Please help me decide on no till set up and container!

[Diesel0889]

Please only recommend if you have experience in no till.

Trying to decide on what route to take on my no till venture. Running 7 gallon pots in my 5x5 now top dressing organic amendments. I have some beautiful girls but would like to fully move to no till and see what I can accomplish. My biggest thing is container. Wondering what people like more for a 5x5 tent. I'm thinking I'm set on a geo pot 4x4x1 bed or a grass roots 4x4x1.5 living soil bed. Not sure on witch to go with. Or to run 4 big smartpots?? Any input on containers I'd appreciate.

Next we have the mix I'll use. I'm thinking coots mix as it's been proven and it's simple. But I'm open to any and all opinions yall may have on a good mix as well. Plus I want to stay away from perlite all together and use pumice and rice hulls instead. In the end I want it simple and still be able to pull good yeild but quality is of upmost importance to me and the old lady. My current girls are entering there 2nd week so tax time is around the same time, yay! I figure worst case they are not done and I can get my mix going and let it sit for 3 or 4 weeks before use. Plus I plan to recycle and just chop and plant like that Joshua steinsland ( if I got the name right) on you tube does but on a smaller scale. I also use a 4x4 for veg and am not sure if I should use it for veg still or just flower both beds a couple weeks apart.

Any help is appreciated so thanks I advance. Happy growing!!!

 

[Diesel0889]

Also considered biting the bullet and buying from buildasoil.com for my dirt and eating a crazy shipping cost lol....

 

[NewGrower2011]

Have you looked at Nectar of the Gods soil and if you can find locally? Picked up a bag of their #8 last time I was at shop. Might be more cost effective given the shipping deal - soil/heavy shit is the main thing I still source at local shops (or oh shit I want it this weekend). Still gives them a little support too.

I have 7 gals and I can tell you they get thirsty pretty fast, so larger the better is the general convention from what I'm reading. For the next go I'm looking at the SIP deal and I have those rubbermaid brute totes, and there's 2 sizes. The small one nests perfectly into the taller one and I'm guessing there's at least a couple gallons for rez. But I'm basically in the same point you are - contemplating container options before I commit.

 

[Diesel0889]

Have you looked at Nectar of the Gods soil and if you can find locally? Picked up a bag of their #8 last time I was at shop. Might be more cost effective given the shipping deal - soil/heavy shit is the main thing I still source at local shops (or oh shit I want it this weekend). Still gives them a little support too.

I have 7 gals and I can tell you they get thirsty pretty fast, so larger the better is the general convention from what I'm reading. For the next go I'm looking at the SIP deal and I have those rubbermaid brute totes, and there's 2 sizes. The small one nests perfectly into the taller one and I'm guessing there's at least a couple gallons for rez. But I'm basically in the same point you are - contemplating container options before I commit.

Ya I hear ya my current 7 gallon pots easily take a gallon of water every one to 2 days but it is not ideal as I'm trying to keep things moist for my buddy's down under. I have used nesters #4 mix with good results and feel it is one of the better bagged soils on the market today. I dont see there #8 being any different in quality. Good company all around. I use a local shop as well and the guy that runs it treats me right and gives me killer deals from time to time. He is probably the only owner of a hydro shop that really knows what he is doing/talking about, most of them do not.

I like the sip system idea but I think I want a fabric bed or big pots or 1 big pot on blumats. My ro system would be hooked to my water supply on a float so it always stays full. This seems to be what I feel the best way for me as I'm very busy with work all the time and my 7 gallons are exhausting lol. Just waiting for the no till gods to share with me opinions on what's the best path for me to take. Thanks for the reply! Happy growing!!!

 

[Diesel0889]

Anyone have any input on containers? Any insight would be appreciated...

 

[NewGrower2011]

yeah #8 is just #4 with perlite. If shipping I'd go #4 all the way and then source my aeration locally (and maybe not perlite at all, better choices/etc).

 

[WeedFreak78]

I'm looking into going no till, ideally I'd like an aerated bed. I'm not sure on the fabric raised beds though, which I originally wanted to use, I've read about deterioration after a few years. I saw it with the fabric pots outside, I got 3-4 years out of them before they got brittle and tore. The way my buckets have got bleached and brittle under HIDs inside after only 2 years, I don't think the fabrics gonna do any better. At this point I think I'm just framing a box out of 2x10s and lining it with poly. K. I. S. S

 

[NewGrower2011]

I would frame with pond liner CYA for water 'incidents'

 

[Budzbuddha]

Viola !

No cooking needed ... simple and takes pretty much water only and simple scratch in same soil at topsoil / water in ( mid bloom ) .... and your done.

 

[Diesel0889]

yeah #8 is just #4 with perlite. If shipping I'd go #4 all the way and then source my aeration locally (and maybe not perlite at all, better choices/etc).

I will say I do t dislike perlite it has its place but I am not useing any in no till, it never stays where i want it to. Pumice with a bit of rice hulls for me.

I like the idea of grass roots living soil beds with the partial liner in them but I'm not sure if I should have my bed 18" deep or go with the geo pot bed that's only a foot deep. Was hoping some that are masters of no till would chime in on container options but I think I'm pretty set on a 4x4 bed in my 5x5. I want to be fully organic and reuse my dirt so I think I'll be going with coots mix and possibly modify things a tad with the addition of things like ( gro kashi, OG biowar, insect grass etc. ) I have always been a big fan of organics (farm boy) so I'm no stranger to it and i have no till beds in my garden but it's time to move it into my tents with the help of blumats connected to my RO system and a rez on a float. This will give me more time with the kid. I'm not lazy I just think I'd be doing myself a big favor in going no till. Blumats when dialed in correctly really are a game changer and if I had had the money at the moment I'd already be running them.

 

[Diesel0889]

Honestly I'm thinking 4 to 6 plants a bed and considering useing my veg tent as a flower tent as well (4×4) and my 5x5 and buying another gorilla 3x3 or 4x4 to house a mom or 2 and just give it a haircut when the time comes and plop them in the beds at the same time. Even though I only do this for me and the old lady and a buddy rarely I find myself always wanting to expand and I have no reason to. Last run I finished with my now veg tent with my spyder x plus in it was a tad over 2 elbows. That's certainly enough so why am I so hell bent on growing a couple more I dont need? I'll justify it and call it Christmas shopping to the old lady lol. Anyone else have this problem? Might not be a bad one to have but I have a seed addiction as well and buy more shit I dont need. If bodhi went out of business it would save me a whole lot of money! Happy growing

 

[WeedFreak78]

Watch the rice hulls, I was warned about them but had to see for myself. I've been recycling my soil going on 7 or 8 times now, around the 2nd recycle the hulls started making things soggy and holding too much moisture. They break down quickly, within a few months and just stay damp too long. I had to add a bunch of base peat/coco mix and I started using perlite to get it draining again. I still use them, I just alternate. Just a heads up.

 

[ShLUbY]

yes, avoid the rice hulls for aeration, ESPECIALLY if you're designing a no-till bed. pumice and lava rock only.

 

[Diesel0889]

Pumice and lava rock it is. Thanks for the heads up. I may add a few hulls for micro heard food I guess but not for aeration. Is this advised or should I stay away from the rice hulls period?? Thanks in advance

 

[WeedFreak78]

I'd still use them occasionally, the more diverse your soil is the better.

 

[ShLUbY]

Pumice and lava rock it is. Thanks for the heads up. I may add a few hulls for micro heard food I guess but not for aeration. Is this advised or should I stay away from the rice hulls period?? Thanks in advance

micro heard has plenty of food with all the organic matter in the soil. and running no till, roots from old plants become new carbon matter. remember, matter is neither created nor destroyed. carbon in these types of container soils doesn't go anywhere, it cycles in the soil endlessly. remember the plant builds itself out of inorganic carbon (co2). So we are constantly adding carbon inputs to the ecosystem: dying roots, leaves, cover crops, mulches, amendments, etc. Sooooo much microbial food.

 

[Diesel0889]

Thanks for the replays guys! And I suppose I want to keep it simple anyway so not adding them is not an upset to me at all... less money in the end. I know coots mix is well respected and that it works so in a sense its risk free. I believe in my skills enough to pull it off first try and know it will only get better with time. I have some beautiful good size girls right now that are compleatly filling my 5x5 but it's tough keeping things moist with them this big in a 7 gallon. I assume I'm doing ok this far as far as what the plants tell me. My clusterfunk from bodhi is finicky but the buds are starting to stack in the beginning of week 2 so no need to worry yet. Other thing I have I noticed is one of my clusterfunks looks real pale under my spyder x plus but when you pull it into natural light looks perfect. Every other plant looks as normal as can be in and out... also real cal and/or mag hungry and others not so much. Only one of the 2 of them. One in a 3 gallon and one in a 7 gallon.. 7 gal has had the issues or need rather. Only doing roots complet dry player pack this run and hope to go back to normal by the time these are done meaning real organics. Also had to suffer with fox farm of and that's not where I want to be. All is well so far so I can't complain just not what I'm used to. Thanks again and any other suggestions on container(s) for my 5x5 no till venture are welcome. 4x4 bed or 30 gallon 45 gallon geo pot or grassroots living soil pots? If pots I'd want to fit 4 in my 5x5 but I THINK the bed may be a better idea right?

 

[ShLUbY]

Thanks for the replays guys! And I suppose I want to keep it simple anyway so not adding them is not an upset to me at all... less money in the end. I know coots mix is well respected and that it works so in a sense its risk free. I believe in my skills enough to pull it off first try and know it will only get better with time. I have some beautiful good size girls right now that are compleatly filling my 5x5 but it's tough keeping things moist with them this big in a 7 gallon. I assume I'm doing ok this far as far as what the plants tell me. My clusterfunk from bodhi is finicky but the buds are starting to stack in the beginning of week 2 so no need to worry yet. Other thing I have I noticed is one of my clusterfunks looks real pale under my spyder x plus but when you pull it into natural light looks perfect. Every other plant looks as normal as can be in and out... also real cal and/or mag hungry and others not so much. Only one of the 2 of them. One in a 3 gallon and one in a 7 gallon.. 7 gal has had the issues or need rather. Only doing roots complet dry player pack this run and hope to go back to normal by the time these are done meaning real organics. Also had to suffer with fox farm of and that's not where I want to be. All is well so far so I can't complain just not what I'm used to. Thanks again and any other suggestions on container(s) for my 5x5 no till venture are welcome. 4x4 bed or 30 gallon 45 gallon geo pot or grassroots living soil pots? If pots I'd want to fit 4 in my 5x5 but I THINK the bed may be a better idea right?

4x4 bed for the win man. the interconnectedness of plants in the same bed that share a mycorrhizal partner is like an internet of mycelia in the soil where communication between plants and the fungus operates at fiberoptic speeds (you can thank Paul Stamets for that analogy). It just builds the community as one giant organism, sharing water and nutrients, and staving off pathogens. I can't wait to start growing no-till again.

 

[deimos phobos]

How are you guys raising the geopot or bed? Does it benefit from being on some kind of lattice riser?

 

[Canagen]

Hi.

... Any input on containers I'd appreciate...

Just started a no-till with 15 gallon hard pots in a 3x3 tent with 600HID lighting.

Just wanted to comment on the fabric pots as I found they have a tendency to shift the soil and rootball when I shuffle them around for adjustments. All in your style of growing I guess.

I thought about doing a bed but figured it awkward if I had to make adjustments to the plants. I can see myself using one if I had access all around the bed. And that would be in a 3x3 tent since I live in a highrise and living space for me and my plants is scarce right now.

And for drainage issues, I simply cut up milk crates, easy with a hacksaw blade and laid them out. You don't really water to runoff with no till so the 1/4" gap it provides is enough for air flow.

Anyway, just my thoughts. Good luck with your 5x5 grow.