closet.cult
New Member
O.K. folks, the new dawn is upon us. I have discovered a new growing method. I will describe it to you and show you the steps or phases
required to achieve it.
This grow method I will call, very immodestly: The CC Hydro-Organic Small Water Culture.
This is my variation of a new type of hybrid growing method called Hydro-Organic. The basic idea is that research shows that the TOP 1/3 of
ROOTS are specialized for uptake of NUTRIENTS (think: Rain Water). While the BOTTOM 2/3 is specialized for plain water uptake (think: Tap Root).
Therefore, if you can confine the top 1/3 of roots to a container of organic soil and ONLY FEED NUTRIENTS UP TOP, then the bottom 2/3 of roots
are free to hang in a hydroponic system containing SIMPLE PLAIN WATER BELOW!
This is the best of both worlds! The soil is organic meaning great taste and the hydroponic system feeding water & oxygen to the bottom roots
NEVER NEEDS TO BE PH'd! Just top up with Hydrogen Peroxide when the water level falls. It will add oxygenated water and kill any bacteria.
The system I read about was being used with ebb & flow but any hydroponic system can be converted to hydro-organic.
Here's how it works:
Phase I - Grow your seedling/clone in a small container. It won't need to be big because we are going to intentionally grow these until they are
root bound. A plant grown in the ground will get very deep roots. We want the roots to wrap around the container enough that 1/3 of the roots
of the adult plant are trapped in the small upper container.
I grew about 20 seedlings to start with. Here they are, three weeks old, heading toward root bound (I assume that's why they're small for their
age):
While they are growing the roots I want, I begin their LST training. I have a low space so I train these bitches hard.
Finally, when they begin to show signs of root bound, (yellowing and then brown spots of the BOTTOM, OLDEST leaves) it is time to move to:
Phase II - Transfer to hydroponics. There are a couple ways of doing this. I pulled out the plants, partially cut the bottoms off my small containers, added a layer of rockwool to the bottom and repotted the plants in the same container.
The idea is allow the now freed roots to grow thru the rockwool into your hydroponics, but you will need a barrier that will prevent your nutrient
solution from dripping thru the soil into your PLAIN WATER RESEVIOR. Accordingly, you will also need to pay attention to how much nutrients you
feed your plants so you do not soak it so thoroughly that it drips thru the rockwool.
I am feeding only a couple of splashes of nutrients every day to prevent dripping, but still have a constant nutrient supply. It keeps the soil moist
with nutrients but not soaking. And you do not have to bother with letting it dry out because the plant is getting all the oxygen it needs thru the
hydro system below!
I have decided to give each of my plants its own reservoir to prevent root entangling problems when I sex them. That's why I am calling this a
Small Water Culture. I will be in veg for only 2 more weeks. I have yet to learn how much the roots will grow during flowering. But I believe I will
be able to trim the roots as I LST the plants.
I got the plastic containers for $1.50 each at The Container Store. The final step was to protect the roots from light with black plastic that I can
remove to check root development.
So, there it is: the CC Hydro-Organic Small Water Culture system. I hope I can answer any questions you might have. I will try to find the web
page that I learned about hydro-organic from so you can see an example of ebb & flow. Its the same idea: A small, organic soil rootball, above
rockwool that does not touch the water, with roots growing down & exposed, above an ebb & flow tray, with black plastic covering the roots
from the light. The ebb & flow flows over thr exposed roots, not the rockwool.
To me, this is the perfect system. All the benefits of organic soil combined with the growth capabilities of hydroponics but without the PH mess.
I will be posting more pics later as this grow advances in my grow journal here: https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/35890-white-widow-stealth-hps.html
Peace
required to achieve it.
This grow method I will call, very immodestly: The CC Hydro-Organic Small Water Culture.
This is my variation of a new type of hybrid growing method called Hydro-Organic. The basic idea is that research shows that the TOP 1/3 of
ROOTS are specialized for uptake of NUTRIENTS (think: Rain Water). While the BOTTOM 2/3 is specialized for plain water uptake (think: Tap Root).
Therefore, if you can confine the top 1/3 of roots to a container of organic soil and ONLY FEED NUTRIENTS UP TOP, then the bottom 2/3 of roots
are free to hang in a hydroponic system containing SIMPLE PLAIN WATER BELOW!
This is the best of both worlds! The soil is organic meaning great taste and the hydroponic system feeding water & oxygen to the bottom roots
NEVER NEEDS TO BE PH'd! Just top up with Hydrogen Peroxide when the water level falls. It will add oxygenated water and kill any bacteria.
The system I read about was being used with ebb & flow but any hydroponic system can be converted to hydro-organic.
Here's how it works:
Phase I - Grow your seedling/clone in a small container. It won't need to be big because we are going to intentionally grow these until they are
root bound. A plant grown in the ground will get very deep roots. We want the roots to wrap around the container enough that 1/3 of the roots
of the adult plant are trapped in the small upper container.
I grew about 20 seedlings to start with. Here they are, three weeks old, heading toward root bound (I assume that's why they're small for their
age):
While they are growing the roots I want, I begin their LST training. I have a low space so I train these bitches hard.
Finally, when they begin to show signs of root bound, (yellowing and then brown spots of the BOTTOM, OLDEST leaves) it is time to move to:
Phase II - Transfer to hydroponics. There are a couple ways of doing this. I pulled out the plants, partially cut the bottoms off my small containers, added a layer of rockwool to the bottom and repotted the plants in the same container.
The idea is allow the now freed roots to grow thru the rockwool into your hydroponics, but you will need a barrier that will prevent your nutrient
solution from dripping thru the soil into your PLAIN WATER RESEVIOR. Accordingly, you will also need to pay attention to how much nutrients you
feed your plants so you do not soak it so thoroughly that it drips thru the rockwool.
I am feeding only a couple of splashes of nutrients every day to prevent dripping, but still have a constant nutrient supply. It keeps the soil moist
with nutrients but not soaking. And you do not have to bother with letting it dry out because the plant is getting all the oxygen it needs thru the
hydro system below!
I have decided to give each of my plants its own reservoir to prevent root entangling problems when I sex them. That's why I am calling this a
Small Water Culture. I will be in veg for only 2 more weeks. I have yet to learn how much the roots will grow during flowering. But I believe I will
be able to trim the roots as I LST the plants.
I got the plastic containers for $1.50 each at The Container Store. The final step was to protect the roots from light with black plastic that I can
remove to check root development.
So, there it is: the CC Hydro-Organic Small Water Culture system. I hope I can answer any questions you might have. I will try to find the web
page that I learned about hydro-organic from so you can see an example of ebb & flow. Its the same idea: A small, organic soil rootball, above
rockwool that does not touch the water, with roots growing down & exposed, above an ebb & flow tray, with black plastic covering the roots
from the light. The ebb & flow flows over thr exposed roots, not the rockwool.
To me, this is the perfect system. All the benefits of organic soil combined with the growth capabilities of hydroponics but without the PH mess.
I will be posting more pics later as this grow advances in my grow journal here: https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/35890-white-widow-stealth-hps.html
Peace
There are some in the first post of this thread.
