Sorry
@Buds Buddy and
@Azimuth , and friends, I’m having some internet/pc issues it would seem.
Buds, you def gotta have that perlite or equivalent (%40 by volume) in there. I don’t think you can say for sure what the issue is with something that important undone, sounds like you’re on it though. Your plants can’t feed if water isn’t pulling up and through the system fast enough and perlite will speed that up so it might solve all of your problems.
A word about MaxiGrow/Bloom… I’ve used MC 2pt and Maxi(both grow and bloom) in my SIPs and because I also play with DWC I have blue lab ppm and pH pens… with my SIP design I can take samples quite easily, and the results have led me to favour the MC as the maxi nutes struggled to maintain pH balance sitting in my reservoir. The Maxi doesn’t pose an issue if used directly, in a normal bed or pot, so I still use them elsewhere.
These instabilities always led to deficiencies, or so I presumed since changing feed got rid of the issue.
I also found that it was very easy to overfeed with with Maxi. When I fed as little as 6g/gal I suspected my Peat/perlite started setting up a nute retention issue and, in an act quite similar to Gee’s description, I successfully used Calcium(phosphate) to shake some sense back into my dirt/roots. Certainly 6.5 g/gal was too much as my canna suffered burns at that rate.
Sorry if you’ve just bought huge bags of Maxi… the stuff isn’t useless, but I have to say that given a choice I wouldn’t use it in my Peat-filled SIPs. I’m not familiar with all of what’s in FFOF, but it is a proper “soil” is it not? I would think that would work to your advantage with the GH Maxi, as my Peat is more susceptible to retention - although with either GH flora (LUCas formula) or MC 2pt I have total pH stability (both measured in the rez and with my slurry tests of the matrix, both of which I do quite regularly).
As for rez levels and long term exposure… we’ll, as mentioned, pH stability is a concern so you want yer nute to have good word of mouth on that front (I put it that way b/c all the companies say they have the “most” stable pH and if they don’t, then they claim, “class-leading” pH stability so I gave up taking them at their word on that one.)
Having a gravity-fed rez setup doesn’t mean one is required to have a full reservoir in your Grobucket all the time. However, if your bucket’s onboard reservoir is only a gallon or two then it would be more finicky to setup. The key is use of a control bucket, same size as the grow buckets is easiest, with inflow from the large Rez controlled by a 3-position float valve mounted in the control bucket to give you three possible levels that you could choose from that will be fed to the grow buckets. Indiv. lines then lead out, one for each growbucket, simple gravity-fed will equal them out to be same as control bucket level setting, which when drained will trigger float valve, letting more water in until control buckets and grow buckets are equal again. I don’t think more than 5-6 growbuckets per control bucket would be wise as the system takes a little time to level out. One large rez is fine, but you just need another control bucket in the system. 3-position float valves are the key.
Do not ever let the rez go dry in a SIP for 24hrs. Drying from the bottom will kill roots and mess with pH. The benefit we see from the air gap is critical, but if the dirt can no longer draw water to balance against the gaseous mix we call air, it dries fast and speeds up pretty quickly.
Of course, the more ‘wick’ that is submerged, the more water it draws upward - but only to a point. However I suspect that with your design in particular that it draws a lot more water at full than it does at half-full due to the large increase of surface area ‘wick’ actually touching water in your case, given the design. The wicks function based on surface area touching water and the medium’s flow rate, however flow rate has a ceiling, and I don’t know if you’re hitting your, though I expect not. I’m probably just confusing you… apologies. I’m still learning too.
Don’t let it stay empty, certainly not 24hrs as drying from bottom causes nightmares. Also, black out all containers, especially white and light coloured plastics. Roots really can tell and light makes them very, very shy. I hope you’re cats are getting too stoned Fender! (I remember from an old journal of yours) Always loved your setup, it looks like a proper religious monument as setup in your flat.
What kind you using, A?
What is your feed process BTW? I know you have your “crumble”, served a la carte atop the soil… and now Jadam/KNF in the rez too? So glad to hear it. Have to start trying my simpler ones again from below. You know I made a mix my plants love but it’s too much to feed from the bottom - it’s fermented frass (and water), primarily, with a scoshe of amino acids and humates (which I added for micro nutrient chelation, I think), RWEC, and bull kelp (hand picked). Fermented for almost 6 months and if you think it sounds like it smells bad, well, gotta say, I thought it’d be worse… I didn’t even pass out when I smelled it.
That is exactly like the necrosis I get when I add too much PK booster. It’s dry, not fungal, in my case. Looks similar.
Love Earthbox, not the price though. Over $100CAD on Amazon. Yes, so long as there’s 40% perlite a full reservoir shouldn’t bother a mature plant. Keeping the top uncovered keeps the cycle moving more quickly that having it covered, too. I mean top of the soil. Young plants can suffer while adapting, so I recommend prepping SIP before planting by soaking up a rez worth when building SIP, then let top go dry, plant into a half-fill rez. Some sort of procedure like that to prep rez really helps. So does bottom watering your seedling if raised in a small pot before SIP. Just little amounts everyday is best, unless you can make mini SIPs - esp in those nursery baggies I like to go on about!
Don’t let bottom dry out, like he said.
Differences in our SIP designs really impact this, making specifics difficult to recommend. Generally, a reservoir full to its overflow will, on many designs, mean a wetter grow matrix. However, provided aeration (perlite) is mixed in at 40% by volume most concerns are well mitigated. A very important element contributing to planter moisture level is wick efficiency, elements of which are its inner volume and outside surface area (the surface area of the wick shape that is in contact with water - - the surface area figure goes up (in most designs) with fill level.
Awesome metaphor… and if, like my mother, you object to perlite for aesthetic reasons, I have found that one can dye perlite with black tea! Very strong black tea.
Ching Ching! Yes indeed, and I can confirm it works a hot damn. I have a 6 tote farm and I feed my worms only Kelp (fresh), horsetails, stinging nettles, comfrey, dandelion, bamboo leaves and banana peels - sometimes banana fruit. Oh, and flowers, lots of juicy, phosphate and potassium rich flowers… and cannabis clippings. Oh, and I dump a whack of mycorrhiza in each bin too. I read earlier on this thread that it doesn’t like WC but I believe this to be in error. There are some specialty WC products that have mycorrhiza fed to the worms as well. See my pics this post, below. I’m working towards using this special WC as the sole nutrient added to my soil in the future, if possible. I also make WC tea every week now and feed mature plants 500-1000ml weekly. Soon I’ll try using this WC tea in the reservoir.
You should see it Emily, the day after EC tea my plants have grown an inch taller and glow green. Do it! It’s really the very best input I’ve ever seen, even store bought packs a wallop.
Leechate scares me too!
Many important microbes are not ‘obligates’ (require aerobic or anaerobic conditions strictly. Many are comfortable in either. I believe LABs are one.
Check out this cool Mycorrhiza-infused worm castings product.
