It's getting towards the end of the first grow and I'm starting to think about the next. For the next run I'm going with less plants and I'm going to attempt the scrog method. This grow watering has been a pain due to access to the grow area and the size the girls grew to, I'm in the tent 3 times a day minimum just to switch out dehumi water, feed and trim. What setups are you guys using which are lower effort? I'm hoping to be able to take weekend breaks and not be tied to the location constantly. I've considered DWC but my area is not suitable for switching out the res frequently and circulating the Res seems mighty complicated, with roots growing beyond their containers and blocking shit, + needing to maintain a constant water temp and the extra power and risk of broken pumps etc. I'm thinking of making an automatic feeding system using a large res, drip feeders & pump hooked up to a loop timer, say 3 mins on every 8 hours. Anyone got experience with this setup or others and can provide some pros and cons? I'm thinking about expanding into another tent and doing an organic run aswell, so I'm open to multi different setups just to experiment. Also, how are people growing these neat 1-2ft tall autos which are just 6-7 main colas? Is this genetics or something I can influence? My girls blew the fuck up and took over the entire room, almost hitting the light.
A scrog? Now ya got my attention..lol. Few things to remember with a scrog. It is labor intensive and your plants will not be moveable. So you have to be okay with that. Your overcrowding is common with new growers. More is better right? No, not right..lol. Bouncing back the numbers will actually give you more. I find 4 well vegged plants overtake a 4x4 space quickly in flower. Both vertical and horizontal growth can get out of control without some training or a screen. Experimenting is fine. There are many ways to grow. I've completed coco, dwc, and soil grows. Of course ya know today I'm a peat and jacks guy. So simple a 75 IQ could complete a grow..lol I mean he'll I've not even swept up one dead leaf yet and I'm in the 4th week of 12/12. Anyways, as long as you understand the basics and have a handle on growing. Experimenting can be fun. I agree with ya on the grows tying you down. There are many examples of auto feeders, sip buckets, drippers, ect. I always say the fewer moving parts the better. Ive always wanted to try a ebb n flow table but I don't wanna deal with pumps, clogged lines, or all the other things that can go wrong. Your doing what most new growers do. Your thinking ahead and trying to improve. To me that's a sign of a gardener all in. I hope ya find what your looking for.
Yeah I definitely fell for the more is better trap, I was also preempting fucking a few up while learning so I started with 7, 1 failed early with helmet head, another grew all deformed so I removed her leaving me with 5. The plants are barely movable as they are now anyway so I've no issue with a scrog, I'm thinking some sort of pump drip system to avoid having to battle my way though the scrog to feed, tho I'll still need to trim some. My space is about 7x4, the light is for a 4x4, I'm thinking 4 plants spaced as far apart as the 4x4 drip tray will allow with slight overhang beyond the lights foot print. This time going heavier with the defoliation and LST (before the net goes in) to keep them short. Going to end up with a tonne of popcorn from the current run because I was hesitant to lollypop and defoliate but it seems after some experimenting these autos can actually handle it, good genetics or luck maybe. I'm definitely a gardener all in addicted to this now, it's also therapeutic looking after and watching them grow.. so far atleast, I've run into no major problems yet luckily.
Peat moss...I use promix HP and Jack's nutrients...also supplement with calcium nitrate and Epsom salt. I yak a lot about it in my multi grow.
If you want to really do 100 % auto water . There are a lot of options . I think the most affordable easy option is rockwool cubs . Just get a few hydro drippers and a pump in a bucket done . Turns on and waters . You can get MASSIVE yields and MASSIVE plants using them. Cover the roots with plastic . DONE. easy set up . https://www.htgsupply.com/products/...51xCPjA3RHmsPLH7eulBB68npFMjdkT0aAhFrEALw_wcB Lot of dispos in cali use these for the reason there forced too . But once you learn these are some of the best you may love them . I have used them
Ahh that's what those are and why I've seen them with plastic around them, will do some research into this stuff, cheers dude. Edit: just done some reading this looks like the perfect solution, people are growing monsters in a 4inch cube, why am I wasting my time with coco haha, can't wait for this next run, need to find some good genetics now.
Might as well get the 6 inch. Stays wet longer but auto watering anyways . So idk bigger is sometimes better .
What i do is use SIP containers. This cuts back on my watering duties in veg a lot. Lots of info on SIP irrigation out there. I scrog too so I designed a set up where you can still move the plants and scrog at the same time. I built a lazy susan that my plants sit on and the scrog system is a part of the lazy susan. IOWs the screen revolves with the lazy susan and the plants at the same time. This way I can trim, water, LST easily. I dont have to bend in odd ways to get to the back of my tent area. Rotating the plants seems to help distribute light a little more evenly as well. These 2 things have dramatically made caring for my plants easier and bc it is easier, I have better plants in the end. The negative of this set up is that I lose a little grow area because I cannot utilize the corners of the tent since a round lazy susan needs room to spin.