Major Blazer
Well-Known Member
For flower setup, I've had a running debate in my head over drip irrigation vs ebb/flow.
I enjoy tinkering and fk'ing with stuff so the idea of a modular ebb/flow system seems fun while drip irrigation seems to be boring to configure even though it has generally been accepted as being an overall better grow method for a few different reasons.
The Oxygen Pot system claims to mitigate some of the pitfalls of ebb/flow by use of bottom fill/drain as well as fabric pots. I've mocked up and tested my own buckets and I've been able to make my own DIY bottom feed/drain modular system with no control bucket required and the reservoir can be placed under my table so the space saving is cool. Oh it's worth mentioning that I already have a 2'x2' ID flood tray, 3'x3' tent.
The point:
But this whole fabric pot thing...it seems like all of the benefits would be lost when running them inside of buckets. It doesn't seem to make sense that air pruning will still take place when the bucket is in the way of...the air lol. I'm manually flood feeding some airpots now for my moms and on the bottom, which sits on a tent floor, you can see fresh root growth trying to find someplace to grow and without the oxygen to prune, they kinda just keep growing until they find the air, which won't won't be the case at all in a bucket (unless they find the drain hole and clog my whole shit). Unless I'm missing something. Media I intend to use is an approximately 50/50 mix of rock wool cubes and hydroton in 1gal fabric pots, which in my moms will hold around 1/4 gal nutrient with a one min flood, making fear of pump failure minimal. So why don't I just flood the table? With added frequency of rez changes needed in ebb/flow I'm trying to reduce waste and need for an enormous gallon. I can save around 10g per flood doing it modular vs flooding the table.
Maybe I should just drip irrigate...anyway...
And please don't recommend DWC to me. I've done single buckets, modular, and an "under current" style - all are too much of a pain in the ass for me between heat, leaks, pH drift, res changes, 1000 different airstones etc etc. I know that plants grow fast this way but I'm never doing it again.
I enjoy tinkering and fk'ing with stuff so the idea of a modular ebb/flow system seems fun while drip irrigation seems to be boring to configure even though it has generally been accepted as being an overall better grow method for a few different reasons.
The Oxygen Pot system claims to mitigate some of the pitfalls of ebb/flow by use of bottom fill/drain as well as fabric pots. I've mocked up and tested my own buckets and I've been able to make my own DIY bottom feed/drain modular system with no control bucket required and the reservoir can be placed under my table so the space saving is cool. Oh it's worth mentioning that I already have a 2'x2' ID flood tray, 3'x3' tent.
The point:
But this whole fabric pot thing...it seems like all of the benefits would be lost when running them inside of buckets. It doesn't seem to make sense that air pruning will still take place when the bucket is in the way of...the air lol. I'm manually flood feeding some airpots now for my moms and on the bottom, which sits on a tent floor, you can see fresh root growth trying to find someplace to grow and without the oxygen to prune, they kinda just keep growing until they find the air, which won't won't be the case at all in a bucket (unless they find the drain hole and clog my whole shit). Unless I'm missing something. Media I intend to use is an approximately 50/50 mix of rock wool cubes and hydroton in 1gal fabric pots, which in my moms will hold around 1/4 gal nutrient with a one min flood, making fear of pump failure minimal. So why don't I just flood the table? With added frequency of rez changes needed in ebb/flow I'm trying to reduce waste and need for an enormous gallon. I can save around 10g per flood doing it modular vs flooding the table.
Maybe I should just drip irrigate...anyway...
And please don't recommend DWC to me. I've done single buckets, modular, and an "under current" style - all are too much of a pain in the ass for me between heat, leaks, pH drift, res changes, 1000 different airstones etc etc. I know that plants grow fast this way but I'm never doing it again.
