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The Official Hempy Bucket Thread

dubwise

in the thick of it
Veteran
Chrill-That doesn't seem too far fetched....if you used too much vermiculite. Wouldn't the room also play some role in the uptake of the water? If it's too hot, seems like they take up more....when it's too cold, they slow way down. How much have they grown in the past month? Do you see a direct correlation between the amount of feeding and the rate of growth?

Crisco- I ran a 15gal hempy bucket last year with 3 plants and had pretty decent results. The main issue I had with it, was that it used up too much medium and took too much nutrient for what the overall yield was. If one of the plants had turned hermie, couldn't you just cut it down at the base and leave the roots? Or would the roots decay in the medium causing bigger and more complicated issues?

HE-those are nice & green. Keep it up!
 

Rukind

Member
RuKind > it is very easy to over water and if your hole or system /mix\ Is not the right combination you can have dead water that sits at the bottom and starts to rot the roots, I myself will be going soil organic no nutes just plain water but for newbie's their are some mistakes that can easily be made or we wouldn't have this Thread ;)

Also RuKind watch what you say because you make a comment ( You Guys ) did you ever read any post were I had over watering Issues? Enough Said:

sorry.... "you guys' as in anyone who says over watering is an issue with hempy buckets

If you follow the original hempy instructions, you will not over water. just dont use to much verm. perlite alone would be better than using to much verm.

Do not make your rez that big, so dont make your hole any more than 2 inches high on a 11 liter pot.

if you dont use a pot that big, scale it down. It is better to have a small rez than a rez with too much water.

Yes you can obviously over water in soil, but this isn't soil. Unless you are using soil in a hempy bucket, but whats the point?

I think watering often in hempy's is the way to go. I bet I could water everyday, all day long and not have an issue. What makes this different than any other hydroponics method besides the pumps?

I have watered every 2 days for months and not seen a problem with over watering what so ever.

The thing I like about the hempy buckets, I dont have to worry about my medium and nutrients much anymore. It is so simple. its the same thing every watering. I barely even test my ph. Now I can focus on light and atmosphere.
 

Ty_Kaycha

Member
All very true Rukind. It is hard to overwater using Hempy Buckets, but it is possible. The roots need a chance to breathe and if one's medium mix is too compact (probably due to using too much vermiculite) - root rot happens. This fact alone is why for a lot of beginners I recommend either just straight perlite (which for me I've had other issues, but nothing major) or mixing 3 parts perlite 1 part vermiculite. Then there are those that say one needs to get something a crazy amount of run-off when watering - that's insane, not needed, wasteful - and can cause more problems than what they are trying to solve.

Basically when watering a Hempy Bucket - one should just be "topping off" the rez. If anything one should maybe consider tilting the bucket slightly before watering to drain some of the rez, then refill just to the point of a dribble out of the hole.

You mentioned DWC - well root rot is a very common problem for those that run DWC.
 

Rukind

Member
I was just using DWC as an example. If you get root rot in DWC, then you are doing something wrong. DWC is a lot more difficult to keep root rot from happening. a pump could quit working or anything like that. Hempy buckets make all that a lot more simple.

Dont use too much verm and dont make your rez too big.. no root rot. It is very simple for a new grower to understand. 1 part verm to 3 part perlite. 2 inch rez in a 11l pot.

You only need to use a little verm to help wick water and so you can water less often.

a lot of vermiculite would obviously cause root rot.
 

Ty_Kaycha

Member
... If you get root rot in DWC, then you are doing something wrong. ...

Right but just check any cannabis-related forum are there are tons of posts of people (granted mostly newbies, noobs or first-time DWC-ers) having issues. Personally I think it's usually because they half-assed the build materials (cheap pumps, airstones, etc...)

Anyway, let's get this thread back to what is probably about the easiest way to grow cannabis - Hempy's! :jump:
 

Rukind

Member
Right but just check any cannabis-related forum are there are tons of posts of people (granted mostly newbies, noobs or first-time DWC-ers) having issues. Personally I think it's usually because they half-assed the build materials (cheap pumps, airstones, etc...)

Anyway, let's get this thread back to what is probably about the easiest way to grow cannabis - Hempy's! :jump:


yeah, i see those post everywhere all the time. The only reason I gave hydroponics a shot in the first place is because of hempy buckets. I dont like depending on pumps and all of the other multiple things that can go wrong with other hydroponic methods. I do want to try NFT eventually, though.
 
I have found out working with hempies like working with soil, except need to check pH before watering. At now watering interval is about week. But most important part for me is, that I don't need to haul those buckets out from cabin which is case with DWC buckets and that sucks big time with big plants. :)
 

Rukind

Member
I have found out working with hempies like working with soil, except need to check pH before watering. At now watering interval is about week. But most important part for me is, that I don't need to haul those buckets out from cabin which is case with DWC buckets and that sucks big time with big plants. :)

you find that working with hempy's is like working with soil? I think I read that right.

I try my best to not think of it like soil. It really is nothing like soil, except there is no pumps and you hand water. I am just used to using soil from past grows, so it is hard at times. It is not like soil, though. It is hydroponic, so you can keep on watering, doesn't matter.

you can even use a pump and constantly water them from a rez or even on a timer. you can even recirculate the water. If that is easier for you then go for it. I just dont like to rely on pumps and all that. I dont mind hand watering.

I actually have a rubbermaid container I use to fill up with enough water for all my plants. I also have a 40gph pump with 10 feet of tubing. I stick the pump in the container and turn the pump on. I then grab the tubing and water all my plants like you would with a hose. I water them all until i see run off. That way I dont have to fill up 10 jugs every time I water. I just fill up my rubbermaid tub, add ph down if your water isn't already 7ph, then add your nutes by the directions on the back of the bottle. It is much easier for me to water this way.
 

itisme

Active member
Veteran
I got them in partycups w/ a lot of drain holes drilled in the bottom ain ALL VERM.....Is that gonna be an issue?
 

Rukind

Member
I got them in partycups w/ a lot of drain holes drilled in the bottom ain ALL VERM.....Is that gonna be an issue?

I think the party cups could be an issue. You need to be able to hold the water in the party cup, it shouldn't leak out of the bottom. thats what the hole on the side is for. to keep a small rez in the bottom of the cup.

The vermiculite would absorb some water, but your roots shouldn't sit in vermiculite alone. You really shouldn't use that much vermiculite at all. You could cause root rot. the 3:1 ratio works really good for me. 3 parts perlite, 1 part vermiculite. The vermiculite alone would be bad for the roots.
 

itisme

Active member
Veteran
Rukind.....I was just doing this to get them above ground so to speak. I will do the mix ratio once they get above ground. I double up the partycups and make a rez out of the second cup.

I am using the VERM kinda like rockwool in the cups just to get them to seedling stage. I can't do anything before that becuase the seeds are alreay burried!
 

Rukind

Member
yeah that makes sense. I hope it all works out for you. they shouldn't get root rot if they dont sit in the cups too long.
 

Ty_Kaycha

Member
If the hole is in the bottom and you're just using verm - you should be fine. Verm holds so much water that a rez isn't really needed. Having a rez AND using 100% verm is a great recipe for root rot.
 

dansbuds

Retired from the workforce Bullshit
ICMag Donor
Veteran
i root cuttings in straight vermiculite in the ice cube cloner then put them in mini hempy 16 oz beer cups @ 4 to 1 mix for 2 weeks veg then 2 weeks before flowering drop that into my bigger buckets mixed at 4 to 1 .I water every other day , the bigger buckets like that but the mini hempys don't seem to like water/feeding that often . been cutting back to every 3 or 4 days on the mini's .
 

dubwise

in the thick of it
Veteran
I use rapid rooters and get roots in around 5-7 days. I sew seeds directly in the 4:1 mix. I don't know about the 100% verm....what kind of success rate are you getting itisme?
 

bobman

Member
i clone in straight vermiculite in 3oz plastic cups with holes at the bottom to wick water. I get 100 percent success most of the time. Sometimes I will lose one or two out of 50. The nice thing about doing it this way is that you can just pour water in the bottom of the tray and the vermiculite only wicks what it needs. So if I have to leave for a couple of days or do not want to keep checking them they will be fine for up to a week to 10 days. Plus the cups are very stable and do not fall over if you bump the tray. I have kept rooted clones in these cups for up to 3-4 weeks because of space issues and just bottom feed them with a nute solution and they were fine. Sometimes the roots were 6-8 inches coming out of the bottom holes and never really affected them. I do not know if I would feel comfortable with a 16 oz party cup filled with vermiculite but I would think they would be ok.
 

bobman

Member
Also on the over watering issue. I do hempies in straight perlite. I have noticed plants that can not handle too much watering. They look fine but grow slower. After the grow is complete I always noticed the roots on these plants look healty but have not grown and filled in the container like the other plants. I think it can be beneficial to let the slow drinkers fill the root space a little better before you up there watering schedule. This generally happens when you pot up. So If I let them dry out good a few times the roots will catch up and be able to handle more watering down the road.
 

bobman

Member
I got them in partycups w/ a lot of drain holes drilled in the bottom ain ALL VERM.....Is that gonna be an issue?

I guess you are talking about seedlings. I do not know if I would do seedings in straight vermiculite especially in 16oz party cups. I just sprouted my first seeds in perlite in 16oz party cups. My seedlings needed food almost immediately. I do not know if I would trust vermiculite to hold the proper ph. plus it seems a little heavy. Perlite was very easy to sprout seedlings.
 

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