hempy bucket...problems?...

kyoinidaho

Active Member
ok, so i had 7 plants that were in 18 oz mini hempys up until 2 days ago (45 hrs). everything cool, everything ok. 2 days ago i transplanted all 7 (25 days from germ) into their final 5 gal buckets. (all 100% perlite). after i transplanted, i watered until runoff, just like normal. the problem is 2 days later now, there is still a considerable amount of water in the res.
i took all 7 and tipped them damn near on their side to get excess water out, i can't just let the same water sit there for who knows how many days til it gets used (at this pace it seems like it would be a week!). after tipping, the buckets are still quite heavy, there's definately water still being held in the perlite...
has anyone with hempy experience had this happen after transplanting to a larger container? i might be answering my own question here, but should i perhaps only pour 20 or so oz of water into the bucket until i'm sure they've hit the res? (as opposed to the 60 or so oz i need to pour in until runoff occurs)
and what's even wierder is with 3 out of the 7, maybe 2 or 3 oz of water came out when i tipped the buckets sideways (as opposed to 20 or so oz with the other 4) ...it seems to me that 3 of the 7 are perhaps at the res, but when i transplanted, there was no plant that had considerably more root mass than the others, and i doubt any have hit the new res yet, going from 18 oz cups to 5 gal buckets leaves quite a gap from the root mass to get to the new res (which is probably part or all of my problem)
all 7 buckets have a 1/2 inch hole 2 inches up. all at the exact same height. all got the same amount of water (as in, all watered til runoff, with the runoff hole in the same place each bucket), all plants exposed to the same conditions (except maybe being a little closer to the light and fans).
i'm using a 1000 watt MH, so i'm used to my 18 oz cups being dry-dry-dry the next day, i figured after 2 days the buckets would at least be a little lighter or something, you know? i've read all i can about hempy buckets on multiple forums, and have not read anything regarding special actions or treatment after transplanting.
water every day til they hit the res, then every 2 or 3 days.
no way i can water everyday, i prefer to give my plants a wet/dry cycle, it'd take a week as of now to get my plants dry (at current rate of growth, i'm sure as time progresses they'll suck up water faster)
does anyone with a few hempy grows have any ideas or tips or pointers?
 

Ns5

Member
AFAIK, you'll be doing that until the roots hits the res, about 7-10 days.

Yes, you are not supposed to let the water sit there, that's why a. you water until runoff and b. you flush it every once in a while.

Basically, your res can't go dry until the roots hit them.
 

bigwheel

Well-Known Member
You know I have a theory that the roots avoid the resovoir. This comes from being a cheap skate and reusing the Pearlite and noticing while digging out old roots aint hardly any of the roots which are down in the bottom of the bucket. On the other hand on my last grow I let the bucket sit for about a month and when I started digging out the roots their wasnt no water in the bottom but the Pearlite was still wet in the main part of the bucket. Prob wet enough to grow something. Now did have a bunch which the roots grew out of the drain hole and into a drip pan I set the buckets in so the the run off aint so messy. Time they set a while there is always some nuted water in the drip pan. First batch I had which done that.
 
F

Fallen Buckshot

Guest
the theory of how the hempy bucket works is that the res should have water standing in it and you should be watering every other day or so to keep fresh water flowing and prevent stagnation a poor mans hydro if you will. Join the hempy collective there is over 100 pages of info that covers almost all aspects
 
Top