The Begining of Hydro

Li Siu Loong

New Member
This evening I placed 4 WW seedlings and 1 seed in Rapid Rooter plugs. I have read that these plugs are good for not only developing a great root system from germinated seeds, but also they can germinate seeds as well. So I dropped a seed in...nothing ventured, nothing gained. This all occurred on June 8, 2009.

06-08-09_029_opt.jpg



I have also read about the humidity factor being useful in this stage. So I placed the tray, which is filled with about a ¼ inch of water, into a large plastic bag to aid in humidity. I am leaving the bag unsealed so there will be some oxygen. This all went under a cfl which I will keep on 24/7.

06-08-09_032_opt.jpg



Here is the larger of my ladies that I am thinking seriously about cutting near the base, applying rooting gel to, and then placing into a Rapid Rooter plug before introducing to hydro.

06-08-09_033_opt.jpg



I am not a man who leaves much to chance or makes arbitrary decisions. So I am beginning this journal in hopes that I might attract the attention of those on this site much more experienced than myself who can guide me thru my first hydro grow. I have read about feminized auto-flowering seeds that have my attention. I may give these a try.

I apologize about the quality of the pictures. I am not a very good photographer. But I trust the purpose was served.

Peace be with you all...:peace:
 
Your grows looking good. I'm fairly experienced with hydro I've never grown wit dirt actually. So what kind of hydro setup you gonna use. What's your goal? A sog continuos harvest or a single grow. That should help you decide what styke your gonna use if you haven't yet. Nice pics btw dig the outline.
 
Thank you for the kind words. Actually I bought a hydro unit called DWC. It came with nutes, ph level additives and test strips, pretty much everything I needed to get started. Since this was my 1st hydro attempt, I wanted to see how one of these units are put together. Now that I see it in front of me, I can make my own except much larger. Here is the one I purchased:
06-06-09_026_opt.jpg


I also purchased a deep water culture 5 gal. bucket unit which will be at my home by Wednesday. This is only the begining for me as I have stated. My short term goal is just to learn the technique of hydro. One must crawl before one can walk. I would like to get a SOG going, but as I said, I am simply learning the technique. Everything I have read has told me that hydro provides a bigger yield and quicker too. I have found some feminized auto-flowering AK-47 seeds that I am going to work with next. I was looking for the same in Trainwreck...but I haven't found that yet.

I am sure when I see the 5 gal. bucket unit, I will be able to reproduce the same thing for myself. Again, thank you for your kind words and suport.
 
I was just reading a very informative article in another area of this site entitled "Beginners Guide to Hydroponics" and it put an idea into my head. Taking the above decribed veging lady out of the soil, removing ALL traces of soil and such from the roots, and placing into the hydro. It did not describe exactly how to do this, so I am going to research it online. If anyone has any suggestions as to how this can be accomplished successfully, please let me know. Meanwhile, I will search for answers myself.

Peace be with you all...
 
If that is your goal I would just recommend trying to remove all the excess dirt you can without damaging any roots and have a bunch of PH adjusted water around to wash the roots off GENTLY! I would gently shake off any loose dirt and use the gallon jugs of PH adjusted water and spray bottle to knock the more stubborn stuff off the root ball. If you have a few gallon jugs around I would just fill them all, take the whole show to the bathtub and do work!

Doing something like this is sure to shock the plant a bit but I have heard of it being done. First and foremost just be gentle with her and try to keep all her roots together and alive and I am sure she will pull through. Good luck and best wishes!
 
I grew my first hydro grow in a DWC/Deep Water Culture system very similar to what you have and this is what I can tell you from personal experience. They make awsome nuseries, a great veg platform, but if you try to grow more than one plant in that, you're going to have root space problems. Check out my grow, or go to members galleries and look up the pics I posted. Towards the end, I took pics of my rootmass, which had completely taken over the entire 18 gallon res. That res looks substantially smaller than that...I have built 4-5 gallon dwc buckets for my next grow...more work, but more space for roots.

As far as moving the plants from soil to hydro, it is possible to do, but you must be very careful. Fill a large bowl or sink with water between 66-72 degrees and ph between 5.3-5.9. Gently swirl the plants around until all dirt is gone. You must use extreme care while doing this.

Hope this helped.
 
wwhat kind of nutes did tey give you? and if you can I would highly recommend at least a ph meter strips will give you the decimal point. If you can a RO machine was 1 of the best buys I've made. good luck with your grow. I jus started a swc sog/scrog check it out I'll be adding pics 2day.
 
Removing all the soil from the roots will be next to impossible. I never recommend anyone to switch from soil to hydro because of this problem.

I was just reading a very informative article in another area of this site entitled "Beginners Guide to Hydroponics" and it put an idea into my head. Taking the above decribed veging lady out of the soil, removing ALL traces of soil and such from the roots, and placing into the hydro. It did not describe exactly how to do this, so I am going to research it online. If anyone has any suggestions as to how this can be accomplished successfully, please let me know. Meanwhile, I will search for answers myself.

Peace be with you all...
 
Thank you Smokeyjoe, SouthernWeed, 420Lifter, and Ms.Fox for your support and kindness. I spent all night reading article after article. And most of them said that it is possible, but not advisable...clippings were recomended. So at this point, I am unsure. And unless I have a specific path chosen, I won't proceed. I will research the subject some more. Again I thank you all for your advice. And I will be sure to check out SouthernWeed's 1st hydro grow.

Peace be with you all...
 
Li Siu Loong,
Hello to you and I am interested in observing your grow. I usually grow hydroponically, and I enjoy seeing all the grows I can for my own learning experience and maybe I have some experience that I may be able to share with you. I have done much research online and from books but this site has many very experienced growers that are willing to share their knowledge with you. Good luck and will follow along as you go.
Fineas
o<
 
Good luck on your dwc grow man. I think it's my favorite. Here's a pic of mine in a single 5 gallon bucket.
h44.jpg


Good luck I'll be watching:popcorn:
 
Li Siu Loong,
Hello to you and I am interested in observing your grow. I usually grow hydroponically, and I enjoy seeing all the grows I can for my own learning experience and maybe I have some experience that I may be able to share with you. I have done much research online and from books but this site has many very experienced growers that are willing to share their knowledge with you. Good luck and will follow along as you go.
Fineas
o<

Thank you my friend. I am sure that I can learn a great deal from you. I have learned in my lifetime that knowledge is indeed something to be shared and treasured. Anything that I know...anything that I discover along my way, I will gladly share with all that wish to learn. I welcome your observance and advice...as I welcome all on this site in the same way. I look forward to sharing in the knowledge and mastery of those growers who take an interest in my work. Let us all share and grow together.

Peace be with you Fineas...:peace:
 
Good luck on your dwc grow man. I think it's my favorite. Here's a pic of mine in a single 5 gallon bucket.
h44.jpg


Good luck I'll be watching:popcorn:

Thank you my friend, your project looks outstanding...very healthy rooting. Your experience gives me confidence that my efforts will be rewarded with a beautiful harvest. Please follow along and advise me as I grow both my bud...and my soul.

Did you know that the earliest record of man's use of cannabis comes from the island of Taiwan located off the coast of mainland China. In this densely populated part of the world, archaeologists have unearthed an ancient village site dating back over 10,000 years to the Stone Age where cannabis use was the norm and even encouraged. This is of course long before the ignorance of our modern government.

Peace be with you playafly...:peace:
 
A quick question...since I have not topped either of my fems that are in the soil, why can't I simply top them, dip them into a rooting gel, place them into Rapid Rooter plugs and then into hydro ? In theory, this seems sound. Any thoughts ?
 
I think that is a great idea! There is very possible and a way to get babies and keep the mother! Keep the mom healthy and she will be the bearer (with your loving hand) of future generations of this lovely plant. I like the way you think..
Maybe I could think like that if I wasnt such a stoner LOL!!
You seem very wise already.
Are you from Taiwan? As you see by my avatar you see my favorite thing in the world is grown well in that country.:)'
 
[QUOTE
I am not a man who leaves much to chance or makes arbitrary decisions.
[/QUOTE]

Neither am I, but I learn just as much from my failures as from my success.

Best wishes for your grow. I'll be watching as I like to experiment and hydro is something I want to explore down the line.

setting sun
 
I think that is a great idea! There is very possible and a way to get babies and keep the mother! Keep the mom healthy and she will be the bearer (with your loving hand) of future generations of this lovely plant. I like the way you think..
Maybe I could think like that if I wasnt such a stoner LOL!!
You seem very wise already.
Are you from Taiwan? As you see by my avatar you see my favorite thing in the world is grown well in that country.:)'

Your kind words speak volumes about the person you are. And wisdom is simply the journey of self discovery...self realization. To know one's self truly...not lying to one's self, is a very difficult thing to do. Approach each day with an open mind and receptive heart...each moment is one that we can never again re-live. And each moment is an opportunity to learn from all that is around you.

The sage has said that all life, all manifestation, is part of an inseparable whole, an interconnected organic unity which arises from a deep, mysterious, and essentially unexplainable source which is the Tao itself. Everything conceivable is contained within this principle.

And no...I am not from Taiwan. Although I have spent a large part of my life in Asia. Remember my friend...the journey is what's important, not the destination. And one last thing. Being a stoner is to me, just another way to open my eyes and expose my inner self to what the universe has to tell me.
:thanks:


Neither am I, but I learn just as much from my failures as from my success.

Best wishes for your grow. I'll be watching as I like to experiment and hydro is something I want to explore down the line.

setting sun

It is wise that you feel this way. Most people avoid creative activities due to a fear of failure. The sage having no such fear thinks new thoughts, tries new actions and gains understanding through failures as well as successes.
:thanks:

May peace be with you all...:peace:
 
I grew my first hydro grow in a DWC/Deep Water Culture system very similar to what you have and this is what I can tell you from personal experience. They make awsome nuseries, a great veg platform, but if you try to grow more than one plant in that, you're going to have root space problems. Check out my grow, or go to members galleries and look up the pics I posted. Towards the end, I took pics of my rootmass, which had completely taken over the entire 18 gallon res. That res looks substantially smaller than that...I have built 4-5 gallon dwc buckets for my next grow...more work, but more space for roots.

As far as moving the plants from soil to hydro, it is possible to do, but you must be very careful. Fill a large bowl or sink with water between 66-72 degrees and ph between 5.3-5.9. Gently swirl the plants around until all dirt is gone. You must use extreme care while doing this.

Hope this helped.

I read thru your journal and I learned a great deal about what I am begining. My system is very much like yours. How much were you able to yield in dried bud ? My 4 net pots are so small that I imagine myself getting maybe 2 oz. per if I am very successful. But suffice it to say, your journal and experiences during your 1st hydro grow have been and will continue to be a great help to me. Thank you very much my friend. :thanks:

May peace be with you...:peace:
 
wwhat kind of nutes did tey give you? and if you can I would highly recommend at least a ph meter strips will give you the decimal point. If you can a RO machine was 1 of the best buys I've made. good luck with your grow. I jus started a swc sog/scrog check it out I'll be adding pics 2day.

The nutes that were included are as follows:

The GROW formula...

06-09-09_012_opt.jpg


ph UP...
06-09-09_011_opt.jpg


the BLOOM formula...
06-09-09_008_opt.jpg


and ph DOWN.
06-09-09_007_opt.jpg


Along with 80 ph test strips
06-09-09_001_opt.jpg



When I can afford to, I will purchace a reverse osmosis machine. But to be honest that is a future type thing. I am on my way to check out your work. Thank you for your interest and advice my friend. :thanks:


May peace be with you...:peace:
 
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