This Soft Pots good for Growing?
- Thread starter Fiete
- Start date
lusidghost
Well-Known Member
I'm about to sell mine. I don't want to knock them, but they weren't ideal for how I wanted to use them. I actually went back to rockwool slabs for my current grow. From my experience, the root mass from rockwool in a covered tray is only outdone by a DWC setup.
McShnutz
Well-Known Member
They definitely have their drawbacks with most wanting to put nutrients through them. I couldn't be happier with their performance in my beds. Truth be told, I do miss my earlier days when I was big into hydro. I've converted entirely to organic.
twentyeight.threefive
Well-Known Member
I loved my Vivosun cloth pots. Grew in coco, just needed to make sure the medium was 100% wet and they took normal feeds just fine.
Green Refuge
Well-Known Member
Coco just requires so much water/feed that a home grower with a day job just doesn't have the time to spoon feed it every single time. I love coco but I also love watering once 2-3 minutes in plastic pots and be done with it until the next day. For someone that has plenty of free time on their hands fabric would work great. OP won't go wrong either way.
Green Refuge
Well-Known Member
Same. I thought I could get away with being a lazy grower using blumats in coco/perlite but unfortunately it didn't work out as I envisioned.
Brawndo G
Active Member
I have a few ?'s if you don't mind...how big are your beds? How far apart are your plants? What's the diameter of the area that a single blumat keeps hydrated?
I was planning to use microsprinklers because they water similar to drippers, but they allow topdressing since they're a few inches above the soil. I'm tired of hand watering 30 plants.
McShnutz
Well-Known Member
My beds are 4'x8'x18" and I'm only using (2) 9" maxis. They are positioned at the end opposite from each other. I'm using the blusoak (soaker tape) configured into a (4) line manifold.
Right now I have only 2 flowering in the 4x8 bed. Positioned in the center, but the footprint of the plants is a 4x4.
A single blumat can manage quite a bit all on its own. The key to figuring out how many to use and the size of blumat needed is solely based on the depth of the substrate and area. Just keep in mind that the more blumats you have tied in to the supply line, the more individual calibrating of each will have to be done. Less is more. Utilize the bluesoak if you can. Makes life so much easier. Once they're dialed in perfect, your plant will always have the ideal hydrostatic pressure. They cannot out grow the capacity of the blumats to maintain the moisture levels of the soil.
Blumats don't dump a cycle of water and flood the soil once calibrated properly. They slowly and continually open/close their valves to allow a drip irrigation cycle.
Best part is, you the grower can still fertilize if you choose. Albeit by hand, but the blumats will sense the increased water pressure and delay their irrigation cycle until the hydrostatic pressure drops to within its calibrated range.
I fertigate using them, but not typical nutrients. I use a dosing pump with a irrigation cycle timer and upon my discretion will open/close the manifold to allow the injection of additives. I never clog, or have malfunctions because I don't run anything through the irrigation supply lines or distribution lines that can create biofilms or precipitate salts. This is obviously advanced for most, but once you get the hang of using them, experiment.
My raised beds are 18" deep, I use the 9" maxis.
My 1gallon -3gallon pots are 9" deep, I use the 5" carrot.
One 9" blumat maxi is enough to regulate a 30gallon fabric/plastic pot.
xtsho
Well-Known Member
What was the problem with the blumats? The first run I did with them I was sold. I grow in 100% coco, no perlite and they worked flawlessly.
I've been using fabric pots with 100% coco for years both hand watering and with blumats.
McShnutz
Well-Known Member
Pure coco is ideal with blumat. Start adding perlite and like media you will not have a proper regulation of hydrostatic pressure..
In my experience alternative media like bark or wood is OK. Anything that can and will absorbe and release water in conjunction with the substrate is an ideal substrate composition to use with blumats. The ability to harmoniously wick moisture in tandem with all inputs is key to blumat success.
xtsho
Well-Known Member
I don't use perlite with anything anymore. I hate that stuff. It's not needed with coco and is basically just a waste and makes the coco dry out much faster.
McShnutz
Well-Known Member
Yesterday with some of my posts, there was a extension to it after posting
Yeah I'm disgruntled towards perlite as well. It is in my mix but I haven't added it for over 10yrs. I've been recycling soil for a long time. Fucking hydroton too. But I do add pulverized rock in very low quantities just to give a diversity for the mycoherds. Never for drainage intentions. But I've done away with it for the most part and went micronized glacial.
xtsho
Well-Known Member
Rice hulls
McShnutz
Well-Known Member
For sure!! I have those in my mix as well. Back when I got into coco, my local grow shop was selling bags of 50/50. Haven't added them since. I see no true benifit for my conditions, but I've seen people mulch with them. Can't speak on their effectiveness as a mulch layer tho.
Brawndo G
Active Member
Thanks for all the input. My bed is 4' x 10' x 10", and my medium is basically coco, peat, ewc, and perlite with amendments. It's outside, drys out quick alteady, and I don't like to grow in straight coco anyway. Sounds like blumats are awesome for the right application though.
McShnutz
Well-Known Member
I'd recommend them for outdoor plantings. If your bed is simply a frame filled with substrate then you have earth under it. Earthborn soil is very high in water retention. They (blumats) could be of great benefit and ease to your exerted efforts. I always advise the implementation of a 2-3" mulch layer. Helps to maintain even hydrostatic pressure and greatly eliminates the evaporation of the soils surface. You'd be amazed at what a simple mulch layer will do.
Babalonian
Well-Known Member
Broscience update. Nothing mind blowing but I’m learning something.
Made three soil recipes to test samples, threw one of each in a Dixie cup with 4 holes in the bottom, and another (Dixie cup measured) wrapped in cheese cloth. Measurements by volume/parts (ie 2 cups this, 1 cup that)
Dirt1
~26% FFOF
~26% Sunshine #4
~48% Normal Perlite (same grade/size as the premixes)
Dirt2
~70% FF/SS4 equal mix
~30% Normal Perlite
Dirt3
~65% FF/SS4 equal mix
~20% Normal Perlite
~15% #3 Perlite (avg size of 1/2 pieces)
I picked up some cheese cloth and chunky perlite (size #4, but since I was doing small samples I broke/classified it down a notch to ~#3). Mixed up the batches, soaked them by gently submerging them in a large bucket, filled with about 3gal of tap water and a micro drop of dawn dish soap. After gently holding it in the water bucket it was gently placed under a citrus bush outside in a 24” planter I haven’t watered in almost a week and has a known/familiar drainage/drying rate.
The solo cups confirmed what I found with the cheese cloth samples, except the cups took an extra 3 days before I was satisfied the test had run it’s course.
By the end of day1;
Dirt1 was named Mudball (relatively, and to my surprise).
Dirt2 was Timmy and
Dirt3 Bubba
Mudball was too wet inside the cheese cloth sack for a cannabis plant to be happy, except for the immediate 1/4-1/2” layer on the outside under the dry cheesecloth. Excess water had drained well and thoroughly, this was just being held like a dense sponge.
Timmy felt a joy through and through for a plant to be in. Not dense sponge, but damp sponge. If he was going to have Goldilocks over for dinner and Netflix, he’d probably breeze into 3rd base before the 7th-inning stretch. Cheesecloth was damp, drying but soil under wasn’t as dry, and the moisture also felt evenly distributed in the sample.
Bubba was good. He felt a little lighter than Timmy, I suspect Bubba had more rapid drainage. Bubba also has likely better aeration than Timmy with some expansion noted. The other two samples, when picked up and weighed in my hand fit the feel/shape of my handful the same as at start. Bubba did not, Bubba noticeably grew that fit. The gentle fingertip squeeze did caused this sample to crack like an egg under the cheese cloth, so I stopped fondling it, gave it a gentle squeeze to undo my disturbance and put it back down. Bubba’s moistness and distribution felt just as good as Timmy, only a little tiny weenie bit lighter (but also remember, it felt bigger in size too, so… *shrug*)
Day2 finished up the test for me about, I had learned more than I was hoping.
Mudball was still a crispy shell with a caramel center on the inside. Ok, that’s slightly exaggerated. But, the cheesecloth and outer layer was the crispiest and dryest (media going dusty). I’d estimate the the middle 70% by mass was still as wet as it was 30 minutes after being submerged in the bucket. This surprised me, he had the most perlite by volume!
Timmy was good but kinda ready for the spa. Not dry, felt light though and ready for water by weight. The sample in hand felt good and moist, broke the bag open and it was even through.
Bubba was Bubba. I swear he may of grown another 2%, but so minuscule this time that it’s bullshit unless I break out a scale and measuring tape. Now weight wise, it felt even again with Timmy. Fingertip Squeeze caused it to crack in 3 pieces this time, but again, it’s not dry. Broke it open and it is even moisture distribution.
Anyways, it’s helping me, hope it helps others. Only a true stoner could be so entertained playing with dirt at my age.
