100% perlite, 1.2 EC, is no run off ok?
- Thread starter Duhh
- Start date
Tolerance Break
Well-Known Member
What is your method of growing? Ie, Hempy, drain to waste, etc
im just feeding by hand i was going to have some pumps running and water them a few times a 12 hour lights on and then drain to the res and recirculate it but then i didnt set it up in time so theres no drain at all on them, just sitting in these tubs id gotten i was going to put holes to run the drain tubes from, and theyve started forming flowers now, theyre small but theyre coming in so now im thinking i dont want to mess around with them and wondering about the possible dangers of what im doing right now. theyre all very healthy but thats in veg right flowering might be stunted if im getting this wrong yes? thanks.
dwc420letsgo
Well-Known Member
Bruce bugbee says nasa has to grow with no runoff in space so it should work as long as you keep the ec low to avoid salt buildups
Tolerance Break
Well-Known Member
I think you're going to have trouble keeping up with their needs, or having pathogens grow if you end up overfeeding. Just my two cents.
yes ive heard this, not the nasa experiment but the 1.2 ec thing. thanks!
pathogens oh man i didnt think of that.
Star Dog
Well-Known Member
Does that bugbee dude actually grow weed?
Star Dog
Well-Known Member
I've used 100% perlite with no run off and decent results, I'm intending to use it again as it gives good results, it's got none of the problems associated with coco and it's easy to recycle.
Ime if you stand the pot in nutrient 24hrs (pot culture) you'll not go far wrong, perlite is great for capillary applications.
Idk about hand feeding perlite it's a bit airy imo.
A tray and lid is necessary to keep the nutrient enclosed to stop evaporation messing with the ec and also light hitting the nutrient creating algae in it.
24 hours sitting in the solution? then do it again when the pot is light? like a slower flood and drain almost?
yeah i believed i was using the capillary action of the perlite with the with hand feeding, i just dumped a bunch of feed in thinking its going to spread out? they are all very healthy and thats the method i used for the veg, its going into flower i was worried about the salt build up.
thanks!
Star Dog
Well-Known Member
Yes that's basically it, I've a few pics to give some idea, the valve bit isn't necessary if you're happy to top it up (1 inch) when required.
Salt build up is more a product of environment + nutrient strength, for example a hot dry room will use/need a lower ec than a humid cool room due to the amount of transpiration with plant, with a stable environment and suitable ec there's generally not many problems.
From a recent coco crop grown standing in nutrient 0 run off.
Autopots are a automated version of pot culture but hand feeding in a tray/lid will work equally well.
dwc420letsgo
Well-Known Member
He’s been working with cannabis for a while now…
wow man thats a gigantic bud, so yeah i guess no troubles. whats that plants name? what was the lighting for that?
coco capillary action thats cool how light did the pot get between feeds?
what ec do you use? i guess the feed depth it sits in is similar to the auto pot depth hey so like 2 inches?
do you let the perlite pot become very light or do you want it to retain some feed/weight before refeeding?
thanks!
Star Dog
Well-Known Member
@Duhh hey its either coco kush or lost skunk I'm not certain which it is?
They were grown with a cultiana straight 4k led.
The pots don't ever get light, that's after roots have established in the pot they stay fed 24hrs that's absolutely important with 100% perlite.
What ec is a broad question?
It varies by age and stage, seedlings I'd start with 0.8ec moving to 1.0ec, 1.2ec mid to late veg, 1.2 early flower moving onto 1.8ec over 4 wks ±
light and nutrient increases go hand in hand, more light needs more feed.
If you're unsure about the ec pull some nutrient from the tray and test the ec, if higher/lower than you're putting in raise/lower the ec until its stable.
Edit...from roughly 2/3rd the way through flower the ec goes back down roughly 0.2 every 10 days ±
They were grown with a cultiana straight 4k led.
The pots don't ever get light, that's after roots have established in the pot they stay fed 24hrs that's absolutely important with 100% perlite.
What ec is a broad question?
It varies by age and stage, seedlings I'd start with 0.8ec moving to 1.0ec, 1.2ec mid to late veg, 1.2 early flower moving onto 1.8ec over 4 wks ±
light and nutrient increases go hand in hand, more light needs more feed.
If you're unsure about the ec pull some nutrient from the tray and test the ec, if higher/lower than you're putting in raise/lower the ec until its stable.
Edit...from roughly 2/3rd the way through flower the ec goes back down roughly 0.2 every 10 days ±
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thanks dude. thats a really nice light, so about 1000 watt equivalent hps?
would going up to 1.8 ec start creating salt build up if i dont have run off and hand feeding? i guess it didnt for you seeing that bud.