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I've been neglecting the two plants I have growing and I haven't had then set up in a hydroponic environment. I've just been hand watering them once every day or two.
Now about, some thing like around a week later... I've again raised the far end of the tray (the end w/o flood and drain fitting's) Since I'm just using the tray as a "drain tray" there is no need for it to sit at an almost flat angle. The F&D trays will always have an amount of water that doesn't full drain from the tray and then algae goes and grow in that spot on the tray.
I've been working on getting ready to transplant those two and take cuttings. I don't think I'll go crazy with cuttings.
For a while I've been playing around with the flood and drain trays and growing that way in hydro, instead of a DWC type of set up. Flood and drain results is so much algae growing in the trays.
I'm thinking I may do a few side by sides with those cuttings. I'm looking to find better ways to grow in Hydroton instead of the same old thing.
I spent time earlier this week prepping to get ready to transplant the two plants and to work towards taking cutting and and starting a bunch of seeds. Not all of the seeds will Cannabis, space in the veg area will be used to grow out leafy greens and some other eatable plants.
I gave them a shower before transplant
I cleaned off the the top layer of hydroton.
I removed the 2nd pot. With out the 2nd pot, some hydroton would fall out before the roots have grown in enough to prevent any hydroton from coming out of the bottom of the regular pots. The 2nd pot also gives a 2nd area for roots to grow in
I re-used the same watering rings I made not to long ago. I was thinking of making new ones for the larger pot, but didn't, but I still can later on.
Cuttings are looking good, the ones in the bubbler and the ones in the vermiculite too.
I made new drip rings for the larger pot size. I used my drill and one of my smallest drill bits to make the holes this time, instead of the soldering iron. The flow from each hole seams more even then the first ones I made for these two plants.
I'd like to start flowering them right now, but I need to give them one more week of veg time for the roots to grow out for atleast one more weeks worth of growth time.
These root balls are from males that where grown out from seed last year. They where started and grown out in flood and drain trays with flood and drain cycles. This is the size that the root balls got too in that system.
In response to the picture I posted (in last post) with the root balls... I'm going somewhere with that picture. I'm going to show you all my process that I use in cleaning and re-using my hydroton. I might jump around slightly in the order, but it will be easy to see and understand....
I made new new water rings for the two Purple Urkles. These ones are up-sized for the larger pots. Since making them I've just left them on the surface, they are staying in place. I'm not sure yet if I'll bury them under the top layer of hydroton. One of the Half rings the inner length tubing is shorter and makes cresent instead of a almost half circle.
Hello to every one that has stopped by I get focused on what I'm doing and often forget to say hello
On the topic of the water rings... I was/have been thinking about the best shapes to make them in. I do think the size of the pot (container) will influence the shape. Then the next thing to look at is how the water/nutrient solution will disperse through out the hydroton as it drips down and through the hydroton. A single loop/circle water ring that fits right inside the rim of the pot might leave some areas in the center of the pot that don't get wet enough. I might not want too much water right around the base of the stems, but if they are seedlings they might need that extra moisture at the base of the stem at first.
I'm going to need new water rings for some of those cuttings once they root out enough to be transplanted. I'm also looking at starting a few seeds too. I'm thinking about starting them out in a pot with the water rings instead of starting them in a Flood and Drain tray. I'm also going to start some veggies too at some point. I've been running long feed lines from the res to the plants, I'm thinking about running 1/2 tubing to the tray with a loop and running the drip lines from there.
I'm going to be "constructing" more of the 1/2 circle water rings for the smaller pots. I suppose I should be applying version numbers to the different rings when I make them, to help me track the different versions I've made.
I'm getting ready move the two plants into the flower room. I opened the grow room door early today and found that I forgot to clean out the room after the last round.
Some time I need a visual representation of what I'm doing or trying to do, as what I was picturing in my mind just didn't quite fit. Setting up with this set-up has a few issues for me. I was thinking about placing the res to the left, under the drain fittings. I'm now thinking for it to be to the left but in front of the tray.
The light and fan is going to need to be raised up.
So I'm seeing a few more things I need to do before moving the new girls in.
This next picture is of my hydroton cleaning process. The orange home depot bucket is the bucket that the Hydroton was is. The boiling water was carefully poured into that bucket and the lid was placed onto the bucket, which made a vacuum seal once colded down. Later on after opening the bucket I pour it into the grey Lowes bucket with several drains. One a valve and the other what could be looked at as an overflow. I then can drain the bucket and I can run tap water to continue to strain stuff out like the dust from the hydroton.
I wend and filled the tray with hydroton with the thought that it will keep the water line from being and issue. But it's not working out exactly as I was thinking. I'm pulling them out every so often to give them showers in the shower, but it's being an issue when putting them back into the tray to get all the hydroton back and out of the way whey putting them back in, hydroton keeps wanting to get back under the pots.
The first three days I didn't turn the 1,000w light on, I just opened the door of the grow room and got light from the LED.
I've had to up the time on the timer. I was running it every 4 hour, for 3 minutes. With the light on they I'm seeing drooping in a branch or two on one plant. I up it to every 60 minutes. I should be able to start using the regular timer not to long from now, and the recycling timer can come back over to the veg room side.