OUTDOOR DWC

[HOOFAH]

having visions of an outdoor dwc..ive never seen this style done and in theory should produce massive 15 + pound plants..take a look a my diagram..its ruff but you can get the idea

 

[reeldrag]

Its been done before (cant veiw your diagram) and yes they r F#$$ing huge biggest challenge keep water chilled but when done correctly it is off the hook they were using 55 gallon drums for pots 6 inch pvc for water line and an old above ground swimming pool as res. it is a site to behold. Does work awesome but very labor intensive to set up and maintain and expensive. and yes 15 per can b hit good luck

 

[kushtrees]

Bury it partway under ground that will help keep it much much cooler

 

[ttystikk]

Wow, that sounds awesome! I could see how you could bury the barrels maybe 2/3 in the ground, heap up the dirt around the part stick sticking out and use PVC pipe above ground to siphon water around and even make an RDWC. Burying it in the ground and covering the top with an insulator like foam sheet insulation should reduce or even eliminate the need for active water cooling.

I think the biggest modification that would have to be made to existing indoor systems would be a cover that blocks the sun from hitting the bucket, preferably something reflective and insulating and much wider than the bucket so as to shade it all day. Each cover needs a keyhole to fit around the plant being grown. With such covers on all the sites, I think an Under Current style system could be very successful outside.

Hmmm... this could even be used in dirt floor cold frames to extend their useful growing season; you could use the reservoir water in the cold frame as the working fluid for a solar heater (the whole thing would fit inside the cold frame), and as long as the water remains below 65 degrees, it wouldn't hurt the plants and would do a good job of keeping a small cold frame warm overnight in freezing temperatures... This means that such a system could be used to grow crops in places that otherwise get too cold too fast for a complete flowering cycle to occur.

Just thinking out loud.. there's a lot of quiet little mountain valleys that freeze in September and October, but if a coldframe and solar water warming could extend a crop until November 15th, that could make things a lot easier for folks. Hmmm... o_O

 

[Amber]

So who's got pics of this?

 

[Reebs]

i sure hope you do this, i've been thinking of some outdoor alternatives aswell. DWC seems pretty straight forward.

i was reading yesterday about a couple farmers here who do the MPB buckets. one dude "Boss" was using 50-55 gal res dums sitting on there side and a 10'' hole on top for your netpot. indoors they were getting like 5-10 bows a plant. imagine one of these outside man!! especially with a long veg time, 15lbs could be low balling it.

personally i've seen main colas the size of a 2 liter pop bottle from my Ebb & Flow setup, if it wouldve been outdoors it may have been way bigger.

all in all, i say DO IT! and the pics too..

 

[mistergreen206]

I would love to see more out door dwc type setups .. 20 off one would be mind blowing ... I think green house dwc would be a good start

 

[Blaze]

The more complicated the system the more likely things will go wrong and something like this is about as complicated as you can get for outdoor. Soil grown organic plants can still hit they yields you are talking about and for a fraction of the amount of time, money, and materials. I'm sure an outdoor DWC would work, but I would be extremely skeptical on the return on investment.

 

[fuzzy]

How about using 55 gal barrels in a UC system with the piping and about 1/4 to half the barrel sunk in the ground?!!!!

 

[chronicdreams]

Dude, this is coming from a guy who has made his living off growing a long time. NO.

KISS method. Keep it simple stupid. For outdoors, use nature. Soil and sun.

Hydro lends itself well to indoor grows as you have total control of the conditions.

Outdoor YOU adapt to the present conditions.

Just too many things to go wrong. Spend your money wisely and go with safe returns.


Now onto your expected yields. Forget them. Sorry, welcome to the real world. If you get a couple lbs per plant outdoor of prime you doing better than many. Your friends are giving you the wrong numbers. yield per plant indoors means jack shit.. You need grams per month per watt.

you do not get paid to veg. remember this. every watt you spend vegging takes away from your overall efficiency rating. think of it this way. A person could have 3-4 harvest done in time it takes to get a huge plant to yield what it would need to.

typical realistic setup I gave people:

4k flowering ( 2 beds )
8 light T5 fluro for veg ( 2 weeks )
ez cloner under a cfl ( 2 weeks )

I advised to cut clones every 4 weeks. root for 2, veg for 2. no more than 5 per light
8 week strain they were harvesting exactly once a month. each bed 3-4 lbs per month. EVERY month.

I could veg longer and use fewer plants. same yield. less cost effective though.


DWC: major cons outdoor would be same as indoor. stagnating water and overheating. easily fixed by running a RDWC indoors.Still risky outdoors.

Your major needs for outdoors: prime sun location, clean water and LARGE amounts of good soil. get them in the ground early. The size difference between putting a small clone in a pot outdoors in late june, vs putting a large plant in the ground in may is HUGE.

Whatever method you go with I wish you happy harvests

 

[outwest]

typical realistic setup I gave people:

4k flowering ( 2 beds )
8 light T5 fluro for veg ( 2 weeks )
ez cloner under a cfl ( 2 weeks )

I advised to cut clones every 4 weeks. root for 2, veg for 2. no more than 5 per light
8 week strain they were harvesting exactly once a month. each bed 3-4 lbs per month. EVERY month.

I could veg longer and use fewer plants. same yield. less cost effective though.

Whatever method you go with I wish you happy harvests

Sounds like a SOG setup. What the plants/sf? Under a 2-4 depending on strain and grow pattern.

outwest

 

[chronicdreams]

Sounds like a SOG setup. What the plants/sf? Under a 2-4 depending on strain and grow pattern.

outwest

SOG would have been more like 1 plant per 6 inches. ZERO veg time. I SCROGGED it. I grew and won a cup with MK ULTRA by TH seeds. It wanted to grow as a sativa. Lots of stretch. So I tamed that bitch. In flat gardens, canopy control is critical to yield.

 

[outwest]

SOG would have been more like 1 plant per 6 inches. ZERO veg time. I SCROGGED it. I grew and won a cup with MK ULTRA by TH seeds. It wanted to grow as a sativa. Lots of stretch. So I tamed that bitch. In flat gardens, canopy control is critical to yield.

Yes. 4 plants/sf would be about that. I find that some veg time is needed to establish a healthy root system. I'm in dirt and vegging under fluoros so things move a little more slowly.

outwest

 

[chronicdreams]

Yes. 4 plants/sf would be about that. I find that some veg time is needed to establish a healthy root system. I'm in dirt and vegging under fluoros so things move a little more slowly.

outwest

something I was shown in an article somewhere was : Hydro spends 70/30 energy on growth vs root development. Soil 30/70 I saw a study where corn was grown in hydro with a single tap root. So yes, you would need to take some time to work a good root system.

 

[outwest]

something I was shown in an article somewhere was : Hydro spends 70/30 energy on growth vs root development. Soil 30/70 I saw a study where corn was grown in hydro with a single tap root. So yes, you would need to take some time to work a good root system.

This is great insight. I'm pretty confident that you can pull equivalent yields in soil, just takes longer to get there. Thoughts?

outwest

 

[chronicdreams]

indoors? no. I'd give slight advantage to hydro based on less veg time. I would say you would have equal harvest, equal quality, but over slightly longer time period if all goes well. I might squeek an extra harvest per year out over time vs your method though. Transplant shock is also an issue for some.

 

[outwest]

This is great insight. I'm pretty confident that you can pull equivalent yields in soil, just takes longer to get there. Thoughts?

indoors? no. I'd give slight advantage to hydro based on less veg time. I would say you would have equal harvest, equal quality, but over slightly longer time period if all goes well. I might squeek an extra harvest per year out over time vs your method though. Transplant shock is also an issue for some.

You just disagreed with me the restated exactly what I said in different words, or did I miss something?

I find transplant shock can be easily averted if the plant is in vigorous health.

outwest

 

[chronicdreams]

I mean that it is not = if it takes longer. But the reality? tops 2 weeks. That adds up. I personally never had issues with shock, but it seemed I was the rarity. I like going in the middle. I consider coco to have pros of both hydro and soil. You can feed more aggressively , have the option of going sterile or soil web, and you get the water retainability of soil. My biggest draw against soil is I feel you have to be able to read your plants WAY better than in hydro. Mistakes are quickly and easily fixed in hydro vs soil.

In the end, neither has total superiority over the other. Both have drawbacks and advantages. Go with what you know the best and are most comfortable. For you. CANOPY CONTROL. keeping everything flat and even for light will be huge. you don't want massive nugs overshadowing smaller nug sites. In scrog you want a total flat carpet of equal sized buds.

ATTENTION THREAD STARTER. sorry if we got off track on your original posting.

 

[outwest]

Luckily I have a separate veg area, so I'm not waiting for plants to veg so to speak. As soon as I harvest I have another batch ready to flower.

Yes, sorry for the off topicness. Inspiration strikes in the strangest of places.

outwest

 

[fuzzy]

I still think it can work.Just as in indoor,you have to keep your water cool(62-64 imo).Im doing a run right now indoors UC and Coco(same cut).My cocos are a month ahead of my UCs.My uc are 3 times bushier.Some ppl have problems indoors with the UC or DWC,Knock on wood, i havent had any problems,yet.these are just my noobie observations,peace,fuzzy