Good or Bad idea? Slow release fertilizer in hempy buckets

.Smoke

.Smoke

Well-Known Member
kickapooh said:
What if you put the granules at the bottom and filled it with heavy pebbles until the drain hole was covered. Would the granules not stay in the water at the bottom and supply it with nutes?
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In my 4 gallon buckets towards the middle of flower on I was having to feed 1.5 gallons daily to get 30% runoff.
That's 1.5 gallons of water flowing over those granules daily.
I don't know of anyone in soil who waters that much.

The granules are not "time release".
They are they same nutes we feed, squeezed into a ball, baked and coated with some stuff that dissolves at a specific rate given a specific flow of water.

I'd place my bet on everything you put under the stones being dissolved and washed away in 3 or so days.

Could be wrong though...
 
K

kickapooh

Well-Known Member
.Smoke said:
In my 4 gallon buckets towards the middle of flower on I was having to feed 1.5 gallons daily to get 30% runoff.
That's 1.5 gallons of water flowing over those granules daily.
I don't know of anyone in soil who waters that much.

The granules are not "time release".
They are they same nutes we feed, squeezed into a ball, baked and coated with some stuff that dissolves at a specific rate given a specific flow of water.

I'd place my bet on everything you put under the stones being dissolved and washed away in 3 or so days.

Could be wrong though...
Click to expand...
I don't follow the 30% runoff protocol using 2L bottles. I feed each one 20oz daily (red solo cup) and I see a ounce or two come out of each one. I have not noticed any major issues doing it this way. Is there a reason I should follow the 30% runoff protocol?
 
.Smoke

.Smoke

Well-Known Member
kickapooh said:
I don't follow the 30% runoff protocol using 2L bottles. I feed each one 20oz daily (red solo cup) and I see a ounce or two come out of each one. I have not noticed any major issues doing it this way. Is there a reason I should follow the 30% runoff protocol?
Click to expand...
It's done to help remove salt/nute build up. I still have to flush once during veg and once during flower otherwise runoff ppm gets insane.

You might not have to using such small pots. It looks like you know what you're doing so I'm not going to suggest you change anything. :)
 
K

kickapooh

Well-Known Member
.Smoke said:
It's done to help remove salt/nute build up. I still have to flush once during veg and once during flower otherwise runoff ppm gets insane.

You might not have to using such small pots. It looks like you know what you're doing so I'm not going to suggest you change anything. :)
Click to expand...
Thank you for the insight. I actually have no idea what I'm doing as this is my first grow but I have been wanting to grow a crop for 30 years and just now am able to. I kind of knew what I wanted to do, just had never tried it. I'm learning as I go and they all aren't dying yet so I'm having fun. I may try 20 or so plants with the slow-release kind just to see if it would work or not. Seems like it would definitely save me time and money if I could figure out a way to only fertilize once during their short life.
 
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