Bud's Does A SIP Featuring The ViparSpectra KS5000

[LKABudMan]

Honestly, I don't even know what a wetting agent is. I guess I haven't added it.... lol.

I've seen people use aloe or yucca, or you can buy a comercially available wetting agent. It reduces the surface tension of the water, in escense making water wetter. It can help when your soil gets hydrophobic from getting too dry. You could also try watering slower, bottom watering, or sticking a skewer into the pot a few dozen times to make new pathways for the water. How much water is your 3g pot taking before runoff?

 

[BuzzzD]

I have been experimenting with sippy - does the size of the wick impact how wet the soil will get? I have been using 1/4" jute wick.

 

[Jonny5]

Try watering 1,2,3 times a bit at a time, if you’re watering all at once till run off you may be creating a dry hole in the middle of the root mass. Sometimes the soil can become a bit hydrophobic .. slow ur roll.

 

[Jonny5]

Emilya Green (420 staff) has an thread on.. How to properly water a potted plant , I have not read it yet ,, but it has had something like a million views

 

[CaptainLucky]

How long has she been in the 3gal Buds?

If I’m not mistaken don’t fabric bags/ pots airprune? CL

 

[marcus611a]

Here's a group shot of my other 4 gals.

And this lil' lady is the other "RUNTZ PUNCH" grown in a 3 gal. Fabric Pot. She's starting to look pretty good to me.
Yeah, She's drooping slightly. She was thirsty. All better now.

This here is.... Let's call it "CHERRY ON TOP #1". This is one of the plants that got Neemed right after a Trim. She seems to be recovering pretty well.... compared to the other one.

OK, so here is "CHERRY ON TOP #2" Yeah, she's #2 alright. Looks more like a head of lettuce than weed.... lol.
Oh well, I guess I learned not to put neem on a fresh cut plant.

And let's not forget that "PLATINUM GORRILLA" clone my friend gave me. She's no longer looking yellow & sickly.

And this concludes today's newscast. See ya soon !

excellent job with the gorilla clone!

 

[Buds Buddy]

Then I doubt that it's nearly root-bound, not at only 59 days old. But you never know. Your roots could grow I lot faster than what I'm used to seeing! Or maybe your soil is too compacted? Unless you really just want to up-pot her, you may want to try poking some aeration holes in the soil before you next water (I like to use a metal coat hanger.) and see if that helps.

I did the up-pot to the 5 gallon bag & no .... it was not rootbound. Soil wasn't very compact either as it was crumbling apart.
I think LKA might be on to something. The soil was a hell of a lot drier than I expected. Hmmm, maybe too much Perlite? I usually only add 20% to FFOF since it already has some in it. Sometimes I don't add any. Soil usually stays moist longer too.
Maybe, 40% is only better for SIP Grows & Plastic Pots & not as good for Fabric Pots. That's my assumption anyway.

 

[Buds Buddy]

yucca is typically used as wetting agent.

The easiest way I’ve seen to shuck a grow bad is to set the plant on a round column type object (such as bucket or small trash can) that’s smaller than your grow bag and turn the bag inside out as you slide it downward…. full credit to InTheShed Industries Inc…

I don't really like reusing my grow bags anyway. Now if they are the heavy duty Tan Geo Pots... that's a different story.
Not going to cut them. But the felt ones are cheap & once you wash them a 3 gal. pot becomes a 2 gal. & so forth. So I just cut those open. The newer Geo Pots (Black Ones) I'd cut as they are felt too.

 

[Buds Buddy]

If I’m not mistaken don’t fabric bags/ pots airprune? CL

Yes. Wasn't rootbound. Soil is just drying way fast.

 

[Buds Buddy]

excellent job with the gorilla clone!

Yeah, she looks a little better than when I got her. I up-potted her tonight to a 2 gal. plastic pot. Planning to flip to flower in the next 7 - 10 days so might as well have everything in a decent size pot for the size the plant will end up.

 

[Buds Buddy]

I've seen people use aloe or yucca, or you can buy a comercially available wetting agent. It reduces the surface tension of the water, in escense making water wetter. It can help when your soil gets hydrophobic from getting too dry. You could also try watering slower, bottom watering, or sticking a skewer into the pot a few dozen times to make new pathways for the water. How much water is your 3g pot taking before runoff?

5-6 20 oz. Cups.
I have Aloe Vera growing out back. Is this what you're talking about ? If it is, how do I use it ?
If not, do you know the name of any commercial wetting agent I can buy ? I'm interested in trying this to see how well it works.

 

[Buds Buddy]

I have been experimenting with sippy - does the size of the wick impact how wet the soil will get? I have been using 1/4" jute wick.

What you're doing is SWICK... not SIP. Similar, but not the same thing. I've never used a wick, so can't really be of help there.
Anybody, else know the answer to his question ?

 

[Buds Buddy]

Try watering 1,2,3 times a bit at a time, if you’re watering all at once till run off you may be creating a dry hole in the middle of the root mass. Sometimes the soil can become a bit hydrophobic .. slow ur roll.

I usually pour in a 20 oz. cup at a time. Let the soil soak that up & then add another cup & keep repeating till I get run off. Still probably takes under 5 min., but haven't really seen water coming out the sides of the bag. The bags get damp as the soil sucks up the water though.
I'm hoping the 5 gal. pot I up-potted to will keep the soil moist a little longer.
Do you think I still need to water even slower ?

 

[Buds Buddy]

Emilya Green (420 staff) has an thread on.. How to properly water a potted plant , I have not read it yet ,, but it has had something like a million views

Yes, I know Emilya's stuff very well. She was my grow tutor 6 years ago on another site. She's the one who brought me to 420Mag. She's very good at what she does (Organic Grows). I still turn to her when all else fails. She always seems to know what the issue is.

 

[Stunger]

I have been experimenting with sippy - does the size of the wick impact how wet the soil will get? I have been using 1/4" jute wick.

Hey Buzz, you should check out @Carmen Ray's The everything Swick club thread, they got most of the swicking questions answered there.

 

[ViparSpectra]

Time to update what's going on with my "RUNTZ PUNCH" in my DIY 12 Gal. SIP grown under the Fabulous @ViparSpectra KS5000 Super Bright LED Grow Light.
Today, I removed the 3 sticks I was using for LST & all my tie downs. Trimmed the lil' lady up some & redid the LST.
The res was completely empty to my surprise. I just filled it Thursday night & it holds at least 2 - 2.5 gallons. It was Bone Dry. You could hear the float hit the bottom loud & clear. I'll be connecting the External Reservoir when I flip to 12/12 because she is probably going to drink one helluva lot !
I'm currently feeding her at 5 gr. per gal. That's just strong enough to cause the very slightest of Tip Burn. Yes, I do this on purpose as it tells me she is taking up the maximum amount of nutes she can handle.
Anyways, I'm pretty comfortable with her size as far as diameter goes. Didn't get the perfect shape I was hoping for, but still not too bad. One bottom branch just didn't want to grow & the side with the fill tube is growing slower than the other 3 sides. Never the less, I still think this girl could end up my biggest yielder to date. She looks to me to have the potential.
Now let's see how long it takes to grow about another 10" - 12" in height. Then I'll flip her to 12/12. I'm trying to plan the flip so she'll be 3.5 - 4' tall when harvested.
Everything has gone quite well this grow with @InTheShed nute calculations. I sure hope things continue this good during Flower. "Fingers Crossed".... lol.
OK, OK, I'll quit rambling & post the damned pics already.

Nice and green, beautifully done.

 

[Carmen Ray]

I have been experimenting with sippy - does the size of the wick impact how wet the soil will get? I have been using 1/4" jute wick.

Hi BuzzzD. The size and composition of the wick will indeed impact the moisture levels. It can be a bit fiddly to start with while you figure out the optimal wick size, number and type. That will come from experimenting until you nail the sweet spot. Do come and look at the thread on Swicking. It is in my signature. There is a lot of useful info and people with experience to answer questions.

5-6 20 oz. Cups.
I have Aloe Vera growing out back. Is this what you're talking about ? If it is, how do I use it ?
If not, do you know the name of any commercial wetting agent I can buy ? I'm interested in trying this to see how well it works.

Hi Buds. Slice the piece of aloe vera laterally, squeeze the gel out and dilute... I can't remember the correct dilution. This is a very good wetting agent so no need for commercial varieties. Use as drench for wetting.

 

[Buds Buddy]

Hi BuzzzD. The size and composition of the wick will indeed impact the moisture levels. It can be a bit fiddly to start with while you figure out the optimal wick size, number and type. That will come from experimenting until you nail the sweet spot. Do come and look at the thread on Swicking. It is in my signature. There is a lot of useful info and people with experience to answer questions.


Hi Buds. Slice the piece of aloe vera laterally, squeeze the gel out and dilute... I can't remember the correct dilution. This is a very good wetting agent so no need for commercial varieties. Use as drench for wetting.

@Azimuth does all kinds of stuff (KNF) with plants. Maybe he knows the dilution rate.

 

[Buds Buddy]

Nice and green, beautifully done.

Thank you & the KS5000 is doing a very nice job also.

 

[Buds Buddy]

Finally got my computer to upload some pics. It's been taking a long time lately for some reason. Internet has been really slow too. Not sure what's going on with my computer, but it's irritating me...lol.

The growth in the SIP over the past week has been fairly decent. I figure another 7-10 days till I start flower. The SIP "Runtz Punch" is definitely handling the 5 gr. per gal. nutes better than the fabric pot one. Looks like just the slightest bit of "N" toxicity in the SIP grow; but the fabric pot has a little more of it.
I'm starting to get a little antsy about starting flower. Wondering just how much this strain will stretch. I'll do a defol on Friday & most likely flip on the Monday following the defol. I think by then the plant should be big enough to end up between 3' - 4' tall at harvest. I wont be able to use my Green Plant Stakes on this grow since I spread the plant out so much. So 2 weeks after the flip I plan to put up a SCROG net at about 3' high to hold the branches up.
Hooking up the 12 gal. External Res today sometime as I need to make sure it works right before the net goes up. If not I'll have to get a shut off for it.
So here's a few pics of this gal.

And these are a couple of Clones I took from her about a week - 10 days ago. They are for a friend. They should be rooted by time I flip to 12/12.

To be continued in the next post.