I reread some of my previous posts, and it caused me to delve into an analysis of a plant’s cellular response to HPA. HPA causes a plant to produce fine microvilli from the root cells to increase water and nutrient absorption. I have also read that this response takes a few days to emerge. This leads me to believe that the microvilli are produced in response to a reduction in available water and nutrients. I have found that limiting reagents dictate the rate and extent of a reaction, in this case plant growth. However, treading the razor’s edge to maximize water and nutrient economy is not my goal here; I’m not shooting gallons of water into outer space. Here on earth we strive for high yields – not weight to biomass ratios, so strict adherence to rigid protocols is not required.
That being said, you might ask, what then is the goal? Well, providing an oxygen rich, nutrient-laden environment that is resistant to pathogens, yet is resilient in times of stress, is my response. (Try spewing that one out blazed on OG Kush…) So, the way I see it… if I use a bit more nutrient solution and provide an aerobic environment, the plants will not have to adapt and can put all of their energy into development. Furthermore, I have read that HPA falls short when the plants attain a large size. This is a serious consideration. I think with the hybridization of the two systems, I can easily overcome this issue. An additional benefit is that all of roots are never dry. When they are not dripping they are fully oxygenated, yet hydrated. This should provide ample oxygen for cellular respiration and tons of ATP for additional growth.
This system should allot ample oxygen without the need for air stones and air pump. I constantly revise and rethink the creation of the system. Here is what I envision in a 24h time period. The HPA misters will cycle 1s/5m covering the 4’x8’x14” root chamber. It will house five or six plants. After four hours have elapsed( - subject to modification), the LPA system will trigger and spray for a minute. This system will have a different concentration of nutrients, and maybe a different composition. The runoff will travel down the chamber and pool in one corner. After 15 min, a return pump will move the accumulated solutions into the LPA rez. This solution will be monitored for pH and ppm’s to get a read on the nutrient levels. This cycle continues throughout the day and should be viable without intervention for a week, minimally.
Thoughts on system improvements are appreciated, as well as identification of any unperceived pitfalls you may foresee.
- ZXC
I have a single plant in my 4x4 in a 5 gallon bucket in a scrog. Grown with HPA. It doesn’t fall short ime with larger plants. Anyone who had said this doesn’t know wtf they are doing.
idk why you would do what you’re talking about. Zero real world advantage, and you make something already complicated even more complicated.
You should check out some of homebrewers old threads, they helped me out.
Really your root chambers can be whatever you want. I chose buckets because it makes it easy to move them between my veg and flower area.
All of that shit that
@PetFlora was spewing about giant cotton candy roots is bull, they fuzz up a bit but you really want lateral root growth and not a bunch of fuckin fuzz. If the droplets are too small the roots fuzz up too much, like with an ultrasonic fogger. You do want them all to be healthy though, and Richard Stoner recommends about 3sec/3min on/off. I change my feed times based off of humidity, longer with lower humidity.
If you get any dead spots in your rootball it’s because there aren’t enough nozzles for the chamber size, or you’re not feeding for long enough to wet all of the roots.
Same with that idiotic crap
@PetFlora posted about the mist caressing balls. Lol
There are really not a lot of people who post on here who have had successful HPA grows,
@PetFlora is not one of them. For real, check out some of his old grows, can’t grow for shit and is the last person you should take advice from.
So, one of the things about HPA, is that there is a lot of interaction between the plants and the nutrient solution. So if you’re planning on it being totally stable and recirculating that’s just not gonna happen.
I follow a chart that tells me when to change my res, and in between that I top up with RO.
