Well, for one I like to put hydroton up to the top of the drain hole. But, what this post is about is my new idea. I've thought about running a small(not sure the measurement) pvc pipe down to 1" above the bottom of the bucket,[having 1" of hydroton already in the bucket, then running the pipe, then filling the rest of the bucket up with the pipe in place] and using a funnel at the top to feed the plants that way. I'm not sure how it's going to work out, but I'm going to give it a try. I think it's only going to work well on plants that have roots that have already reached the resevoir. I've considered feeding 3/4 of nute the mix thru the pipe, and 1/4 over the top. I'm going to run a test next round of clones I do, and one I'm going to ONLY feed thru the pvc pipe. The other I'll feed 3/4. And the others I'll do normally.
Looks like it's going to be sooner rather than later. I have taken one of my recently potted clones out, and am going to use it for the outdoor grow. In it's place I'm going to use the new idea. So in 10 days I'll start posting pics and such. - *WiZaRD- I've also thought of running the pipe down all the way, with holes in the sides[at the bottom], the making a floatation device that has a ball on the top, so that when the res is empty it sits on the top of the pipe..(you get the idea).
Let me just preface this with "I've Never Done DWC', etc., but... If you want to grow Hempy, anything more than a drain hole is 'pissing in the wind'. Not sure if that came out correctly. The whole point of Hempy is to make thing's simple. Stop Trying To Re-invent The Wheel! :icon_confused:
Not sure exactly what that may do since bud is a taproot type of plant. The tap root is the water seeker and goes deep where as the shallow more fibrous roots are better nute absorbers. Would be interested to see how it works out.
I see your point astro. I still think it's going to be interesting. If I just do the pipe, no float. It's still simple. I hvae TONS of pvc pipe(i make pvc furniture). Perhaps it is a waste of time, but this is my hobby and I never get tired of experimentation as long as I have a stable tried and tested system of bud coming up. It's not like I'm going to risk any significant amount of my grow each harvest on an idea... Thanks for the input though guys.
Many good things came from experiments. Experiment on, dude. And when you, do, reinvent the wheel, send some pics, because I don't know what the F$%K you just said. Maybe I'm high.
I don't know how well that is going to work in hydroton but I'd love to see if the results would be the same as perlite/verm or even straight perlite. I know that I water from the side of the bucket in one spot (per flowering, I use a different spot on the pots each time so that all the mix gets flushed over time) with 2/3 perl 1/3 verm and within mins the mix has soaked moisture all the way to the top. That's why I use a measuring cup and put a certain amount in each pot and then go through all the pots before putting another cup in the first plant. That way when I'm done the mix is saturated to capacity AND the res is full.
As far as the hydroton goes. It works. I have used hydroton up to the top of the drain hole on my last hempy grow (AH#3) and I'm using it on my current grow. I then put my mix in on top of the hydroton, some of it seeps down in there, but not all the way. I notice that my buckets drain faster, better, longer than the previous hempy buckets I've done with just the perlite vermeculite.
Nope, but I did however do a 2gal hempy with just hydroton, used a 4" rockwool cube, and had about 1/3 of it sticking out the top. Planted the seed in the rockwool and let it go. It did fine.
I'm not sure I understand the point of your experiment. Why would you want to bypass all of the root system throught the rest of the pot, and go straight to the reservoir? I think the wicking action of the perlite would counteract this anyways. Just wondering what your ideas were on why this would work better than straight hempy. Not trying to shoot ya down, just interested in what you have to say.
But bud's not a monocot with a fibrous root system, it is a taproot system type of plant even if cloned w/o a true central taproot. Has any of your clone's roots never reached the bottom of the pot? That's what taproot systems do.
LOL: All the reading I've done points to clones not having a tap root. The tap root is a special root that comes from the seed. So, I don't know what you been reading, unless you do your own experiments. The roots in the bottom of the pot are lateral roots.
Have you not ever really looked at a rooted clone? It clearly resembles a mature monocot's adventitious root rather than a taproot. Also, the radicle(taproot) is pre-existing in the seed and doesn't form any other time other than seed development. Idk unless you have your clones always come out with a single primary root. Mine ussually have multiple. Not saying the plants tissue types change or anything just the clones resemble more of monocots than dicots and clones don't have a true taproot.
