I started looking into companion planting and wondered about planting bush beans around the base seeing how they put N back into the soil.Time to yank the mint out of there. They're taking over and I've still got about 7 weeks to go. If I don't, I'll have a whole bunch of mint trees and a tiny cannabis plant
Peppers are also supposed to work good.
That is somewhat true but the guy that rents my farm will mow the clover and the top portion will add nitrogen to the soil as well as any root mass that dies in the process. But your right that the roots will also add it when the plants are harvested. The harvested clover is then consumed and poo is spread which is high in nitrogen. I got curious and talked to him a few weeks ago
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My fields are certified organic by the province, the same farmer has been renting for 20 years and has worked to get them certified over the last 15. His cows are fed with the crops and he now has an organic farm gate dairy, an amazing guy. I get tired just watching him lol. I hate to say it but they may not be organic if I worked em, they yield far less than they did with fertilizer, no deer come, I think they liked the salts lol. It's really not an easy decision if your livelihood depends on it. But yes you can lessen the impact of all farming by using your fucking brain. I would be at war with that guy, thankgod I'm notI wish the guy that farms the fields beside us would use more natural methods to farm instead of exposing us and our chickens and garden to his noxious sprays 5 or 6 times each season. Drives right by spraying crap like roundup knowing the wind is blowing it right across our property not 10ft from the edge of his field. When we complained he said we could always move. I think he will be finding some foot long chunks of rebar in his fields this fall to fuck up his mower bar for him.
. I get in trouble easy lol.
I've got the MH running @ 450w, giving me around 25k lumens at the tops. When should I bump it up to 600w?We're off and running! One of the things I love about DWC is seeing your girls grow 1" to 3" in a single day! The ones on the left grew at least an inch since yesterday. The ones on the right are a day or so behind, but have tons of hanging roots and are taking off! I'll be topping and maybe supercropping these so I'll level them all out at that point .
Once they are used to 450 and growing well it should be OK to boost it up. Probably a few days.
Magic marker won't work well on black plastic so maybe something hanging down from the lip to the level you want for reference?
I have a bulkhead fitting at the bottom with a clear tube attached (drain) the tube is covered with a slip on piece of armaflex. It is held in place at lid by plastic hose clip and I can monitor levels and when needed I just use that run to catch tray to change water. I've also thought about a piece of bamboo or some type of rod with a small hole drilled in corner of lid like a float stick with a foam to have it go up and down but that was fancy thinking lol.
I ended up turning it up and raising the hood to about 18". The spread on that hood sucks, and the plants need to be closer together to be covered by the 450.
I was thinking about using a string.
The way I used to do it is by using 1/2" barbed adapters (male and female + o-ring to create bulkheads) and poly vinyl tubing. Put a bulkhead at the bottom and one at the top. Connect them with the tubing on the outside of the res. I might do that the next time I flush.
That works but I needed to cover mine as they would go all funky from the light.
Yeah, I had that problem too. I was thinking of using duct tape to cover the tube, with the exception of a small slit to see the level. But thinking about it now, I think the problem is actually a lack of circulation, and not necessarily the light.
I was thinking about doing the same thing. I've got some old plastic foam fish floats, we always called them dink floats, thst I could cut into about 3 pieces and stick a bamboo skewer in so it rides up and down. Just use some marking pens to colour the skewer to show when it's getting low. I figure to put a piece of plastic tube in the lid for the skewer to slide up and down in so it doesn't tilt. Most of the time I just top up every 3 days and can see the level so know when to stop. No worries about light leaks,
So the bamboo was okay sitting in the res? How'd you secure it? It's a great idea!
I got one of those hoods too and don't like it. I rigged the other end to run a 2nd bulb in it and hung it from a light rail to go back and forth to cover a 5' spread. Wouldn't work for your setup tho. I run open hoods so just use wide angled ones tho thinking I might end up using air-cooled ones with their own air line from outside to outside. Would make it easier to set up a sealed grow room with CO2.
I haven't done it yet but see no reason it wouldn't work. The sponge float piece would be sitting in the water with the skewer stuck in the middle pointing upwards. I could always colour the stick then coat in with varnish. I got epoxy stuff for coating the wraps that hold guides on to fishing rods from my rod building days that would work good. Saw some plans for using 5gal water jugs inverted to feed the tubs and keep them topped up. Just a tube set at the level you want and when it drops water dribbles out until the end of the tube is covered again. If I get my RO unit I may just set up a fresh water tank with a float valve to add water automatically and keep a few tubs topped up. Then just check the ppm once a week and add nutes when needed.
