Yeah, I remember seeing that but got worried when I didn’t know how long the roots had been hanging out in the dry res. Since the one time I keep it full because it goes dry quick and I can’t even take a vacation unless I commit to
auto watering but I don’t have hose bib source so this run it’s all hand watering. Two plants in one box could be sucking them dry faster as well as depleting the nutrients in the soil faster, that’s why I’ve been adding stuff to my water. My fear about adding things to the water would be that there is no flushing like a hydro system can, so if you add chemical nutrients you could get a salt buildup that could be catastrophic. That’s why I’m using only Organics Alive soluble nutrients (local Carlsbad, north county of San Diego company), peach ferment, occasional Aloe flakes, occasional coconut powder, and a tiny bit of Gen Hydro’s
CaliMagic cal mag. Ideally the plant gets all the nutrients from a good balanced soil and top dressing, and my soil is full of so much shit that I got from BAS website directly, I won’t even begin to list it. Even then, I saw early signs of wanting more food or actually wanting cal/mag, so I started adding stuff to the water. Before I was just doing plain RO water to the res. Someone suggested I should be using some natural water like spring or tap so I’d get those trace minerals I am missing in the RO water. Our tap is shit, I wash and shower with it, but I won’t even boil my pasta in it. I’m not giving that to my plants. After adding cal/mg a few times, I saw a need for some N, but it was about time to flip, so I made a special mix of top dress which had N in the compost and castings and some kashi, and a few other things, but more P&K products to carry though flower. But like everyone, I figured let’s add some food to the water next time, then I’d add peach, then some Rootwise, I was mixing the plant cocktails every time I added water and I still am. Light mixes, keeping the variety coming.