SIP thread -- (Sub-Irrigated Planter)

[NewGrower2011]

Yeah I may forego the Big6 if that could be a culprit, I'm only low on two of them so I might have to find inputs that address them specifically. I'm also going to use some Bu's Compost this time along with some refreshed castings. It's the N inputs I'll be sorting out first and then making sure my Ca:Mg are where they need to be as well. Once I figure that out I think I'll have some small adjustments for PK and then let it bake for a few weeks. I'll probably prep a kick start tea to time things so the tea can help in the process and still be kicking a bit when they go in.

 

[Nugbender]

Air injecting Sips,,, Yup it works, I am going to order a Fusion fish tank pump for 8 bucks delered on Ebay to go with my earthbox

Great post brother and thanks for the share! I just picked up 2 disc air stones to add to the earthboxes ill be buying next!

 

[Tim Fox]

Great post brother and thanks for the share! I just picked up 2 disc air stones to add to the earthboxes ill be buying next!

good morning, i used the earthbox to grow in 1 time,, the problem with the earthbox when used indoors, is the over flow for the water is hidden underneath, so you dont know when its getting full until it over flows all over your grow room,, i eneded up spacing the earth box up on 2x4s so i could slide a tray under neath to catch the water when it over flowed,, even this was messy and oftern times the water would track across the bottom of the earth box and miss the over flow tray all together,, so i had to use towels and dry things up,,, so what i did was switched to the GROWBOX,, it has the res fill on the front, and you can see the water level thru the fill hole , you can also see the roots too , this way you can fill and stop before it over flows,, they have the same capacity and hold the same amount of soil, the grow box has the win over the earth box in Res capacity,, the earthbox holds 2.5 gallons the the grow box holds 4 gallons of water

 

[Tim Fox]

Great post brother and thanks for the share! I just picked up 2 disc air stones to add to the earthboxes ill be buying next!

here is a couple of pictures , you can see the res fill on the front, plus gives you a view into the res,

 

[Nugbender]

Looks very similar the Earthbox, which implies that no one has applied for a patent on these things. Competition is good, $20 seems like a great deal (I'm sure I've spent more than that on parts making mine). According to the HD website, my local store has 18 in stock, next time I'm there I'll have to check them out.

Just bought 1 to test out

 

[Nugbender]

here is a couple of pictures , you can see the res fill on the front, plus gives you a view into the res,

Nice, appreciate the feedback. Over flooding sucks, just grabbed some gro kashi as well to top dress the soil for these. Ill be putting a pineapple crack auto and have some chem 91' S1 waiting as well whoop whoop

 

[Deadhead13]

good morning, i used the earthbox to grow in 1 time,, the problem with the earthbox when used indoors, is the over flow for the water is hidden underneath, so you dont know when its getting full until it over flows all over your grow room,, i eneded up spacing the earth box up on 2x4s so i could slide a tray under neath to catch the water when it over flowed,, even this was messy and oftern times the water would track across the bottom of the earth box and miss the over flow tray all together,, so i had to use towels and dry things up,,, so what i did was switched to the GROWBOX,, it has the res fill on the front, and you can see the water level thru the fill hole , you can also see the roots too , this way you can fill and stop before it over flows,, they have the same capacity and hold the same amount of soil, the grow box has the win over the earth box in Res capacity,, the earthbox holds 2.5 gallons the the grow box holds 4 gallons of water

Great info, thank you.

 

[Tim Fox]

@Humanrob and I were talking recently, he mentioned maybe growing this winter in one of his big sips,,,, so it has me thinking ill do my winter grow in my GROWBOX, Sip , my last 2 grows were in regular 3 or 5 gallon plastic pots, there were up sides to both, but i think my yeild was bigger in the SIP, also i want to do a little bit of training and the sips seem to give much greater speed to vegging once the water roots take off

 

[Imbald]

Here is a pretty simple sight gauge to monitor water level in reservoir my buddy just put on his new earthbox.
I'm going to be putting a float type gauge on my two sometime in the next month.
Don't like guessing or messes on the floor.

 

[Tim Fox]

Here is a pretty simple sight gauge to monitor water level in reservoir my buddy just put on his new earthbox.
I'm going to be putting a float type gauge on my two sometime in the next month.
Don't like guessing or messes on the floor.
View attachment 4405090

i have seen float gauges that use a styrofoam Ball stuck on the end of a bamboo skewer and then slide down the fill tube, and then marks places on the skewer to show full or half full and empty, that way there is no drilling in the side of the earth box,, octopots use the same method, you can see how the float works in this picture of an octopot

 

[Tim Fox]

i was also thinking about gluing a plastic plate over the square hole where water over flows the res, thus sealing it, and re drilling an over flow hole on the side , like the INtainers use, even with a plastic tube attached?, to direct the over flow into a tray,, that way then a person could actually Flush the res if they wanted,

 

[Imbald]

i have seen float gauges that use a styrofoam Ball stuck on the end of a bamboo skewer and then slide down the fill tube, and then marks places on the skewer to show full or half full and empty, that way there is no drilling in the side of the earth box,, octopots use the same method, you can see how the float works in this picture of an octopot

That is basically what I was thinking. I have several fishing bobbers that are narrow and 12 in in length. I would either use one in the fill tube or run an additional, smaller diameter tube, next to the fill tube.
I haven't even took mine out of the box yet to check it out; but I need to.

 

[Tim Fox]

That is basically what I was thinking. I have several fishing bobbers that are narrow and 12 in in length. I would either use one in the fill tube or run an additional, smaller diameter tube, next to the fill tube.
I haven't even took mine out of the box yet to check it out; but I need to.

they grow some sweet Cannabis, your going to love it

 

[Tstat]

Here's a shot of my room today. 4 SIPs and 4 potted:

 

[Tim Fox]

Here's a shot of my room today. 4 SIPs and 4 potted:
View attachment 4407512

rocking the cobs too,, very nice

 

[Tim Fox]

i am having a hard time deciding if i want to do my next grow in sips or not

 

[Tstat]

rocking the cobs too,, very nice

I just harvested some Purple Uni x Pure OG, was two plants in one SIP. Came out beautiful, I’ll update on the weight and show some bud shots.
I bought a big garage can that I am now mixing my soil in. I add all the amendments and mix it up really good. It’s nice to have it on hand all the time for starting new SIPs or transplanting stuff.

 

[Imbald]

i am having a hard time deciding if i want to do my next grow in sips or not

I thought you really liked them; so why change?
Especially if you already have them.


Edit: after reading that, it could sound like I'm coming off cocky. That wasn't my intent.
But this is my thinking. I could be wrong, and feel free to correct me.
If your going organic, and want a healthy, thriving micro herd in your living soil. SIPS would do the best to keep the soil in the "zone" to support life in the soil, because they are keeping your soil constantly moist, but not to wet. Hand watering, your going back and forth from different levels of wet and dry. Maybe not bad for the plants, but not the best environment for your living soil.
In my opinion, even Blumats don't compare. They don't keep "all" your soil moist. Just a cone shape area. Being a wide area at the top, and narrow at bottom of your containers.

 

[Tim Fox]

I just harvested some Purple Uni x Pure OG, was two plants in one SIP. Came out beautiful, I’ll update on the weight and show some bud shots.
I bought a big garage can that I am now mixing my soil in. I add all the amendments and mix it up really good. It’s nice to have it on hand all the time for starting new SIPs or transplanting stuff.

good idea,, i too have beem thinking about what type of nutes i am going to use in my next grow,, mostly i want to use the trench method again, i was thinking about a fruit n flower trench on the back row, and a tomato fert in the front trench,

 

[Tim Fox]

I thought you really liked them; so why change?
Especially if you already have them.


Edit: after reading that, it could sound like I'm coming off cocky. That wasn't my intent.
But this is my thinking. I could be wrong, and feel free to correct me.
If your going organic, and want a healthy, thriving micro herd in your living soil. SIPS would do the best to keep the soil in the "zone" to support life in the soil, because they are keeping your soil constantly moist, but not to wet. Hand watering, your going back and forth from different levels of wet and dry. Maybe not bad for the plants, but not the best environment for your living soil.
In my opinion, even Blumats don't compare. They don't keep "all" your soil moist. Just a cone shape area. Being a wide area at the top, and narrow at bottom of your containers.

hahah,, no you didnt sount cocky,, oh there are a few reasons why i go back and forth on what type of container i am going to grow in,, on my last 2 or 3 grows i went back to plastic containers , 3-5 gallon size, and just 2 plants in my box, the reasons were
1 i can spin them
2, i can lift them out during the grow and trim and or spray and work inside the box if needed
3, easier at the start and the finish as i dont have to try and lift the heavy sip in and out of the box which is located in the bedroom on carpet

some of us debated on just what type of buds sips produced things like larfy or if they stretched allot more than regular pots, long points between nodes , stuff like that,, but now i am just not so sure, i mean i see people grow great big dense buds in deep water culter hydro, shoot all of thier roots are in a bucket of water,, lol,,

I am going to try and figure out a way to put handles on the sip or make a tray with handles so i can help myself at the start and finish of the grow to man handle the heavy sip in and out of the bedroom , i also need to plan on trying to let the res go close to dry so there isnt 4 gallons of water to spill out on the carpet at the end of the grow also,,