Quest for mold-resistant strains, Hawaii outdoor greenhouse grow

[CBDMed]

even if my goal is an 8 oz harvest?

It sounds like you know your space and your strategies.
This is my first run with photos in SIPs. My goal is to end up with 5' beauties (because I have an overhead limit), so I think 5G will support that. But if I wanted to do an outdoor big sativa and let it get fully grown, I would probably go with a 15G (or even a 20G). YMMV.

If you only want an 8oz harvest, then I do NOT think you need 14G.

My opinion is that it is your call entirely.

 

[cbdhemp808]

Thanks for the input, Med.

Yeah, I grow them up tall, but in fact about half of that height is just stalk, and I think that's because they are reaching for light. So there's not much difference in canopy height between my tall plants and that plant that Buds grew pictured above. Buds' canopy is way more dense w/ a lot more colas.

I think you are right about 8 oz harvest, but I'd just like to hear from some of the seasoned SIPers, too.

 

[013]

Hey 808,

saw your post on the sip thread and wanted to offer this up for consideration.

I’m doing swicks indoors and imho it’s so much easier than sips in my opinion. If you use fabric smart pots and place them in a larger tub for the reservoir. Boom and done- theres nothing to build just add the standard 40% extra aeration to your soil mix and that’s it. You can put a bed of perlite in the reservoir tub or just put a spacer like 2 bricks for the bag to sit on, or no spacer or no perlite at all. As long as the soil has the 40% aeration you really can’t go wrong

As a side note during the course of a grow I’ve seen some real stagnant skank water build up in the res and the plants just hummed tight along. I don’t journal a lot here but last 3 to 5 pages in my journal might have some pics of how nasty the res gets, it will kinda blow you away. My grow is mostly organish, in my feed water is Down to Earth 5-4-2, SRP, liquid fish, liquid kelp, Langbenite, Leonardite or humic acid, not an all inclusive list but you get the idea.. I do both a top feed or just fill the res, typically I alternate between the 2 methods at random.

anyways hope this helps! Later gator

 

[CBDMed]

Hey 808,

saw your post on the sip thread and wanted to offer this up for consideration.

I’m doing swicks indoors and imho it’s so much easier than sips in my opinion. If you use fabric smart pots and place them in a larger tub for the reservoir. Boom and done- theres nothing to build just add the standard 40% extra aeration to your soil mix and that’s it. You can put a bed of perlite in the reservoir tub or just put a spacer like 2 bricks for the bag to sit on, or no spacer or no perlite at all. As long as the soil has the 40% aeration you really can’t go wrong

As a side note during the course of a grow I’ve seen some real stagnant skank water build up in the res and the plants just hummed tight along. I don’t journal a lot here but last 3 to 5 pages in my journal might have some pics of how nasty the res gets, it will kinda blow you away. My grow is mostly organish, in my feed water is Down to Earth 5-4-2, SRP, liquid fish, liquid kelp, Langbenite, Leonardite or humic acid, not an all inclusive list but you get the idea.. I do both a top feed or just fill the res, typically I alternate between the 2 methods at random.

anyways hope this helps! Later gator

Hey 013,
I was going to suggest checking out SWICK But I did not know who's thread to recommend.
I really don't see building SIP buckets as being a big deal, but what is a big deal is that your limited to about 4 gallons of soil.
I look forward to checking out your thread. Since you do not post on your thread much, would you care to share the address?

 

[cbdhemp808]

I’m doing swicks indoors and imho it’s so much easier than sips in my opinion. If you use fabric smart pots and place them in a larger tub for the reservoir. Boom and done- theres nothing to build just add the standard 40% extra aeration to your soil mix and that’s it. You can put a bed of perlite in the reservoir tub or just put a spacer like 2 bricks for the bag to sit on, or no spacer or no perlite at all. As long as the soil has the 40% aeration you really can’t go wrong

As a side note during the course of a grow I’ve seen some real stagnant skank water build up in the res and the plants just hummed tight along. I don’t journal a lot here but last 3 to 5 pages in my journal might have some pics of how nasty the res gets, it will kinda blow you away. My grow is mostly organish, in my feed water is Down to Earth 5-4-2, SRP, liquid fish, liquid kelp, Langbenite, Leonardite or humic acid, not an all inclusive list but you get the idea.. I do both a top feed or just fill the res, typically I alternate between the 2 methods at random.

anyways hope this helps! Later gator

Thanks, 013 I gave up on fabric pots, because mine were becoming clogged after multiple uses, and they were DIY homemade ones to save on cost. So yeah, I'm not into buying expensive fabric pots, and I don't want to try to clean the ones I have, which by the way are 15 gal. I also don't want to deal with the nasty runoff water you describe with the SWICK. My environment here would be very conducive to stuff growing in exposed water, not to mention mosquitos breeding in it, and then coming up with a way to block the mosquitoes, etc.

So... I'm gonna stick with the idea of migrating to SIPs. Just trying to figure out if a 5-gal SIP will give me an 8 oz yield with my soil, ferts, and environment, or if I need to use a 14 gal bin. I'm also wanting to migrate to SIP because I want to use HDPE plastic containers, because that type of plastic is the least toxic. I can get HDPE in both 5 and 14 gal.

 

[CBDMed]

Thanks, 013 I gave up on fabric pots, because mine were becoming clogged after multiple uses, and they were DIY homemade ones to save on cost. So yeah, I'm not into buying expensive fabric pots, and I don't want to try to clean the ones I have, which by the way are 15 gal. I also don't want to deal with the nasty runoff water you describe with the SWICK. My environment here would be very conducive to stuff growing in exposed water, not to mention mosquitos breeding in it, and then coming up with a way to block the mosquitoes, etc.

So... I'm gonna stick with the idea of migrating to SIPs. Just trying to figure out if a 5-gal SIP will give me an 8 oz yield with my soil, ferts, and environment, or if I need to use a 14 gal bin. I'm also wanting to migrate to SIP because I want to use HDPE plastic containers, because that type of plastic is the least toxic. I can get HDPE in both 5 and 14 gal.

if you do not mind, this is something that have been mulling over for some time.

If your fabric pots are clogging, what happens if you take an ice pic to them? (Or dust shot, ha ha.)
I would think the point is that you just need to make big enough holes that the dirt does not clog it.

Also, have you considered Air Pots?
I was thinking about setting Air Pots in a bucket like what 013 is saying.
Someone else on the forum told me that he drilled small holes in the side of his plastic buckets, and just set them in a bucket of water, and he said he got, "SIP – like results." so I have been wanting to test that out, but right now I am still indoors with about a 5 foot height limit, so the 5G SIP works for me for now.
But if I hit any limits on food, I am going to want to size up the pot.
@013, do you mind sharing your thread URL? I did a quick search but you post everywhere else (but I did not see your thread).

 

[Azimuth]

even if my goal is an 8 oz harvest?

I should have said if you are trying for a water only grow, bigger is better as smaller containers run out of gas and need to be supplemented. I topdress with my inputs and worm castings every week in my small container so, if you're willing to do that, a 5 gallon bucket should be plenty.

I've never had an issue with swanky water, but then I monitor the reservoir level and only give the plant as much water as it will drink in a day or two. As it gets bigger the amount grows and deep in flower Buds was watering twice a day for max output, though filling the reservoir only once per day would have been fine, but would've resulted in a bit smaller plant.

 

[cbdhemp808]

if you do not mind, this is something that have been mulling over for some time.

If your fabric pots are clogging, what happens if you take an ice pic to them? (Or dust shot, ha ha.)
I would think the point is that you just need to make big enough holes that the dirt does not clog it.

Also, have you considered Air Pots?
I was thinking about setting Air Pots in a bucket like what 013 is saying.
Someone else on the forum told me that he drilled small holes in the side of his plastic buckets, and just set them in a bucket of water, and he said he got, "SIP – like results." so I have been wanting to test that out, but right now I am still indoors with about a 5 foot height limit, so the 5G SIP works for me for now.
But if I hit any limits on food, I am going to want to size up the pot.
@013, do you mind sharing your thread URL? I did a quick search but you post everywhere else (but I did not see your thread).

Thanks, but at this point I am definitely not going back to fabric pots. SIP seems way better.

 

[cbdhemp808]

I should have said if you are trying for a water only grow, bigger is better as smaller containers run out of gas and need to be supplemented. I topdress with my inputs and worm castings every week in my small container so, if you're willing to do that, a 5 gallon bucket should be plenty.

OK, cool. No, I would not do water only. I would follow what I am presently doing, which is starting fertigation with high-N liquid fert in mid to late veg, and then also adding solution grade P, K, Mg, and S in flower. I haven't been top dressing worm castings—only adding a bunch to the soil mix. But I can top dress in flower easily because the worm bins are in the flower house. It would inspire me to take better care of the worms, too.

I've never had an issue with swanky water, but then I monitor the reservoir level and only give the plant as much water as it will drink in a day or two. As it gets bigger the amount grows and deep in flower Buds was watering twice a day for max output, though filling the reservoir only once per day would have been fine, but would've resulted in a bit smaller plant.

Since I am outdoor, and my soil mix is very water permeable, I was thinking that perhaps I don't need the watering tube. What do you think? And I was thinking that I would just gauge the amount of water to add by looking at the foliage. I've developed a pretty good sense of when the plants need water just by looking at them. I can also just lift the buckets to check. And I can use the drain tube to notice runoff and know when the res is full, correct?

I would probably start this adventure with one 5 gal. SIP, food grade HDPE bucket. I would probably use my best pheno right now, which is Humboldt Dream. HI-BISCUS would be the very best for bud rot resistance, but I don't have a lot of confidence in the one remaining pheno, which was cut from the mom that more-or-less recovered from a root zone issue. I'll be flowering the current clone soon, and will take cuttings for one more generation. I have a feeling, though, that I'll wind up ordering more seed. She just seems too delicate and leaves are on the small side.

 

[013]

Here’s link to my journal Visualize Whirrled Peas I’m slow to do updates it’s not intentional just the byproduct of not enough time….

That’s cool I do understand, as a side note there’s one grow in there with a used dirty grow bag, no sterilization, no nuking, I just scraped the old crust off outside of the bag with putty knife transplanted the new plant in and she hummed all the way thru from veg to harvest

At one point I had some kinda of tiny worm or larvae living in the skunk water res, didn’t get pics of the critters but the plant kept trucking. I use mosquito bits to keep funkus gnats and mosquitos away

Anyways best of luck in your endeavors and I can’t wait to surf both of your journals in the coming days!!!

 

[013]

Also here’s link to the SWICK thread Carmen Ray started

Swick club thread

peace out!

 

[Azimuth]

I was thinking that perhaps I don't need the watering tube. What do you think?

Definitely keep the fill tube as it serves to get air to the air chamber down below in addition to water.

I actually put two in as I think I get a better chance at air flow. I use 1/2 pvc pipe with a short dowel I can insert to check water levels. I use a bushing with a 1" pvc coupler at the top which turns out to be the perfect size to accept the mouth of a water bottle that I use as a funnel.

 

[CBDMed]

Definitely keep the fill tube as it serves to get air to the air chamber down below in addition to water.

I actually put two in as I think I get a better chance at air flow. I use 1/2 pvc pipe with a short dowel I can insert to check water levels. I use a bushing with a 1" pvc coupler at the top which turns out to be the perfect size to accept the mouth of a water bottle that I use as a funnel.

I concur with Azi. The fill tube is a plus. Like this morning I did a top watering with recharge over the Trico, and this afternoon I'm going to fill up the reservoir via the tube (which is a lot faster, and a lot less chance of overflow).
I'm not sure but I think the technical term for an SIP without a fill tube is called a, "self watering planter". Chrissy Carbone uses those, and her garden looks fabulous (but I think she also acknowledges the advantages of a fill tube, but please do not quote me. I do not want to put words into her mouth).

 

[cbdhemp808]

I would probably start this adventure with one 5 gal. SIP, food grade HDPE bucket. I would probably use my best pheno right now, which is Humboldt Dream. HI-BISCUS would be the very best for bud rot resistance, but I don't have a lot of confidence in the one remaining pheno, which was cut from the mom that more-or-less recovered from a root zone issue. I'll be flowering the current clone soon, and will take cuttings for one more generation. I have a feeling, though, that I'll wind up ordering more seed. She just seems too delicate and leaves are on the small side.

And I would add, she doesn't drink normally. Leaves start to droop slightly, and the pot is still heavy. And it's definitely not a drainage issue. But she will also perk back up... so it's kinda mysterious.

 

[cbdhemp808]

Late May, 2024...

I just harvested my CBD #9, which is a 10% CBD variety of Cherry Blossom (THC < 1%). I would say this is a 50/50 hybrid, indica dominant. I have never had my single pheno tested for terps, however I've seen a terpene profile that shows high amounts of myrcene and pinene, but not terpinolene. I've done multiple harvests of this plant over the past few years, and there's always some bud rot. This time I grew in a 10 gal. pot (instead of 5 or 7 gal), for the first time, and the plant grew very tall and I topped at 8 ft. to fit in the greenhouse. The top buds were some of the best buds I've ever harvested – big and dense. Basically zero bud rot in those top colas. There was some bud rot, especially lower down, but it was very isolated. ...I was kind of blown away.

I vaped some more of this last night and today—it's definitely psychoactive, which kind of blows me away. My friend also tried some and said the same thing. It's a glitch in my matrix! This is supposed to be a chemotype III CBD hemp, and always has been, but I'm thinking now it must have well above 1% THC. It seems like it could be a chemotype II now, unlike any other harvests of this pheno that I've done.

 

[Buds Buddy]

Thanks to @CBDMed, I am thinking about SIPs again for my outdoor greenhouse grow. Not something I can jump into at the moment, but considering it as a longer term goal.

Does anyone have thoughts about 10 gal buckets for SIPs? 10 gal plastic trash cans? (I know people use plastic totes to build bigger SIPs, but I'm probably not going in that direction.)

I haven't given this much thought, but I am now somewhat concerned about the potential toxicity of growing in plastic. I did a quick survey of my pots and buckets...

• White food-grade 5 gal bucket is #2, High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE)
• The 10 gal black plastic pots I've been growing in don't even have a plastic#, but says "contains recycled material". I'm guessing they are mixed resin and #5, Polypropylene (PP)... but who knows what else.
• A plastic trash can I have is #4 plastic, Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE)
• Other black plastic pots I have are #5, Polypropylene (PP)
• Yet other black plastic pots I have are #2, High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE)

From what I know, HDPE is the least toxic.

A 10 gal. HDPE food grade bucket looks too tall for a SIP.

Do I even need 10 gal? Will 5 gal. w/ super soil be completely adequate for a big plant without HST or LST?

I did find a 10 gal HDPE drum on Amazon that's not too tall, but the price is $50!

I tried the Super Soil in a SIP. Didn't work as well as FFOF in my opinion. You can easily pull a pound per plant in a 5 gallon SIP with some Topping & LST. Never did one without LST so I have no idea of the yield that way. In the next couple of weeks I plan to do a 1 plant grow in a SIP in my closet. I have just enough time to complete 1 grow before I put my house up for sale. Can't wait to move & get back to growing regularly again.
I'm a little concerned what Viparspectra might do or say though. They sponsored me a KS5000 & I only completed 2 out of 3 journals before the landlord shut me down. I no longer have that light to do the 3rd journal so that may pose a problem. I did offer to pay 1/3rd of the price of the light though since I completed 2/3rds of the the journals. I guess I'll find out when I start my grow.

 

[Buds Buddy]

Hmmm....
Well, as a noob opinion, if you are mixing your own LOS (supersoil) and you want to grow girls to the same beautiful height as you have now, then unless you are mixing triple strength (!), I would go with 14G.
(And I would go with 14G anyway, just due to watering.)
You seem to like to let them grow all the way up, which seems right. I do not know, but I just guess you will need 14G to keep letting them grow all the way up.

In other words, I think the main thing in SIP sizing is just that it grows faster (and healthier), meaning you will have to take them to the bloom tent in less time. Only, just judging from Buds' picture above, I am just guessing that photos will eat AT LEAST as much chow as before.
I am in 5Gs here. Buds says he flipped at waist height, and I think those are sativas. Mine are mostly indicas, so I think I also will flip at about waist height, so I am not scrambling to try to feed them (to keep them from starvin' like Marvin).
Just my thoughts. Your thoughts may vary.

I only grow Indica. I believe that was a "Cherry On Top" plant if I remember right. Grown in FFOF with Mega Crop, Monosilicic Acid & Nitrogen using @InTheShed Feeding Calculations. During Bloom I was filling the res twice per day during the last couple of weeks because they drink a hell of a lot.

 

[Buds Buddy]

It sounds like you know your space and your strategies.
This is my first run with photos in SIPs. My goal is to end up with 5' beauties (because I have an overhead limit), so I think 5G will support that. But if I wanted to do an outdoor big sativa and let it get fully grown, I would probably go with a 15G (or even a 20G). YMMV.

If you only want an 8oz harvest, then I do NOT think you need 14G.

My opinion is that it is your call entirely.

Personally, if I was only looking to get 8 oz. I'd start my plant in a 1 gal pot. Veg about 4 weeks & up pot to a 5 gallon SIP.
Give it about 3 days to recover from the up pot & flip to 12/12. No need to veg any longer to get 8 oz. using a SIP. Now that I grow in SIP's I love to grow big ass plants. I've got some seeds (CAP Junkie) from dispensary weed I'm going to try to grow here real soon. The THC content was at 29% so I sure hope I get a female.

 

[CBDMed]

I tried the Super Soil in a SIP. Didn't work as well as FFOF in my opinion. You can easily pull a pound per plant in a 5 gallon SIP with some Topping & LST. Never did one without LST so I have no idea of the yield that way. In the next couple of weeks I plan to do a 1 plant grow in a SIP in my closet. I have just enough time to complete 1 grow before I put my house up for sale. Can't wait to move & get back to growing regularly again.

Good to hear from you Buds.
I hope you are recovering.

I'm a little concerned what Viparspectra might do or say though. They sponsored me a KS5000 & I only completed 2 out of 3 journals before the landlord shut me down. I no longer have that light to do the 3rd journal so that may pose a problem. I did offer to pay 1/3rd of the price of the light though since I completed 2/3rds of the the journals. I guess I'll find out when I start my grow.

VS should understand that life happens, and they should work it through with you in a reasonable way.
It is just one man's opinion, but offering them back 1/3 of the light sounds fair and reasonable.

 

[CBDMed]

I only grow Indica. I believe that was a "Cherry On Top" plant if I remember right. Grown in FFOF with Mega Crop, Monosilicic Acid & Nitrogen using @InTheShed Feeding Calculations. During Bloom I was filling the res twice per day during the last couple of weeks because they drink a hell of a lot.

Yes, they drink like crazy. These small Charlotte's Angel autos need a refill every day and a half--and these are just autos!
Even if a 5G SIP (which has 4 G of soil) is enough soil, it would be great to have a larger res, so you do not need to water photos twice a day (i.e., so you can go somewhere).