Ok so i have this idea. I want to run 6-10 solo cups in my custom night stand grow box. I may be able to run them in 3-4 oz containers until they get hungry. Actually im sure i can but thats not the problem. Im doubtful my water only soil mix (thx to ITG i got it straitened out) will last the time between root trimmings. But judging by my blue hash i have in a solo cup they will stay small anyways. So maybe it is possible. Will be running 24/7 till first root trim then switching to 12/12. Any advice you guys wanna toss at me is much appreciated. You guys are lightyears ahead of me when it comes to organics. Thx ahead of time
If you keep them in solo cups through their whole cycle your yield is going to be shitty an that's if they don't get root bound first
Ok. Trimming the plant roots=no good. Why not just use 1 gallon aeration pots instead? Your results would be much better and would definitely make up for the decrease in number of plants.
Yea i know yield will go down incredibly but i enjoy the 16 oz cup grows. It is satisfying to me for some reason. I have two one gallon smart pots and 2 3 gallon ones. I thought about using those. But even with the 1gallon smart pots would the occasional tea be enough with my water only mix? After my current grow i will be donating all of my chem nutes. Im just sick of them. Organic growing has truly inspired me. I will ditch my idea if its not possible and just run a scrog in my box
Yes, your soil plus the occasional tea (I assume you mean a nutrient tea-like a botanical FPE) will be enough. I understand the desire to grow in the 16oz cup. I would top dress the 16 ouncers a couple times throughout the grow with a spoonful of your amendment mix topped with a layer of ewc. But I would not trim the roots, that is counterproductive and will not be good for your plants (damaging the roots is the last thing you want to do). Did someone recommend that you do that?
[quote name='"InTheGarden"']Yes, your soil plus the occasional tea (I assume you mean a nutrient tea-like a botanical FPE) will be enough. I understand the desire to grow in the 16oz cup. I would top dress the 16 ouncers a couple times throughout the grow with a spoonful of your amendment mix topped with a layer of ewc. But I would not trim the roots, that is counterproductive and will not be good for your plants (damaging the roots is the last thing you want to do). Did someone recommend that you do that?[/quote] Yea i mean a nutrient tea. Root trimming i got from following the other 16 oz grows. I have done it myself also. Did not slow the plants growth but i know it normally stresses it very much and can even kill them in certain cases. My rootball on my 16oz blue hash is starting to get super clustered again now. Thx for the quick reply
Those aren't mine......they're from another thread here. In fact. there's a couple of threads here. http://forum.grasscity.com/micro-grows/1008600-16-oz-solo-cup-contest-anyone.html http://forum.grasscity.com/indoor-grow-journals/1020865-1st-unofficial-gc-party-cup-challenge.html
Funny you post this, I want to see how an Organic Soil mix would compare to using bottles in the 16oz cup. I am going to try it once I clone these Kandy Kush freebies!
i think peat and even a peat based compost would make it tricky to successfully (& organically) complete a 16 oz cup grow. i feel like you would constantly have to add teas. luckily for me, my NEOhio soil came from the result of a glacier thousands of years ago, and this clay soil is LOADED with nutrients. the only thing you really need to supply is nitrogen. i realized this after having a succesful outdoor crop that i did not have to feed at all the entire summer. thats my new secret. i take a shovel, dig some dirt up from the woods, let it dry and crumble it into a mixture of 40% clay, 30% peat, and 30% perlite (yeah i still cant find par-boiled rice hulls in my area.....i have got to work with what i am given).
Cool moses! Keep us updated, I'm interested. That picture Chunk posted inspired me to toss all my extra cuttings into solo cups and see what happens. I brought home some recycled solo cups yesterday. Now I just have to find room in the closet-my extra space is filled up with zinnias, peppers, aloe, and mini heirloom cantaloupe plants (my current indoor experiment).
No prob! After raw tonight when its gardening time i'll take a few pics, some aren't so impressive, some I'm proud of, all with my first water only mixes, you can tell they're lacking, but I'm banking on 1/8 ea. average . For starts anyways =p
First soil mixes are never "perfect". That's just the way it goes. But they are a starting point, and you're already way ahead of the crowd just by using an organic soil. Chemical fertilizers are just trying to do what a good, organic, living soil has done all along and always will do. I'm looking forward to the pics!
Well i can't post all the pics cause i gotta post a few pics in the 16 oz competition thread. But the big one is my entry there (pineapple express) and there is 2 ww clones in the cups, and the rest are clones of a bag seed i fell in love with. I grew them over a year ago and have had buddies keeping mothers for me.
[quote name='"blackbudz"']Ok so i have this idea. I want to run 6-10 solo cups in my custom night stand grow box. I may be able to run them in 3-4 oz containers until they get hungry. Actually im sure i can but thats not the problem. Im doubtful my water only soil mix (thx to ITG i got it straitened out) will last the time between root trimmings. But judging by my blue hash i have in a solo cup they will stay small anyways. So maybe it is possible. Will be running 24/7 till first root trim then switching to 12/12. Any advice you guys wanna toss at me is much appreciated. You guys are lightyears ahead of me when it comes to organics. Thx ahead of time[/quote] http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-grow-journals/1123560-official-organic-16oz-cup-grow.html I expect to see you there blackbudz
Oh dont worry Moses iv been subbed for quiet a while. I just havnt joined the fun. I do have a 16oz grow also about 7 weeks old. Wonderful plants you posted pics of. Mine is about that tall but she refuses to spread her leaves out. Still in veg. Matter of fact shes prolly thirsty now. So you have been runnin yours with a water only mix. And teas i assume. Amazing job. I tip my hat to you. Organic growing is so amazing to me. After my current grow i will never use chemicals again. Especially now, thanks to you, since i know i can still play around with small container grows. Ps. Having to wait for soil to cook blows lol. Im so anxious
blackbudz, I use small pots too (1 and 2 gallon) in addition to a couple bigger ones, and the plants do just fine. 16oz is a lot smaller than 1 gallon, but with a top-dressing they should be just fine. If I were mixing up soil to use specifically for a 16oz container, I would make it a little more nutrient rich than usual (just add maybe an extra 1/2 cup of amendments per cubic foot) and let it cycle a little longer.
Literally water only the entire time, no teas, no top dressing, nothing. Until this last watering i had 5 gal of ewc tea i made and i watered everything with it after i finished soaking my new batch of soil with it to jump start it. Make sure and check out the grow thread if your interested cause I'm starting to try and get everyone who's in on it ready to be prepped.