MK-Ultra Hempy - C02 - 1000 Watts

[Doc Bud]

Re: MK-Ultra Hempy, C02, 1000watts.

Girls are looking good and the sick one seems to be recovering nicely I started seeds last night and am doing hempy, what is your opinion on adding sphagnum moss to retain moisture and nutes and encourage root growth outward as well as down. Also do you think it would be better to use tap water for micro nutes and minerals? My tap ph is good.

I would not use sphagnum! It tends to lower PH and you don't need or want that kind of water retention.

I recommend---per Hempy, the inventor of this method---that you stick with a 4:1 perlite/vermiculite ratio. That holds enough water.....and you really don't want a wet medium. You want a damp medium and a water rich resevoir at the bottom. The roots will seek out that moisture and your plants will thrive.

When I examined the rootball after my last grow, the entire pot was a massive, healthy ball of roots. Why change anything?

As for water, there is no problem using tap water. I'd still make sure your nutes have micro's in them, but I think the tap water is better than RO unless you have just disgusting tap water. My tap water is pretty hard, but when I got the analysis from the water department, it turns out it's got a nice amount of calcium and magnesium, which is great. My vegetables always liked tap water.....now my MJ does too.

How are you starting your seeds?

 

[420warriors]

Re: MK-Ultra Hempy, C02, 1000watts.

Thanks for the input Doc. I soaked the seeds over night and put them in cups in a very similar method as you used. They are under an 85w CFL,6500k 5700lu in a cab. temp is 81deg F, RH is 40 and currently being adj by use of a nebulizer. I will be vegging under CFLs using GH flora nova and flower with 2 100w HPS and CFLs also using GH flora nova. And botanicare sweet throughout. Thank you for your time and knowledge.

 

[Doc Bud]

Re: MK-Ultra Hempy, C02, 1000watts.

Thanks for the input Doc. I soaked the seeds over night and put them in cups in a very similar method as you used. They are under an 85w CFL,6500k 5700lu in a cab. temp is 81deg F, RH is 40 and currently being adj by use of a nebulizer. I will be vegging under CFLs using GH flora nova and flower with 2 100w HPS and CFLs also using GH flora nova. And botanicare sweet throughout. Thank you for your time and knowledge.

You're gonna like it.....yes you will!

Just remember to get some run off when you water. Also, learn what the weight of the pot feels like when it's dry and compare it to when it's saturated and use that to determine when it's time to water.

 

[Doc Bud]

Re: MK-Ultra Hempy, C02, 1000watts.

Day 28 since germination:

All plants are now in their final hempy buckets. I used to standard 4:1 mix of perlite/vermiculite, except for the two sick plants, which were put in the larger buckets earlier and are in pure perlite.

here's a typical cup just prior to transplant:

Here's the root ball.....nice!

Here's a shot of the whole garden:

This is the better of the two sickies.....the roots hit the bottom 2 days ago and the plant is growing like a bat out of hell. It's now my biggest, bushiest and healthiest plant.

And here is a shot of the other sickie, which had the more extensive rot. It is also growing...gonna be just fine....but it's still lagging behind the others.
The sick one is on the right, the one on the left is a normal.

I mixed up 4 gallons of week 3 feed from the FF schedule, and added Hygrozyme and 10 drops of Superthrive per gallon, PH'd to 5.9. I soaked all of the mix in this, filled the pots about 3/4 full, set the root ball in, filled around it and then watered again. The plants perked right up in about 2 hours. This morning I checked them and I have zero transplant shock.....they were all standing proud and looked great. (these pics were taken this morning.)

So, I'll wait till they're all established and the roots have gotten to the bottom and then I'll flower!

The current photoperiod is 16/8...gonna go to 15/9 in a couple days. These plants are two damn bushy....it's dark underneath the fan leaves. The leaves on my biggest plant are the size of my hand.

 

[slimm]

Re: MK-Ultra Hempy, C02, 1000watts.

Looking good Doc. What size are your final pots?

 

[Doc Bud]

Re: MK-Ultra Hempy, C02, 1000watts.

Looking good Doc. What size are your final pots?

10 litres

 

[The Weed]

Re: MK-Ultra Hempy, C02, 1000watts.

Hello DocBud just finished reading 126 posts my friend. A huge THAT A BOY is in order for you. Well done, Hint the name Doc the way you repaired those two "sickies". I have always had my head in the soil for years, But with all the Deep Water Culture coming here and opening my eyes to hydro, Then I discover Hashy Hashy's Growing Adventures
And YOU. Excitment of learn new stuff is intoxicating! So here are my questions, You hand water those? And just let water run off that is why you have the pots on those special boards you have with grooves? Water just pour right though right? You keep mentioning reservoir, where? Or do you have feeder tubes. Yes that is what I don't understand. Anyways great growing friend. I am glue till harvest!
Rep+

 

[420warriors]

Re: MK-Ultra Hempy, C02, 1000watts.

Lookin good Doc,I'm about a month behind you on my grow bbut that works out good for me. I can use yours to know kinda what to expect, great job!

 

[Doc Bud]

Re: MK-Ultra Hempy, C02, 1000watts.

Hello DocBud just finished reading 126 posts my friend. A huge THAT A BOY is in order for you. Well done, Hint the name Doc the way you repaired those two "sickies". I have always had my head in the soil for years, But with all the Deep Water Culture coming here and opening my eyes to hydro, Then I discover Hashy Hashy's Growing Adventures
And YOU. Excitment of learn new stuff is intoxicating! So here are my questions, You hand water those? And just let water run off that is why you have the pots on those special boards you have with grooves? Water just pour right though right? You keep mentioning reservoir, where? Or do you have feeder tubes. Yes that is what I don't understand. Anyways great growing friend. I am glue till harvest!
Rep+

Welcome The Weed!

You ask some great questions.

Do I hand water? Yes. When I had only 5 plants I used a watering can. It was very easy. This time, I have a nice pump, with a hose and a wand. I'll post pics when the time comes. I'm going to really oxygenate the mix with the electric pump and wand when I water.

Do I let the water run off? Yep, exactly. When you water a hempy bucket you want to have some run off, people say 10%....it's doesn't matter, you just want to fill things up enough to where water pours out the drain hole, which is drilled on the side of the pot, 2 inches up from the bottom. I have the plants in those trays so the run off can be caught, tested if I like, and drained. There are no tubes or anything.

The hempy bucket is all about simplicity. Having said that, it is also a very efficient and high performance way of growing. These things produce....and you don't have to be very clever to do a good job. If you can mix up nutes, PH water and pour most of it in the bucket.....you're good to go.

In case you're unfamiliar, here's how you construct a Hempy:

Get any sized pot or bucket that does not have any drain holes in it. Black is preferable, because you don't want light to leak in....but any color will do as long as the roots remain dark. Some people wrap the outside of the buckets in tape or some other material to keep light out.

Drill a pencil sized hole about 2 inches up from the bottom. If you fill the bucket with water, it will drain out except for the water that is below the hole you drilled. That is the resevoir!

The growing medium of choice is a 4:1 mix of perlite and vermiculite. However, two of my buckets are pure perlite. Lots of people have played with the mix, but to my knowledge nothing is hands down better than perlite/vermiculite. Just place the clone or seedling in the bucket, water well (can't over water) and bite your nails and stress out for a week until the roots find that nice reservoir at the bottom. When that happens, it's like someone turned on a switch....the plants go crazy with growth.

It's just that simple....no tubes, no nothing. Just a pot, a hole, some perlite and food and water. No rot, no gnats, no fungus....nada.

The larger buckets don't get too warm, like my little cups did, because the area is much larger and the perlite breathes really well. My germination cups had a layer of soil on top, which kept them a bit more moist. Also, the smaller size got too warm under the big light. Next time I'll solve that problem by keeping the room a bit cooler....easy fix.

My seeds were still in the package a month ago.....and today I've got fan leaves the size of my hand. These things really work.

My last grow I got 14.5 ounces dried from 5 plants. Not bad for a rookie.

I hope this helps! It looks like we've got a hempy convention going here now!

Here's what the root ball looks like at the end:

One huge, solid mass of healthy roots. It's really hard to go wrong using this method, and if you do make a mistake, the buckets flush really well.

 

[The Weed]

Re: MK-Ultra Hempy, C02, 1000watts.

Great Information DocBud you fulled in all the blanks that I had. I love the sound of this Plus moving 5 gallon of Perlite/vermiculite seems far more apealing than 5 gallons of soil. Price is a huge factor fox farm soil vs. Perlite/vermiculite. So no problems with that 2 inch reservoir getting toxic or alge fulled?
I tell you Doc I am Hooked... Thank you Again!
Will keep watching and learning.
I'm off to read your first journal!

 

[Doc Bud]

Re: MK-Ultra Hempy, C02, 1000watts.

Great Information DocBud you fulled in all the blanks that I had. I love the sound of this Plus moving 5 gallon of Perlite/vermiculite seems far more apealing than 5 gallons of soil. Price is a huge factor fox farm soil vs. Perlite/vermiculite. So no problems with that 2 inch reservoir getting toxic or alge fulled?
I tell you Doc I am Hooked... Thank you Again!
Will keep watching and learning.

No algae at all, as long as light doesn't get in. make sure your buckets are light proof.

Toxic? Well, If you water with transmission fluid it will get toxic.....but no problems if you're careful with your nutes and PH.

I carried a 4 cubic foot bag of perlite with one hand, and a big bag of vermiculite with the other. It's light! You can easily pick up a pot with one hand.

One other word of advice: The perlite doesn't offer as much support as soil, so you're gonna want to stake up your plants at some point. I merely duct-taped bamboo stakes to the pots and tied everything up. Easy.

This method is very forgiving, very simple....and yet it yields very well.

 

[Setting Sun]

Re: MK-Ultra Hempy, C02, 1000watts.

Your plants are looking great doc, and great explanation of Hempy buckets!

I still have a couple of questions about the technique.

I tried one Hempy experiment a while back, and it failed because I had rinsed the Perlite with water to wash out the dust and smaller particles, and the rinse left the Perlite soggy and waterlogged like white mud.

I filled my buckets with the heavy wet rinsed Perlite and planted my seeds, which sprouted just fine, but the plants failed to thrive because the roots were drowning in the soggy Perlite. It didn't dry out for at least 1.5 weeks, and by then the plants were so stunted, I pulled the plug.

So, where did I go wrong? I believe it's Hempy who recommends rinsing the Perlite thoroughly before using, so how do I do that without getting it soggy? Do I have to let it dry out before filling my buckets?

I'm having deja vu, as in I think I asked you a similar question in your first journal.

Ok, now I remember. You said you sifted out the smaller particles by letting the wind blow them away as you sifted the dry Perlite, as opposed to rinsing with water, but above you say you soaked your medium with nute solution before transplanting, so alas, I am again confused.



BTW, that root ball speaks volumes.

 

[Sonzor]

Re: MK-Ultra Hempy, C02, 1000watts.

Looking very nice, Those plants are going to love all that new space to stretch out their roots. Great job...

 

[Doc Bud]

Re: MK-Ultra Hempy, C02, 1000watts.

Your plants are looking great doc, and great explanation of Hempy buckets!

I still have a couple of questions about the technique.

I tried one Hempy experiment a while back, and it failed because I had rinsed the Perlite with water to wash out the dust and smaller particles, and the rinse left the Perlite soggy and waterlogged like white mud.

I filled my buckets with the heavy wet rinsed Perlite and planted my seeds, which sprouted just fine, but the plants failed to thrive because the roots were drowning in the soggy Perlite. It didn't dry out for at least 1.5 weeks, and by then the plants were so stunted, I pulled the plug.

So, where did I go wrong? I believe it's Hempy who recommends rinsing the Perlite thoroughly before using, so how do I do that without getting it soggy? Do I have to let it dry out before filling my buckets?

I'm having deja vu, as in I think I asked you a similar question in your first journal.

Ok, now I remember. You said you sifted out the smaller particles by letting the wind blow them away as you sifted the dry Perlite, as opposed to rinsing with water, but above you say you soaked your medium with nute solution before transplanting, so alas, I am again confused.



BTW, that root ball speaks volumes.

Well, like last time, I poured the perlite from about 3 feet up, into a 2 gallon bucket. Same with the vermiculite.

Then, I wetted everything down with my nutrient solution, till it was wet and chunky...no mud.

That's it. Last time I put everything in dry and then watered from the top.

I'm not sure it matters much....but I wanted a damp medium so as not to stress out the roots.....and as of this AM I know I didn't stress them. They were happy.

Those root balls were all like that. Shocking. I was told that roots don't grow much in flower.....but I only vegged my last grow for 10 days.....so roots do grow in flower.....alot!

 

[Doc Bud]

Re: MK-Ultra Hempy, C02, 1000watts.

Looking very nice, Those plants are going to love all that new space to stretch out their roots. Great job...

 

[PotPie]

Re: MK-Ultra Hempy, C02, 1000watts.

Hey SS (and Doc),
I seem to recall reading somewhere that you should use a coarse grade Perlite. The white mud you described sounds like a fine particle Perlite like you would use in a seedling mix. The coarse perlite is about the size of green peas once you wash the dust off. Doc, are you using coarse perlite and/or vermiculite?

Fantastic grow Doc! 5 stars if I haven't already.

...I tried one Hempy experiment a while back, and it failed because I had rinsed the Perlite with water to wash out the dust and smaller particles, and the rinse left the Perlite soggy and waterlogged like white mud....

 

[Doc Bud]

Re: MK-Ultra Hempy, C02, 1000watts.

Hey SS (and Doc),
I seem to recall reading somewhere that you should use a coarse grade Perlite. The white mud you described sounds like a fine particle Perlite like you would use in a seedling mix. The coarse perlite is about the size of green peas once you wash the dust off. Doc, are you using coarse perlite and/or vermiculite?

Fantastic grow Doc! 5 stars if I haven't already.

Coarse, horticultural perlite. Pea sized chunks....that's the stuff.

Just smoked some of the Jack H. I grew....with the cure it is smooth and tasty. Damn strong head and body buzz.

 

[Doc Bud]

Re: MK-Ultra Hempy, C02, 1000watts.

Lookin good Doc,I'm about a month behind you on my grow bbut that works out good for me. I can use yours to know kinda what to expect, great job!

Hey bro...what's the name of your grow? You gotta link?

 

[420warriors]

Re: MK-Ultra Hempy, C02, 1000watts.

I wasnt going to do one but I think i might change my mind. I'm pretty busy and not sure I would stay with it enough to make it worthwhile. i guess i would have time if i spent less time reading others and work on my own!

 

[Setting Sun]

Re: MK-Ultra Hempy, C02, 1000watts.

Hey SS (and Doc),
I seem to recall reading somewhere that you should use a coarse grade Perlite. The white mud you described sounds like a fine particle Perlite like you would use in a seedling mix. The coarse perlite is about the size of green peas once you wash the dust off. Doc, are you using coarse perlite and/or vermiculite?

Fantastic grow Doc! 5 stars if I haven't already.

Coarse, horticultural perlite. Pea sized chunks....that's the stuff.

Just smoked some of the Jack H. I grew....with the cure it is smooth and tasty. Damn strong head and body buzz.

Yep, I didn't use coarse Perlite. I used regular and rinsed the hell out of it trying to get rid of all the small stuff.

Glad that's sorted out because I really want to do a Hempy grow.

Good tip on duct taping stakes around the outside of the bucket for support!

I bet that JH is tasty after a nice cure doc. You'd like mine even better too these days .

Thanks fellow growers, another problem solved .