The Official Hempy Bucket Thread

[IE2KS_KUSH]

You need to read my posts mate you water daily when you first add a clone or seedling as the top medium drys out and once you see the plant show some growth you can back that off as the plant has sent roots down towards the rez .

Its commonsence for the most part some of the question a lot seam to ask amaze me honestly.

How hard is it honestly ? You read the nutrient instructions you mix it as directed and you water your plants it dont get much more easy than this.

You water daily for about a week max so the seedling or freshly rooted clone throws down some roots and then depending on the room temps and the size of your buckets and plants you could water from every 2 days to every 4 days now if thats to much effert then what can i say.

A 10lt H-bucket with perlite / vermic or perlite or coco core will hold in the medium and rez around 5 to 6L of nutrient rich water now isnt that inuf and you dont need to check the rez as you would other methods and rejust.


jakeh i have been useing coco core for about a year now and i like it a lot the only thing i do to it before i use it is flush with fresh water i tryed it with normal hydro nutrients and not coco nutrients to see and the resolts were very good the only thing you need to do is as you have worked out is fill the rez with be it perlite or glay rocks or im going to try coco chips next so it allows the core to drain and work as it should.

I dont realy cear what people do or try but i do cear tho if they post things and make out iv sed it or post things that are un true but reality is there are many methods of growing use what works for you me i use my method and have for decades and i have tryed diffrent methods of growing i use my method becouse it works for me i have yet to find a method that needs as little effert as this and achives the resolts this method has the only other systeam of hydro i my self like is NFT but with NFT you have to clean your rez each month and ajust your rez almost daily in summer in winter every 2 days be it add water or half strenth or full strength nutrients depending on your rez ph in short its effert and work and then you need to hope you dont have a pump fail and the rest of the dramas that can come the only thing you can do to couse dramas from a hempy bucket is mix your nutrients rong or you dont follow the basic formula in short.

All right then.
Sorry mate, until I actually do something w/ my own hands, I don't easily comprehend most things. Hence my questions, an attempt to understand as much as possible before I get going. Sorry for speaking, I will go over here and shut up. Jeeez.

 

[jakeh]

Dalaihempy,
I hear you are the one I need to thank for originally posting the hempy bucket information. It has been a pleasure using your method. I've never had growth as vigorous or plants as healthy as I have with your set up. I know my plants are getting everything they need and I have yet to figure out a way to screw them up other than not watering-feeding. I really am amazed more people are not using them outdoors. Next year I think I will try just a couple in 32 gallon rubbermaid garbage cans. The size of the pot so to speak will take care of:
1. Any animal I have.
2. Termites although no problem with smaller containers either.
3. Frequent watering trips.

My 5 gallon coir/perlite at bottom set up needs feeding every 2 days for a 6 ft plant. It amazes me how a full bucket can hold an entire 2 gallon watering can with hardly any over flow out of the bottom. I recently transplanted to a 10 gallon rope handled bucket and it is buying me 4 days for long week end trips. The hempy bucket plants have blown past 2-4 week older plants that are in the ground or in large planters with regular drainage holes.
I have told a couple of people about it but they are content sticking with what they know works. To tell you the truth I am to. I won't be doing anything but hempy for a while. I have no desire for anything complicated just as others have no desire for something as simple as a hempy bucket. Once again thanks. Between increased yield and your dirt cheap method you have easily saved me $1000 this year.
jake

 

[bostrom155]

anyone doing hempy buckets on a 4x8 table, trying to weigh out my options before going hempy. want to do ebb n flo but the start up cost is high. i'm in soiless (peat, perlite, lime ect.) now

 

[Kal-El]

I have done them that way.
If you SOG, really nice yields.

 

[one Q]

KalEl, care to elaborate

 

[Budley Doright]

I was dorking around this weekend and have some clones to play with.... just out of the cloner..... I use the Ice tube cloner and vermiculite....

So I want to try hydroton and vermiculite.....

Its about the same ratio as the original hempy I think about 1/3 vermiculte and 2/3 hydroton....

Im filling the 2 liters with a couple hand fulls of hydroton and adding verm.... more hydroton more verm....



This should give me good wicking.....


The verm Im using was for insulation from menards.....

Its made by sunshine which I assume is the same company that bags garden stuff....

My intent is to reuse the hydroton and recycle the verm in the garden.....


Anyone see any 'issues'


http://www.sungro.com/products_displayProBrand.php?brand_id=5

 

[delta9nxs]

howdy

howdy

back before i had heard of the "hempy" bucket i was growing large style sog in 1 gal standard nursery pots with the normal holes in the bottom. 72 at a time in a 52" x 104" plastic lined frame on the floor. 100% turface media. lollipopped and flowered at 12". watered from a tub, pump, and hose. nice yields.

hey, burnt
i don't think hydroton with vermiculite is the best choice. i don't think you are going to have the proper ratio of solid/pore space with that mix. especially since it is not #3 coarse horticultural grade verm. one reason hydroton works ok alone is that it has tremendous pore space. lots of oxygen. the trade off is that you have to water more frequently. if you fill in the spaces between the hydroton with something that reduces that pore space you are reducing o2. a better choice with hydroton would be coco or perlite, or a mix. then you have a mix that retains and wicks with great oxygen potential. it is the o2 that gets big yields with passive systems. you reduce o2 and co2 gas exchange in the root zone and you reduce yields.

hydroton, although usable, is really not the best choice for a reusable medium. turface is the best 100% reusable medium. it retains and wicks well, has great pore space, a cec equal to verm, and falls right off the roots after drying. if you can use a disposable medium, perlite, zeolite or coco are your best choices at this juncture. or perhaps a mix. hempy is reporting good results with his coco and perlite mix. peggy bradley from www.carbon.org prefers 50/50 perlite/coco. later, delta9nxs

 

[Budley Doright]

Thanks for the well thought out answer..... those are always appreciated.....

I made one...and I will see how it works....

I had the stuff kicking around so I thought I would try it...

So I also have some perlite..... I will do another with the standard perlite vermiculite.....


This way I have something to compare to anyway......

I suppose one might say that the original mix(vermiculite) might cut down on the normal airspace in perlite....

I guess I will find out......

 

[Dalaihempy]

Dalaihempy,
I hear you are the one I need to thank for originally posting the hempy bucket information. It has been a pleasure using your method. I've never had growth as vigorous or plants as healthy as I have with your set up. I know my plants are getting everything they need and I have yet to figure out a way to screw them up other than not watering-feeding. I really am amazed more people are not using them outdoors. Next year I think I will try just a couple in 32 gallon rubbermaid garbage cans. The size of the pot so to speak will take care of:
1. Any animal I have.
2. Termites although no problem with smaller containers either.
3. Frequent watering trips.

My 5 gallon coir/perlite at bottom set up needs feeding every 2 days for a 6 ft plant. It amazes me how a full bucket can hold an entire 2 gallon watering can with hardly any over flow out of the bottom. I recently transplanted to a 10 gallon rope handled bucket and it is buying me 4 days for long week end trips. The hempy bucket plants have blown past 2-4 week older plants that are in the ground or in large planters with regular drainage holes.
I have told a couple of people about it but they are content sticking with what they know works. To tell you the truth I am to. I won't be doing anything but hempy for a while. I have no desire for anything complicated just as others have no desire for something as simple as a hempy bucket. Once again thanks. Between increased yield and your dirt cheap method you have easily saved me $1000 this year.
jake

hiya mate and your very welcome the reson i posted it was to shear and 7 years or so later after first posting it on line it is being used by many growers around the world now from cali med growers to newbies and all that follow the most basic of instructions are achiveing as i have for decades excelet resolts that is all it was about.

I know for a fact many so called hydro experts laft at this method for years well it works and works very well the only other hydro method i realy like is NFT.

Since the first time i walked into a hydro store and told pepole about this method wich was in the late 80s i got laft at like i was some moron but it never botherd me becouse i knew what my plants looked like and yielded like but Each to there own .

Yep it does hold quiet a bit of nutrient rich water and they do quiet well out doors to the only dramas you will have out doors is with heavy rain becouse as the rain falls and fills the bucket the drain hole wont be able to drain fast inuf the medium will become loos and the plant if large and top heavy will fall last time i used them out doors i grew 14 ft plus plants in them.

I keep reading people posting saying the medium wicks well perlite dont wick rock wool does as does coco but with medium like coco if its allowed to stay to wet it wont air as it should why we need to fill the rez with something other than coco core be it coco chips or volcanic rocks or glay rocks or perlite so on what happens is the roots suck the medium dry they first suck the rez dry then seek out all avaluble moisture left in the medium iv seen plants suck dry coco core in 2 to 3 days but they do stand say 7 to 8 ft and have a yield of a pound cured on each or over so thats not to bad and realy all you need to do is re water with nutrent rich water ever 2 days as i see it few growing methods give you such a simplestic program.

 

[Dalaihempy]

I
Its about the same ratio as the original hempy I think about 1/3 vermiculte and 2/3 hydroton....

hi Burnt Rope the original formula i posted was basicly the mediums i found gave the best resolts and that was 100% perlite and 3 parts perlite / 1 part vermic and glay rocks but the perlite / vermic i found gave best reolts but you can add coco core to that list now but others have used coco / perlite to.

In all honesty if the medium is ph nutreal or close to it and can be used in hydro then your good to go i would be looking for a good coco core as i realy belive its the hydro medium of the future i love the stuff now the only thing you need to do with coco core before you use it is after its put into your buckets / tubs so on flush it well with clean water as coco is found in ereas like shrilanka and so on were there on the coast they some times have salt bild up and no matter how good they say it has been treated i found a quike flush with water before you start is realy a wise move.

 

[Budley Doright]

Silly me..... that was actually a mental typo....


I meant 1/3 verm 2/3 perlite....


The same ratio I will use to compare the hydroton /verm combo.......

 

[bostrom155]

Hi delta, so basically u wicked the nute water up. or did u have hoses to each gallon pot. thanks for the insight. just seeing if its feasible to water 50+ plants every other day,

 

[Ipsissimus]

i do solo cups and then 2 liters etc, but I put the holes on the bottom, and I put them all in a tray to hold water, and fill the entire container up to 1". that way you can water them all at once, and it acts as a mini-reservoir.

 

[virago420]

i do solo cups and then 2 liters etc, but I put the holes on the bottom, and I put them all in a tray to hold water, and fill the entire container up to 1". that way you can water them all at once, and it acts as a mini-reservoir.

I would say thats fine if they use up most of that water the same day. If not the water will become stagnant and you will have algae problems. Also the warmer the nute solution is the less oxygen available to the plants. The addition of an air stone would be a good idea using this method. Peace

 

[Ipsissimus]

like the hempy bucket, the water is quickly taken up by the plants. airstones are always a good idea tho

 

[delta9nxs]

various ramblings

various ramblings

Burnt,
quote,
“I suppose one might say that the original mix(vermiculite) might cut down on the normal airspace in perlite”....

yeah, but hydroton has very little “airspace” within each piece, whereas perlite and coco have tremendous “airspace”.

looking at it from a purely mechanical viewpoint, using hydroton and verm together you will have very little “pore space”. You will have some, and i'm sure you can grow some pot in it, but you will have better results with a more “open” mix”.

We are talking about air “pore space” here.

Low pore + low pore = low pore

low pore + excellent pore = medium pore

excellent + excellent = excellent

my advice with the hydroton is to either ditch it entirely or use it alone or with a partner that has tremendous pore space.

Anyone who thinks hydroton is immediately porous should take dry hydroton and throw it into a glass of water. It will float for days before it sinks. Some of it will never sink. If it takes that long to absorb water when immersed, it will probably not absorb much at all when water is simply poured over it. It is microscopically very porous but does not absorb rapidly. Therefore will not give water off rapidly either. Throw some turface in a glass and it all instantly sinks with pores completely full of water. They are both kiln fired calcined clay products.

You can grow a pot plant in a glass bowl with no holes in it at all, using glass marbles as a substrate, if you are good enough and can manage watering frequency and nutrient application. Translate to “a lot of work, time, and attention.

The best media take in water fast and give it back fast, creating more air space as they do so.

Now, on to the much debated topic of perlite and it's “wicking potential”. Perlite “wicks” or draws water up from the reservoir extremely well alone. You add verm to it to “hold back” some water in an attempt to extend watering intervals. The plants actually grow better when watered as frequently as possible because you are introducing fresh o2 and degassing co2 every time you water. Also correcting nutrient concentration and ph each time. If you water frequently you must have fast drainage to keep from creating anaerobic conditions. So, medium choice, container choice, and where you set your reservoir level all depend on your decision about how often you want to water. If you are short on plant time you want a mix that gets you the time frame between waterings you need. If you just want yield at all costs water every day. Both lucas of the lucas formula fame and ms peggy bradley of www.carbon.org prefer giving the plants just enough for one day. Think ahead about your needs.

Here are excerpts from several articles about perlite.

The first is from www.perlite.org, which is the perlite institute.

“The outstanding feature of perlite is the ease with which a constant supply of water and nutrients can be maintained in the substrate simply by placing the plant container in a shallow reservoir of nutrient solution. Perlite's strong capillary attraction for water automatically draws up solution from the reservoir at the same rate that water is removed by the plants. Nutrient enriched water is trapped in the tiny irregularities on the surface pf perlite particles where it is available for use by plant roots. Excess solution remains in the reservoir.”

this is from www.cropking.com

“Roots in perlite are always well aerated and well watered.”

Hi, bostrom155

i'm sorry, I should have mentioned that each pot was sitting in a plant saucer, then inside the trough. The trough acted like an overflow container. Each plant was watered from the top by a diffuser wand. It took less than 20 minutes to water them all. The trough dried out every day.

Well, I really didn't mean to write a novel. Later, delta9nxs

to one q, I think I have enough posts now.

 

[one Q]

D9 start a thread about your Turface adventure... break it down for us... Im interested b/c Ive tried it and had not so good results.

Hempys rule though for sure.

 

[BudBag]

Has anybody tried this with a micro grow? Somebody mentioned 32oz cups would like to see some pictures of something like that. I would like to try but I grow micro.

 

[dubwise]

I'm a few days outside of throwing my girls in to flower....3 are in 5gal containers, 3 are in 2gal containers and 5 are in 16oz. cups. I'm interested to see what I can get out of each sized container w/ the same veg time. Not realy a micro grow...just using a smaller container on a few plants then I traditionally use in flower.

 

[delta9nxs]

hey, one Q

hey, one Q

turface is just one of many choices for media. i used it because it is the best re-usable medium i've found. i don't want to go into detail here, but i had to have a reusable medium at the time. it involved a crowded apartment complex, nosy neighbors, a community dumpster, and cops.

turface is a heavier, more dense medium than perlite, verm, or coco and as such needs to be handled a little differently. if you intend to use it in a "hempy" style container drill multiple drain holes (6 or 8 3/8") at a lower level. i liked 1 1/4". worked fine for me. i grew some 10 oz plants in it with no problems.

it also has a relatively high cec (cation exchange capacity), like vermiculite. this can be good for you if you are aware of it and manipulate it to your advantage. perlite has virtually none and that can be good for you too, if you are aware of it.