Hey everybody, I'm looking to switch from soil to hydro. Just curious how many nodes I should wait to come out before I transfer. I have 3 plants that are on the 3rd and one that is on the 5th. I'd like to transfer them all at the same time, so I just want to make sure the little guys will be ok through the switch. They've all been growing in happy frog to date and am also wondering if the young ones will be ready to go to a full strength floranova expert recirculating regimen of nutes starting for week 3. The little ones are 14 days old from sprouting. Thanks for any help.
When to switch from soil to hydro?
Hi Dghoyos welcome to 420
Your question would be best answered by Rifleman, I am sure he will be by shortly
Your question would be best answered by Rifleman, I am sure he will be by shortly
G00ch
New Member
I would suggest you go by the root mass and not the nodes, if you have a good root mass then it should be fine, you do not want to use full strength nutes though, i would start with 1/4 strength and slowly work it up over a couple weeks. What type of hydroponics system are you using?
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- #4
G00ch
New Member
I am not a DWC guy I use Ebb and Flow, were you going to stay soil and then changed your mind or did you get clones? if you got clones you should be fine, just rinse off the dirt and set them in the netpot and then cover em with clay pebbles i like the smaller ones personally.
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- #6
G00ch
New Member
you do not have to start in soil, there are seed starting mediums like rockwool, starter plugs etc... that are al soilless and go straight into hydro systems. well when you use DWC or coco they require the same time requirements per plant as growing in dirt, because each pot has its own liquids and nutes and ph issues etc.... with ebb and flow the reservoir is the only thing that gets adjusted for ph/ec/temp and the air stones go in the res, then the res gets pumped to a control bucket that maintains the level need to fill the bucket. the controller bucket has floats that automagically shut off the pump in the res, and then the time is up it turns on the pump in the controller bucket to send it back to the res where it sits till its time to fill again. so It is far less stressful and time consuming using ebb and flow because it is a set it and watch system where you spend the time tending to the ladies rather then their bucket
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G00ch
New Member
well you can by a 6 site expansion kit for $70, that includes the buckets, connectors, tubing, then you buy a DIY controller bucket for $120 takes an hour to put together, then you buy a 30 gallon tub at walmart for $6 so under 200 and you are set and you can expand upto as many buckets as you can fit. I currently have 2 controller unites one for flower one for veg. you also need 2 pumps one for the res one for the controller bucket
It can be done just fine but typically it is not recommended to switch from soil to hydro in the middle of a grow. The root ball will not be right for the basket.
It is a good learning experience if you want to try but I would finish the grow in soil and do the next one correctly.
If you want to switch, the sooner the better, because like I said it is growing the wrong root structure and you need to get it into the proper media ASAP so it can repair itself and get the proper roots started.
What media are you using? Grow stones or clay pebbles?
When translating you will want to wash off all of the soil with Dechlorinated water. Then you will NOT want the basket being overly wet. In standard DWC you will want the baskets not more than just at the water surface I would have it a bit below. Your really only want to have bubbles from the air stone misting the basket. You will want the basket to be just wet enough. You will want to foliar spray just water to keep it going while it regrows new roots.
In the future use a sprouting media like Peat plugs or Rockwool (I don't recommend Rockwool) and you bury that in the net pot so you can't see the top.
Good luck.
It is a good learning experience if you want to try but I would finish the grow in soil and do the next one correctly.
If you want to switch, the sooner the better, because like I said it is growing the wrong root structure and you need to get it into the proper media ASAP so it can repair itself and get the proper roots started.
What media are you using? Grow stones or clay pebbles?
When translating you will want to wash off all of the soil with Dechlorinated water. Then you will NOT want the basket being overly wet. In standard DWC you will want the baskets not more than just at the water surface I would have it a bit below. Your really only want to have bubbles from the air stone misting the basket. You will want the basket to be just wet enough. You will want to foliar spray just water to keep it going while it regrows new roots.
In the future use a sprouting media like Peat plugs or Rockwool (I don't recommend Rockwool) and you bury that in the net pot so you can't see the top.
Good luck.
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- #11
Good to know. Looks like I'll be transplanting soon. I'm going to be using grow stones. I've had to transplant my reaper and habanero plants from soil to this hydro setup. Everything always went well during the transfer. Is there any extra precautions I should be aware of? Would you consider cannabis a "hearty plant" when dealing with issues? Also might I ask what you guys recommend for ph in the nutes? I know it's commonly said for a range of 5.5-6.5, but I maintained and had great success with my peppers being at about 5.8, but these are obviously not peppers haha.
Yeah like I said it will work fine. The issue is most cannabis growers are all about time to harvest. We waste tons of energy trying to get ideal times to harvest. This is just going to slow things down is all...assuming you do it right.
I use and like grow stones. But remember it is sharp recycled glass and has real nasty edges. So you will have a harder time doing it safely. Fill the bottom of the basket just enough to cover one layer and then take the roots and fold layer them in with as much aeration as possible. Hold the plant so the stem is the right height and fill around. Since it isn't clay you will want to be careful. I wouldn't do it until you have a good root system but the sooner the better. Don't pack in the stones. Just put enough in to hold it in plance and the plant will grow into this and be sturdy.
Good luck!
I use and like grow stones. But remember it is sharp recycled glass and has real nasty edges. So you will have a harder time doing it safely. Fill the bottom of the basket just enough to cover one layer and then take the roots and fold layer them in with as much aeration as possible. Hold the plant so the stem is the right height and fill around. Since it isn't clay you will want to be careful. I wouldn't do it until you have a good root system but the sooner the better. Don't pack in the stones. Just put enough in to hold it in plance and the plant will grow into this and be sturdy.
Good luck!
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