The Everything SWICK Club: 2023 And Beyond

[Carmen Ray]

Hi PerkPot

I just had a pot stop swicking so I changed the string. It was def dirty w a little root growth. I top water once a week to add nutrients(like elm dirt) Just a couple cups. Not a lot.

Very interesting, thanks. How do you get the pot swicking again if it stops? I would have thought that the reservoir running dry would stop the swick too?

 

[PerkPot]

Hi Carmen. I let it run dry pretty much every time and it started up again once I added more water.

 

[Hash Hound]

.....
Do you ever see calcium deficiency at any stage of their growth?
Do their roots chase the water source neglecting the top feeder function? / Do you ever top water?

Your plant looks great!

@Carmen Ray I rarely see any major calcium deficiencies just a few spots here and there.
Every two or three reservoir fill ups I add some Blue Planet Cal/Mag till mid flowering then I stop adding it.

The roots rarely go down the wick looking for water. Sometimes they are packed solid on the top of the soil and sometimes not, haven't figured out the reason for that yet. I don't see a lot on top right now but I'm only mid first week flowering.
I only top watered the first two times after transplant then only after a top dress or tea.

The current grow I mixed a full dose of veg and a half dose flower of @GeoFlora Nutrients throughout the soil before transplant. Next weekend will be end of week two flowering and I'll top dress some GF flowering.

 

[Carmen Ray]

@Carmen Ray I rarely see any major calcium deficiencies just a few spots here and there.
Every two or three reservoir fill ups I add some Blue Planet Cal/Mag till mid flowering then I stop adding it.

As a preventive measure. Ok, ty.

The roots rarely go down the wick looking for water. Sometimes they are packed solid on the top of the soil and sometimes not, haven't figured out the reason for that yet. I don't see a lot on top right now but I'm only mid first week flowering.

Ah, I have a question and you may one of the best suited to answer. I have this one plant that feels packed solid with roots, to more than a third of the way up the fabric pot. I have been thinking it could be root bound. It is very pale indeed. It's 28 days into flower. I have thought it might be good to up pot to make more nutrients available to those roots, but I also don't want to cause irreversible harm to the flowering plant. Are you able to offer any advice to help me decide? Shed has shown me a brilliant way to do it that would hopefully cause very little stress, but maybe this rooting is normal, Idk?

I only top watered the first two times after transplant then only after a top dress or tea.

How many top dress / tea applications are there in a typical grow?

The current grow I mixed a full dose of veg and a half dose flower of @GeoFlora Nutrients throughout the soil before transplant. Next weekend will be end of week two flowering and I'll top dress some GF flowering.

Is it for use with LOS? Some of those ingredients are already in the soil I use.

 

[PerkPot]

Hi Carmen. My 5 gallon pots are packed with roots top to bottom. I use a chop stick to poke some holes through before I top feed otherwise it just comes out the sides.

 

[Carmen Ray]

Hi Carmen. My 5 gallon pots are packed with roots top to bottom. I use a chop stick to poke some holes through before I top feed otherwise it just comes out the sides.

Hi PerkPot, do you think I should rather leave the plant in its existing pot? My concern is how pale my plant is. I think it must be hungry and it is crucial bud building time now.

Gelato auto 1

• Carmen Ray
• Aug 14, 2023
• gelato auto herbies seeds vipar spectra xs 1500 pro

Day 63

 

[InTheShed]

Hi PerkPot, do you think I should rather leave the plant in its existing pot? My concern is how pale my plant is. I think it must be hungry and it is crucial bud building time now.

Thought I'd mention this unrelated to the plumbing work you're going to have:

"Our urine contains significant levels of nitrogen, as well as phosphorous and potassium. The relative ratios are typically around 11 parts nitrogen to 1 part phosphorus to 2.5 parts potassium." That's 11-1-2.5 for short.
Source

 

[Carmen Ray]

Thought I'd mention this unrelated to the plumbing work you're going to have:

"Our urine contains significant levels of nitrogen, as well as phosphorous and potassium. The relative ratios are typically around 11 parts nitrogen to 1 part phosphorus to 2.5 parts potassium." That's 11-1-2.5 for short.
Source

Are you suggesting I harvest my urine and feed it to the plants?

 

[InTheShed]

Are you suggesting I harvest my urine and feed it to the plants?

If you think it's a nutrient issue rather than a root/watering issue then yes I am, though "harvest" would not have been my choice of words.

 

[Carmen Ray]

If you think it's a nutrient issue rather than a root/watering issue then yes I am, though "harvest" would not have been my choice of words.

What alternatives do I have? I take medication and I have read that it is unsafe to use urine as a fertilizer when on medication and or hormones. I think it is a nutrient issue. The plant has been praying beautifully, which would indicate that watering is spot on and roots have adapted.

 

[Hash Hound]

As a preventive measure. Ok, ty.

Ah, I have a question and you may one of the best suited to answer. I have this one plant that feels packed solid with roots, to more than a third of the way up the fabric pot. I have been thinking it could be root bound. It is very pale indeed. It's 28 days into flower. I have thought it might be good to up pot to make more nutrients available to those roots, but I also don't want to cause irreversible harm to the flowering plant. Are you able to offer any advice to help me decide? Shed has shown me a brilliant way to do it that would hopefully cause very little stress, but maybe this rooting is normal, Idk?

I have no clue on this one, I'd consider Sheds method

How many top dress / tea applications are there in a typical grow?

I'm rarely top dress but since I'm using the Geoflora I'll do the 2-4-6 week top dress which I will experiment by using the well method, poke two or three finger sized holes and putting the GF in there.
Normally I would use two or three teas during a grow and that's it.

Is it for use with LOS? Some of those ingredients are already in the soil I use.

I using Coast of Maine Growers Blend in one 7g bag, in another I'm using CoM on the bottom and PMO on the top of a 7g bag, and I have a 4g plastic pot with straight PMO. All three were amended with the GF
The CoM says it will sustain a plant for 42 days in a 7g bag but I'm still going to do the GFs recommended 2-4-6th weeks

 

[InTheShed]

What alternatives do I have? I take medication and I have read that it is unsafe to use urine as a fertilizer when on medication and or hormones. I think it is a nutrient issue. The plant has been praying beautifully, which would indicate that watering is spot on and roots have adapted.

Answered in your thread here!

 

[Slapalottapuss]

That looks to me like a PH issue.

 

[Carmen Ray]

Okay, this I found fascinating! I thought I was going to find a bunch of thick water roots in that grow bag. Instead I found a solid mass of feeder roots. They were so tightly bound I couldn't break it apart. The roots were uniformly dense throughout the bag.

Gelato auto 1

• Carmen Ray
• Sep 5, 2023
• swicking vipar spectra xs 1500 pro

rootopsy

Gelato auto 1

• Carmen Ray
• Sep 5, 2023
• swicking vipar spectra xs 1500 pro

rootopsy

Gelato auto 1

• Carmen Ray
• Sep 5, 2023
• swicking vipar spectra xs 1500 pro

rootopsy

 

[InTheShed]

Okay, this I found fascinating! I thought I was going to find a bunch of thick water roots in that grow bag. Instead I found a solid mass of feeder roots. They were so tightly bound I couldn't break it apart. The roots were uniformly dense throughout the bag.

What is that telling you?

 

[Carmen Ray]

What is that telling you?

It's telling me to put the plant in a 7 Gal, bomb it on the swick, top dress and feed extra calmag I think. I think the plant got hungry. I think the initial shock was from a super soil that wasn't fit for purpose and after the dramatic first flush it didn't properly recover. This coming grow will be a trad top water grow, but I am reconsidering the swick option for a future grow. What are you impressions, Shed?

 

[InTheShed]

It's telling me to put the plant in a 7 Gal, bomb it on the swick, top dress and feed extra calmag I think. I think the plant got hungry. I think the initial shock was from a super soil that wasn't fit for purpose and after the dramatic first flush it didn't properly recover. This coming grow will be a trad top water grow, but I am reconsidering the swick option for a future grow. What are you impressions, Shed?

My impressions are your impressions! If you can pack a 5(?) gallon then a 7 gallon is definitely in order if you SWICK again. Maybe 7 gallons no matter how you're growing.

 

[Hash Hound]

I think I've posted this before but I'm not sure. It was sold as a poinsettia planter.
I have to cut this mint plant back every two or three months.
I've tried using 2L bottle but it is to weak and collapses in from the vacuum and all the water comes out.
I have experimented with juice bottles which seem to be stronger,
For swickers using perlite or stones, a bottle with a small hole at the desired level placed in the reservoir will allow water out when it falls below the hole and also act as a water gague once the level in the bottle falls. Kepping the vacuum is the key to not letting all the water come out at once.

sip tray 1.JPG

• Hash Hound
• Sep 10, 2023

sip tray 2.JPG

• Hash Hound
• Sep 10, 2023

 

[Slapalottapuss]

whoops. Post created by accident before i had my thoughts together.

Trying to understand the swick thing and how it is different from a hempy type bucket. I’ve run what I call a modified hempy with perlite higher than the outlet holes creating a space between the soil and water table. A home made earth box essentially. The appeal in this imo is the ability to get nutrients directly to the roots and leeching down through the soil.

Not being critical in the least. Always interested to see new ideas and perspectives on why people theme the approach they do.

 

[InTheShed]

Trying to understand the swick thing and how it is different from a hempy type bucket. I’ve run what I call a modified hempy with perlite higher than the outlet holes creating a space between the soil and water table.

Hey Slaps, that was my last grow exactly! I think there was too much perlite above the overflow hole in mine (because the water never wicked into the soil), so mine really seemed more like a hempy grow with a bucket of dry soil above it. That was a good thing or it would have tipped over if the only thing holding it down was perlite!

Can't complain since it turned out well, but I was hoping for the moist soil others get in SWICKs.

Build here. Plant here. Harvest here. Rootpsy here.