The Official Hempy Bucket Thread

[Dojo]

see im trying figure out the best reusable mix.. right now im using hydroton and perlite ... turface seems REALLY good...perhaps ill just have to find out for myself

 

[zeke99]

Turface or coco perhaps?

 

[Dojo]

im not liking coco cause all i read about gnats and i cant stand those things...turface is definatly the way im thinking

 

[zeke99]

yeah I definitely do not miss chasing those little fuckers around.

 

[dansbuds]

thats the reason i went with hempys also .... was the aphids/gnats . the little fuckers invaded my soil grow to the point it killed 2 of my SD moms . went with hempys ... no more root bugs but i did wind up with spider mites so be careful with hempys ... its still possible to get critters .

 

[epicseeds]

Does anyone know if adding mycorezei (SP) is even useful in the hemp bucket?

 

[Zendo]

Does anyone know if adding mycorezei (SP) is even useful in the hemp bucket?

I recently (a few grows ago) switched from organic soil to hempy. I used Mycorrhizal fungi in my soil mixes, and sprinkled on roots in transplant.

I now use it during transplant only now, and primarily do because I have a bunch left over. I've done side by side with Myco enhanced hempy, and non, and found no difference between the two as far as plant health, yield, etc are concerned. Maybe I've noticed a quicker bounce back from the transplant from hempy beer cups to 3 gal containers, but nothing dramatic.

HTH

 

[triche stakr]

is a 5 gallon bucket too hard for a hempy bucket grow indoors

 

[vicious bee]

Thank you for the very nice post zeke....So lemme get this straight....you recommend 3:1 coarse perlite to turface? and 1:1 on little cups? Im interested on peoples views of the drain hole height also...ive always wondered what if the hole was in the middle of the bucket

I've been using the below for over a year. Absorbs water better and doesn't float around. Easy to get and CHEAP. Substitute for turface. Probably the same.
NAPA Soil Dry Oil Absorbent

You can get fired DIATOMACEOUS EARTH from NAPA auto parts. It's their NAPA Oil Absorbent
Part Number: XXX 8804
http://www.napaonline.com/Search/Detail.aspx?R=NOD8822_0006414227
The same company that makes this makes Axis grow soil which is similar to Turface.
http://www.axisplayball.com/AXIS.htm
I heard about this from some Bonsai growers. They said to test it by freezing and thawing several times. I've checked the NAPA product this way and it is fired and doesn't break down after repeated freeze, thaw cycles.

It holds water less than dirt but does hold water well. I'm happy with it. I would say the only problem with it is you have to watch your watering when the plants are young so as not to water log them. Same as dirt.

I HATE dirt. Every time I get different dirt I get a different bug. I got fungus gnats and it took me months to get rid of the I used a different soil and got thrips. To hell with dirt. I'll never grow in dirt again unless I have to for a short special project.

Thought I'd add something. I haven't read this thread in awhile. It was mentioned that you needed bigger holes for turface. I found this made no difference. I had 3 huge holes in some and 1/2 inch in others. Made no difference. Note I grow in 32oz cups so may not follow for a large bucket. Something you can use to hold the media from falling out of the holes is silt fence. It's that stuff that is put up around construction sites. It lets water thru but holds silt (hence the name silt fence). It cheap at big box hardware stores. Comes in 100 ft. x 3' rolls.

 

[vicious bee]

here's a couple of this years' crop root mass shots.

these started indoors in oct 2009 and were eventually grown outdoors in the garden. at their peak, they used almost 3 gallons of nutes per day EACH, spread over 3 daily feedings... they were slightly over a year old when harvested...

small container is about 6x6 inches, this sits atop a 3 gallon one. these were inserted into a 12 gallon container, but with only about the bottom 6 inches filled with perlite...

WOW. Have you got pictures of those. Please post some.
Here's some of my trees

 

[Herbicjusz]

Hello ,
I'm trying to grow Big Bang FEM from GHS. My box is 40cmx60cmx70cm h with 150w MH lamp. Temperature is oscilating 25-26 C. Plant is about 3 weeks old. I'm using GHE Flora Bloom/Micro/Grow , water from RO filter , PH seems to be ok - I don't have electronic PH meter I'm using chemical one from GHE. And i Have problem because my leafs is curling down like on the picture. What i'm doin wrong? Please Help me!!!

ps Sorry for my English

 

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[Herbicjusz]

Is it possible to over water Hempy's system? i thought that perlit is keeping as much water as it needs and the rest is draining by the hole?

Ps i realy hope that You Guys understand me

 

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[Herbicjusz]

No, it never was too close to light (btw there is 8mm window glass under my lamp ). There is a plenty of fresh air because of two intake computer fans that working all the time. At this moment i don't have equipment to mesure humidity . but i've put 2 plastic cups with water to incrase humidity. Right now i'm using about 3/5 dosage of fertilizer that is "prescripted"

 

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[Herbicjusz]

In the beginning it was every two days, right now it's every three days . I water whole pot

 

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[Ty_Kaycha]

In the beginning it was every two days, right now it's every three days . I water whole pot

Probably too often. The roots need to breathe every once in a while. When I used to topwater, I liked to wait until I saw the first sign of droop from my ladies, depending on what lifestage that could be once a week, every 4-5 days to almost every day. I also prefer to water away from the base (so in other words, close to edge of container). The medium will wick the water to the roots. Unless you're using a really small container, every 2 days is too much probably for such young plants.

 

[Herbicjusz]

My container for now is about 1L, so what's Your recomendation? how often should i water?