That’s why I’m asking. You originally said 2 gallon pots and did not indicate how long the veg was. Then you mentioned you were talking about clones.
But earlier you mentioned:
So, I’m a bit confused as to where you are coming from.
I would imagine a clone-only operation would have large rooms for that. I’ve never been in one but have been in plenty of flower rooms and have never seen what you speak of, and every single one is getting away from hand watering like their hair is on fire.
Of course, many commercial cultivators are making plenty (even multiple tens of millions) of revenue but are ridiculously low in profit due to inefficient growing techniques with low yield. Correcting that equation was what we did when I was at GrowoniX.
I’m just trying to get a feel for your metrics as I know within 2/10 of a gallon how much a typical cannabis plant in a 6x6x6 rock wool cube or 1 gallon pot with coco that was in veg for 4 weeks will drink per week in bloom based on recirculation and can design a nutrient delivery system based upon that metric which will hit 2.5 pounds/light (single-ended) every single time and pay for itself in week 5 of the first bloom cycle at ~$1100/light.
If you are not having a daily water/dry cycle and are feeding every other day, which seems to be what you are alluding to, then, imho, you are definitely leaving moisture in the room and inviting root problems which @Growernick mentioned and was what I earlier was referring to .
Many thanks for your feedback and clarification. I hope others find this exchange about different perspectives and what is possible useful.
… Those who can use my system will use my system. Those who need your system will use your system Sorry you’re still confused.
… End of story. Let’s smoke.
We can only grow with what we know.
Much of that knowledge is free, but not cheap.
Thinking of the guy that dropped $6.5M to build out a cultivation then shut down a year later due to lack of profit.
A little late on the response to this thread, I’m new to GN, but I still wanted to offer a few words.
I have experience growing in many different sized containers, many different sized rooms, number of lights, etc.
On average I have found that growing in pots between the size of 3 gallons - 5 gallons is optimal for bloom indoors. If you’re using a fully hydroponic system, coco would be the way to go in my opinion.
If you are watering by hand, or by an automatic system, feeding once or twice a day at peak flower is ideal - no use in letting that salt accumulate in the substrate! This will also assure that the plant constantly has what it needs. However, salt flushes (straight H2O) can be useful every 2nd week or so for only one day, with a high feed the following day.
I’ve always used drain to waste, however as @ericb stated, it depends on where you are located.
As for runoff, between 10 - 15% should be fine, as long as you are measuring EC and pH of your runoff. If that spikes, you may want to shoot for more runoff or lower feeding until it stabilizes. However, if you are getting runoff with every irrigation event, it shouldn’t be a problem.
This is an awesome question that encompasses quite a few principles of cultivation. Container size and medium used will directly correlate to fertilization and as such can be used increase cost effectiveness. Allow me to explain by example;
Container Size: 3 Gallon
Medium: Coco Coir
Water Source: RO <25ppm
Fertilization Frequency: 2-5 times / day
Drain to Waste w/ 10% run off (10-15 Seconds)
I prefer a smaller container as it allows me to irrigate more frequently maintain a more stable ph in the medium. The lack of carbonate in my starting water source means that ph in the medium is only maintained through input (varying between 5.8 and 6.0 starting, allowing the leeching of nutrients by the plant to induce the ph swing, i.e. removal of nitrates). I’ve always found this to be easier than compensating for carbonate build up in the medium. Larger containers that are devoid of a carbonate source are too prone to ph swings out of the optimum range and require too much time between watering intervals to fix the swing.
Also to keep in mind when determining container size is your desired to plant structure and length of ‘vegetative’ stage, turn over rate, and limiting environmental conditions (Ceiling for example).
Fertilization frequency varies on stages of the plants life and other growth determining factors, generally starting low and moving up as the plant matures and conforms to the environment. The sweet spot is when you can accommodate the natural ph swing, then return it before it leaves optimum range. A good physical sign to determine frequency is root mass.
great topic and great advise…
you mentioned recirculating water… using Oxine® WT as directed in batch tanks or injecting directly into waterlines works great to control bio-film, pythium and common algae. .5 - 2 ppm is all it takes. @Farmer_Dan has some great feedback on when he first started using Oxine® WT.
