You water every two days. The 2" max height on the reservoir keeps the reservoir low once the root system is established, so I don't think of it like that. Lol!
Yes, the roots sit in some water, but mostly they're surrounded by perlite coated with the nutrient-rich water percolating up from the reservoir. There might be problems arise if that reservoir was deeper, but then again, maybe not. Watering every two days satisfies even the thirstiest plants in flower in my gardens.
I've never had a problem with the roots in all the hempy plants I've grown so far.
I've played with hole height varying between 1in up to 4in.
1in was too shallow and things dried too quickly, but other than that, it really didn't make much difference.
I don't concern myself with a scarce runoff when I'm working through a week's worth of drenches. I only worry about the extra runoff when I'm switching nutrient levels.
Ya know... this one is such a serious issue that I'll have to diverge from Sue's words a touch.... but just a touch baby... don't let it bother you one bit.
Runoff is a VERY important part of the system. If you don't do it right or get a hole plugged, you'll end up on rot-island.
First, you want to try to bump any old water out. This can take a good bit of runoff.
Next, you're actually checking your hole when you water. If you don't put in enough water to hit full flow, you really don't know if you hole is plugged.
If the Rev put together the 10 Hempy Commandments, I'm certain keeping your hole clear would be number 1.
One of the sweet things about this method is that once you learn how much water your plants need to stay healthy it becomes very systematic.
Again with the divergence.... sorry.
Plant uptake changes pretty dynamically as the plant gets big. Thus the input amount can vary some with larger plants just taking more out of the medium. While one would think it would make a huge difference, it doesn't fall into the 'huge' category... but it's surely worth recognizing.
The coco supports a biosphere in an organic soil, but we’re not sure how that works in the hempy, since we use chemical nutrients.
I've got 2 Jack clones racing... one in coco, one in perlite.
Currently they're both deep in bloom. The perlite is faster, but the coco may be building a better plant.
The finish line is approaching and the racers will tell their tales soon enough.
The next race will have to be a re-visit back to the original verm/perl mix. I remember testing it many years ago, but I've got a good bit more experience these days and want to make sure my original conclusions regarding mixes are still kosher.
