So I have ordered my seeds and I decided to go with a strain called Royal Flush that I got from Nirvana seeds. After doing hours of research I have grasped the whole coco concept but still have a few questions. I plan on running a 400w hps light in my cabinet which is 6ft x3ft x1.5ft.. I plan on growing two plants that will eventually end up in 5 gallon buckets. I was reading the eds coco forum and he said something about a drip or wick watering system works best. Have any of you used these systems in a cab before or have any idea how to set it up? Also I have read about people drilling holes in their buckets and then placing another bucket underneath their original one. What does this do and is it necessary? This is my first grow and all the help I can get is much appreciated. Thank you all and hope you all are enjoying your week. Heres a thread with a picture of my cabinet in it for a visual. http://forum.grasscity.com/grow-room-design-setup/1107023-first-grow-cabinet-help-plz.html
I don't know anything about using a pure wick system and it sounds overly complicated when I read someone else describing how they set theirs up. However I do use Root Pots by Aurora Innovations and feed/water to around 15%-25% drain to waste but let the pots suck back the water when they need. My plants sit in a large rubber trays. Partial wick system I suppose. As for a drip system using blumat is a good solution. There is a thread on it somewhere here. However with only two plants that is overly complicated. Just hand water and you will be fine. I would also suggest using the fabric pots inside your buckets BTW. Your root systems will love you for it. Smart pots or Kanroo pots work well also. In fact I would just forgo the buckets(you need some air to circulate between the two) if you can make or buy some tray for them to sit on. Others use fabric inside buckets so I don really have much experience with that.
Thanks for the quick reply and help. Do you have any pictures or threads that I could look at to see how yours is set up? I am more of a visual person.
Do a search on Hempy growing also. I'm considering it for my next grow. It Seems pretty easy and effective.
I did a search and came up with this.. Making a Hempy Grow bucket, Easy! - GrowKind.com Marijuana Cultivation Forum Seems pretty easy but how is it effective if its just a hole? What does it do?
If this is your first go I would keep things as simple as possible. Just hand water your pots. That will give you plenty of time with the plants to study and experience their growth cycle. Get a good quality coco, coco specific nutrients and a solid ph/ec meter, 3 gallon smart pots with 12-14" saucers underneath. Stay away from all of the bs additives! Grow just a couple plants in that tent of the same strain. Before you start the plants, get your ventilation, odor control, and temps dialed in to acceptable ranges. These things are priceless. After a grow or two, you will be able to add things like drippers, pumps, mix in different mediums for different feeding schedules, add other additives, try other strains, etc.
[quote name='"LAUN"'] Thanks man.. How big do you think I can grow them with 3 gallon buckets?[/quote] You control that. Depending on your ceiling, strain, vegging time, training methods, light intensity and growing medium you can have anything from a 2 footer to a tree. You are god in the garden.
Luan I do not have any good pics of set up right now, but it is pretty simple. I have a class A motor-home that I have gutted(for the most part). In the back I have sectioned off an area for the vegging/cloning area with heavy mil plastic and use a rubber lined draining pan. I have the vegging plants in various stages in the pan and smaller ones on blocks. MH lights are suspended on pullies from the ceiling and I also have 12 cfls supplementing these. 3 large fans. One small exhaust fan. In the front I have sectioned off a larger area for flowering. I have three large rubber lined drain pans each with room for 8-12 (strain dependent) root pots and flowering cannabis plants. The roof is taller here my HPS lights are also on pullies all controlled from outside the room. I have wall to wall fans in this room strung up facing slightly down and sideways. Only three of these are currently on. This setup in the old motorhome is brand new so I am still getting it all dialed in. I still am running extension cords to power it up and waiting on a electrician to run a power outlet so I can use the motorhomes power system and use the air conditioning next summer. I am hand watering but looking to go to some automated system. The blumats are what I am looking at but will need to figure out a good space for a large reservoir for each area (flowering and veg). Thats pretty much it. Pretty simple right now. My first season with coco and I am finding it incredibly easy and forgiving way to raise cannabis. BTW, here is what the root pots look like. They are much cheaper then smart pots(of course I dont use the 20 gallon ones, 5 and 10 are good for me).
dont put a smart pot inside the plastic bucket that defeats the whole idea for the fabric smart pot you want the air to get to your roots and yes i would say hand water since only two plants and suggest just a try with hydroton an inch thick and drain to waste with 1/2 hose and grommet in the tray you need to have the run off with coco 25% is normal some say more some say less i say close to the higher ends you will see the fastest growth
I use hydrofarm 3/4'' line from pump and from there tap in with 1/4'' (Toro brand from home depot) running to each plant. then i make rings for each site using the 1/4" Toro that has built in drippers. holes in the bottom of the container allow for runoff, which I am a huge fan of implementing at a rate of 20-40%