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Veggia farmer
Well-known member
Thanks man!
hiteklolif
New member
Hey all just had quick question. ive grown a few plants in coco hydroton hempys now and i love them but this time around i put a clone in a 2 gallon hempy and it's getting huge. It just started it's 4th week of flower. The problem is I am already having to water it once a day. Its about as big as the 5 gallon dwc clone i have next to it and i'm worried by the middle to end of flower it will either be root bound and die or i'll be watering 3 times a day. I don't really want to transplant at this point I feel like my only option is to cut holes in the bottom and put it in another bucket so the roots can grow out the holes. does any one have experience growing big plants a hempy this small. should i just let it ride it seems really healthy right now.
goingrey
Well-known member
It won't die from being rootbound. You might need to water even more often, yeah. But you're already well into flowering, is it still growing? Unless it's a sativa leaner you might be ok with the once a day schedule. Not sure how well the holes in the bottom and into a bigger bucket method will work at this point, especially with the hempy bucket "hydroton water reservoir" at the bottom so it won't wick up moisture from the coco below it very well. I would probably consider some kind of watering aid instead. Could be as simple as an upside down soda bottle with a hole in the cap. Or some fancier store bought thing.
hiteklolif
New member
Cool thanks for the reply. It is a sativa leaner but as long as it doesn't die half way through flower i'm ok with watering multiple times a day. I know hempy grows some trees in 2.5 gallon buckets so i thought it would be cool to put a 2 gallon hempy clone against a 5 gallon dwc clone as an experiment. Didn't realize it would be drinking this much already but i'll just let her ride.
goingrey
Well-known member
Yeah you'll be fine if the frequent watering isn't a problem.
hiteklolif
New member
little update on my 2 gallon hempy vs 5 gallon dwc, I ended up with over 4 oz off the 2 gal hempy. I was watering twice a day but it probably could have used a third. The dwc plant is still drying but I’m going to guess it’s going to be around 5 oz give or take. Super impressed with the yield. Hempys are awesome. I’ll update when the dwc is dried.
I have been doing coco/hydroton hempy but am honestly leaning towards maybe just hydroton, this run I am cutting way back on the coco I mix in the upper section
the reason is in the picture above, that is not how hempy roots are supposed to develop, they are supposed to be very dense/concentrated in the "res"
in my experience coco prevents the roots from doing what they are supposed to in a hempy because as the upper section starts to dry it absorbs water up from the res, in a hempy there should never be an issue of having to water multiple times daily, a full hempy res should never get drank through that fast
what happens is the roots just fill out the bucket like a regular pot of coco or soil and they aren't actually feeding like a true hempy, another potential issue I have noticed is as the coco goes through its rigors in the bucket it breaks down and makes almost a fine powdered coco and this 100% washes down into the "res" and probably ruins the oxygenation potential
the reason is in the picture above, that is not how hempy roots are supposed to develop, they are supposed to be very dense/concentrated in the "res"
in my experience coco prevents the roots from doing what they are supposed to in a hempy because as the upper section starts to dry it absorbs water up from the res, in a hempy there should never be an issue of having to water multiple times daily, a full hempy res should never get drank through that fast
what happens is the roots just fill out the bucket like a regular pot of coco or soil and they aren't actually feeding like a true hempy, another potential issue I have noticed is as the coco goes through its rigors in the bucket it breaks down and makes almost a fine powdered coco and this 100% washes down into the "res" and probably ruins the oxygenation potential
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Mike Parent
New member
Hi all. I’ve used Hempys for over a decade for all sorts of plants. I found that Turface (Fired calcinated Clay) works great when rinsed and adds weigh for small pots. Tractor supply has a version called Saf T Sorb Very inexpensive
I needed weight for outdoor veggies and this filled the bill. It’s like mini clay pebbles
Indoors, Im sticking with CoCo Over perlite.
JM2¢
I needed weight for outdoor veggies and this filled the bill. It’s like mini clay pebbles
Indoors, Im sticking with CoCo Over perlite.
JM2¢
hiteklolif
New member
Definitely keep us updated on the hydroton only hempys. Ive thought about trying that too but ive seen people have problems with it. Would love it if it works well. I like to reuse as much as possible when growing and hydroton is super easy to reuse.
realityisntwhatitusedtobe
New member
To Maybe get it going again, here are some pictures of my currently blooming hempy gals. Its 80/20 Coco seramis with a hydroton bottom.
They are in week6 of flower now, feeding them only Micro/Bloom at 6/9 now @5.9/1.0 EC. Went up to 1.5 before. When drain came Back 2.0 i started lowering until it was around 1300 Output.
Pretty Happy with coco so far, but its been a chore to handwater them daily with normal routines. Perlite was much easier in that way. AS you can see im cofeeding with bottle blumats to Test them for Holidays. I think they dont Like the seramis, they worked better with houseplants.
They are in week6 of flower now, feeding them only Micro/Bloom at 6/9 now @5.9/1.0 EC. Went up to 1.5 before. When drain came Back 2.0 i started lowering until it was around 1300 Output.
Pretty Happy with coco so far, but its been a chore to handwater them daily with normal routines. Perlite was much easier in that way. AS you can see im cofeeding with bottle blumats to Test them for Holidays. I think they dont Like the seramis, they worked better with houseplants.
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goingrey
Well-known member
I've had great success with Seramis. Roots seem to love it. Haven't mixed it with coco though. You mean the Blumats don't like it or the plants?
realityisntwhatitusedtobe
New member
The blumats i think dont like it mixed in. Plants are doing great, lushy dark green.
Have you tried seramis only hempys?
goingrey
Well-known member
Almost, store bought self watering pots not buckets with a hole... Layer of hydroton on top to prevent algae otherwise all Seramis. Works really well, I'd say you only need about half the root space compared to soil. Dries a little bit quicker than coco maybe otherwise I have treated it the same, coco nutes even.
realityisntwhatitusedtobe
New member
You mean self watering like those ikea buckets, with an open pipe directly to the reservoir but without a draining hole?
goingrey
Well-known member
Yes. Similar pots to those.
realityisntwhatitusedtobe
New member
I dont understand what you mean. Roots dont develop well in hydroton only?
