Aspen's Alaskan Purple In Soil - 2022

[AspenCultivator]

It's SIP Time

Okay @Azimuth , let's see what you think.

Materials List:
5 gallon bucket
5 quart mixing bucket
1/2" PVC pipe (I bought 5' of it, used 9" per bucket)
1/2" PVC Slip x 1/2" Male NPT (Instead of a coupler)

First order of business was drilling holes into the side of the 5 qt mixing bucket. There are 4 quarts to a gallon, and I noticed a quart in this particular 5qt bucket happened to be 1" in volume to the lip around the rim. Absolutely perfect for an air gap and to hold 1 gallon of water.

There's no rhyme or reason to the placement of the holes. Are there enough holes? If not, I can drill more. I haven't filled the buckets with soil yet.

Note the holes drilled around the 'bottom' towards the rim. The rim will be cut off later, and the holes leave room for the water to soak into the soil at the very bottom edge of the 5gal bucket.

Next holes were drilled into the top of the res and I marked out where the 1/2" adapter will go.

I used a 7/8" forstner bit to create the 1/2" adapter hole.

Adapter is installed. The bit that goes into the bucket is male threaded 1/2" NPT. I chose this instead of a coupler and small bit of 1/2" PVC inside the res for a matter of convenience. Less cutting, etc.

Once all holes were drilled it was time to cut off the rim. I left the rim on during drilling only to provide some structural integrity to the walls and bottom (top) of the res. Once this bucket is inverted in the 5 gallon, I will be able to input exactly 1 gallon of water while leaving a 1" air gap.

With the rim removed, the bucket sits flat inverted but is not sealed against the bottom of the 5 gallon. The holes allow water to interface with the soil media at the lowest point in the bucket.

Installed shot. The PVC feed tube comes up exactly 3/4" above the pot. I have a funnel I'll use to fill, which adds more height. I don't have time today, but at some point this week I'm going to design and 3D print a clip that can sit on the top rim of the 5 gallon bucket and hold the fill tube about 1/2" from the rim. Words are hard, when I have it printed you'll see what I mean. It's just like the doo-dad the grobucket inserts use.

In the above pic, note the 1/4" hole drilled for overflow on the right.

Then I used black duct tape and taped the entire bucket to reduce light in the mix, and made a second one.

Notice the feed tube is straight up and down, and is quite far from the edge of the bucket. I'm sure it's fine from a functional point of view, but I'd prefer if it were tilted to be around 1/2" from the edge of the bucket. I believe this is purely my OCD, maybe someone can verify if it matters? It may not be needed, but I'd like it to be tilted none the less.

And that's it. Did I miss anything? Are there enough holes in the sides and top of the res? I used a 7/32 bit for the holes as I thought 1/4" might be too big.

Now this isn't the only SIP I built. I peaked at the Blueberries and all three are showing a nice taproot, much better than the alaskan purples.

I drilled some overflow holes 1" from the bottom of my nursery pots and filled them 1.75" with washed perlite. Then I realized...my nursery cups already have holes in the bottom of them. What did I smoke this morning?

Went out and got some clear and red Solo cups. Why, on this green Earth, are these two solo cups different sizes? I sincerely don't understand the solo cup market right now. I was standing in line at the register and noticed the clear cups were bigger in diameter than the red ones even though they were both 18oz. Went back and found cups that actually fit and when I got home, there's about an 1/8" gap where the top diameter of the clear cup is smaller than the top diameter of the red cup. Wtf?

Anyway, it'll work. Drilled a hole in the clear and red cups at 1" and filled to 1.75" with washed perlite.

Continued....

 

[AspenCultivator]

Continued...

Then the cups were filled with 80% FFHF and 20% perlite. I completely forgot to add myco, so I may go digging for the seeds later and add it or I may not. I really don't want to disturb them so I kinda doubt I'll go fishing unless someone says "Hey, go get those seeds and add myco!"

And here we have the beginnings to Blueberry #1, #2, and #3. The only thing I didn't do is add a hole above the 1" hole in the solo cups for air...should I add that hole? I imagined the overflow hole will add air anyway, but if someone says "Hey add another hole in the air gap on your solos" I'll go do it!

Thanks for stopping by as I transition this slow tent into something fiesty. And speaking of, there's a knock on the door. The @ViparSpectra KS2500 has arrived! I'll get it hung up and take pics later this evening.

I appreciate any and all critiques and advice on the 5 gallon and Solo SIP builds. Thank you in advance for all the help everyone

 

[sjb504]

Looks great from what I seen can't wait to watch them take off...

 

[lootznbootz]

Hell yea! Be sure to post your write up in the sip thread! Also to help with the full tube cut it in half and put a 45 degree elbow on it to bring it closer to the rim

 

[ViparSpectra]

Continued...

Then the cups were filled with 80% FFHF and 20% perlite. I completely forgot to add myco, so I may go digging for the seeds later and add it or I may not. I really don't want to disturb them so I kinda doubt I'll go fishing unless someone says "Hey, go get those seeds and add myco!"

And here we have the beginnings to Blueberry #1, #2, and #3. The only thing I didn't do is add a hole above the 1" hole in the solo cups for air...should I add that hole? I imagined the overflow hole will add air anyway, but if someone says "Hey add another hole in the air gap on your solos" I'll go do it!

Thanks for stopping by as I transition this slow tent into something fiesty. And speaking of, there's a knock on the door. The @ViparSpectra KS2500 has arrived! I'll get it hung up and take pics later this evening.

I appreciate any and all critiques and advice on the 5 gallon and Solo SIP builds. Thank you in advance for all the help everyone

Looking forward to the growing! Hope your girls would love KS2500!

 

[AspenCultivator]

Hell yea! Be sure to post your write up in the sip thread! Also to help with the full tube cut it in half and put a 45 degree elbow on it to bring it closer to the rim

Thanks Lootz! I'll definitely make a post up tomorrow, today has been a whirlwind of events! As for the fill tube, the 45 elbow will work but my overflow hole on the 5gal bucket is only 1/4"...so I can't properly see inside the res to know how much water is available. I'm going to keep the fill tube straight so I can use a wooden dowel as a dipstick to measure the amount of water in the res. I won't have a way of determining the water level if I put a 45 in unfortunately.

The KS2500 was delivered and of course the entire tent needed rearranging with new cord layouts and attachment points. After a few shots and a few joints, and with help from my better half, we finally got the tent arranged and stickers posted up to set the stage for the Blueberries that are hopefully going to outpace the Alaskan Purples. Here are the final pics:

This light kicks absolute ass compared to the 100w HLG100V2 that was in there before. You can already see the massive upgrade in 5000k light being provided. The driver is being hung inside the tent to provide a little more heat during these winter months, and come summer time (I don't have AC here in the PNW) I can move it outside the tent to try and maintain temps. Excellent feature of the KS2500 for sure.

The tower fan has been around since my first, and only, grow back in 2019. With this particular light and tent setup I believe it's time for the fan to make an exit. Over the next few weeks I'll be collecting some decent clip on fans, and in this 3x3 I'm planning on 2 below the canopy and 2 above it to replace the tower fan. I know with 2 five gallon bucket setups I'm going to need all the room I can get, and without the tower fan I can center the lights in the tent to provide more even lighting, as right now it's shoved to the side.

The light is currently hanging 18" above the Alaskan Purple set to 25%. Vipar recommends 50% @ 18" in seedling stage but I'd like to have a day or two at 25% to observe temperatures and growth. Once the Blueberries break ground they'll spend a few days at 25% and then I'll go to 50% at 18".

Thanks for reading my ramblings and slow growth updates! If anything I get to hang out with some amazing people and discuss this great plant. And that's all that matters, even with these slow pokes!

 

[Buds Buddy]

Currently I have a new set of Fox Farm Dirty Dozen. It's pretty much their entire nute line, including water solubles. Minus wholly mackeral and kelp me kelp you. I'm seeing how a lot of people are gravitating towards LOS so perhaps when these nutes are gone I'll look more into building a soil etc. But for now this is what I've got.

Perfect explanation on the back and forth, that's what I needed to read. Especially feeding twice a day then just watering twice the next day, absolutely makes sense now. Thank you so much!

I just got back with some supplies so I'm going to get building and have some pics up later today. I'll post it over in the #SIP Club as well for feedback! I also may have a Blueberry update later, we'll see!

Oh...., You have to follow FF nutes to the Tee pretty much. @Emilya Green would be better off at telling you how to use them in a SIP as she knows more about those nutes. I've never used them. I prefer the simplicity of 1 & 2 part powdered nutes with an additive or 2 that I feed every time.

 

[Azimuth]

Okay @Azimuth , let's see what you think.

Wow, @AspenCultivator , great job!

There's no rhyme or reason to the placement of the holes. Are there enough holes? If not, I can drill more. I haven't filled the buckets with soil yet.

Probably enough. I go a bit hole happy and make one every inch or less all over. I figure the more air the better but the plant will only make use of so much.

Adapter is installed. The bit that goes into the bucket is male threaded 1/2" NPT. I chose this instead of a coupler and small bit of 1/2" PVC inside the res for a matter of convenience. Less cutting, etc.

Clever. I like it.

With the rim removed, the bucket sits flat inverted but is not sealed against the bottom of the 5 gallon. The holes allow water to interface with the soil media at the lowest point in the bucket.

Perfect.

Notice the feed tube is straight up and down, and is quite far from the edge of the bucket. I'm sure it's fine from a functional point of view, but I'd prefer if it were tilted to be around 1/2" from the edge of the bucket. I believe this is purely my OCD, maybe someone can verify if it matters? It may not be needed, but I'd like it to be tilted none the less.

I like the feed tube to be close to the rim as well. Makes filling it easier. When I fill with soil I just make sure it's leaning close to the rim. The straight pipe allows for use of a dip stick as you mentioned.

And that's it. Did I miss anything? Are there enough holes in the sides and top of the res? I used a 7/32 bit for the holes as I thought 1/4" might be too big.

Nope. The only other thing I do, and its not necessary is add a second fill tube on the opposite side. My theory is that I have a better chance at air  flow than I would with a single air/fill tube ending in a dead end.

Anyway, it'll work. Drilled a hole in the clear and red cups at 1" and filled to 1.75" with washed perlite.

I don't even bother with a hole in the outer cup. I take out the clear one to water.

Another thing I've taken to doing is when I put the perlite in the cups, I tilt the cup so the drain hole is facing down and then add perlite so it covers the hole. Then I carefully add soil above it and try to get some soil to the very bottom of the cup. When the cup is righted, the perlite "layer" is really a 45* section and soil is the balance. Don't know if that explanation is clear enough.

The only thing I didn't do is add a hole above the 1" hole in the solo cups for air...should I add that hole? I imagined the overflow hole will add air anyway, but if someone says "Hey add another hole in the air gap on your solos" I'll go do it!

A second, slightly higher hole makes it easier to fill with water by setting the cup in another slightly wider container as it gives the displaced air and easy exit point, but not necessary. I make mine with a soldering iron. Super easy and a cleaner hole on the flimsy cups, but what you're doing will work fine.

Thanks for stopping by as I transition this slow tent into something fiesty. And speaking of, there's a knock on the door. The @ViparSpectra KS2500 has arrived! I'll get it hung up and take pics later this evening.

Great timing!

And yeah, definitely post this over in SIP Club. Great work!

Remember when you fill your buckets to put a section of big chunky perlite, or river rock, or hydroton in a section around and covering the hole and extending to your dome to give excess water an easy exit. As your roots start to populate that area you'll have to ream it out periodically but you want to try to keep the hole open. Kind of like ice fishing.

Great job all around! I'm impressed. And welcome to SIP Club.

 

[sjb504]

I have a question is it possible that maybe they have been focusing on roots?, and is why they have not grown much, or maybe put one in a bigger pot idk just trying to figure out what is restricting them.. sorry if this was already discussed..

 

[AspenCultivator]

Another thing I've taken to doing is when I put the perlite in the cups, I tilt the cup so the drain hole is facing down and then add perlite so it covers the hole. Then I carefully add soil above it and try to get some soil to the very bottom of the cup. When the cup is righted, the perlite "layer" is really a 45* section and soil is the balance. Don't know if that explanation is clear enough.

You know I wondered about this. I thought I read somewhere that perlite doesn't wick water up as efficiently as a peat soil mix so when I dropped the perlite in the solo cups I considered sprinkling some soil in the 'rock' for the wicking properties but didn't. Next time I'll for sure take that into consideration.

A second, slightly higher hole makes it easier to fill with water by setting the cup in another slightly wider container as it gives the displaced air and easy exit point, but not necessary. I make mine with a soldering iron. Super easy and a cleaner hole on the flimsy cups, but what you're doing will work fine.

I was so preoccupied with documenting the build I took pics before I cleaned up the holes. That's my mistake in making the post...it took a lot of time to chamfer or bevel the holes in the res and also the solo cups. I washed everything out to make sure all the plastic dust was gone. I have a soldering iron, but it's a super nice one and I can't bring myself to use it to melt plastic as I use it for surface mount soldering sometimes in projects.

As for the hole I'll agree it's not necessary at all. I filled a shallow dish with enough water to be above the overflow hole in the clear solo cups. It soaked the 'res' of the solo cup within seconds anyway.

Remember when you fill your buckets to put a section of big chunky perlite, or river rock, or hydroton in a section around and covering the hole and extending to your dome to give excess water an easy exit.

I was so baked last night when I made the post I forgot this detail. Thank you for mentioning it! I definitely plan on providing something more than soil (probably perlite) at the overflow hole. I have 1/4" irrigation tubing I thought of gluing from the res to the 5gal bucket as a path for the water (like the guy that used the bucket handle as a path). But then you posted just putting some rock there will suffice, so rock it is!

Great job all around!

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and experience with this type of system. I could not have built this without your thread and everyone's wonderful contributions!

I have a question is it possible that maybe they have been focusing on roots?, and is why they have not grown much, or maybe put one in a bigger pot idk just trying to figure out what is restricting them.. sorry if this was already discussed..

That's what I've thought too. I really just don't know at this point. I thought the seed casing wasn't viable but Azimuth mentioned once they break through to their real leaves they should have roots and stop relying on the seed's nutrients. This is the exact reason I bought clear solo cups so I can monitor the root structure of the blueberries as they grow. I also have fresh seed on the way so I'm hoping to get some amazing results either with the blueberries or the new seed.

 

[Buds Buddy]

I have a question is it possible that maybe they have been focusing on roots?, and is why they have not grown much, or maybe put one in a bigger pot idk just trying to figure out what is restricting them.. sorry if this was already discussed..

They do seem to focus on root development the first 2-3 weeks. But after that they should really take off. I'm doing a GG#4 Auto in a 5 gal. SIP right now. I thought it was stunted & then it just took off. People will be shocked at how big it's grown in just 2 more weeks when I post pics this weekend. I've been behind on my grows because of my wife passing away. But I'm ready to get rolling again so I'll be getting my tent done & starting a new grow Sunday. I'll be posting pics in that journal of the GG too.

 

[lootznbootz]

They do seem to focus on root development the first 2-3 weeks. But after that they should really take off. I'm doing a GG#4 Auto in a 5 gal. SIP right now. I thought it was stunted & then it just took off. People will be shocked at how big it's grown in just 2 more weeks when I post pics this weekend. I've been behind on my grows because of my wife passing away. But I'm ready to get rolling again so I'll be getting my tent done & starting a new grow Sunday. I'll be posting pics in that journal of the GG too.

I'll be documenting my side by side with this concept as the focus.
I am aiming to see if starting in a rapid rooter as soon as roots break avoids this slow growth. my current Purple Bubba Kush didn't seem to skip a beat going straight to the SIP compared to the other seeds started the same way but in Solo cups instead.
This time I aim to do the side by side with clones

 

[Azimuth]

Excellent. I'm going to try rooting in a water based system and see if that helps.

This is one of the areas I think we need to dial in better - shortening the transition time.

Looking forward to your observations.

 

[Buds Buddy]

Excellent. I'm going to try rooting in a water based system and see if that helps.

This is one of the areas I think we need to dial in better - shortening the transition time.

Looking forward to your observations.

Darn it ! Now ya got me thinkin again.... lol. I use a bubble cloner. I have some small 2" net cups that fit where the clone collars go. I'm curious what a seed in a Root Riot plug sitting in a net pot would do in a bubble cloner. I think it would damp off & die.... but who knows ?

 

[lootznbootz]

Darn it ! Now ya got me thinkin again.... lol. I use a bubble cloner. I have some small 2" net cups that fit where the clone collars go. I'm curious what a seed in a Root Riot plug sitting in a net pot would do in a bubble cloner. I think it would damp off & die.... but who knows ?

IF and I think that's a big IF it wasn't too much moisture... You might be on to something. Wait can't we start seeds in a DWC style bucket? it's been a while since I've dabbled in hydro

 

[Buds Buddy]

IF and I think that's a big IF it wasn't too much moisture... You might be on to something. Wait can't we start seeds in a DWC style bucket? it's been a while since I've dabbled in hydro

A Bubble Cloner is pretty much DWC.

 

[AspenCultivator]

IF and I think that's a big IF it wasn't too much moisture... You might be on to something. Wait can't we start seeds in a DWC style bucket? it's been a while since I've dabbled in hydro

That's how I started seeds with the recirculating setup. 24 hour soak, then 24 hours in paper towel and straight into a rapid rooter in a 5 gallon rdwc. It had a 'water elevator' or whatever it's officially called where the air pump drove an air stone in the bucket but it also pushed water up a tube and around a drip ring around the rooter. Once roots hit the soup I'd remove this 'self watering water elevator' thing and that would be that.

I don't have an official update per-se but decided to take some pics anyway. Besides, the blueberries are poking out so I believe we're looking at day 1 for them.

Alaskan Purple #2 Day 33

• AspenCultivator
• Dec 29, 2022

Alaskan Purple #1 Day 33

• AspenCultivator
• Dec 29, 2022

Blueberry #2 Day 1

• AspenCultivator
• Dec 29, 2022

Blueberry #1 Day 1

• AspenCultivator
• Dec 29, 2022

Alaskan Purple #1 Day 33

• AspenCultivator
• Dec 29, 2022

Alaskan Purple #2 Day 33

• AspenCultivator
• Dec 29, 2022

The alaskan purples seem to be stretching towards the light which is awesome to see. The KS2500 is currently 18" above them set to 50% power.

It'll be interesting to see if the blueberries can bypass the alaskan purples. That's my hope, anyway, so I can get two of the blueberries in SIP containers and then really see them take off once they adjust. I may just leave the alaskan purples in the solo cups and take them to flower...I think micro solo cup grows are fascinating and would be fun to do that with these since they're so outrageously slow. But it all depends on the blueberries and also when my seed order gets delivered, because at the end of the day I don't want to struggle with the alaskan purples if they're just going to stay in this stunted phase, and if the blueberries do the same thing for some reason I'll pop the new seeds and see if that makes a difference.

 

[AspenCultivator]

Hi everyone! I checked the alaskan purples this morning and they didn't seem to need water. I still felt a bit of weight at the very bottom of their cups and their leaves were still praying for the light. Then I decided to check on the blueberries this evening and noticed the alaskans were a bit frowny and low and behold their cups were empty. Everything got water tonight (about 4 hours before lights out).

The purples were fed last watering so plain PHed 6.3 water is all they got this time. Same water as the blueberries. To water the SIP cups I just dunk the clear cups in my pitcher passed the overflow hole and wait about 3 seconds. That's all it takes for the bottom res to fill (confirmed with the clear cups). Then back in their red cups they go. Note: I watered the purples 10ml before I took these pictures.

Alaskan Purple #1 Day 34

• AspenCultivator
• Dec 30, 2022

Alaskan Purple #2 Day 34

• AspenCultivator
• Dec 30, 2022

Blueberry #3 Day 2

• AspenCultivator
• Dec 30, 2022

Blueberry #1 Day 2

• AspenCultivator
• Dec 30, 2022

Blueberry #2 Day 2

• AspenCultivator
• Dec 30, 2022

Technically blueberry #3 is on day 1 but for simplicity's sake it's promoted to day 2. Suffice it to say all three popped which is a giant surprise considering this seed is 2+ years old and improperly stored. Let's see how they do!

 

[AspenCultivator]

I took a look back at the beginning of this journal to compare the alaskan purples to the blueberries. There's quite a difference. There's almost no stretch in the blueberry (top pic) compared to the alaskan purple (bottom pic). It should be noted that the blueberry is at day 2 in this pic and the alaskan purple is at day 3. Interesting. I really hope these blueberries blow the alaskan purples out of the water.

 

[AspenCultivator]

Alaskan Purple - Day 36

Hey everyone! Still have super slow growth from the Alaskan Purples, but these pics show #2 is praying towards the light from the water she got 2 days ago. Purple #1 just seems flat out stalled. I'm not seeing the praying that I do on #2 and really haven't noticed new growth. I don't believe #1 is going to be around for much longer. I'll let her dry out on this cycle but if she's not any bigger than she is right now in 4-5 days I'm not going to waste the nutes on her.

Alaskan Purple #2 Day 36

• AspenCultivator
• Jan 1, 2023

Alaskan Purple #1 Day 36

• AspenCultivator
• Jan 1, 2023

Blueberry - Day 4

I'm noticing some gnats came in with the soil I'm using for the blueberries and their res needed filled so I mixed up a quart of water and let some mosquito bits soak for a while. PHed the water to 6.3 and for fun tested the ppm, which settled to 178. I dunked the clear cups in my pitcher and it only takes a couple seconds before it's full.

I also used 10ml, and only 10ml (per cup), very slowly to try and cover the entire surface of the cup to get any gnat larvae right away as opposed to waiting for the res to empty out. So I'll just be including mosquito bits for the next several waterings/feedings until they're gone.

Blueberry #1 Day 4

• AspenCultivator
• Jan 1, 2023

Blueberry #2 Day 4

• AspenCultivator
• Jan 1, 2023

Blueberry #3 Day 4

• AspenCultivator
• Jan 1, 2023

So far so good on all 3 of them. Not much to say on these other than I've been watering their res every 2 days at this point, when I notice it's empty and the surface of the soil starts looking dry. An hour or two after I water the res the surface is moist again.

Thanks for coming in and I hope everyone has a wonderful new year!