Strange things about wick planters

[dank'd]

i noticed some things with these wick planters that i made, one is very strange. one thing i notice is that different plants draw water differently, where one plant's fabric pot and soil will be heavily saturated and heavy to hold, and another different plant will feel so light the soil seems to be nearly dry yet the plant is healthy

i add water to the reservoirs always at the same time ie they seem to take up the same amounts of water at the same speed. obviously there are also differences in the roots systems between different plants also

the thing that i don't understand is with some plants, even though i use the same soil mix for all, and the soil does not come into contact with the water in the reservoirs, certain plants will over time turn the water in the reservoir green



reservoir on the left with nl5 skunk has green water

 

[Hollatchaboy]

i noticed some things with these wick planters that i made, one is very strange. one thing i notice is that different plants draw water differently, where one plant's fabric pot and soil will be heavily saturated and heavy to hold, and another different plant will feel so light the soil seems to be nearly dry yet the plant is healthy

i add water to the reservoirs always at the same time ie they seem to take up the same amounts of water at the same speed. obviously there are also differences in the roots systems between different plants also

the thing that i don't understand is with some plants, even though i use the same soil mix for all, and the soil does not come into contact with the water in the reservoirs, certain plants will over time turn the water in the reservoir green

View attachment 5097187

reservoir on the left with nl5 skunk has green water

Algae

 

[HydoDan]

Light causes green algae.

 

[dank'd]

thanks, but why only from certain plants?

 

[HydoDan]

thanks, but why only from certain plants?

Can't answer that one.

 

[crimsonecho]

water the drier one more often and the heavier wet one less

edit; oh i see what you did pots are not sitting in those tupperwares right? well that lacks all adjustability then

 

[dank'd]

correct, plants sit on top of the tupperware and there are polypropylene strips draped through holes in the lids to wick the water up

 

[Star Dog]

Light + water = algae you need to block the light from the reservoir to stop it going green.

Eta... I think the lighter/dry pot has found the limits of the wick capacity you need more wick/wicks.

 

[dank'd]

i am reading that the algae is a bad thing but in some case not that bad. that is not my concern/question though, my question is why does the algae form in some reservoirs and not in others, when the only difference is the plant/strain in the pot sitting on top? there must be something produced in the roots that is leaching back in to the reservoirs and causing this(?)

the dry pot is interesting because it held two plants (ortega and master kush skunk) and i had let them grow for a while as i got my clones reared for the flower tent. i had culled one plant from another pot and air layered the top half of the remaining plant leaving a small amount of vegetation behind, yet the soil stayed totally saturated, whereas the ortega/mks pot had large healthy plants and a nearly dry soil but was fine otherwise

 

[dank'd]

possibly the difference in root systems could mean using different wick combinations per strain as you suggest. hmmm

 

[Hollatchaboy]

Algae=Bad. Not exactly sure why you're getting it in one pot and not the other. Maybe there's something it doesn't like in one, like chlorine?

Pretty sure it's not leaching from the plant.

 

[crimsonecho]

isnt this organics man i don’t know how wick planters work but in organics
algae = goody good good
unless they fuck up with the wicking action in that case you should use light proof reservoirs

 

[waktoo]

i noticed some things with these wick planters that i made, one is very strange. one thing i notice is that different plants draw water differently, where one plant's fabric pot and soil will be heavily saturated and heavy to hold, and another different plant will feel so light the soil seems to be nearly dry yet the plant is healthy

i add water to the reservoirs always at the same time ie they seem to take up the same amounts of water at the same speed. obviously there are also differences in the roots systems between different plants also

the thing that i don't understand is with some plants, even though i use the same soil mix for all, and the soil does not come into contact with the water in the reservoirs, certain plants will over time turn the water in the reservoir green

View attachment 5097187

reservoir on the left with nl5 skunk has green water

i noticed some things with these wick planters that i made, one is very strange. one thing i notice is that different plants draw water differently, where one plant's fabric pot and soil will be heavily saturated and heavy to hold, and another different plant will feel so light the soil seems to be nearly dry yet the plant is healthy

i add water to the reservoirs always at the same time ie they seem to take up the same amounts of water at the same speed. obviously there are also differences in the roots systems between different plants also

the thing that i don't understand is with some plants, even though i use the same soil mix for all, and the soil does not come into contact with the water in the reservoirs, certain plants will over time turn the water in the reservoir green

View attachment 5097187

reservoir on the left with nl5 skunk has green water

It's probably a cyanobacterial species that form mutualistic relations with that particular cannabis strain. That canna' plant is most likely producing root exudates that favor its growth/proliferation. I wouldn't worry about it unless the health of the plant begins to suffer. It may very well be a PGPR (plant growth promoting rhizobacteria).

Cyanobacteria - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[dank'd]

i wanted to know... or did i(lol) wow thanks for that explanation!

 

[Hollatchaboy]

Damn. I never heard that before. Good article. Thanks for posting.

 

[PadawanWarrior]

i noticed some things with these wick planters that i made, one is very strange. one thing i notice is that different plants draw water differently, where one plant's fabric pot and soil will be heavily saturated and heavy to hold, and another different plant will feel so light the soil seems to be nearly dry yet the plant is healthy

i add water to the reservoirs always at the same time ie they seem to take up the same amounts of water at the same speed. obviously there are also differences in the roots systems between different plants also

the thing that i don't understand is with some plants, even though i use the same soil mix for all, and the soil does not come into contact with the water in the reservoirs, certain plants will over time turn the water in the reservoir green

View attachment 5097187

reservoir on the left with nl5 skunk has green water

Try watering the pots with a wetting agent. Especially the lighter one. And water extra slow. Sounds like the lighter pot is somewhat hydrophobic, and has dry spots.

 

[dank'd]

it is interesting you say that because when my 4 clones were ready and i planted them in their 5 gallon rizhopots (trimmed down) and put them in the flower tent, i realized that the soil i had planted them in was too dry and no matter if the reservoirs were full, i needed to soak the bottoms of the pots under the tap for a few minutes to kick-start the wicking chain and since then all has been fine

but in the case of the ortega/mks pot in the 2 gallon rhizos in the nursery tent with the almost dry soil, even though the plants were healthy and had reached the maximum grow space (these were 2 of the 4 to go into the flower tent), they must have been just moist enough to maintain the wicking chain

i have to come back to the idea that the root systems are just different in some way, where some strains would maintain a saturated soil and others dryer, with the uptake of water from the reservoirs being almost the same. it was interesting how the plants had grown so much and were healthy, yet compared to other healthy plants for some reason did not keep the soil saturated

edit: i notice that in the flower tent, all of the pots, each with a different strain, are staying equally saturated. the reservoirs are different, instead of tupperware they are saucers with risers and many more wicks than the diy reservoirs in the nursery tent which have two wicks, which is necessary since they are 5 gallon pots

 

[Star Dog]

Your wick can only supply so much nutrient or water your plants, your wick at its limit and the plant is using more water than the wick can supply.

 

[Blue brother]

Water doesn’t turn green when it’s exposed to light it turns green when there is a food source for the algae for example minerals, the light just helps the algae grow, could be down to a number of factors including certain reservoirs getting more light, or a food source making it’s way back down the wick from the pot into the water

 

[Bukvičák]

it is interesting you say that because when my 4 clones were ready and i planted them in their 5 gallon rizhopots (trimmed down) and put them in the flower tent, i realized that the soil i had planted them in was too dry and no matter if the reservoirs were full, i needed to soak the bottoms of the pots under the tap for a few minutes to kick-start the wicking chain and since then all has been fine

but in the case of the ortega/mks pot in the 2 gallon rhizos in the nursery tent with the almost dry soil, even though the plants were healthy and had reached the maximum grow space (these were 2 of the 4 to go into the flower tent), they must have been just moist enough to maintain the wicking chain

i have to come back to the idea that the root systems are just different in some way, where some strains would maintain a saturated soil and others dryer, with the uptake of water from the reservoirs being almost the same. it was interesting how the plants had grown so much and were healthy, yet compared to other healthy plants for some reason did not keep the soil saturated

edit: i notice that in the flower tent, all of the pots, each with a different strain, are staying equally saturated. the reservoirs are different, instead of tupperware they are saucers with risers and many more wicks than the diy reservoirs in the nursery tent which have two wicks, which is necessary since they are 5 gallon pots

Root system of cannabis in same medium is always the same. The way how fast do they “drink” depends on the size of the plant. Your tupperware with algae is getting straight hit from your side spot light, I would blame this.