Keep it Simple and Easy
The system I describe is the simplest for me and my set-up and conditions; I have a 4x4 flower area with a small veg box. Your conditions may dictate going a different direction.
Now a hempy bucket is a soiless, passive hydro growing system, but I’ve incorporated using some soil in the system, hence what I jokingly call Soilponics. After many runs with and without soil I’ve seen no detriment to its use, actually there are several benefits to its use.
Starting seeds and clones;
The easiest, simplest, & most reliable way to pop seeds is to slightly scuff the husk, and then plant directly into a cup of good potting soil. I use a 16 or 18oz solo cup filled with potting soil and put several tbsp’s of seedling soil mix into a hollowed out area in the top center of the soil. I plant the seed in the horizontal position. The soil will have enough food in it, that no other amendments are necessary during the 2 to 3 wk growth period in the cup. I don’t use the paper towel method to germinate seeds. There is no advantage in pre popping seeds when using soil, you can only damage the sprout by handling it.
Hints to 100% germination; Temp is the most important. Maintain 75 to 80 degrees. This includes starting temp of wet soil. I’ll fill the cups for seeds then water to saturation. Then let them sit until they reach the target temp.
I start clone cutting in a cup of soil as with seeds, the only difference is the need for a humidity dome for the first 7 to 10 days.
Veg Period
After 14 to 20 days there will be enough roots to hold the cup of soil together during transplant. I like to let the cups get real dry for transplant, Be careful there is a fine line between real dry and dead dry. If the cup is too wet during transplant the weight of the soil can cause the core to fall apart which will break roots.
I transplant the cups into aprox 2 qts of soil. I line the bottom of the pot with a thin layer of of chunky perlite for drainage, then a layer of soil, now I add the first tsb of OC+, then another thin layer of soil. Now it’s time for the plant. Repeat layers of soil and OC+. I use 2 to 3 tsp of OC+ per pot. (note: 3 tsp = 1 tbsp). No other feeding will be necessary for the rest of the veg period, in my case that is 7 to 9 wks. The only work I’ll have to do with these plants for the veg period is training to keep them contained in my small veg box. (4’x1.5’x2.5’ tall)
Flower - Time for the Hempy Bucket
As soon as its harvest time in the flower area, its time to get the plants out of the veg box and into hempy buckets. Most of the time I’ll use 3.5 gal buckets to get an extra day between watering, but you can get a lot of work out of a 2gal bucket. The veg plants are generally root bound & want some space, with a 2 gal bucket it will only take a wk or less for the roots to hit the rez of the hempy bucket and are ready to flower, with a larger bucket it will take a little longer to get ready to flip.
If I’m doing an unsexed seed run I’ll use 2 gal buckets, just to speed up the process, save some medium knowing some (males) will be thrown out.
Now its time to use the OC 14-14-14. I use 1.5 to 2 tbsp / gals of medium. So for a 3.5gal bucket I use 5 to 7 tbsp, a 2gal - 3 to 5 tbsp. Out of that total amount I will use 2 or 3 tsp (3tsp=1tbsp) of OC+ for the micros, the rest will be OC 14-14-14.
NOTE: It is fine to use just OC+ and I’d recommend going this way for your first attempt. It is a perfect food for flowering despite it’s hi N content. The 14-14-14 just seems to feed faster.
I’m going to describe a perlite hempy, The CRF’s work well with coco also, but IMO the perlite bucket is the easiest to use, and lends itself better to medium recycling, which helps keep the costs down.
Fill with medium to coarse perlite to about an inch above the hole, lay down the first layer of of OC (1 ½ to 2 tbsp) then perlite, OC, plant the soil core with plant. Continue layer perlite and OC till about 2” down from the top of the soil core. From here on up fill with soil, first an inch layer of soil, now here is where I place the OC+ then cap with the final inch or so of soil.
There are several advantages to soil cap on a perlite bucket even if you aren’t using CRF’s.
- It holds the perlite in place, which makes watering much easier.
- The soil acts like a sponge and helps with the wicking action of the perlite, this keeps the body of the perlite moister, and therefore there is no need for vermiculite which helps the moisture level with straight perlite hempy buckets. (again it easier to recycle perlite without verm in it)
- You can maintain a good microbe regime in a hydro setting
- Mitigates all light intrusion
- You can know your rez level just by looking or sticking a finger into the soil. Just like a soil grow to check the moisture content you can see the dry soil on top and work a finger into the soil to feel the moisture. This can come in very handy if you are working under a screen or other condition that will not allow you to lift the bucket to see how heavy it is to determine the rez level.
When using CRF’s it’s important to let the rez dry prior to watering. You don’t want to water every day. If you over water you can release too much of the nutrients from the prills, this is especially true with the TRF’s. If the plant wants more it will empty the rez quicker, and watering will reactivate prills.
Supplements
I do add several different supplements in my grows, these are optional and need to be done in a very conservative method.
I add 1 ml of cal-mag per gal of water, just because my water has none. You may not need any with your tap, if using RO I’d recommend using 1 to 2 ml/gal. (When using coco add 5ml/gal)
With a Hempy you have to adjust your water ph to hydro range 5.5 to 6.5 with the soil core and cap I run 6.0 and north. But I won’t add ph up if I’m at 5.7. I’ll just reduce the ph down I use next watering.
With CRF’s you can add any of the many supplements that proclaim improved results that do not have an N-K-P rating or is near zero, they don’t seem to hinder results, do they help????? You be the judge.
Adding a P K boost is tricky and can cause great harm. Never add more than ½ the recommended dose to start. Start slow to see how the plant reacts. This has a lot to do with strain, some love food others have problems with excess food. So if your plants look like they are already at max feeding then don’t add any bloom boosters. If they always look hungry then a little boost could be in order.
I’m currently using Cha-Ching for my P-K boost. I prefer powdered nutes to liquid, as they have a much longer shelf life. When using ¼ tsp or less per plant 3 times per grow, 1 lb will last for a few yrs. When using a bloom booster I only use it every other watering.
