living soil aeration

GrownAtHighAltitude

GrownAtHighAltitude

Well-Known Member
Dreminen169 said:
You added an autowater on top of the 2 gallon reservoir it has? What are you using blu-mats?
Click to expand...
No, it's a pneumatic valve that sits on top of and extends down into the water fill tube on the earthbox. When the resevoir starts to empty, the valve lets water trickle in. It keeps it full and the soil stays at optimum moisture content. I get fungal activity on the top without having to water anything by hand. I have it hooked up to a timer and a RV-style on-demand pump w/filters.

Thread about this subject: https://rollitup.org/t/sip-thread-sub-irrigated-planter.904886
 
Dreminen169

Dreminen169

Well-Known Member
GrownAtHighAltitude said:
No, it's a pneumatic valve that sits on top of and extends down into the water fill tube on the earthbox. When the resevoir starts to empty, the valve lets water trickle in. It keeps it full and the soil stays at optimum moisture content. I get fungal activity on the top without having to water anything by hand. I have it hooked up to a timer and a RV-style on-demand pump w/filters.

Thread about this subject: https://rollitup.org/t/sip-thread-sub-irrigated-planter.904886
Click to expand...
You got a link to the valve?
 
GrownAtHighAltitude

GrownAtHighAltitude

Well-Known Member
Dreminen169 said:
You don’t run into any problems with three plants per box?
Click to expand...
Look at before pic and see how small they were. I think I only vegged an additional week before I flipped my lighting schedule from 12/1 to 8/16.

If I would have trellised the right two boxes I wouldn't have floppy buds everywhere but no, no problems as long as your intended flowering height is met.

If I were going with larger plants, probably only two per box, or maybe even one. Just depends.
 
DoctorChaos

DoctorChaos

Member
Northwood said:
I agree with the fabric pot issue for no-till. In my first grow cycle I noticed that the biological activity within several inches of the side was non-existent. It just dried out too fast. And this fabric pot has a capacity of 150 gallons of soil (but 100 gallons in it), so it represented a huge volume of dead medium I could be using for growing or organic material cycling instead. I somewhat solved the issue by wrapping the outside of it tightly with several layers of plastic sheeting, allowing a couple inches uncovered at the bottom for drainage. It was a great improvement. I originally looked for a small kiddy pool as a pot, but I couldn't find one at the time with the dimensions and formfactor I was looking for.
Click to expand...
Damn, I just bought a huge fabric pot. Glad I read your post before putting my no-till mix into it.

However, I think you were onto something with your plastic wrap idea.

With a brand new smart pot, you could use a can of Flex Seal to rubberize the inside walls (leaving a couple inches at the bottom for drainage of course) and you'd have a DIY hybrid pot that's perfect for no-till, with the drainage benefits of a smart pot and the full soil utilization you get from a plastic pot.

And just like that, a new invention was born. I'm going to be self indulgent and call it the Chaos Pot. I expect Chinese manufacturers to be making these by fall at the latest.
 
Last edited:
N

Northwood

Well-Known Member
DoctorChaos said:
With a brand new smart pot, you could use a can of Flex Seal to rubberize the inside walls (leaving a couple inches at the bottom for drainage of course)
Click to expand...
I'd just worry about what's in "Flex Seal" compared to what's in food-grade plastic... unless of course you're wanting to kill someone. Lol *kidding!*
 
DoctorChaos

DoctorChaos

Member
Northwood said:
I'd just worry about what's in "Flex Seal" compared to what's in food-grade plastic... unless of course you're wanting to kill someone. Lol *kidding!*
Click to expand...
Lol, it should be fine as long as it's cured, it's just liquid rubber.

www.flexsealproducts.com

Is FLEX SEAL® LIQUID safe to use around plants and animals?

Yes, once fully cured, FLEX SEAL® LIQUID is safe around plants and animals. Visit our official site for more information and assistance.
www.flexsealproducts.com www.flexsealproducts.com
flexseal.png

I'm just kidding about the chaos pot thing btw, it's a No-Till Smart Pot. Simple as.
 
Hollatchaboy

Hollatchaboy

Well-Known Member
Dr. Who

Dr. Who

Well-Known Member
Nutty sKunK said:
I think airpots excel in an automated watering system. This will stop the outer edges from drying up. Then they can really utilising the extra air.

Also air pruning stops those big circling roots and divides them up into finer hairs where the plant can take up more nutrients.

Using a surficant also helps a lot - it’s how I bypass it shooting out the sides.

If it’s just not co-operating stab it with a thin BBQ skewer. Works a charm.

lastly when potting them up it’s crucial to do it in layers. Pushing and compacting a good inch layer into the holes while keep the middle lighter.

Oh yeah - cheap airport knock offs don’t work. You need the original ones I find for best results.

Watering everyday sounds like it takes practice with different stages of growth...
Click to expand...

It did to start that way decades ago... The "employee's" are all skilled at it. I still go out and inspect daily... Yet they are making spot on calls.
 
J

JMcG

Well-Known Member
Not much love here for the fabric pots!
Here’a a couple of things to consider:
IMO...To achieve true water only no till you’ll need at least 15 gallons of soil to properly support the micro herd that you are trying to keep firing on all cylinders. NT is more about managing the soil life and not so much the plant itself. Personally, I run everything from 20, 25, 30 gallon fabric pots to 200 gallon DIY fabric planters using Coots mix and variations of it using different ratios ( currently using 40/40/20 ratios not thirds). For me, this is the end game, I’ll look no further, I’ve never produced anything on par with a good run from these setups , particularly the big beds.
Now, I totally agree with the watering issues, it took a minute to figure out a few parameters, but easy enough all in all. After 3 years I replaced soil in the big beds and had pockets of hydrophobic soil. While I had the beds mostly empty I added a strip of plastic around the inside of the walls leaving it off the bottom by about 3” or so. I also went from almost 16” of soil depth to only 12” of soil with a couple of inches of compost. It is now a breeze to keep it the soil right in the sweet spot concerning moisture levels.
There’s a lot to understanding living soils! I’m nearly four years in and still feel like a babe in the woods. Luckily I have had some great mentors all along who have helped me tremendously.
I’ll dig out some pics of some living soil love !
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top