I've always used smaller plastic pots sitting in trays from the grow shop with decent results, but I just read an article on how much pot size can increase yield by means of root space and I want to start using 5 gallon buckets. Ultimately my question would be... Are drainage holes 100% neccessary? With my current setup I just don't have the space to use buckets that large and have drain holes in the bottom. I've read somewhere that people have grown without drain holes; you just have to water very accurately so that you're not overwatering at all and the plants are absorbing everything. And obviously this would make flushing the soil impossible at the end of flowering as well. I would appreciate anybodys input on this!
you need drainage holes.. do you have a fireplace? woodstove? a fire pit would even work.. heat up a metal rod and poke holes in the bottom, you could use a drill too but the metal rod is faster
Drilling the holes definitely isn't a problem. My problem is managing/controlling the water that drains out after watering. My little 8" pots aren't a problem because I can fit a few of em in each tray and then I can dump the tray or let the run off evaporate. I use a carpeted bedroom very successfully but it does have its limitations.
I have a square 4gal bucket. I use one of those rectangular/square aluminum food trays that you put a little burner under to keep food warm at a party.
Hmm. I'm sure there's a simple solution for you, but i don't think you can get around the drainage holes. The fact that you can't flush should be enough to convince you. Have you ever bought weed that you have to light every time you toke? and has nasty black ashes? yuck..
Yeah that's a very good point. I don't want to sacrifice quality for quantity. I'm going to shop around and maybe compromise and find some 3 gallon buckets that oughta fit in my existing trays which will allow me to control the drainage. I'm running auto's this current cycle. We'll see how it goes. I'm germinating 5 Sweet Seeds Big Devil's and a few Nirvana Seeds Bubblelicious, Jock Horror, and Northern Lights.
I use 2 5 gal buckets one inside the other. When I hear water start dripping I stop watering, wait 15 mins and dump the bottom bucket.
This man has the smart. I know another guy that does something similar but his bottom buckets are all connected by tubing to one reservoir to collect his runoff.
If on carpet you should lay down some plastic. I should follow my own advice as I am on carpet with no plastic. I intended on getting plastic but just never have. I just have to be very careful. I use a small deep tupperware container to sit my 5 gal pot in. Works perfect to catch the runoff and to test my ph. I let it sit for about 15 minutes to drain and I lay the lid upside down right next to the comtainer. Then I take it out and sit it on the lid to dump the water. That's another reason why I have been able to get by without plastic. Course this is just for one plant. For more than one plant I will use either more tupperware containers (1 per plant) or trays.
ive used 5 gal buckets with no drainage, but you have to maintain a tight water regimen, to make sure you never over water, i usually do something like 32-64 oz a day (i use a plastic 16 oz solo cup with holes punched in the bottom) or every other day depending on how the soil feels, also alternating between nute feedings and plain water feedings to keep from over fertilizing. but you also have to watch the plant to see if it is thirsty. as far as flushing i always start when im about 2-3ish weeks from harvest, i switch to a gallon of plain water at a time to dilute any nutes in the soil and let the plant dry out nicely before it is watered again and i have had good results damn it looks like a lot of work typed out like that, i think im going to invest in some of those drainage trays haha
I had another thought... Has anyone ever used those grow bags? I saw the 3 and 5 gallon grow bags for pretty cheap. How would drainage/flushing work with those? I'm assuming you could just punch holes in the bottom?
you need those drainage holes man. period. not only will you battle overwater, root rot, and the no-flush at harvest. but your roots miss out on MUCH needed oxygen. the bottom of those 5 gal should have a lip. caulk something to the bottom of the buckets after you put in your drain holes. this will act like a resivoir. from there you can drill a small hole on the side near the bottom and insert a tube for drainage into a bucket or something. dump the bucket and ur good. i could imagine youd hafta watch out for mold/ algae in the resi thats under the bucket tho. ur probably not gonna wanna take this route but maybe it'll get some ideas crankin