I have done numerous research and these questions remain un-answered.So here is a few concerns about hempy buckets i have, hopefully someone with experience can clear these up.... 1. People sometimes run these with 100% perlite, But perlite floats so i would think that by adding water all of my perlite would come right out of the bucket. I cant understand what would prevent that from happening? 2. again perlite, The medium is so light. Are you able to do heavy LST without the plant moving through the medium? It seems like the perlite would simply shift around the stalk and you wouldnt be able to tie it down without disrupting the roots and ending up with the plant and stalk on 1 side of the bucket. 3. When you run hempy buckets the bottom inch or so is the res which contains the nutrient solution, I get that. But what if the roots dont reach that far? How often would you really be watering... 4. Why dont the roots drown when they do reach the res. Its not a flood and drain system and there is no airstone. Its basicly dwc but with no air. So why does it work? 5. How does the water not get stale and PH not fluctuate. Ive read you dont have to check ph like dwc. Again that doesnt even make sense and i wonder what the reason for this is...Would draining the system and adding fresh water and or nutrients each time you water be beneficial? 6. Perlite is sold in different grades small to large, What works best in this system? Ive seen some awesome results with hempy buckets, But im yet to see anyone do any real training with them. My space is small and for HB to benefit me i would need to tie down the plant LST style and utilize my space horizontally. Any help , or even if you can only answer 1 of these questions would be appreciated.
I wouldn't run it with 100% perlite... I'd use roots organics... it has both perlite and Coco... this solves alot of the compaction and floating questions... yes things get disturbed and some roots will become exposed, but you simply cover them once you've watered.... the water will simply fall to the bottom of the bucket and dribble out of the hole... it only floats if its in a pool of water... not possible with a two inch hole drilled in the side of the bucket as seen in this thread DIY - Hempy Bucket - THCfarmer yes you can LST, and yes the plant may lean... so what... lean it back up, don't over think this part, this works you will be watering once every day or every other day... so the roots will be wet... and the pool at the bottom of the bucket adds humidity and ensures you don't have long term drying watering a hempy draws air into the roots.. and since you've just watered there is water down there... everything a plant needs... why does hydro work? thats way crazier than a hempy it does get stale... but once you top off each day its no longer stale... once again... it works, don't over think it... just follow the hempy movement and you'll be just fine... I wouldn't ever attempt to drain a hempy... if it needs a flush i would do a flush, never drain... I'd also look for a DIY hempy thread that really spells out what nutrients and how often to water till you get the hang of things the DIY i linked to at the top is a much better method of hempy that your thinking of doing.. I'd follow along with that... basically large rocks at the bottom, then the roots organics on top of that for the plant to sit in and the two inch hole two inches from the bottom of the five gallon bucket.... so easy feel free to train... some train others do not... its a personal prefrence... I would want the option to move my plants all over... others really enjoy a screen.... do it man, nothing to loose
5 gallon hempy bucket pics? - The Garden's Cure hempy buckets with heavy training and what appears to be a watering system... might wanna read that one
Thank you. Awesome of you to take the time to answer each of those concerns. I find the only time i truely overthink something is when i already know the answer. the reason i was having a hard time understanding it is because i have seen (online) people running them 100% perlite and perlite does float, AND it doesnt wik.. so... needless to say under that drain hole is 2 inches of nutrient solution with no air in it, sitting, on top of that is perlite thats most likely dry... I couldnt fathom how that would work. Lastly do you think the yields would be noticeably higher then a soil grow with every other condition being the same? Honestlt the LST does still worry me. When you say lean it back up that would counter the training the way im trying to describe it. If i bend the plant on a 90 degree angle and the medium gives out my plant will not stay bent and continue to grow up because the stalk and roots would slide over to the side of the bucket, which will cause whatever im using to tie it to the side to not work... Thats what i meant by that. my cab is about 40 inches tall so after i account for my inline / filter / hps ive got maybe 2 feet floor to light. I have to train on a 90 and then further train the shoots that result from that. But still trying to figure it if its gonna work for my setup/ is it worth it. Nothing to lose is true but i hate wasting time and money. Thank you again for your time
yield will not increase... if it were a side by side grow, one being soil the other being a hempy, the hempy would grow faster.... giving the impression of a better product the soil is looser.... so the roots don't have to work as hard to grow also using a hempy will allow you to make changes very quickly, where as a soil grow would take more work... the down side is you have to water more often than a soil grow, but with a watering system it would be very efficient... there are pro's and cons to everything.... Hempys clearly work.... I don't really understand the "need" to know how they work, only that they do.... you'd have to ask a much smarter person than me to spell out wicking/evaporation/drainage/and watering(with and without nutes) as far as training... with the second link i provided, its clearly possible... once again I think your over thinking it... just give it a go better to have tried and lost than not tried at all..... besides, does it really matter if you fail? just do it again just not the same way..... you will eventually get it right
So I've been thinking about doing this outdoors. Did any one ever think of starting this in a small 2 gal bucket with multiple holes all the way around the bucket, at the same height so that it drains just as it would b4. But this would allow you to stick that 2 gal bucket in a 5or10gal bucket when the roots are long enough. Any thoughts on this or a good way to transfer a hemp bucket?? Looking to do large plants
i was wondering if this would work, as i have a small scale hempy idk how im gonna transplant was thinking cutting bottom and placing in bigger bucket?
Thank you. Awesome of you to take the time to answer each of those concerns. I find the only time i truely overthink something is when i already know the answer. the reason i was having a hard time understanding it is because i have seen (online) people running them 100% perlite and perlite does float, AND it doesnt wik.. so... needless to say under that drain hole is 2 inches of nutrient solution with no air in it, sitting, on top of that is perlite thats most likely dry... I couldnt fathom how that would work. Lastly do you think the yields would be noticeably higher then a soil grow with every other condition being the same? Honestlt the LST does still worry me. When you say lean it back up that would counter the training the way im trying to describe it. If i bend the plant on a 90 degree angle and the medium gives out my plant will not stay bent and continue to grow up because the stalk and roots would slide over to the side of the bucket, which will cause whatever im using to tie it to the side to not work... Thats what i meant by that. my cab is about 40 inches tall so after i account for my inline / filter / hps ive got maybe 2 feet floor to light. I have to train on a 90 and then further train the shoots that result from that. But still trying to figure it if its gonna work for my setup/ is it worth it. Nothing to lose is true but i hate wasting time and money. Thank you again for your time Hey Smoka, Currently running 5 hempys myself.. No worries with LST... The plants are not as floppy as one would think .. I'm doing 80% perlite and 20% vermiculite, and the vermic does add some density to the substrate.. I have a few of mine LST'd ( 90 degree bend) at the moment with not a single issue.. If you wanted you could simply tie a string to the base of the main stem in the opposite direction that you are tying the branches (though this isn't even necessary).. The perlite will ONLY float if you do a large flush and add too much water at once, and still its not really an issue as it packs right back down as the water drains. Not to mention there is only about 2" of water in the bucket at a time so the weight of the perlite on top of it keeps it in place. I have found that watering with care (a gallon jug with a series of holes drilled in the cap) makes all the difference in the world as to not stirring up the substrate. Perhaps a lower scrog set-up would work out well for you to keep them lower.. And just throw them into flower at 10-12" to keep them short.. Tihspeed was right on the money in terms of increased yields.. Yields are purely driven by genetics and environmental conditions, growing style simply alters the speed at which they grow...
Hey Smoka, Currently running 5 hempys myself.. Believe it or not i have a few buckets with straight perlite and they DO wick to a DEGREE. No worries with LST... The plants are not as floppy as one would think .. My other buckets are 80% perlite and 20% vermiculite, and the vermic does add some density to the substrate.. I have a few of mine LST'd ( 90 degree bend) at the moment with not a single issue.. If you wanted you could simply tie a string to the base of the main stem in the opposite direction that you are tying the branches (though this isn't even necessary).. The perlite will ONLY float if you do a large flush and add too much water at once, and still its not really an issue as it packs right back down as the water drains. Not to mention there is only about 2" of water in the bucket at a time so the weight of the perlite on top of it keeps it in place. I have found that watering with care (a gallon jug with a series of holes drilled in the cap) makes all the difference in the world as to not stirring up the substrate. Perhaps a lower scrog set-up would work out well for you to keep them lower.. And just throw them into flower at 10-12" to keep them short.. Tihspeed was right on the money in terms of increased yields.. Yields are purely driven by genetics and environmental conditions, growing style simply alters the speed at which they grow...