lights 100 watts burple CoB full spectrum DIY light
Light regime 18/6 light dark cycle
soil: bagged soil with peat, perlite dolomite lime and compost (Santa planta indoor mix for the people south here)
Avg temperature is 21 degrees celcius, RH 40-50%
Images:
https://postimg.cc/gallery/gXMmpzS
Procedures:
Germination
12 hours soak, then paper towel ovni method over the mobile router (winter here). Got 2 cms of white root and then put them into soil.
Soil preparation
I hydrated the soil with 10% water volume.
Used 3 solo cups filled to the half so hydrated with roughly 50 water mililiters.
Potted the soil, dig a small hole and planted the germinated seeds. Then I sprayed the top layer.
Used a SIP tek called NoobWB (https://forum.grasscity.com/threads/noobwannbs-self-wicking-smartpot-ghetto-setup.1151159/) and a soda bottle SIP for the seeds (https://www.yout
ube.com/watch?v=7qBVC5fRTX0).
For the NoobWB SIP, I filled a tray with 2 inches of vermi/perlite (what I got around) added water and put two solo cups (with 4 bottom slices to allow soil moisture).
The second one, I added water to the resrvoir and let it be.
First impresions and questiosn:
- slow root development and very slow leaves growth. They took 3 days to come out and when they did, 3 days later only one (1 milimiter) pair of true leaves appeared. 2 days
later they died. - Water is really moisted. I thought that the top layer was going to be kind of dry but maybe the pots were too small? IS there any volume relationship between reservoir and
pot? - Should have I used a dome the first days?
- I havent corrected PH. I will test today and check what is happening with my water.
I wanted to ask you general advices regarding SIPs and seedlings and general good practices for seedlings.
Hi all! I'm having some issues with my seedlings. I've seen them chronically
dying by dumping off. Tried several things and yet I have no luck. Below the
details about what I did the last time.
Environment variables:
indoor DIY tent, 3 feet tall, 1.5 * 2 feet base with panda plastic
Lights 100 watts burple CoB full spectrum DIY light
Light regime 18/6 light dark cycle
soil: bagged soil with peat, perlite dolomite lime and compost (Santa planta indoor mix for the people south here)
Avg temperature is 21 degrees celcius, RH 40-50%
Images:
https://postimg.cc/gallery/gXMmpzS
Procedures:
Germination
12 hours soak, then paper towel ovni method over the mobile router (winter here). Got 2 cms of white root and then put them into soil.
Soil preparation
I hydrated the soil with 10% water volume.
Used 3 solo cups filled to the half so hydrated with roughly 50 water mililiters.
Potted the soil, dig a small hole and planted the germinated seeds. Then I sprayed the top layer.
Used a SIP tek called NoobWB (https://forum.grasscity.com/threads/noobwannbs-self-wicking-smartpot-ghetto-setup.1151159/) and a soda bottle SIP for the seeds (https://www.yout
ube.com/watch?v=7qBVC5fRTX0).
For the NoobWB SIP, I filled a tray with 2 inches of vermi/perlite (what I got around) added water and put two solo cups (with 4 bottom slices to allow soil moisture).
The second one, I added water to the resrvoir and let it be.
First impresions and questiosn:
- slow root development and very slow leaves growth. They took 3 days to come out and when they did, 3 days later only one (1 milimiter) pair of true leaves appeared. 2 days
later they died. - Water is really moisted. I thought that the top layer was going to be kind of dry but maybe the pots were too small? IS there any volume relationship between reservoir and
pot? - Should have I used a dome the first days?
- I havent corrected PH. I will test today and check what is happening with my water.
I wanted to ask you general advices regarding SIPs and seedlings and general good practices for seedlings.
