Pot size/amount of plants and basic growing plan review please?

[Roy Growin]

Sorry, yes but be aware of some ambiguities
Some growers take topping to mean cutting off the top just above the set of leaves below
That is why I say tipping, I mean just pinching out the the tip
With an auto, if you FIM and cut the new shoots/leaves accidentally [cutting instead of pinching] it won't flower properly

Water - yes I drench and leave the run off in the tray, forget about it for a week
I flush regularly, the plants love it

 

[Weffalo]

Ok perfect, I'm with ya! Thanks for explaining ti lol. I'll definitely make sure to do that just as you instructed and I'll be sure tag you in the post when I get it up and running. Here's hoping the tent lands tomorrow and I can get cracking

 

[Azimuth]

I'm just very conscious about flushing properly if possible as nothing worse than badly flushed weed!

That depends on why you're flushing. If it's to reset the soil and is part of nutrient company's schedule, carry on.

If it's to flush excess nutrients from your buds, that's not actually a thing (well, 'bro' science maybe). True science says you can't. Read here

 

[Bill284]

Thanks a lot for the replies people! Really appreciate any input, my seeds have arrived and suffice to say I'm very excited, I am someone who smokes a lot of high quality buds so I don't doubt my first crop won't be reaching the standards I would like but I know everyone's gotta start somewhere!

@SmokingWings Thanks mate! So the full kit I'm using is this one: Mars Hydro TSL2000 LED Grow Light+2'x4'(60x120cm) Indoor Complete Grow Tent Kits

The tent looks to be 120cm tall and the strain I'm growing can be 70-100cm tall so hopefully I don't run into any issues, I know with photos you can do a lot more training of the plant to make it grow more outwards but as I'm not going to be touching the autos I don't know?

@CaptainLucky Thank you very much, glad to be here! I have read a lot of that thread already but I'll be reviisting before every watering I'm sure lol..

@Bill284 So based on what I've read from your thread I've made a few more purchases, some of the Dnyomyco, some Frass and some superthrive. I see your using airpots but would it be fine using the fabric pots I have? I'm guessing the airpots may just do the same job slightly better?

I have perlite, soil, dynomyco, frass, superthrive and GH Flora 3part nutrients. bokashi is a compost you make yourself or? I can't seem to find anything like that for sale here in the UK so could I get away with not using that?

The only frass I can seem to find is "Ecothrive Charge" which seems to be more than just Frass but it's got plenty of stellar reviews recommending it!

Just wanted to make sure I have everything I will need before I get started, your grow diary is.. comphrehensive to say the least but it will take me some time to make my way through it lol.

UK right?
Amazon UK just one sample I found.
There are a few others.
See pic.
Bags are great, it will work perfectly in them.
I have plenty of pictorials in there of bags.
Hope everything is going well my friend.

Stay safe
Bill284

 

[Weffalo]

That depends on why you're flushing. If it's to reset the soil and is part of nutrient company's schedule, carry on.

If it's to flush excess nutrients from your buds, that's not actually a thing (well, 'bro' science maybe). True science says you can't. Read here

Oh really? Good to know!

It's interesting because although I've smoked for going on 15 years now I've never actually grown my own, so I've experienced lots of unacceptable bud quality that I always attribute to the wrong chemicals, lack of flushing or whatever else... but I've no real idea what the cause of bad bud was in the past in reality.

It's probably only now that when I'm growing and will make my own mistakes I'll be able to properly attribute why certain bud is bad and my previous explanations for it have probably mostly been based on bro-science lol.

So I can just stick with the feed recommended final flush and I should be good.

@Bill284 Ahh ok that's the stuff, I wasn't sure if you used the bran to compost something else which you then used lol... forgive my ignorance. I'm going to skip it for this run just because Roy mentioned it's better for outdoor/greenhouse and this is going to be wintery indoor run but I'll keep it in my mind for future, I'm going to use your potting method just minus that so I'll stiill have the dynomycro, superthrive and perlite

Fingers crossed I should get everything I need by tomorrow, I'll post a pic of my tent/pot setup in a new journal while I'm germinating the seeds for one last final check before I get stuck in.

Thanks a lot for the replies and advice everyone, learned a lot more already, need to maybe smoke less so I can absorb it all properly...

 

[Weffalo]

@Roy Growin I've decided I'd rather waste £30 on soil than £30 in seeds and many months so just to confirm, is this the soil you were talking about?

Amazon: New Horizon Plant Compost Mix, 80 (2 x 40 Litre Bags)

 

[Azimuth]

It's interesting because although I've smoked for going on 15 years now I've never actually grown my own, so I've experienced lots of unacceptable bud quality that I always attribute to the wrong chemicals, lack of flushing or whatever else... but I've no real idea what the cause of bad bud was in the past in reality.

The vast majority of poor quality smoke has more to do with improper drying and curing than anything. It's a process that can't be rushed in order to get rid of the chlorophyll but most growers either rush through it or don't do it properly. They're just trying to get the bud to market.

So I can just stick with the feed recommended final flush and I should be good.

Fingers crossed I should get everything I need by tomorrow, I'll post a pic of my tent/pot setup in a new journal while I'm germinating the seeds for one last final check before I get stuck in.

And post a link here so we can follow you over.

 

[Roy Growin]

@Roy Growin I've decided I'd rather waste £30 on soil than £30 in seeds and many months so just to confirm, is this the soil you were talking about?

Amazon: New Horizon Plant Compost Mix, 80 (2 x 40 Litre Bags)

Yes - that's the one I tried for my last run, they also have a line specifically for blooms but I've not tried that

 

[Weffalo]

Awesome thanks mate, still waiting on tent but will pop to garden centre tomorrow for some of that. Much appreciated!!

 

[Weffalo]

@Azimuth So with a bit more research on available SIP planters here in the UK, I've found these, which seem to be pretty much perfect?

self-watering insert 28cm living black - elho® - Give room to nature

The elho self-watering insert makes plant care easy, and lets you give your houseplants the attention they deserve without taking up too much of your time. The insert is an easy watering system that makes sure your plant gets just the right amount of water at exactly the right time. The water...

www.elho.com

Same maker as the pots I linked before but the price on these is actually cheaper than DIY, I can't find a 5gal bucket in the UK for under 10-15£ lol

Just wanted to check and see if you can spot any obvious issues with it, I'm not sure if the res is as big as if you built your own but worst case that just means refilling more often so no big deal?

Edit: Upon inspection of your top post on the SIP page, looks identical to the prebuilt ones I believe so fantastic

 

[Azimuth]

Looks similar enough. I can't tell how it drains or even if there is a drain hole somewhere or if you just depend on the filler indicator. If there is a drain hole is there some way to have an air gap between the water and soil? If not, you'll just have a self watering pot but that would still be good. Add the air and you've got magic.

 

[Weffalo]

I don't think there is a drain and it just relies on you properly filling it.

Compared to the GroBucket it's almost identical from the picture, but I see upon closer inspection there is an air gap, I'm not sure exactly how I can create this do you have any ideas maybe?

I'm not sure I can think of an easy option to be honest so maybe it's a no go

I definitely could drill through both the outside pot somewhere appropriate to allow for drainage.

There's a very short video here showing it having a plant put into it:

I think if I can't get it exactly right I'll just opt for spending more and building the DIY one with the 2 5gals and a cup

 

[Weffalo]

On further reflection on the loo, I realise the difference between SIP and just sat in water lol, sorry I'm a bit slow on the uptake...

Would an inch or so of perlite work in the bottom most parts of the planter?

I can't really see how it's achieved on the GroBucket, I'll try watch a vid no youtube of it and see if I can steal any ideas lol

 

[Azimuth]

I can't really see how it's achieved on the GroBucket, I'll try watch a vid no youtube of it and see if I can steal any ideas lol

In the GroBucket and DIY version in the SIP Club thread, the drainage hole is made such that it sits about an inch below the top of the void that creates the water reservoir. It possible that the pots you show have the gap feature as long as you don't over fill it.

"Would an inch or so of perlite work in the bottom most parts of the planter?" Yes but you shouldn't need it with a SIP.

 

[Weffalo]

Ok I'm with ya, so I could do the exact same by drilling a hole in the right place I think.

I've also found the GroBuckets for sale but they are 68£ for 3, I think I may just bite the bullet, will take a week or two to come is the only issue but I think it's worth it and i doubt it'll make much difference as the seedling starts elsewhere, taking the guess work out of watering is definitely the best idea and I'm excited to see what a complete novice can achieve with such a setup!

Thanks so much for answering all my questions @Azimuth !!

 

[Azimuth]

Ok I'm with ya, so I could do the exact same by drilling a hole in the right place I think.

Maybe but there needs to be a gap between your hole and the top of the dome or void that holds up the soil. It would be a built in feature if it were there.

I've also found the GroBuckets for sale but they are 68£ for 3, I think I may just bite the bullet

Don't want to diy it?

 

[Weffalo]

Maybe but there needs to be a gap between your hole and the top of the dome or void that holds up the soil. It would be a built in feature if it were there.


Don't want to diy it?

It's one of those situations where I've already spent a small fortune getting all the nutes, seeds, tent and light kit etc that spending a bit extra to know it's right is whatever lol. The video you linked it really doesn't look hard but honestly the extra 5 gal, pipes, mixing cup and rubber grommets probably wouldn't be all that much cheaper.

At least there's 2 things less I can mess up now (Watering and making the SIP lol)

Plan is to start the seedling in a small nursery pot and then transplant it after following the instructions that ResevoirDog laid out in the SIP post

 

[Azimuth]

That video is  not how I build mine. They are built in a single bucket with a food container as the dome/void and plumbing pipe or garden hose for the fill tube. Simple.

The description is up a bit higher in that post before I described the 17g tub.

But either way, you'll grow great plants in these things.

 

[Weffalo]

Fair enough I can definitely take another look when this grow is on and maybe look to build my future ones, already seeing the Black Friday deals on MarsHydro and wanting to expand lol but I'll not get ahead of myself.

Stay tuned for the start of my grow diary, very exciting times, thanks again everyone for the help <3

 

[Weffalo]

Quick question for anyone sorry, just keeping it in this post rather than make a new one... I just ordered my 5gal buckets and they have arrived but are white, I ordered black but is it a big deal? Return for proper colour or does it not really matter?

Thanks