Non Hydro Trees.

  • Thread starter true grit
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sky high

sky high

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Really diggin yer approach, DonJ. Do ya special order the RW substrate or does someone up here in the hills carry it/keep it in stock?

What nutes ya using, if I may ask? I've been doin the organic thing in "soil"....but damn...it's a bitch to get stuff to wind down! Everything wants to go 11 weeks....which isn't a problem 'cus I'm not slingin' anymore and am on my own schedule, but damn... crazy shit. 56 day strains goin almost 80.... LOL. Makes me wanna investigate that Freedom 35 strain...LOL
 
true grit

true grit

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@GreenPunk- When i talk about the 3/4-1lb plants that was dry usable weight. I did a very poor job manicuring/cleaning up the plants the first couple of vert runs so imagine at least another qp+ of larf from every plant on top of those weights. I had WAY too much larf and def know to fix that issue the next time around.

@DJM- thanks for the info and great pics man. those all look amazing. especially killin it for not being sealed up in there. Im still not fully sealed but prob will be by time i get to the vert (im just lacking sufficient co2 and have supplement some air at the moment). The sunshine bushes look just as damn impressive, think i will still be able to pull some nice soil weight...shoot if i can get half the weight you are from every plant, I'd be more than happy in a decent vert setup!! I also like the support method. I thought about doing some mini hoops with teepee technique like KK has showed since that would make a nice hoop/teepee when using a 15-18g tub.

@SkyHigh- why do you think things are taking so long to wind down? Im def finishing same times in soil as coco with the same strains. Something environmental perhaps?
 
sky high

sky high

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I think the powdered/micronized guano just keeps on givin out the love. Haven't been able to get much fade until 9 weeks+
I backed wayyyy off this go around and have seen far more leaf drop and slightly less weight.....but they didn't wind down any sooner.

Like I say...no real problem 'cus I am wayyyyy ahead on my production and can let 'em roll... but it sure drags things out.
 
DonJuanMatus

DonJuanMatus

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sky high - thanks man! well 99% of hydro stores dont carry it or even know what it is, youll have to break out the catalog to show them..but if they stock grodan products they can get it for you..i can get it from nederland for 60 bucks a bale or in denver for 50 bucks a bale..the spot in denver started stocking it for me so i usually go there so i dont have to special order them and wait for them to get there..but most places can get it no problem..msrp is 71 bucks so it should be between 50-70 depending on where you order..each bale is 40-45 gallons depending on how tight you pack the pots

back home alot the old timer commercial growers used to run this wool and ive been using it since i was put onto it..i honestly think it will out grow coco as a medium..i came to wool from coco and just on the first undialed run ,my yields went up 20% from what they were in coco..i see alot of tree growers struggle with RDWC so im trying to put as much info as i can out there in regards to running trees in wool, as its as easy as it gets, with practically no chance for crop failure..i hype it as headacheless hydro...one can space theyre containers in a way to allow for a handwatering everyother day, pretty much just like most soiless mediums but with much quicker growth and much higher yield

im currently using dutchmaster gold nutrients but ive had good results with other salt ferts just not as good..dm gold is a great nutes line, really salty, but great for hydro...i also dable in organic soils/soiless mediums and they all finish in a similar time frame..the hydro shaves off maybe 5 days or so from chop time but no more than that...for instance i can take the Chemdog #4 at 65 days in hydro while she wants to go 70-72 in dirt...if your strains are taking that much longer id say something is going on there, wether in your soil mix or enviroment...do you add alot of N sources into the organic mix?
 
DonJuanMatus

DonJuanMatus

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true grit - thanks man, no problem glad to share! dont sell yourself short , i follow your grows and id bet you could pull over 1.5 per plant in organics no problem, the medium and nutes are not as important as the veg time and shaping is...im still expecting 2# from the sunshine plant using salt ferts

main reason im trying out smart pots of dirt is i plan to transition to large pots of ammended soil hooked on blumats in the next 2 runs...my hope is to automate veg and flower soley on blumats with plain water in the rez..and possibly handwater in teas once a week..i plan to hook up a 30 gallon rezervior to each plant, so that in theory i can fill up all my rez's and walk away from the grow for 2 weeks at a time...ive used blumats on various mediums and had amazing results, used to fill up a rez once a week and walk away..i also have alot more experience with organic dirt than hydro so im trying to work towards that as hydro is alot of work and the quality is never what it is in organics...im confident that even with organics ill hit a min. of 1.6# per plant..and id gladly take that loss in yield for a gain in quality and to have freedom from my grow, i like vacations :)..still working out a veg and flower mix but that shouldnt take more than a few runs to dial
 
waayne

waayne

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DonJuanMatus those Chemdog #4's are some of the most productive looking indoor tree's I've ever seen!

That's some really impressive work!

Your description of pruning in a rainbow shape is right on point.
I find there's just no way to get sufficient light to the interior of a large tree,down low..
My interior nugs up higher do just fine as they get better light penetration....

I'm really looking forward to seeing how the blumats work out for you
I've never played around with them much at all.....though they sure have me intrigued......

I automated some trees in 20 gallon containers last year so I could leave for a couple of weeks ,but I used pumps , timers
and drip irrigation equipment
It worked OK but I went back to hand watering as soon as I returned home
as some were getting overwatered a bit and some of course were always asking for a bit more ......
The blumats should solve that problem

Thank's for all the inspiration and info:)
 
J

Jalisco Kid

Guest
jalisco - hey man, good eye..i used no cages on these, for support i do 2 things..first around day 7-10 of flower i drape a trellis over and around the plants and allow them to grow up and in to the trellis during stretch anchoring itself to the trellis..then around week 4 i drill 10-12 pinky size holes in the rim of each container, just big enough to fit a bamboo very tightly without fastening it to anything..i then go up and down the length of each bamboo and fasten as many branches as possible to each bamboo..i then tie support strings at different points of the trellis on each plant and ties those to the light posts above...doing both of these allows me to hold and and support large and small main branches with the bamboos aswell as hold up and support numerous colas around the plant with the trellis by only using a few support strings vs trying up every branch individually

some might think this is too much work and its better to use a cage..but i found that cages can constrict and alter the upward and outward growth of a plant during stretch in a negative way..this is why i stopped using cages as they never allowed the plant to grow outward naturally in the way i aim for...doing this although obviously much more work than a cage, allows me to support the entire plant without interfering with its upward and outward growth..its not for everyone or every garden and might even seem ghetto lol but i havent found a more efficient way to support trees without interfering with growth

here is a pic of right after i draped over the trellis

View attachment 306647

and a pic to hopefully illustrate what i was describing better..if you look closely you can see the bamboos in the rim of the container and the trellis buried in the canopy anchored to the support strings

View attachment 306648
I usually use a minimum of 25 yo-yo's per plant. I also do not like cages as I feel they restrict growth and strength to the branches. JK
 
DonJuanMatus

DonJuanMatus

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waayne - thanks alot man, appreciate the kind words and glad to help...the blumats are magic, only word that does em justice lol..but the key is taking ALOT of time to observe and dial them in correctly when you set them up, its no set and forget situation at all like a pump and timer..when i set up the blumats for the first time, i monitor and tweek them for 1-2 weeks to make sure theyre all 100% accurate to the dry/wet cycle im aiming for in each plant..after that i dont have to look at them once and they will work flawlessly , but if i wasnt that ontop of them i wouldnt have liked them nearly as much..i think most of the negative reviews on them are from people that failed to do this or failed to do it for long enough, i wouldnt trust em personally if i only monitored and tweeked them for less than a week...ive left the state for 8 days with these fully dialed and when i got back my plants looked like they didnt know i was gone

anyway i wont derail the subject of trees with blumats, so here is a pic of my drip rings and the wool for anyone interested in what it looks like as im sure most havent seen it

00


01



02
 
DonJuanMatus

DonJuanMatus

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those drip rings are made by looping 1/4 inch line to a 1/4 inch T , then poking tons of holes in each with a drip line hole puncher, each ring has 75 or so holes and the 3 fully saturate every sq inch of the surface...i started out with one ring and worked up to 3 until i saw the coverage i wanted...these rings are fed from a 3/4 inch line which is snaked around the room meeting at the rez with a 3/4 inch T and hooked to a 1200 gph pump...all pots are covered with poly to regulate temps and RH in the rootzone aswell as keep algae from forming and keeping the heat out and the cool in..makes a very big difference ..i use "poly mulch" in all mediums
 
DonJuanMatus

DonJuanMatus

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jalisco - very cool, nice to see another anti-cager! ive been interested in yoyos aswell, ill probably give em a try very soon and see if it works better or easier than what i do now
 
All4freedumb

All4freedumb

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Thanks a lot DonJaun... Now I know I'm not sleeping tonight.. I'll be daydreaming all about your ladies and knocking this around in my head ALL night.. Very inspirational, thanks for sharing..
 
Capulator

Capulator

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I usually use a minimum of 25 yo-yo's per plant. I also do not like cages as I feel they restrict growth and strength to the branches. JK

Why do you guys feel a cage restricts growth. I find that the only thing a cage does is give me something to tie branches to. I'm talking 6" x 6" grid not the little shit.
 
DonJuanMatus

DonJuanMatus

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all4free- thanks man, happy to share

capulator - well when you put a cage around the plant, most of the time its fastened to the container..the containers circumference is a fraction of what the finishing plant should be, causing the plant to have to grow entirely through it..and when the plants branches try to grow through the cage, they will get hooked onto the cage at one of the branches nodes and will either halt it from growing outward or one would have to manually weave it through the cage, thus altering and changing the natural shape of the plant...some might have success with it and use it as a scrog of sorts , weaving branches through to cover most surface area..but i found that even if one would do that they would just be blocking out more light from the center of the plant and again hindering its growth...cages for me were just all drawbacks with no advantages other than being quick to put on

with that said, this opinion is only relative to this system and my way of doing things, so dont take it as gospel..in any system its best to try a few things and tweak what works and what doesnt, as theres no one right or wrong way to do things
 
Capulator

Capulator

likes to smell trees.
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all4free- thanks man, happy to share

capulator - well when you put a cage around the plant, most of the time its fastened to the container..the containers circumference is a fraction of what the finishing plant should be, causing the plant to have to grow entirely through it..and when the plants branches try to grow through the cage, they will get hooked onto the cage at one of the branches nodes and will either halt it from growing outward or one would have to manually weave it through the cage, thus altering and changing the natural shape of the plant...some might have success with it and use it as a scrog of sorts , weaving branches through to cover most surface area..but i found that even if one would do that they would just be blocking out more light from the center of the plant and again hindering its growth...cages for me were just all drawbacks with no advantages other than being quick to put on

with that said, this opinion is only relative to this system and my way of doing things, so dont take it as gospel..in any system its best to try a few things and tweak what works and what doesnt, as theres no one right or wrong way to do things

yeah I hang my cage from the ceiling and I think with the 6" grid I don't run in to any problems. Lovin' your work BTW. Thanks for sharing. We are all here to learn, or gloat. LOL.
 
J

Jalisco Kid

Guest
I feel my girls feel when they are held back they stop producing as much as they should. They are sending hormones back down the branch to get another shoot to work towards the light. Making trees bushy should not be what what you are shooting for. Getting 12-15 branches to produce the most is what I am after. JK
 
Capulator

Capulator

likes to smell trees.
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I feel my girls feel when they are held back they stop producing as much as they should. They are sending hormones back down the branch to get another shoot to work towards the light. Making trees bushy should not be what what you are shooting for. Getting 12-15 branches to produce the most is what I am after. JK

Fuck it I have 200 yo yos hanging from the ceiling. I'll try a few cageless next round. :troll:
 
All4freedumb

All4freedumb

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Kinda got me thinking cause my first tree run and best run, by yield standards, I didn't put anything around them till week 4 in flower not realizing what I was really going to deal with. I couldn't cage them to buckets so I built columns down the rows with 2by2's. Those trees where so open and filled with sets of long solid branches, each needing to be tied up.. I'm kinda seeing what I'm missing here... Hot damn, I think I too will try my next round with yo yo's from an above screen... Thanks farmers
 
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