what to put on the bottom of pots for Drainage?

[Stoned Crow]

Then why do you put rocks at the bottom of your pots if not for drainage? Aesthetic reasons?

Because it has worked for me for a long time. I'm not saying they hold more water or allow water to drain better. All I know is that they work the way they should, and I'll continue to use them until somebody convinces me something else works better.

Obviously, we need to tailor our soil to the water needs of our plants. I wouldn't stick a cactus in peat moss and expect it to live. But using a false drainage layer doesn't aid our plants in any way. If you really think it helps, then why dont you actually use a more coarse soil mixture instead and forego the "drainage layer"?

You're viewing this problem from the point that a "false drainage layer" is a bad thing. This website has more information than most anyone could possibly use in a lifetime, and I have seen some really impressive grows where the grower had a false drainage layer.

This will be my last post regarding this. I know understand why Secondtry has lost all desire to post in threads now.

It sounds like you and Secondtry should meet up and discuss drainage (and other things?). Very little I read here is fact, granted, the good stuff I read here is fact, but on the drainage issue, I'm not yet convinced.

Should you take nothing from this thread thats just fine with me. We're all free to believe what we want regardless of how much knowledge is thrown at us.

I try to take something from every thread I read, that's why I'm here. Honestly, in this thread, I'm most impressed with the old sweatshirt in the bottom of the pot killing root aphids that MrBomDiggity had experience with, because it's a piece of information that someone actually tried and worked.

 

[NUG-JUG]

Honestly, in this thread, I'm most impressed with the old sweatshirt in the bottom of the pot killing root aphids that MrBomDiggity had experience with, because it's a piece of information that someone actually tried and worked.

Wow, really? So a woman with a Phd in Horticulture who even writes for Master Gardener magazine is not credible enough, but some random anecdotal story of a hobo sweater killing root aphids is very impressive? I guess we're all experts now then eh?

 

[mad librettist]

Hey stoned crow, who you gonna believe? Me? Or your lyin' eyes? lol

Then why do you put rocks at the bottom of your pots if not for drainage? Aesthetic reasons?

Obviously, we need to tailor our soil to the water needs of our plants. I wouldn't stick a cactus in peat moss and expect it to live. But using a false drainage layer doesn't aid our plants in any way. If you really think it helps, then why dont you actually use a more coarse soil mixture instead and forego the "drainage layer"?

This will be my last post regarding this. I know understand why Secondtry has lost all desire to post in threads now.

Should you take nothing from this thread thats just fine with me. We're all free to believe what we want regardless of how much knowledge is thrown at us.

Here is an observation you might consider. When I grow plantlets in small pots or have seedlings going, I use a humidity tray. Basically a drainage layer, but outside the pot. Well guess what, invariably, worms wind up in the rocks below, castings build up, and the roots grow into, nay, infiltrate the gravel. We are talking cannabis here, not tomatoes. Not corn. Not broccoli. Cannabis. And all the varieties I've see have aggressive and tough roots. They could care less about "optimal" soil, and the margin of error is a chasm. Ergo, most people can grow it no problem. Start with a flawed assumption (and completely unsupported in the case of a certain someone), and you can waste your whole life chasing the unimportant.


Dave, re cacti and other succulents: most of them thrive in rich soil without competition from "normal" plants. A better example is my drosera. Check out their requirements and sensitivity to everything. Tap water will kill them.

And let's not start touting messiahs and martyrs.

Edit: Text removed, and replaced with a heartfelt apology to the community. I felt I was telling the truth, but perhaps not in an appropriate way. To be precise, I was illustrating the behavior I was criticizing. AKA hypocrisy.

Take the info, and digest it, keeping the good and pooping out the rest. Don't embalm advice out of admiration. If a certain someone seems so sure and solid, remember that he is just another schmuck like the rest of us, looking for validation. Trust your own observations and attempts, like any sane person would.

And btw, announcing you are done with a thread is pretty lame. Not a habit to emulate. Just stop posting. That way you don't look so immature if you change your mind.

Seriously. Experience is half the story. Get outside and garden, because your indoor grow will always be too small for really learning. One observation is worth 20 theories and 50 graphs. And would you rather smoke somebody's charts, or stoned crow's weed? Easy choice for some but not all.

The above is an example of legitimate criticism. Let's be grown-ups about it.

Nug-Jug: I got a master gardener in the family. She claims it's a bit of a joke.

 

[Trichgnomes]

Lucky you!! Time to go hunting so we can have an experiment with organic alpacas. I'll take some 'paca steaks, medium rare please.

That's too funny. Somehow alpacas came up in a conversation last night, and a friend of mine says, "yes let's kill the alpacas for their fur." We were like, "dude, you just shave them!" LOL

 

[Stoned Crow]

Mad L.~ Good post. You're the voice of reason (how the hell did that happen?) I should know better by now than to bite when someone tells me I have problems with my grow when they have no clue how I grow. Ahh, it's always good to have a reminder....

Nug-Jug~ Like I said in a earlier post, PhD's don't mean a whole lot to me unless that PhD is in weed growing. Look at microbeman, he doesn't have a PhD, but I trust his information above all PhDs. That's why I find the dirty hobo sweater killing root aphids more valuable information than the other cited authority. In fact, we should put the hobo sweater under microbeman's microscope and see what that micro herd looks like. SC

 

[mad librettist]

In fact, we should put the hobo sweater under microbeman's microscope and see what that micro herd looks like. SC

Bingo. Start with your observations, since you had to work for them anyway.

 

[NUG-JUG]

Nug-Jug~ Like I said in a earlier post, PhD's don't mean a whole lot to me unless that PhD is in weed growing. Look at microbeman, he doesn't have a PhD, but I trust his information above all PhDs. That's why I find the dirty hobo sweater killing root aphids more valuable information than the other cited authority. In fact, we should put the hobo sweater under microbeman's microscope and see what that micro herd looks like. SC

Now were talkin..I predict well see creatures unknown to science in the armpit area.

 

[EatMoGrass]

I used to use a 1-1.5" layer of hydroton in the bottom of my three gallon containers for over 2 years. I also drilled a bunch more holes into the bottom 1" of the containers. I did not use landscape fabric and the soil would stay separate from the hydroton. I did not do all this for drainage but to increase available oxygen to the roots. I only stopped because I began using my own worm compost that still had live worm eggs in it. The eggs would hatch into baby worms in the flowering plants soil. The plants loved the worms but the worms would crawl down into the hydroton and poop. The worm castings would build up in the airspace created by the hydroton thus making the hydroton pointless. Before the worms I believe it was worthwhile as I garden using only 100% living organic soil and oxygen always benefits the microlife and the roots. The perlite on the bottom is a bad idea. Not enough airspace!

 

[DARC MIND]

great post
i get worms in my soil all the time so i think the bottom with the hydroton wont be a good idea for me. i can see them getting down ther and making casting just like you observed.
thanks much bud

i perfer observations based on experiance like post #69 and post #28

 

[VerdantGreen]

good thread, i would agree that a drainage layer isnt necessary and that soil or medium that is suitable for cannabis should drain freely enough already.

the only thing that i would add that i havent seen mentioned is the simple fact that by using an inert drainage layer you are simply reducing the volume of your pots and soil - which is also likely to reduce your final yield too.

V.

 

[mad librettist]

Yeah that's why I keep my drainage layer outside the pot. It does fill up with castings too.

But let's not exaggerate or imply the world will end with a drainage layer. If someone likes doing it and it works, so what?

 

[VerdantGreen]

indeed mad - doesnt really matter that much.

 

[EatMoGrass]

I'll add that when I used the 1"-1.5" hydroton in the base I had happier plants than anyone I knew. My yields also crushed everyone else that was working with the same strain. I did also switch from the 3 gal container in 4+gal square tall food service containers to minimize the amount of soil lost to hydroton. I drilled over 40 holes 1/2" diameter on the bottom and bottom 1" of the sides of the tall square containers. The square food service containers take up the same floor space as the 3 gal but holds 4 gal.

 

[Stoned Crow]

the only thing that i would add that i havent seen mentioned is the simple fact that by using an inert drainage layer you are simply reducing the volume of your pots and soil - which is also likely to reduce your final yield too.

V.

I hear that VG, and I thought about it before I started adding river rock. I use roughly 3.5 gallon square pots for flowering, and I don't see the reduction in volume as a problem for my set up. At any time in my flower chamber I have six pots for myself and two MMJ patients that I provide for, and the harvest is always enough to keep everyone happy and medicated. SC

EDIT: And it's perpetual, when one is done another is added.

 

[Dave Coulier]

The other day, I insulted Stoned Crow through the Reputation Function. Although, we dont see eye to eye, he didn't deserve it. Im sorry Stoned Crow.

 

[MrBomDiggitty]

warning: i ran out of old underwear, stinky socks, and old sweaters... so i tried a paper towel to line the bottom with. DONT DO THIS! the paper towel turned into a wierd fuzzy white and black mold. Didn't seem to affect the plant much, but I decided it was best to remove the fuzz with a transplant.

now I use unmatching socks.

 

[Stoned Crow]

The other day, I insulted Stoned Crow through the Reputation Function. Although, we dont see eye to eye, he didn't deserve it. Im sorry Stoned Crow.

Thanks D.C. - apology accepted, it's behind us. SC.

Bom Diggity - you got to have the funkiest smelling weed out out there.

 

[mad librettist]

D C that takes courage. Much respect to you.

 

[habeeb]

ok I'm not gonna look through the whole thread

-lava rock
-those clay balls for hydro
-coco chunks
-coco mat product
-people use charcoal

you don't need anything at the bottom though

 

[MrBomDiggitty]

i need something at the bottom to keep the soil from running out the pot