Flushing perlite

[GreenGrowth]

Hi all, hope you are staying safe and well.

I grow in a recirculating system using perlite as my medium. I did a flush when I changed from veg to bloom, my question is; During flowering how often do I need to flush?

It's been 4-5 weeks since the switch and I'm thinking it is about time. I change my nutes every weekend although I feel that with evaporation (airstone in the bottom of my 50lt pot) and transpiration there is potential for salt building up in the root zone.

Looking for advice from growers with perlite recycled systems. Thanks in advance.

 

[PK]

Hey @GreenGrowth i don't know the anwser to your question and hopefully someone will help you with your question.
I was more interested of seeing a pic of your method of grow. so your saying your potting mix is only perlites or your washing your soil off of your perlites and reusing it??

 

[013]

Hi Greengrowth, Good to see you here!

Hey PK1, this setup has 100% perlite as the medium- no soil or coco involved, but instead of regular deep water culture or drain to waste it’s in a recirculating system which makes it RDWC recirc deep water culture.

If plant is looking great with no problems then rock on, no need to flush. But yes any medium can have a build up of nutes & salts over time. The flush is to run 3X the container size with ph adjusted water to reduce buildup in media.

I’m going to invite @bluter & @multiVortex for input... we will get you sorted!

 

[The Phantom]

I wouldn't think with your setup flushing your media would be necessary since your plants are being constantly fed via hydroponics.

 

[GreenGrowth]

Sure is only perlite, drip ring from reservoir waters 2x a day. Air ring/ stone in the bottom of the pot to increase O2 to the root zone.

 

[GreenGrowth]

Hey @GreenGrowth i don't know the anwser to your question and hopefully someone will help you with your question.
I was more interested of seeing a pic of your method of grow. so your saying your potting mix is only perlites or your washing your soil off of your perlites and reusing it??

Sure is only perlite, drip ring from reservoir waters 2x a day. Air ring/ stone in the bottom of the pot to increase O2 to the root zone.

 

[013]

Sweet setup - that extra oxygen to the roots should produce a monster

 

[GreenGrowth]

Sweet setup - that extra oxygen to the roots should produce a monster

Hopefully, looking at about 12-14 oz for an approx 14w grow

 

[013]

Wow, pics looks very frosty and that’s an impressive harvest weight for just 14 weeks...

I’m a soil grower who puts 2 air stones under the rootball when I re-pot into my 1 gallon containers, the air stone stays with the plant for final up-potting all the way until harvest. I use a 2 port air pump to drive 2 to 4 plants.

What other cool growing tips or tricks are up your sleeve??

 

[GreenGrowth]

Idk, environment is king. Use the best quality nutrients that you can afford. Tip prune, LST and ScroG are the best way to increase yield.

 

[013]

Nice, tell me more about tip pruning?

 

[BeanTownFan420]

Tip pruning is the same as topping or FIM.

 

[013]

Ah topping or fimming. Never heard it called tip pruning but always down for learning

 

[TorturedSoul]

Tip prune, LST and ScroG are the best way to increase yield.

Some of that is debatable. Yes, apical dominance is relevant here and, therefore, if you cut off the uppermost tip, one or more lower branches will replace it. However, if you simply pull that primary tip down below those same secondaries (etc.) and tie it in place, the same thing will happen because the auxins which determine the behavior are mobile; instead of having to produce more in the new "top(s)" - as would be the case if one chose to cut off the primary tip - the plant can and will quickly redistribute them to whichever branch(es) is/are now the highest ones. It's basic light-seeking behavior. A plant requires light-energy, and plants have evolved in an environment where that light-energy comes from above, ergo, they have an inbuilt process for helping to ensure that a significant portion of a plant isn't shaded, even by itself. It just takes a little more effort from the gardener than <SNIP> is all, lol.

As for the scrog technique... I did it for a while, and had a thing for "big plants." And you can certainly fill an average indoor "hobby-sized" garden this way, even with just one plant, if you don't mind regular work and the time it takes. But you should probably differentiate "yield" from "yield per day." By that, I mean that if you're really looking to produce, a sog grow full of ready-to-flower clones will almost always give better results over time, even at a plant density of only four per square foot. It's still all about filling the garden space with buds, but you don't have the - sometimes lengthy - vegetative growth phase time. Here's an old grow journal thread that illustrates this pretty well. Nothing special; the thread title is just easy for me to remember even when one's mind is... somewhat charred around the edges (lol).

Come SOG With Me: 112 Plants, 2 Liter, Hempy SOG

Hello everyone, It's been a long time since I've ran a journal here. I just started a large SOG grow today so I've decided to journal it here for you. I have 3 Snow White(NLXCinderella99) mothers in my veg room along with a 50 site aero cloner. I just transplanted the first 16 rooted clones...

www.420magazine.com

On the other hand, gross production is not (always ) everything. Sometimes, one method will just end up suiting a strain - and/or a gardener - better than another one. And, when that happens, finding and using that preferred method can mean the difference between feeling that the gardening is enjoyable, and feeling like it is a JOB (so to speak). That's worth... well, it's a non-zero amount, surely. And, in extreme cases, one can even end up yielding more over time, even when that method is, technically speaking, the "inferior" one - because the gardener will tend to expend more time/effort on his/her garden.

Er... I'm just rambling.

 

[GreenGrowth]

Some of that is debatable. Yes, apical dominance is relevant here and, therefore, if you cut off the uppermost tip, one or more lower branches will replace it. However, if you simply pull that primary tip down below those same secondaries (etc.) and tie it in place, the same thing will happen because the auxins which determine the behavior are mobile; instead of having to produce more in the new "top(s)" - as would be the case if one chose to cut off the primary tip - the plant can and will quickly redistribute them to whichever branch(es) is/are now the highest ones. It's basic light-seeking behavior. A plant requires light-energy, and plants have evolved in an environment where that light-energy comes from above, ergo, they have an inbuilt process for helping to ensure that a significant portion of a plant isn't shaded, even by itself. It just takes a little more effort from the gardener than <SNIP> is all, lol.

As for the scrog technique... I did it for a while, and had a thing for "big plants." And you can certainly fill an average indoor "hobby-sized" garden this way, even with just one plant, if you don't mind regular work and the time it takes. But you should probably differentiate "yield" from "yield per day." By that, I mean that if you're really looking to produce, a sog grow full of ready-to-flower clones will almost always give better results over time, even at a plant density of only four per square foot. It's still all about filling the garden space with buds, but you don't have the - sometimes lengthy - vegetative growth phase time. Here's an old grow journal thread that illustrates this pretty well. Nothing special; the thread title is just easy for me to remember even when one's mind is... somewhat charred around the edges (lol).

Come SOG With Me: 112 Plants, 2 Liter, Hempy SOG

Hello everyone, It's been a long time since I've ran a journal here. I just started a large SOG grow today so I've decided to journal it here for you. I have 3 Snow White(NLXCinderella99) mothers in my veg room along with a 50 site aero cloner. I just transplanted the first 16 rooted clones...

www.420magazine.com

On the other hand, gross production is not (always ) everything. Sometimes, one method will just end up suiting a strain - and/or a gardener - better than another one. And, when that happens, finding and using that preferred method can mean the difference between feeling that the gardening is enjoyable, and feeling like it is a JOB (so to speak). That's worth... well, it's a non-zero amount, surely. And, in extreme cases, one can even end up yielding more over time, even when that method is, technically speaking, the "inferior" one - because the gardener will tend to expend more time/effort on his/her garden.

Er... I'm just rambling.

Thanks for your input. It definitely has to remain a hobby and not feel like a 'job'. I agree with what you are saying, as the gardener has to get the feels for their style. Combining the science and the art is what makes it all the more fun and interesting.

I tip prune at the 4th node and wait for the plant to recover, the lower branches with grow out as the apex recovers, allowing me to tip prune them at the 4th node. Subsequently I have created multiple growth tips that can be tied down during pre flowering/ stretch, once the plant has recovered.

I hope this made sense.