Thinking Outside the Grow Box-Alternative Methods

[The Hemp Goddess]

This will be a thread where members post growing methods they are using or have used that is outside the conventional methods that are the norm in marijuana growing. I would like to keep to things that you have actually done in the past or are doing now and how it is going. It doesn't have to all be things that worked. It is nice to know things people try that don't work, like grape soda does not make the bud taste like grape, that sort of thing.

I think that it would be easier to use this thread if all posts are titled with their subject. For instance if you are talking about pot size, title it "Pot Size".

This is a thread that could get a little out of hand as others will be posting unusual methods. We will endeavor to keep this a free flow friendly discussion of different ideas.

 

[Locked]

This is a thread that could get a little out of hand as others will be posting unusual methods. We will endeavor to keep this a free flow friendly discussion of different ideas.

Glad you addressed that...it came to my mind before. We don't need flame wars erupting or insults being hurled back and forth. Keep it Civil. jmo

 

[nouvellechef]

Multi plant pots-

Why?

1: I can veg a multi plant bucket vs any hydro method, w/ topping/LST and harvest the same amount of bud in the same harvest time. A single plant in soil vs one in hydro would never be able to achieve this.

2: I have been playing with GH3 part nutrients and continuing the multi plant(non organic) pots with multiple strains in each and only run into minor issues. Those were resolved with joining ones that feed at roughly the same level.

3: This method gives you the freedom of being able to have quite a few strains that you can add in, delete some over time. Variety is real nice.

Downfalls-

1: Well, yes. You need to grow a higher number of plants.

 

[Lemon Jack]

Nc I really like that idea cause I found in the past my dirt plants just haven't bushed out as much as they did in dwc. Myabe next run I will try putting two or three plants per pot

 

[Hushpuppy]

I read from BackWoodsDrifter that he uses just regular play sand in his plants on top of the soil to prevent fungus gnats from setting up home. My bro has been fighting the gnats for 2 years. :hairpull: He tried the sand and has finally conquered the gnats :yay: He called me yesterday to tell me that he put about an inch of sand in the tops of all his pots about 5 days ago and the gnats went from hundreds down to just a few straglers.

Mad props to BWD :aok:

 

[Dan K. Liberty]

Good thread and good input . . . how bout this:

In soil grows, I see alot of people pouring water/nute solutions down thru the pot from the top and getting "runoff" at the bottom . . .

Wick system, flood tray, pot liners . . . I say pour it in the bottom and let em suck it up !! This allows the soil to find it's own saturation level and maintains a nice dry layer of soil at the surface, minimizing the chance of gnats, stem rot, fungus/mildew getting started, soil compaction, and a host of other issues (remember the one guy had mushrooms growing outta the pot . . . DOH !!) :rofl:

I think it may also protect against root rot or drowning, because there's nice healthy capillary roots growing horizontally, an inch or two below the surface in the barely moist soil, that can maintain a healthy supply of oxygen at all times.

Only times I ever pour down thru the pot is for salt flushing, or immediately prior to transplanting . . .

Not sure if that's alternative ?? Yes . . . no . . . maybe ?? :confused2:

jm2c :48:

 

[bho_expertz]

I read from BackWoodsDrifter that he uses just regular play sand in his plants on top of the soil to prevent fungus gnats from setting up home. My bro has been fighting the gnats for 2 years. :hairpull: He tried the sand and has finally conquered the gnats :yay: He called me yesterday to tell me that he put about an inch of sand in the tops of all his pots about 5 days ago and the gnats went from hundreds down to just a few straglers.

Mad props to BWD :aok:

Sand is nice but in my case i cannot use it because of the salt ( beach sand ) ... So i got Vermiculite ... Whish i had it sooner. :icon_smile:

 

[BackWoodsDrifter]

I read from BackWoodsDrifter that he uses just regular play sand in his plants on top of the soil to prevent fungus gnats from setting up home. My bro has been fighting the gnats for 2 years. :hairpull: He tried the sand and has finally conquered the gnats :yay: He called me yesterday to tell me that he put about an inch of sand in the tops of all his pots about 5 days ago and the gnats went from hundreds down to just a few straglers.

Mad props to BWD :aok:

Well thank yual for the recognition pilgrem just a simple cheap way to look after a ton of issues even helps soil mold and mildew. and 10 pounds for bout 4 bucks cover lots of plants. Good luck to all yur grows out there

BWD

 

[BackWoodsDrifter]

Sand is nice but in my case i cannot use it because of the salt ( beach sand ) ... So i got Vermiculite ... Whish i had it sooner. :icon_smile:

No pilgrem dont be usein sand from yur beach or any outside sand fur that matter. The sand I be sayin to use must be sterilized store baught childrens play sand for sandboxes. Clean of insects and clean of harsh ingredients like salt. Nice and pure. Sorry fur the confusion pilgrem.

BWD

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Letting the plant dry out between waterings has been the conventional wisdom and the reason behind it seems solid. However, I believe that if you have good soil with good drainage properties that capillary action pulls O into your soil every time you water and you do not need a dry period to achieve this. This old school wisdom could have come from a time when our soil mixtures were not as good. However, with a good soil mixture and if you water to runoff, IMO, you should be pulling in enough oxygen for the roots as the water travels through the soil. My outdoor veggies and flowers that do the best are the ones that get the most water, so I am trying to keep my inside plants wetter. While I am having a hard time keeping things moist all the time with high temps and low humidity, I am watering every day and working on it.

 

[Locked]

Letting the plant dry out between waterings has been the conventional wisdom and the reason behind it seems solid. However, I believe that if you have good soil with good drainage properties that capillary action pulls O into your soil every time you water and you do not need a dry period to achieve this. This old school wisdom could have come from a time when our soil mixtures were not as good. However, with a good soil mixture and if you water to runoff, IMO, you should be pulling in enough oxygen for the roots as the water travels through the soil. My outdoor veggies and flowers that do the best are the ones that get the most water, so I am trying to keep my inside plants wetter. While I am having a hard time keeping things moist all the time with high temps and low humidity, I am watering every day and working on it.

Interesting THG...I thought part of the wet/dry cycle wisdom also is the dry period causes the roots to search out the water source and grow more vigorously. My growing in one gallon pots means usually they wind up with a wet/dry cycle regardless since they dry out quickly.

 

[Hushpuppy]

To go along with the dry period question, here is just some information from my experience. I don't know if it really applies here but, in the "grow-lab" and in my cabinet grow, we are in hydro but our plants are in 1.5-2 liter pots of coco and we run a top feed system on constant feed which keeps the coco pretty much soaked all the time. We have no problems with any kind of root rot or being over watered. The one difference is that the water/nute solution is constantly aerated and periodically changed out with fresh.

I also noticed that when I started putting my top feed system on a timed cycle to save a little on electricity, the plants have not grown as big or produced as well as those that have been on constant feed. I can't say for certain that this is an absolute result of the watering and not something else, only a correlation at this point.

I just wonder if this same setup would work well for soil grows or would it cause more problems than its worth.

 

[whitedogmattie]

i have seen on here that humidity needs to be up, others say it isnt good!! mine is at 75 percent. good or bad????

 

[ShOrTbUs]

i have seen on here that humidity needs to be up, others say it isnt good!! mine is at 75 percent. good or bad????

75% is pushing it but ur plants should grow fine. when people say high humidity is bad, i think what their talking about is that mold, certian insects, etc. are attracted to high humidity. as far as the plants go. the biggest problem with high humidity, is the plant will begin to "drink from the air" essentially taking in water from the air (because its so full of moisture) instead of your roots taking in the water.

 

[ShOrTbUs]

the wet/dry period continued...

do you think that by constantly running water through soil, you will essentially be "flushing" the whole time instead of allowing the roots to take in the nutes from the soil? i think it would come to the point where your basically doing a top feed hydro application. except in soil, with good drainage. it might work really well for people growing in soil & adding nutes. however if feel like constant watering in a super soil application would be potentially detrimental.

 

[drfting07]

I dont have a "dry period" In organics, having a dry period reeks havoc on the microbial life in the soil. I keep it at a constant damp.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

the wet/dry period continued...

do you think that by constantly running water through soil, you will essentially be "flushing" the whole time instead of allowing the roots to take in the nutes from the soil? i think it would come to the point where your basically doing a top feed hydro application. except in soil, with good drainage. it might work really well for people growing in soil & adding nutes. however if feel like constant watering in a super soil application would be potentially detrimental.

No, I don't see keeping a moist environment as being detrimental--I actually see it as beneficial. I agree with drfting that the microbes are going to be happier in an environment that is never totally dry. And what I am talking about is really nothing like flushing. Flushing is running large quantities of water through your containers--like 3 times the container size. The soil actually feeds the plants with ss, not the water, like when you are feeding chemical nutes. I do not think it is really possible to even flush super soil.

 

[Hushpuppy]

i have seen on here that humidity needs to be up, others say it isnt good!! mine is at 75 percent. good or bad????

It is my understanding and experience so far that you don't want humidity over 75% as that makes it difficult for the plant to transpire and therefore to function normally during vegging periods. But during the budding period most people want to protect the buds from mold and bud rot by lowering the humidity to around 45-60%. Going lower than 45% at any time is seen as being more difficult on the plants as they have to drink more and work to maintain their internal moisture.

 

[BoneMan1000]

THG, I found this in my Internet travels and thought of your thread:

hxxp://theweedbusiness.com/12-1-method/

I haven't actually tried this, so it doesn't fit your strict criteria, but I thought it might be interesting to think about at the least. For my first grow I'm sticking to the tried and true, but some of you long-timers might want to try an experiment. I can't see how saving electricity could be anything but a good thing. FWIW.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Boneman--thanks. Actually this has been discussed here on MP. We KNOW from experiments done by Clarke that MJ can produce about 50% less on a 10/14 hour light schedule rather than a 12/12. The 12-1 light schedule just does not make sense to me. There is no scientific reason to believe that it is better and several reasons that it would be detrimental to bud growth. I have never seen a reliable method to speed up flowering--I just don't think there is one.