Cbdhemp808's Comparison Grow - HI-BISCUS SIP Bucket Vs. Nursery Pot

cbdhemp808 said:
Hi Azi :ciao: I take it this means a surfactant would help the water stick to the soil particles. With the current result of most of a gallon going straight to the reservoir, what do you think the addition of aloe juice to the water would have done? How much aloe juice? I just happen to have some fairly good size aloe in pots right now.
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Do you think that the soil got moistened on the way by or does it seem like there are still dry pockets?

You don't need much aloe, but aloe in itself it's a great amendment for your plants.
Azimuth said:
Yes, you should, but you should think about growing it in your garden. Aloe can act in place of soap when using a foliar to help the liquid spread more evenly and better adhere to the leaves than the same spray would without it. When you shake it, it will foam up.

In addition, you can run whole leaves through a blender and feed that to plants for a pretty broad supplement. Also, I've used it in place of rooting hormone.

Here's a good video on using aloe in the garden:

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Azimuth said:
Do you think that the soil got moistened on the way by or does it seem like there are still dry pockets?
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I think it all got totally moistened. I mean, this is basically the soil mix I've been using for years in either fabric or plastic pots, and I've been top watering to runoff and keeping the wet/dry cycle. So, the results are what you've seen on the forum here. Whether or not aloe would cause more water to be retained in the soil, I don't know. But it sounds like a good idea to add it regardless, so perhaps I will start doing that for some of the waterings. I have some decent size plants with big leaves. I can run some through the blender w/ water and keep in the fridge, maybe with a small amount of ascorbic acid.

The new thing now for me is that the runoff is caught in the reservoir. The fact that most of the gallon went quite rapidly into the reservoir is mysterious to me. I mean it's just new territory to catch runoff and know how much runoff is there. I also noticed that a few hours after adding the gallon, the reservoir level was down slightly below 3", so it went down a little quite rapidly, so perhaps either the roots drank from the rez or there was some wicking.
 
DAY 14

SIP rez level is down to 2-1/2" from 3-3/8" yesterday (full).

HEIGHT... SIP - 26.00", POT - 26.00", Δ 0.00

EDIT: SIP rez level has dropped 1/4" in about 2 hrs. Greenhouse temp. 87°F, RH 63%.
 
DAY 16

HEIGHT... SIP - 27.00", POT - 27.00", Δ 0.00

SIP rez level is at 1", down from 3-3/8" (full) on DAY 13, a drop of 2-3/8" which equals about 2-1/4 quarts in 4 days, or about 0.56 qt per day. There's about 1 qt left in the rez, or 2 days worth.

For now I'm going with the calculation that when the rez is full at 3-3/8", that represents about 0.8 gal of water.

When the rez hits 1/2 inch, I'm guessing that topping it up to 2" would be about the right amount, which is about 1/2 gal.
 
DAY 18

The plants are looking great and are still basically the same in terms of size and development.

HEIGHT... SIP - 28.75", POT - 29.75", Δ -1.00

After some thought, I decided to top water both containers, in the interest of keeping the experiment equal.

I gave the POT an even top watering of 1 gal, and got a bit of runoff.

The SIP rez level was down to < 1/4". I measured the weight of the SIP and it was similar to the previous weight check just prior to adding water. I top watered 1/2 gal which raised the rez level to about 1-1/2". I waited and the level stabilized there. I decided to add another 12 oz of water down the tube, raising the level to 2-1/4".

Regarding the measurement of height, I realized that the most accurate measurement is taken from the center apical meristem—i.e. the top-center growing point of the plant. Both plants are now showing a single, distinct new top leaf.

New leaf at apical meristem
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cbdhemp808 said:
The SIP rez level was down to < 1/4". I measured the weight of the SIP and it was similar to the previous weight check just prior to adding water. I top watered 1/2 gal which raised the rez level to about 1-1/2". I waited and the level stabilized there. I decided to add another 12 oz of water down the tube, raising the level to 2-1/4".
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SIP rez level settled down to 2" by late afternoon. So, top watering the SIP with 1/2 gal, plus 12 oz down the tube = 2" in the rez.

At this point my plan is to water the SIP this way whenever the rez goes below 1/2". I'm guessing this amount of water will be enough through late veg. When the point is reached when I would need to water at this rate every day, I'll then increase to top watering a full gallon.
 
DAY 20

The plants are looking great. I'd say the POT has a slight edge in size and development at this point.

HEIGHT... SIP - 29.50", POT - 31.00", Δ -1.50

The SIP rez level is already down to almost 1/2", from 2" on Tuesday.

Do I need to be more proactive w/ the SIP to encourage deeper root growth, or am I on the right track? Root growth in cannabis is naturally more horizontal, which is why I always use "squat" nursery pots. 🤔
 
There's a transition period for the plant roots to convert to SIP life. It's just letting the other one get a bit overconfident before it leaves it in the dust. :thumb:
 
(EDITED)

Yeah, I think we'll see the change when the containers become crowded with roots, and then the SIP will have the distinct advantage with more water available and air for the roots. For now, all the runoff from the SIP soil is going into the rez, carrying nutrients with it. And then when I start fertigating, there will be an even more pronounced difference.

In terms of when to flip... I'm not sure, but I'm thinking around 3-1/2 ft tall (42")... a foot taller than they are now. I'm guessing that will take 10 days or less, so around Oct. 20th (DAY 30). This will be a distinct departure from my usual (lazy) routine of allowing the plants to get quite tall in veg. Hopefully this will give the plants more energy for flowering, meaning bigger colas and more resin.

By the way, I'm seeing no sign of the disease that affected the grandmother of these HI-BISCUS clones.
 
cbdhemp808 said:
At this point my plan is to water the SIP this way whenever the rez goes below 1/2". I'm guessing this amount of water will be enough through late veg. When the point is reached when I would need to water at this rate every day, I'll then increase to top watering a full gallon.
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DAY 20 - update

The SIP rez dropped below 1/2". I checked the weight of the bucket by feel and realized that the medium is still plenty damp. I decided not to top water and instead put 1-1/2 qt down the tube. The rez is now stabilized at 2".

Is this the right approach, or should I allow the medium to dry out some before either top watering or adding water down the tube?
 
cbdhemp808 said:
Is this the right approach, or should I allow the medium to dry out some before either top watering or adding water down the tube?
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You'd have to wait quite a while for the medium to dry out materially. Plus, it's the constant access to water and nutes that brings the magic. Kind of counterintuitive for those used to a wet/dry cycle.
 
Azimuth said:
You'd have to wait quite a while for the medium to dry out materially. Plus, it's the constant access to water and nutes that brings the magic. Kind of counterintuitive for those used to a wet/dry cycle.
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🙏 And air... I mean, waterlogged soil is a no-no in the normal universe.
 
DAY 23

Plants are looking great... still about the same size and development... POT is a bit taller.

I gave them both water on Saturday. SIP rez level was just under 2" today.
 
Gee64 said:
When do SIPs usually "catch"?
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In my situation with a clone in a 5gal SIP, I'm guessing around day 30, which is when I'm planning to flip to flower, and that's when the reservoir will really come into play with water/air availability and then fertigation.
 
DAY 24

The plants are looking great. The POT still has a slight edge.

HEIGHT... SIP - 31.75", POT - 32.50", Δ -0.75

The SIP rez level is down to 1", from 2" on Saturday.
 
Scottay said:
Looks like top shelf herb!! 😎✌️
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Thanks! Those pics were from my 2023 harvest... only harvest I've had, due to setback of the only clone mom coming down with a root zone pathogen that went systemic. This prize pheno went to the emergency room... I removed the plant from the pot, removed all soil, washed the root ball and treated it, then re-potted with fresh soil. I also fed her a brew of beneficial microbes including trichoderma. When she recovered some I took clone cuttings. Those took, and I did another generation of clones to further remove the pathogen. Those two clones are in this comparison grow!

HI-BISCUS pheno... Stinky and sticky at harvest time... skunk, pine, mango. Zero bud rot. 50/50 hybrid with sativa effects.
 
I think it's time for the SIP and POT to get a top watering of 1 gal each of water mixed with horsetail tea and fresh aloe juice. They also need another spray of neem/Bronner's cuz I'm seeing what looks sorta like a bit of leaf miner, mostly on the leaves of the SIP plant. I'll add some drops of orange oil as well.
 
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