Potting up into a DIY hempys bucket - Mixed med - Ideas?

[Justones]

So I have a good start plant of special kush. Stands about a foot tall or just under. Its currently in a midsize starter pot. Growing medium is a mix of perlite, vermiculite, peat moss & a little bit of potting soil.

I'm thinking of potting up to a 5 gal bucket & turn it into a simple hempy style bucket with the hole in the side. But heres the difference that i want opinions on. I plan to fill the bottom of the bucket with perlite to just a little ways above the hole. Then from there up continue my existing growing medium mentioned above. There are two reasons I want to do this. One being it will reduce the weight of the bucket if it needs to be moved around. The other is I figure it will be really good for drainage & a few other benefits. So I'm curious if anyone else has tried this & could tell me the results.

I am not buying nut mix. I have decent luck buying things like bone meal (phosphorus), blood meal (nitrogen), Epsom salt (magnesium) & other things separate. Then reading the plants leaves to see what it wants.

 

[TorturedSoul]

So you're wishing to do a (err... semi-)soilless grow instead of passive hydroponics, and with (mostly) "organic" nutrients?

Could be done, I suppose. Benefits over a traditional hempy (passive hydro), though? IDK...

As perlite is a high-drainage, (potentially) "high-oxygenation" medium - and vermiculite is pretty much the opposite of perlite... Watch out for root rot the entire time.

Watch out for the peat decomposing and compacting, leaving less room around the root zone. Might not be a factor, or at least not a significant one, if the grow is reasonably short (I am speculating here). I'm not really a fan of attempting (something akin to) hydro with a peat-based medium, but it should be interesting, at least, lol (and, somewhere, somehow, someone has probably tried something like this - although I don't recall ever reading any glowing reports of success ).

You'd want to leach every time you water - but most hempy growers do that, anyway (or should). I'd think you'd need to be more concerned with the pH of your medium than just the pH of your nutrient solution and/or water.

What, exactly, is your purpose in wanting to use this method? Is it the thought of having a bit of a reservoir? If so, have you considered using a SIP ("Self-watering" sub-irrigated planter) instead?

 

[Justones]

I've grown successfully in straight soil before. I often fill the bottom of my potted plants with a small layer of rocks. So the soil dosent block the drain holes too much. Or come washing out when watered.

So with that in mind. I liked the idea of the bucket with a hole drilled 2 to 3 inches up. So there is a moisture reservoir in the bucket. But with the thoughts of root rot. I figured since I'm using a soil mix. That if I fill the reservoir area with perlite it might be a good idea. That way it can drain well. Also maybe airiate if possible. But I've never heard it being done either. So I thought I'd shoot the idea out here and see what others think.