Lootz Returns! Multi-Tent Grow In Soil With LED COBs & LM301H

[Azimuth]

Thank You Azi, yea I wasn't sure how big the air hole needed to be.
The air gap actually luckily starts just at the bottom of the top bucket.

The larger hole may actually be a plus since it will allow that much more air in the air gap zone.

I couldn't find anything that would fit into these that I liked for a false floor that's why I went the route I did

I cut down a regular bucket lid for my false floor. Used tin snips to cut the thick plastic. The covers are half the price of a second bucket. Also, I couldn't afford the extra height in my space which made that option necessary.

Thanks again honestly this was made so much easier by your contributions on the subject and the pointers along the way.

Happy to. Just sharing the love ❤ . I think most growers would benefit from growing in them and don't understand why they're not more popular. This concept has been around for decades.

I have started looking at feeding from the top and watering from the bottom but i know its important to establish the root system to feed bottom up
@Azimuth any thoughts or can you point me to a read on this?

You want to water thru the reservoir as much as possible. If they're dry, organic nutes, top dress following the manufacturer's directions and get them wet but only use as much water as needed. When you do add water from the top, the plant will stop drinking from the reservoir until that's mostly used up which probably messes with the normal flow. No great harm, just not ideal.

 

[AspenCultivator]

Yes, I do remember seeing that.
Someone had suggested the AC Infinity Self Watering pots that use the Swick method as opposed to the sip like were doing here.

I saw a video explaining to use vermiculite because of this reason that it will hold onto water much better and will not break down as easily.
The soil will try to find a balance of wet and dry with regard to how much moisture it has vs how much it needs from the res.
It should find this balance naturally and then we maintain the water level in the res to accommodate that.

Again at least this is all my understanding of it from what I've read and how I've seen it applied. So, I think it might work to our benefit actually. We'll see...

As far as my tent and maintaining temps compared to other grows its night and day!
I set the limits and walk away
It's become more of a challenge not to adjust the temp of my house and throw off the balance of the room the tent is in.

I keep the home thermostat on 73F 74F max.

The tent stays 79F and that's with the inline fan limit set to 6 of 10

The fan kicks on more or less as needed but never shuts off lower than 2 of 10

Everything plugs into the smart controller via a usb-c cable. They have adapters for non-AC infinity equipment as well.
I plan on getting one of those for my COB lights so that it can be controlled through the controller and app.

The lights came with their own controllers, but I disconnected those and used the smart controller
The fan that I purchased has a speed controller, but I used their adapter cable for their older models to plug in the smart controller
They sell humidifiers that plug into their smart controller, but they were out of stock so that's the only part of the AC tent that does plug into or isn't controlled by the smart controller

I have their app on my phone and can control everything more in depth and easier with that via Bluetooth.

I tested out running both tents yesterday with max lights and the tents would both go no higher than 80F but the fans went to max (level 6)
I will have to SLIGHTLY crack the window in the grow room to allow air exchange and for the room to cool off a tad bit and now the environment is an after thought

Ah nice, it all plugs into a controller. That's really cool, because it's a single contained unit whereas the setup I have with individual WiFi plugs takes a ton of room on my strip inside the tent. That's a really cool system, it should definitely give you an edge in the environmental aspect.

 

[lootznbootz]

Ah nice, it all plugs into a controller. That's really cool, because it's a single contained unit whereas the setup I have with individual WiFi plugs takes a ton of room on my strip inside the tent. That's a really cool system, it should definitely give you an edge in the environmental aspect.

Indeed! yea it makes cable management a breeze my closet where all my power runs to then from looks like an IT server room ill post a picture soon but it really is impressive when I sit back and look at it and all of it is made possible by the controller.

I love simple clean, tidy grow spaces that why when I decided to get back into it the tent kit was a no brainer

 

[AspenCultivator]

Alright, alright, if you show me yours I'll show you mine

 

[lootznbootz]

Alright, alright, if you show me yours I'll show you mine

The entire grow is hooked up to a killawatt and both tents have their own power strips
Just under 600 w with everything with all 3 tents set up total power consumption will be around 1000w

 

[AspenCultivator]

Damn that's cool, gives me some good inspiration for future grow setups, thanks for sharing!

As promised, here's my wiring. I started out doing the zip tie thing and routing etc, but then gave up because I'm currently dealing with weird humidity sensor readings (I have 3 of them now that all say different things....) so I'm rerouting stuff to test different things.

I'm on the fence on whether I remove that shelf and grow both plants to flower, or if I keep going on the lettuce/herbs and grow a single plant. Dunno yet.

 

[lootznbootz]

In that space you may need the extra room if she stretches in flower.
I tried to do the separate veg area but in flower you'll have to make sure the flower side is totally light proof and mine wasn't, so I just use the tent as the 4x3
I do want to start some different plans like you have forgot who it was I saw growing strawberries, but I thought that was a great idea for my veg tent.
I also considered a small 2x2 tent for strictly no cannabis related growing, but I've just been so focused on getting this set up and perfect my ocd won't let me add more until I maximize this first.

I'm glad my setup has you inspired let's just hope after all these years I can still get the same results I used to that's where it counts.
Doesn't matter if you lose by a 1/10 or mile
Even the shiniest spoon is only as valuable as the soup it can carry...
another one I've remembered

 

[AspenCultivator]

In that space you may need the extra room if she stretches in flower.

Oh please no, I hope not...the blue dream I grew was a phantom from some past with a vengeance that stretched and stretched and stretched. Pic for reference:

20190405_171641.jpg

• AspenCultivator
• Apr 5, 2019

I can't deal with the stress of another one of these lol. That was a 5' tall tent, too.

I can understand the ocd of the setup before adding on. This grow of yours is already shaping up to be an awesome watch, so your ocd is certainly paying off!

 

[lootznbootz]

Oh please no, I hope not...the blue dream I grew was a phantom from some past with a vengeance that stretched and stretched and stretched. Pic for reference:

20190405_171641.jpg

• AspenCultivator
• Apr 5, 2019

I can't deal with the stress of another one of these lol. That was a 5' tall tent, too.

I can understand the ocd of the setup before adding on. This grow of yours is already shaping up to be an awesome watch, so your ocd is certainly paying off!

O M G That is one of the wildest photos I have ever seen! and I don't think there will be much to ever come close
Bravo for sticking with it I can tell you I've personally never dealt with it.
I have, but once they stretch to an unheard-of amount like that; the grow stops, and we start over with a different seed or strain.
I could not have pulled that off! that's incredible!
Let's hope you never have to deal with that again!

 

[lootznbootz]

I should have done this update yesterday. Better late than never tho!

I wanted to give an update as to where the timeline is on our plants because I realized I haven't been doing a good enough job of tracking it here in the journal.
I keep a log in a notepad file on my computer and just update it daily to keep track of watering, feedings and a quick rundown of any changes we may have made.

Here is what has happened so far.

11/23
PBK started in shot glass
PBK started in shot glass
PGC started in shot glass
PGC started in shot glass

11/24
PBK moved to RR
PBK moved to RR
PGC moved to RR
PGC moved to RR

11/25
CC Started in shot glass
CC Started in shot glass

11/26
PBK 1 breaks ground
PGC 1 breaks ground
CC moved to RR
CC moved to RR

11/27
PBK 2 breaks ground
PGC 2 breaks ground

11/29
PBK 1 Moved to SIP, watered SNS 2oz per Gal
PBK 2 moved to solo cup, watered SNS 2oz per Gal
PGC 1 moved to solo cup, watered SNS 2oz per Gal
PGC 2 moved to solo cup, watered SNS 2oz per Gal
CC 1 breaks ground
CC 2 breaks ground

11/30
CC 1 moved to solo, watered SNS 2oz per Gal
CC 2 moved to solo, watered SNS 2oz per Gal

12/4
PBK 1 No water given. water level noticeably lower in res soil still moist
PBK 2 watered SNS 2oz per Gal
PGC 1 watered SNS 2oz per Gal
PGC 2 watered SNS 2oz per Gal
CC 1 watered SNS 2oz per Gal
CC 2 watered SNS 2oz per Gal

I numbered the plants as the popped up to help keep track of them easier.
I know some people name them... You all are more than welcome to for me.

I debated mixing up a nutrient solution for seedling stage, but I opted against it.
Besides the fact that the soil should be enough for another week at least if not more.
It is the same additives as "Week 1 veg" according to the Roots feeding schedule.
Plus, they're still so young I don't feel it's necessary to feed just yet.

As you can see from the daily log their moving along pretty quickly and only had water 11/29.
4 or 5 days to make sure they really were needing it.
I look for separation of the soil from the edge of the cup and using the clear solo cups helps to really see if its dry or not down below the top of the cup.
I also make sure the cups are noticeably lighter.
I then water the way we've all been trained to Thanks to @Emilya Green

I did not water or add water the res of the sip, as there was still a little bit in there, but it was noticeably lower.
Also, the soil is moist all the way up top.
It is as if the soil is holding the moisture, you would normally see the day or 2 after a watering.
It's not too damp and still airy its literally like the perfect moisture level for soil and if this thing maintains this level of soil moisture throughout the grow so long as I keep that res full this is going to be very interesting to say the least!

Here are some shots before and after watering and of the lady is the sip just doing her thing.

PGC2

PBK2

CC2

PGC1

PBK1 just SIPping

This morning after watering

As you can see so far so good were just chugging along.
Nothing too exciting but as I've said better that than the alternative

As always Thank you for your time and thanks for stopping by!

 

[AspenCultivator]

These are looking great so far lootz, nice job! I'm gonna keep an eye on your sip bucket during this one. It's going to be really cool to see the difference between that and your other plants.

I've been tossing around feeding mine as well, but just keep seeing conflicting things and how other people are doing it. Some say wait for the 3rd node, wait for deficiencies, feed at 1/4 dose, follow the nute manufacturer's schedule, etc etc. Who knows?!? Hah.

 

[lootznbootz]

These are looking great so far lootz, nice job! I'm gonna keep an eye on your sip bucket during this one. It's going to be really cool to see the difference between that and your other plants.

I've been tossing around feeding mine as well, but just keep seeing conflicting things and how other people are doing it. Some say wait for the 3rd node, wait for deficiencies, feed at 1/4 dose, follow the nute manufacturer's schedule, etc etc. Who knows?!? Hah.

Yea I've done it a few ways in the past.
In my experience following the manufacturers label is the most generic thing you can do
Obviously, it's the guideline to follow but it should only be the baseline and guideline to refer to.

I don't think I've ever had a plant grow to a nutrient manufacturers schedule as it said on the bottle.
I almost always needed to tweak it in some way whether that be like you said half strength or a different week sooner or later.
It almost always comes down to what the plant needs, and I think that comes from just feeling out your plant and being conscious of what you're doing and understanding the whys behind your actions.
I don't claim to know what every additive does, but I try to have an idea of what its intended to do and how it intends to do that and see if it aligns with my grow.
I found with AN for example there's so many different formulas and so many different ways of going about it that it will make your head spin trying to follow someone else's application when there's so many variables to account for.
Even in your own grow room. grow to grow unless you're growing a clone and you know the feeding schedule from having grown it before, your own feeding habits or schedules can change from plant to plant.

I play it by ear for the most part maybe I should be a little tighter, but I try to let the plants show me what they need.
There's no specific thing I look for anymore other than being conscious of what we're putting into the root zone when and why

 

[lootznbootz]

These are looking great so far lootz, nice job! I'm gonna keep an eye on your sip bucket during this one. It's going to be really cool to see the difference between that and your other plants.

I've been tossing around feeding mine as well, but just keep seeing conflicting things and how other people are doing it. Some say wait for the 3rd node, wait for deficiencies, feed at 1/4 dose, follow the nute manufacturer's schedule, etc etc. Who knows?!? Hah.

This SIP bucket so far has been impressive.

To our discussion earlier about the perlite vs vermiculite
I think it is working as I hoped it would and acting as a very good wick!

Maybe even better than I had expected so that a huge relief.
I am curious as to how I will feed this plant tho...

Discussions in the SIPCLUB have me thinking and questioning the whole feeding through the res and maybe feeding small doses of nutrient water from the top and only allowing water to be in the res?
I have to figure it out soon as the i plan to start feeding either this weekend or the next again depending on what the garden says

 

[AspenCultivator]

Yea I've done it a few ways in the past.
In my experience following the manufacturers label is the most generic thing you can do
Obviously, it's the guideline to follow but it should only be the baseline and guideline to refer to.

I don't think I've ever had a plant grow to a nutrient manufacturers schedule as it said on the bottle.
I almost always needed to tweak it in some way whether that be like you said half strength or a different week sooner or later.
It almost always comes down to what the plant needs, and I think that comes from just feeling out your plant and being conscious of what you're doing and understanding the whys behind your actions.
I don't claim to know what every additive does, but I try to have an idea of what its intended to do and how it intends to do that and see if it aligns with my grow.
I found with AN for example there's so many different formulas and so many different ways of going about it that it will make your head spin trying to follow someone else's application when there's so many variables to account for.
Even in your own grow room. grow to grow unless you're growing a clone and you know the feeding schedule from having grown it before, your own feeding habits or schedules can change from plant to plant.

I play it by ear for the most part maybe I should be a little tighter, but I try to let the plants show me what they need.
There's no specific thing I look for anymore other than being conscious of what we're putting into the root zone when and why

And that's what separates the good growers from the 'meh' growers lol. That's the best way to do it in my opinion and that's what I did with my first grow. But, and I don't have to tell you, dealing with nutes in a dwc soup (in my opinion anyway) is much easier only because I was using a bluelab guardian to monitor it all. Since water doesn't have nutes I fed from day 1, easy peazy.

 

[AspenCultivator]

This SIP bucket so far has been impressive.

To our discussion earlier about the perlite vs vermiculite
I think it is working as I hoped it would and acting as a very good wick!

Maybe even better than I had expected so that a huge relief.
I am curious as to how I will feed this plant tho...

Discussions in the SIPCLUB have me thinking and questioning the whole feeding through the res and maybe feeding small doses of nutrient water from the top and only allowing water to be in the res?
I have to figure it out soon as the i plan to start feeding either this weekend or the next again depending on what the garden says

Yeah I gotta admit I've read some older soil journals before I started putting supplies together for this grow and noticed people were using vermiculite as a direct replacement for perlite and they didn't know it actually retains moisture instead of providing drainage. Of course in a sip it's different!

 

[lootznbootz]

Yeah I gotta admit I've read some older soil journals before I started putting supplies together for this grow and noticed people were using vermiculite as a direct replacement for perlite and they didn't know it actually retains moisture instead of providing drainage. Of course in a sip it's differen

Yea I had never used it before now. I guess i could have but I didn't need to retain moisture as much as I do now. It's much drier where I live now so if I can hold onto a bit of moisture in my soil, I'm down for it!

Yea I'm surprised I don't hear more people talking about using vermiculite over perlite for our sips tbh

 

[lootznbootz]

And that's what separates the good growers from the 'meh' growers lol. That's the best way to do it in my opinion and that's what I did with my first grow. But, and I don't have to tell you, dealing with nutes in a dwc soup (in my opinion anyway) is much easier only because I was using a bluelab guardian to monitor it all. Since water doesn't have nutes I fed from day 1, easy peazy.

hydro can be so unforgiving tho!
I feel like with hydro one wrong move can be detrimental.
and it's a super balancing act. I've done it its way more control but idk after my first soil grow I felt it was way more simple

 

[AspenCultivator]

hydro can be so unforgiving tho!
I feel like with hydro one wrong move can be detrimental.
and it's a super balancing act. I've done it its way more control but idk after my first soil grow I felt it was way more simple

That's what I've always read too, it's unforgiving. I've seen a ton of messups in hydro which turns a lot of people off to it. I have a weird thing tho where I'll spend months, literally, reading everything I can about what I'm growing in before I start. I have a word document where I put new or interesting things to do and organize it by stage. What to do during seedling stage, veg stage, etc. What to look out for. What are the common problems in this growing media? Just so I have a heads up on what to look out for.

I'm not super knowledgeable and don't have a ton of experience but I do know that I've read tons of journals, articles, and watched videos and every single one that's had top tier results tend to do the same exact things.

One thing I'm really looking forward to is the smoke in soil. My hydro experience was with a wild pheno of a really stretchy strain but one thing I've kept seeing time and time again is soil provides more taste and flavor...so it's exciting either way!

 

[Greenvein]

I should have done this update yesterday. Better late than never tho!

I wanted to give an update as to where the timeline is on our plants because I realized I haven't been doing a good enough job of tracking it here in the journal.
I keep a log in a notepad file on my computer and just update it daily to keep track of watering, feedings and a quick rundown of any changes we may have made.

Here is what has happened so far.

11/23
PBK started in shot glass
PBK started in shot glass
PGC started in shot glass
PGC started in shot glass

11/24
PBK moved to RR
PBK moved to RR
PGC moved to RR
PGC moved to RR

11/25
CC Started in shot glass
CC Started in shot glass

11/26
PBK 1 breaks ground
PGC 1 breaks ground
CC moved to RR
CC moved to RR

11/27
PBK 2 breaks ground
PGC 2 breaks ground

11/29
PBK 1 Moved to SIP, watered SNS 2oz per Gal
PBK 2 moved to solo cup, watered SNS 2oz per Gal
PGC 1 moved to solo cup, watered SNS 2oz per Gal
PGC 2 moved to solo cup, watered SNS 2oz per Gal
CC 1 breaks ground
CC 2 breaks ground

11/30
CC 1 moved to solo, watered SNS 2oz per Gal
CC 2 moved to solo, watered SNS 2oz per Gal

12/4
PBK 1 No water given. water level noticeably lower in res soil still moist
PBK 2 watered SNS 2oz per Gal
PGC 1 watered SNS 2oz per Gal
PGC 2 watered SNS 2oz per Gal
CC 1 watered SNS 2oz per Gal
CC 2 watered SNS 2oz per Gal

I numbered the plants as the popped up to help keep track of them easier.
I know some people name them... You all are more than welcome to for me.

I debated mixing up a nutrient solution for seedling stage, but I opted against it.
Besides the fact that the soil should be enough for another week at least if not more.
It is the same additives as "Week 1 veg" according to the Roots feeding schedule.
Plus, they're still so young I don't feel it's necessary to feed just yet.

As you can see from the daily log their moving along pretty quickly and only had water 11/29.
4 or 5 days to make sure they really were needing it.
I look for separation of the soil from the edge of the cup and using the clear solo cups helps to really see if its dry or not down below the top of the cup.
I also make sure the cups are noticeably lighter.
I then water the way we've all been trained to Thanks to @Emilya Green

I did not water or add water the res of the sip, as there was still a little bit in there, but it was noticeably lower.
Also, the soil is moist all the way up top.
It is as if the soil is holding the moisture, you would normally see the day or 2 after a watering.
It's not too damp and still airy its literally like the perfect moisture level for soil and if this thing maintains this level of soil moisture throughout the grow so long as I keep that res full this is going to be very interesting to say the least!

Here are some shots before and after watering and of the lady is the sip just doing her thing.

PGC2

PBK2

CC2

PGC1

PBK1 just SIPping

This morning after watering

As you can see so far so good were just chugging along.
Nothing too exciting but as I've said better that than the alternative

As always Thank you for your time and thanks for stopping by!

Seedlings are looking healthy! Off to a good start and great to see the sip is doing its job! Will hopefully give you less work to do whilst aiding better growth! Very interesting.
I have always waited for a sign to start feeding but if potting up I just pot up so the soil again lasts a few weeks that way shouldn't have to feed until flip.

When doing this sip method does your pH have to be monitored? Especially in the res over time..
Also fingers crossed theirs not but say you can see deficiency is their a way of testing your run off to see where your at In your soil?

 

[lootznbootz]

That's what I've always read too, it's unforgiving. I've seen a ton of messups in hydro which turns a lot of people off to it. I have a weird thing tho where I'll spend months, literally, reading everything I can about what I'm growing in before I start. I have a word document where I put new or interesting things to do and organize it by stage. What to do during seedling stage, veg stage, etc. What to look out for. What are the common problems in this growing media? Just so I have a heads up on what to look out for.

I'm not super knowledgeable and don't have a ton of experience but I do know that I've read tons of journals, articles, and watched videos and every single one that's had top tier results tend to do the same exact things.

One thing I'm really looking forward to is the smoke in soil. My hydro experience was with a wild pheno of a really stretchy strain but one thing I've kept seeing time and time again is soil provides more taste and flavor...so it's exciting either way!

I've never figured out how to properly use the quote feature but I want to reply to a few things here.

If that is weird, then SO AM I! I think more people should be "weird" and read up before you just jump in.
That goes with everything in life. Not saying you shouldn't take chances but Calculated Chances. So many issues could be avoided all together if more people read the instructions first or warning labels even or just did a little bit more homework before going for it all right away MYSELF INCLUDED!

That leads me into my next point. I completely disagree with the idea that you aren't super knowledgeable.
By no means have you ever claimed to be an expert or master grower not many of us can. But the conversation I've had with you on my journal, yours, and others have been extremely productive. You are VERY knowledgeable and your conversation about growing has helped me for sure!

As for the smoke in soil,
I definitely noticed after switching to soil, and even the one time I went back to hydro I enjoyed the results from soil more.
I also am no hydro pro so it very well could be my own methods.
If soil makes it easier to get those results, then so be it its one short cut I'm happy with I guess