Hi newbie in this area

[warezaholic]

Call me warezaholic. In SE Michigan.

I am an old disabled/handicapped veteran on social security and quit pain meds when we became legal, I'm a very light smoker, (about 1 gram every 3 or 4 days). So now prices are going up at the dispensaries.

I decided to turn my 4 x 2 x 9 foot closet into a 3 plant grow room. My starting budget was $300 over 2 months. HOWEVER, the 300 was topped in the first month in Jan- Feb. So I was made Hip to DWC topfed Bubbleponics and the setup appeals to me.

My first plant isn't looking like she's gaining height as she should. Almost 4 weeks since germed and planted to the rockwool cube kept in the nursery. A few days ago she moved from the nursery to the big pot (an inch or two above the bubbly water) and setup the topfed drizzle flowing oxygenated nutrient water flowing over the roots from above and today i felt it might help to give into the top feeding since the plant seems stunted but I'm not sure. Tell me what you think.

 

[Blew Hiller]

Lots of Michiganders (do you have a collective name??) here as well as vets. Start a grow journal and they will collect on it like flies.

Wish I knew more on DWC and nutrients to help. Good news is that there are many here who do and will help...like @Chris Scorpio.

 

[Orlando Scout]

Welcome to brother!!! I am from N. MI, and I am also a disabled vet. You should fit right in here, there are alot of us around now!! Here is a link to help you get started Helpful Links For New Members. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask, everyone here is very helpful!!

 

[Bilbobudkin420]

Call me warezaholic. In SE Michigan.

I am an old disabled/handicapped veteran on social security and quit pain meds when we became legal, I'm a very light smoker, (about 1 gram every 3 or 4 days). So now prices are going up at the dispensaries.

I decided to turn my 4 x 2 x 9 foot closet into a 3 plant grow room. My starting budget was $300 over 2 months. HOWEVER, the 300 was topped in the first month in Jan- Feb. So I was made Hip to DWC topfed Bubbleponics and the setup appeals to me.

My first plant isn't looking like she's gaining height as she should. Almost 4 weeks since germed and planted to the rockwool cube kept in the nursery. A few days ago she moved from the nursery to the big pot (an inch or two above the bubbly water) and setup the topfed drizzle flowing oxygenated nutrient water flowing over the roots from above and today i felt it might help to give into the top feeding since the plant seems stunted but I'm not sure. Tell me what you think.

Welcome!!
Chaps my ass when i hear shit about dispensaries now raising their prices. Govermment money at work. Flood the market, drive down prices, push out the little guy then when the smoke has cleared slam the prices back up now that they have control of the market!! Tactics that have been used in EVERY new industry since the dawn of capitalism!! Sorry rant over lol.
But then when i see guys like you getting into growing to get the meds you need makes me smile again

 

[warezaholic]

Thanks ya'll for the the love.

So far this simple grow is turning into an expensive hobby! And so far my efforts have been an unrewarding experience with one thing after another going wrong.

Of two seedlings started, one dead and the other is barely 3 inches tall after 4 weeks. And it's doing as well as it can since I put it within a Bubbleponics setting and added a steady stream of top feed nutrients.

 

[Marzbadrock]

Welcome!!
Chaps my ass when i hear shit about dispensaries now raising their prices. Govermment money at work. Flood the market, drive down prices, push out the little guy then when the smoke has cleared slam the prices back up now that they have control of the market!! Tactics that have been used in EVERY new industry since the dawn of capitalism!! Sorry rant over lol.
But then when i see guys like you getting into growing to get the meds you need makes me smile again

It sucks but I understand the price increase. I've been working my way into the industry, really try to keep my pricing lower as I do all the work myself but between license fees $6500 a year, 4% tax, mandatory testing on everything (flower, trim, oils, edibles) $100 a test, child safe packaging, labels, then general growing costs.....at $200 a ounce I'm maybe putting $25 in my pocket!

 

[Bilbobudkin420]

It sucks but I understand the price increase. I've been working my way into the industry, really try to keep my pricing lower as I do all the work myself but between license fees $6500 a year, 4% tax, mandatory testing on everything (flower, trim, oils, edibles) $100 a test, child safe packaging, labels, then general growing costs.....at $200 a ounce I'm maybe putting $25 in my pocket!

Thats what im saying man. The guys that are out here pushing out oz's at $100 and shit are the fuckers with government funding and backing growing at insanely high volumes.

 

[Marzbadrock]

Yeah it sucks but i had some friends that didn't like my pricing so they went over to Washington n bought some at 125 a zip......that was months ago n they haven't said a word bout my price since! Get what ya pay for!

 

[Bilbobudkin420]

Yeah it sucks but i had some friends that didn't like my pricing so they went over to Washington n bought some at 125 a zip......that was months ago n they haven't said a word bout my price since! Get what ya pay for!

Preach!!

 

[SOG001]

Hey Ware I'm a Veitnam Vet welcome to 420 There is a tutorial by Tulip here you should check it out it is very informative and will teach you the basics good luck with your grow

 

[SOG001]

You'll have to do an advanced search at the top right navigation bar there is a magnifying glass click on it then click on advanced search title is Deep Water Culture Tutorial author is Tulip really good info there

 

[Ganjagrandaddy]

Hi fella. you need to stop the top feeding and just allow bubbkes from airpump to wet bottom of the cube. Rockwool and continued soakings will be drowning the roots and also stop them leaving the cube to search for water. Let the bubbles popping do the work in just water alone ph'ed to 5.8. My two penneth worth.
here in uk you will pay £200 an ounce easily. steady market but quality is not the same as own.

 

[TurboBucket]

As noted you can probably stop the top feed. It's usually just done to help keep the plug from drying until you get a few roots out of the pot. Typically the net pot is run full of hydroton as opposed to half full, your stem will be a few inches closer to your water level than most it could create a potential for it to start rotting.

 

[warezaholic]

Being 64 and suffering with a multitude of painful skeletal injuries, diabetic amputations, bipolar Plus harsh anxiety disorders, So, im just trying to stop doing this RIDICULOUS DANCE I CALL THE
"DOCTOR-DRUGSTORE-DOSEY DOE" !!!

I

realize that cannabis is now the fastest growing industry in the country now. But I'm not the least bit interested in participating in all this unsettled and "unsettling" lawmaking business. My goal here is to avoid all this government DRAMA and make my broke handicapped ass "SELF SUFFICIENT " with my meds for relief from all my REAL PAIN! Screw my dependency on someone else's marijuana, when it's feasible for me to grow my own. I just worry about climbing this really STEEEEP learning curve while I'm wearing slippery shoes and find the most simplistic and efficient way to get to that goal.

After I get a couple productive plants I can probably use cloning to keep the ganja growing and become self sufficient... But in these days of having thousands of different strains to choose from, this will won't do much for giving me any variety of flavors, BUT-- (swapping clones and seeds is the cure for this hum drum disease). Can I get an Aman???

 

[warezaholic]

Sorry about the duplicate pictures but I'm not sure how to post them properly.

Why are the diagrams and instructions for "Topfed Bubbleponics" all showing the introduction of flowing solution from the top HOWEVER I have to ask, why does everyone say to stop it? I have the top "flowing" not "dripping" ...

I have purchased over $50 of hardware to provide top feeding because I've read several how to's on Bubbleponics and they've all shown some form of topfed drizzle. Who's right and who's wrong?

I'm so confused!!!!

 

[warezaholic]

Maybe I'm supposed to insert the drizzle into the rockwool down closer to the bottom of the cube?!?

 

[Ganjagrandaddy]

rockwool retains a huge amount of water for a long time. by continuously saturating it with flowing water ( oxygenated or not) will not allow the roots oxygen. seems lime a disparity as the whole root system will be in water eventually , but this will be when she has plenty of roots for oxygen intake and also through the bubbles from airstones. The rockwool wont allow air to get to the soaking roots in the system. I too read a lot about top fed but this is only helpful in the initial stage of root development Your stem can also end up dampened of and collapsing.

 

[MidnightMann]

Welcome. Sorry your having a hard time. Ok the ultimate goal in dwc bubbleponics is to get the Roots growing into the airrated water. So people use top feed to keep the medium and thus the roots moist until they grow into the water. Your issue seems to be you are keeping the wool to wet and the roots are not searching for the water. As some have suggested you should just stop the top water and just hand water when wool is dry

 

[plugger]

I did top feed also in addition I had saturation issues with my rapid rooter(kinda like rockwool, jiffy plugs but better I think for dwc).
Once I turned the top feed off and my rapid rooter dried out some I think I got better root development. I had already dropped the res water level to 1" or so below the pot bottom. I did some addition of water drops on the rapid rooter with res water to keep things from drying out, but it is a tight rope walk, saturation is not your friend.
Once you see that first root hit the res things should grow better.

 

[warezaholic]

I did top feed also in addition I had saturation issues with my rapid rooter(kinda like rockwool, jiffy plugs but better I think for dwc).
Once I turned the top feed off and my rapid rooter dried out some I think I got better root development. I had already dropped the res water level to 1" or so below the pot bottom. I did some addition of water drops on the rapid rooter with res water to keep things from drying out, but it is a tight rope walk, saturation is not your friend.
Once you see that first root hit the res things should grow better.

I see this is an issue that has all the earmarks of my causing total confoundment.

I'v come here tossing out confusion without giving sufficient history. I apologize!

This plant has had a pretty rough start by my inexperienced hands. She's the lone survivor of 3 bad seeds that took 5 days to crack and barely germinated and 2 never took to root. Her 2 or 3 roots aren't even hardly showing through the bottom of the 4" rockwool cube yet and the basket is kept under an inch above the bubbles. Im doubtful the roots are seriously developed as of yet or if they will. But for now I'll stop the top feed.

It'll be about 2 or 3 weeks before any new seeds will be ready for the move to the DWC environment.

So, I'm thinking about switching to 2 or 3, 5 gallon buckets to make overall maintenance much easier; or is that a no no ?

Either way, At least, I'm moving her to a proper holding pot for a day or two while I give the reservoir a badly needed water refreshment and nutrients, also the installation of a serious bubble column beneath each basket.